Michael Huntley has been checking the temperature around the Orange County high school football scene, looking for anything that’s hot — and this is the time of the year to be on his list.
HOT TEAMS
San Clemente: San Clemente is 9-1 and its lone loss was by one point to a strong Murrieta Valley team. The Tritons won the South Coast League for the first time since the spring 2021 season, which was shortened due to the pandemic.
Aiden Rubin is second in the county in rushing yards and has a strong case to be an All-County running back this season. He had 22 touchdowns this season which ties the school-record set by Josh Ferrell in 2006.
Dylan Mills showed off his speed in Week 10 with a 59-yard rushing touchdown against Tesoro. He also completed 73 percent of his passes for 200 yards and three touchdowns.
San Clemente’s defense has speed up front and in the secondary. Puka Fuimaono leads the team in tackles and Stanford commit Connor Bachhuber is quick off the edge. Matai Tagoa’i leads the team in tackles for a loss and the duo of Riley Kelley and Max Gonzales each has five interceptions.
Dana Hills: Dana Hills beat Northwood in Week 10 to earn its first outright league championship in the school’s 50-year history.
Noah Kucera is an All-County candidate at receiver and safety for the Dolphins. The senior has over 1,000 yards of offense with 13 touchdowns, an interception return for a touchdown and a kick return for a touchdown.
Sophomore quarterback Jace Lowe is averaging 180 passing yards per game with 19 touchdowns. San Clemente transfer Owen Walz has been good at running back, but missed the Week 10 game due to injury.
Dominic Barto leads the defense with 82 tackles and Noah Brown has six sacks. The Dolphins are on a six-game winning streak that includes snapping a 15-game winning streak by Laguna Hills.
Los Amigos: The Lobos are co-champions in the Garden Grove League for the second consecutive season.
Maysen Navarro is a dual-threat quarterback for Los Amigos who had three touchdown passes in a win over Santiago in Week 10. Chris Flores is a top receiver who is healthy after missing some time due to injury.
Alejandro Carrillo is the team’s best pass rusher and Rocco Rivera is the team’s leading tackler. The Lobos have won four consecutive games including a 13-12 win over Co-League champion Rancho Alamitos.
Los Amigos lost to Arrowhead Christian in the first round of the Division 13 playoffs last season.
HOT PLAYERS
Anthony Fabian, Marina: Fabian has been dominating the Big 4 League on the ground. He ran for 185 yards with two touchdowns against Garden Grove and 138 yards with three touchdowns against Segerstrom in Week 10.
The senior has over 1,000 rushing yards this season and is a big reason why Marina has won four consecutive games.
Anthony Luna, Western: The senior quarterback has not thrown an interception in his last six games and has 27 touchdowns in that span.
Luna has completed over 74 percent of his passes the last two games with 585 yards and 12 touchdowns in wins over Century and Anaheim. He has the second most passing yards in the county.
Jared Referente, JSerra: Referente had 11 tackles and returned an interception 47 yards to lead to an early score for JSerra in its 49-0 win over Servite in Week 10.
The senior also had a rushing touchdown for the Lions. He has 27 tackles in his last two games.
