Taking a look at the highs and lows for Orange County’s teams and players in Week 9 of the football season.
THE HIGHS
Kyle Bayle, Canyon: Bayle had a school-record 19 catches for 213 yards and three touchdowns for Canyon in a 34-27 loss to Esperanza.
Cade Fegel, Newport Harbor: Fegel had two touchdown receptions, including the go-ahead score in Newport Harbor’s 21-20 first win over Corona del Mar in 11 years.
Zachary Foeldi, Mission Viejo: The sophomore had two interceptions and six tackles for Mission Viejo in a 36-0 win over Tesoro.
Xzavior Guess, El Modena: The junior completed 24 of 30 passes for 331 yards and two touchdowns in El Modena’s 38-10 win over El Dorado. Guess also had two rushing touchdowns.
Leo Hannan, Servite: Hannan completed 21 of 28 passes for a career-high 343 yards and four touchdowns in Servite’s 50-42 win over Santa Margarita.
Ben Holland, Trabuco Hills: Holland had 9 tackles, an interception and recovered an onside kick in Trabuco Hills’ 24-17 win over San Juan Hills to clinch a share of the Sea View League championship.
Chase Jones, Yorba Linda: Jones ran for a career-high 306 yards and four touchdowns for Yorba Linda in a 34-33 loss to Villa Park.
Hunter Najm, Aliso Niguel: Najm had three rushing touchdowns for Aliso Niguel in a 35-14 win over El Toro. The senior also threw for 175 yards and added a touchdown pass.
Noah Puertas, Esperanza: The quarterback had 201 yards passing, 199 yards rushing with two passing touchdowns in a win over Canyon.
Isaiah Valdivia, Segerstrom: Valdivia ran for 141 yards on 13 carries with a touchdown in Segerstrom’s 31-14 win over Garden Grove. The senior also forced a fumble on defense.
Rylie Witte, Estancia: Witte threw for 275 yards with two passing and two rushing touchdowns for Estancia in a 29-28 win over Calvary Chapel.
Nasir Wyatt, Mater Dei: The junior had three sacks for Mater Dei in its 55-13 win over Orange Lutheran.
THE LOWS
The Register’s Orange County Top 25 Poll: Voting in the top 25 poll has become increasingly difficult every week. Four of the five Orange County teams in the Trinity League have all beaten each other. San Juan Hills, Newport Harbor, Corona del Mar, Tesoro and Trabuco Hills have all lost and won games against one another. A voter could justifiably have any of the top 15 teams in a variety of orders and would have a solid case for doing so.
FINAL WORD ON WEEK 9
Some results in Week 9 were surprising and threw league title races for a loop. Very few people expected Trabuco Hills to capture the Sea View League title away from previously unbeaten San Juan Hills.
We have some exciting league championship games to look forward to in Week 10. We have potential three-way ties in multiple leagues. If Yorba Linda beats Foothill, we will likely have a three-way tie for the Crestview League title. If La Habra beats Sonora, we will likely have a three-way tie for the Freeway League title.
Orange could beat Santa Ana to set up a three-way tie for the Orange Coast League title between the two schools and St. Margaret’s. Northwood has a chance to beat Dana Hills to force a tie in the Pacific Coast League.
Before you spend time pouring over CalPreps to try to predict the playoff pairings, just remember that we have seen many unexpected results this year. The only thing we know about what will happen in Week 10 is that we know nothing about what will happen. Famous philosopher Plato is the one who coined that phrase but I am going to steal it this week.
