California top 25
My son plays three of them.. Notre Dame, Valencia and Hart..good grief
August 25, 2005
Preseason Rankings Party Begins
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curtesy CalHi Sports
Mission Viejo head coach Bob Johnson speaks to the media after 2004 CIFSS title game.
1. Mission Viejo 14-0
Even without graduated standout Mark Sanchez at quarterback, the Diablos should be as overpowering as ever on offense. Fullback Chane Moline, last year's State Junior Player of the Year, returns after scoring 36 TDs and rushing for nearly 1,800 yards. Also back is perhaps the nation's top tight end, Konrad Reuland (6-6, 245), plus other top skill players in WR Sean Fitzgerald and junior RB Keegan Gogerty.
QB R.J. Toman isn't going to be Sanchez, but should be effective in his own right and according to head coach Bob Johnson will sign a Div. I college letter of intent. The offense also includes three-year starter Cooper Dodd (6-0, 245) at center and Div. I prospect David Burton (6-2, 255) at tackle.
The defensive line will need the most rebuilding, but the back seven looks solid with Matt Harris (6-1, 230) at linebacker and Chris Holmesly, Jon Ponce and Garrett Rubio returning in the secondary.
Key losses behind the scenes are the retirements of assistant coach Marty Spaulding and Marty Mikkelson. Mission Viejo opens the season on Monday, Sept. 5 in Seattle against Issaquah, Wash., but its toughest preleague game may be at home on Oct. 8 against Concord De La Salle. It was a 17-14 win for MV in last year's game at DLS, which was the team's closest game of the season.
The Diablos have won 55 of their last 56 games. Amazingly, USA Today ranked Mission Viejo behind a Long Beach Poly team in its preseason rankings that the Diablos soundly defeated last season.
2. Poly (Long Beach) 13-1
With a lack of experience at quarterback, the Jackrabbits may keep it simple on offense with a lot of handoffs to standout running back Troy Guthrie and somehow getting the ball into the hands of explosive wideouts Terrence Austin and Travon Patterson.
But with the defense that head coach Raul Lara will have, the offense may not need to score that much. Nine starters are back on that side of the ball and it could be a defense that will rival the school's best ever. Corners Vincent Joseph and Donovan Warren are among the best in the nation for the Classes of 2006 and 2007, respectively, and rush ends – Jurray Casey (6-2, 210) and junior Kenny Rowe (6-4, 225) – will cause havoc to all opposition. The addition of transfer defensive lineman Conan Amituani (6-4, 250) from Los Alamitos should make the front four as stout as the back four.
Poly opens against Centennial of Corona in a matchup of defending CIF Southern Section champions. A big win in that game would set up a bigger matchup the following week when the Jackrabbits will travel to Seattle to face national power Bellevue, the same team that ended De La Salle's national record 151-game winning streak last year.
3. Notre Dame (Sherman Oaks) 14-0
You can't get much better in the skill positions than the Golden Knights, who have won two straight CIFSS Division III titles and will be opening the season with a 22-game win streak, third-longest in the state.
Quarterback Garrett Green is a four-year varsity player and three-year starter who comes back after throwing for 1,364 yards and rushing for 809 yards as a junior. Running back Rodney Glass is also one of the state's best at his position with 1,200 yards from last year plus a second-place finish in the 100-meter dash at last June's CIF state track meet. And, oh by the way, Notre Dame has the unquestioned best kicker in the nation in Kai Forbath, who was 19 of 21 on field goals last year (long of 52) and made all 73 of his PATs for a state record 130 kicking points.
The Golden Knights still do not play a schedule that's likely to get them a No. 1 state ranking, so the potential is there for them to get passed if certain other teams run the table and go undefeated. But they are clearly deserving of a high state ranking to start the season and should be nationally ranked as well.
4. Clovis West (Fresno) 12-2
We like the Golden Eagles this high to start the year not only because six starters are returning on both sides of the ball but because they play a challenging preleague schedule that starts out on Sept. 10 at home against De La Salle.
Replacing graduated QB J.J. Jelmini will be a chore, but head coach Jim Hartigan has a great track record with quarterbacks so that probably won't be that big of a problem. Running back Kyle Duffy is the team's top returnee on offense after rushing for 1,674 yards as a junior. He'll run behind an offensive line with three returning starters, including Ross Wood (6-1, 245), Max Taylor (6-2, 235) and Andre Tolmochoff (6-2, 225).
The defensive line may be even better than that as All-American candidate Chris Lewis (6-3, 235) tops a group that was in on 53 sacks last season. In the summer, Lewis' stature grew even more when he won a national age-group heavyweight wrestling title.
Another college prospect to watch is running back-defensive back Ato Lakatoni (5-11, 205), who had a strong SPARQ Rating last May at the Stanford Nike Camp.
5. Clovis East (Clovis) 10-3
All the buzz in Clovis – until those dunderheads at USA Today stuck Clovis West at No. 12 in the nation to start the season and didn't mention Clovis East at all -- isn't so much about De La Salle coming to town on Sept. 10 to play Clovis West but more about Clovis East taking off the next week to play Texas powerhouse Robert E. Lee of Midland. The Timberwolves will play the Rebels one week after the Rebels play Southlake Carroll, the Texas team that is No. 1 in the Student Sports FAB 50.
It's a good bet, too, that Lee fans will be comparing Clovis East standout Tracy Slocum to their own legendary running back, Cedric Benson, now a promising NFL rookie after starring at the University of Texas. Slocum (5-11, 180) is a combination of strength, speed, moves and tackle-breaking skills that makes him one of the best in the state and nation.
Also back for Clovis East is versatile WR-RB-DB Andrew Pancotti (5-10, 180), who has breakaway speed in his own right. Another key returnee will be RB-DB D.J. Savoy (6-1, 190).
Rivals.com
De La Salle's Tom McConnell has added a lot of size to his frame since the end of last season.
6. De La Salle (Concord) 8-3-2
The graduation loss of standout QB Kevin Lopina will make the Spartans switch back to their more traditional look of the veer option on offense. And nobody runs the veer like De La Salle.
While last year's team did drop three games early in the season, two were to nationally-ranked opponents (Bellevue and Mission Viejo) and the other was to Clovis West. The Spartans play both Clovis West and Mission Viejo again and let's just do a count of hands to see how many of you would be that surprised if they found a way to win not one but both of those games. Our hands, folks, are not raised.
Insiders at the school say that next year will be when the team is able to return to the level it was at from 1992 through 2003. This year's team will be led by honors candidates Tony Vasta at center, Tom McConnell at linebacker, Mario D'Ambrosio at defensive back, Garrett Jandegian at running back/quarterback and Vincent Colvis at wide receiver/kicker. Of the juniors coming up, watch out for running back Byron Colbert.
7. Edison (Huntington Beach) 6-5
This year's version of the Chargers could be even better than the group that played in the CIFSS Div. I final in 2001 and lost to Long Beach Poly. True, the 6-5 mark from last year's isn't that great but Edison was right there in just about every game and all other factors point to it being a tip-top team.
First, head coach Dave White counts six starters back on offense with seven more returning on defense. That one of the six on offense is QB Brian Shrock, who passed for 2,350 yards as a junior and will be a three-year starter, figures to be a big bonus. OL Romney Fuga (6-3, 275), WR Jimmy Flanagan (40 receps as a junior) and all-state sophomore Hunter White (WR-DB) also are returning. The defense will be led by three-year linebacker David Baldwin (6-0, 215).
The Chargers also have players coming up from a 9-1 JV squad plus there's even two transfers who may make an impact – Freddie Estrada, a linebacker from Fountain Valley and Martin Coleman, a lineman from Tonga.
8. Valley Christian (San Jose) 13-1
Coach Mike Machado's program is right there with De La Salle for the Bay Area's No. 1 ranking, but we just can't stick the Warriors ahead of the Spartans since DLS still hasn't lost to another Bay Area opponent in 14 years.
Valley Christian does have an improved preleague schedule this year with the addition of a road game against Grant of Sacramento and is a strong favorite to repeat as the open division champion of the CIF Central Coast Section.
Leading returnees for the Warriors include QB Dante Perez, West Catholic Athletic League sprint champ Dominique Hunsucker (who starts at running back) and defensive leader A.J. Alvarez. Two other defenders who have been generating even more buzz over the summer have been highly-recruited 6-1, 230-pound J.J. Kulusich (LB) and 6-3, 230-pound junior defensive end Matt Singletary, son of NFL Hall of Famer Mike Singletary who is now an assistant coach with the San Francisco 49ers.
9. St. Bonaventure (Ventura) 13-1
Let the debate between the Seraphs and emerging Ventura County private school powerhouse Oaks Christian begin. Both figure to be dominant squads this year, but St. Bonnie is playing Hart and also is in a much more loaded CIF Southern Section playoff division.
Head coach Jon Mack has six starters back on offense with seven more returning on defense and the program is now the winningest in the state for this decade. The defense looks especially strong with all-state underclass LB Dwight Roberson (6-1, 230), all-league DL Kyle Maddux and all-league DB Adam Liranzo all returning. On offense, QB Samson Szakacsy and RB Mike Williams, both juniors, should step up and enjoy strong seasons.
Over the summer, Nike and SPARQ tested more than 100 teams around the nation in the Nike SPARQ Team Challenge and St. Bonaventure came up with the highest score in the land.
10. Santa Margarita (Rancho SM) 5-6
The Eagles are the preseason favorite in the CIFSS's super-tough Serra League due to the presence of 13 returning starters. They actually start the season this weekend with a game in Hawaii against Kealakehe and will then take three weeks off before facing L.A. City Section preseason favorite Dorsey.
On offense, Santa Margarita only needs to find a running back to compliment the pass-catch combo of Jon Daniels and Jake Gordon and all the pieces will be in place. Daniels returns after passing for 1,763 yards last season. Gordon is the top returning wideout in the Serra League. There's plenty of experience and ability up front, too, with the likes of Brad Dixon, Tom Roby and junior Matt Bahr.
On defense, linebacker Ross Cumming (6-2, 200) should be one of the best in Orange County while the secondary will feature J.D. Dawson and speedy junior Ryan Maxwell.
11. Del Oro (Loomis) 12-1
This year's CIF Sac-Joaquin Section outlook is led off by not one but two squads who are Division II and not Division I and those two teams – Del Oro and Oak Ridge – will play in week one on Sept. 9.
While Oak Ridge edged Del Oro in last year's section finals, it's clear that the Golden Eagles have more top returning players. Head coach Casey Taylor listed six returning starters on offense and eight on defense.
Three Del Oro underclassmen – LB Ben Chandler (6-4, 210), DL Bill Sherman (6-2, 270) and OL Zach Hughey (6-2, 265) – were all named to the Sacramento Bee's All-Metro team last year. Other key vets include RB-LB-K Nick Huppe, RB Andrew Walker, DB Dan Hart and WR-DB Heath Simmons.
The major questionmark for the Golden Eagles will be the quarterback position where Kevin Will is gone and someone else will need to step up.
12. Hart (Newhall) 7-5
It should be a return toward the top of the rankings for the Indians this season with a wealth of top returnees plus the likely emergence of several younger players.
Quarterback Tyler Lyon, MVP of the Nike 7 on 7 Championship at USC after leading Hart to the championship, is back to run the offense and he's got an outstanding receiving corps to work with, led by Robbie Castleberry, Troy Yudin and junior standout James Wheeler.
The team's other strength is at linebacker with Griffin Cannon (6-1, 200), Pat Sarkissian (6-0, 195) and sophomore Pat Larrimore (6-3, 235). And Larrimore isn't the only sophomore who could have a break out year on the varsity. Watch out as well for soph. RB Delano Howell, the third member of his family to play for Hart.
Up front, head coach Mike Harrington has excellent size with the likes of J.T. Hartmire (6-3, 315), Jackson Smith (6-4, 275), Brandon Takata (6-3, 275) and Adam Best (62, 265). Hart must do a much better job, though, of protecting Lyon, which was a problem last year.
Rivals.com
L.A. Dorsey's Keith Browner was recently featured on ESPN2's The Full Ride.
13. Dorsey (Los Angeles) 10-3
For most of last season, the Dons were the top-ranked team in the L.A. City Section until they lost to Birmingham of Lake Balboa in the section title game and finished ranked No. 17 in the state. This season, the Dons again have the blinding talent to win it all and be even higher in the rankings if they can settle their quarterback situation and peak at the right time.
The strength of this team is defense, as seniors Keith Browner (6-4, 222) and Cleveland Jones (6-4, 305) are stalwarts on the defensive line. Transfer LB Mark Johnson from Culver City High will also shine and makes a good defense even better.
The offense will be led for the third straight year by RB Stafon Johnson, who is also a top-notch safety. Dorsey will have to find a way to offset the loss of RB Jeremiah Johnson so teams don't stack the line and key on Stafon, especially early during tough non-league games with Santa Margarita, McClymonds of Oakland, and Birmingham.
14. Oaks Christian (Westlake Village) 14-0
What to do with Oaks Christian? From an individual standpoint, from how the team has looked in head-to-head matchups during summer passing league games and on many other levels, there's no question that the Lions are one of the state's top teams. It's just that they are a CIF Southern Section Div. XI team and their schedule, even with the addition of Pasadena Muir this year, just is not strong enough to merit too high of a ranking. USA Today, of course, thought otherwise in its usual throwing-darts-at-the-wall effort and put Oaks Christian as the state's sixth highest team. We think that's way too high, especially for a squad that could roll over all its opponents.
Next year, when a scheduled game against St. Bonaventure (finally, those two will finally meet) takes place, when the Lions are supposed to play Cincinnati Moeller and when the CIF state championship games are held (Oaks Christian would perhaps be in the Div. III game) then the schedule will be tough enough to get them as high as possible.
Nine starters on offense and nine more on defense are back this season, led by perhaps the best collection of juniors of any school in the nation. QB Jimmy Clausen starts his junior year after throwing for 3,667 yards and 57 TDs as a sophomore. Marc Tyler (6-0, 200) is back at running back while Duke Lemmons and Marshall Jones are two more juniors to watch.
The development of the team's offensive and defensive lines also is evident and there will be ample size and strength up front to go with all the skill players.
15. Vista 10-2-1
The Panthers are clearly the team to beat in San Diego this season and could go much higher in the state rankings with a few impressive wins early on. Head coach Dan Williams welcomes back eight starters on offense with five on defense from a squad that tied Torrey Pines in last year's CIF San Diego Section Div. I final. Players coming up from a 9-1 JV team also is another good indicator.
Travis Goethel (6-3, 215), who plays tight end on offense and linebacker on defense, is the team's top college prospect. Other key offensive returnees include RB John Gyves, WR Dean McCastle and OL Hal Kelley (6-2, 240). Others to watch on defense include LB-DL Lawrence Hunt, DL Josh Marquardt (6-3, 240) and DL Devin Babcock (6-3, 225).
16. McClymonds (Oakland) 8-4
How head coach Alonzo Carter handles the quarterback position, which was manned last year by Div. I recruit Kyle Reed, is the main question mark for this year's squad, which is absolutely loaded in every other position on the field.
As many as eight Warriors could get Div. I college rides with the four that seem to getting the most attention being LB Josh Tatum, DL Derrick Hill, TE NaDerris Ward and OL-DL Antoine Howard. Super-quick RB Terrence McCoy, the versatile Rico Thomas plus WR Stephen Blackwell and even some promising juniors will add even more to the mix.
Mack's preleague schedule includes two matchups against L.A. City powers. The first, on the road, will be against Dorsey, which is the favorite in the L.A. City Section. The second will be at home against Crenshaw. The game against Dorsey may feature as many as 20 future Div. I college players on the field at the same time (including juniors). If you're a college recruiter and there's one game to check out in the state this year, that's the one to see.
17. Esperanza (Anaheim) 9-4
Highly-rated offensive lineman Joe Hawley (6-4, 275) and junior running back Charles Neal, who had 1,400 all-purpose yards last year and was a CalHiSports.com all-state sophomore, headline the list of returnees for the Aztecs.
Head coach Bill Pendleton, who is starting his third year, will also have another 1,000-yard running back returning in Rocky Taloa. Most of the line in addition to Hawley also will be experienced as well.
On defense, Esperanza's best will include DB Chad McCoy, who led the team in interceptions and set a school record for blocked kicks, and LB Shane Toten, who came up with 10 sacks. Pendleton added that a key newcomer to watch will be TE Eron Moses (6-5, 225).
Esperanza will get a head start over most of the state's other top teams with a testy game on Sept. 2 against South Hills of Covina.
18. Oak Ridge (El Dorado Hills) 11-2
The Trojans are going for their fourth straight CIF Sac-Joaquin Section title and although they lose a strong nucleus from last year, including TE Ryan Moya, LB Isaac Kinter and WR Seyi Ajirotutu, they still have the quarterback who led them to both championships.
Senior Chandler Clemons, who also is an outstanding kicker, was among the state leaders as a junior with 41 TD passes and also threw for 2,905 yards. He has been all-state underclass twice and should be signing a letter of intent with a major Div. I college.
There was good depth along the front lines for last year's team, so that shouldn't be much of problem for head coach Chris Jones, but players will have to step up in the other skill positions. Another indidivual to watch is 6-2, 200-pound fullback-linebacker Mike Hass.
19. Valencia 12-2
New coach Larry Muir inherits a squad that is big on star power due to the return of record-breaking QB Michael Herrick and all-state soph RB Shane Vereen, but still may be in a rebuilding mode due to the loss of seven starters on offense and eight on defense.
Herrick is back after throwing for 4,069 yards last season and seems on track to become the state's first QB to throw for more than 10,000 yards for a career. Vereen rushed for more than 1,300 yards, showed he could catch the ball well out of the backfield, and scored 25 TDs.
OT Chris Vandepas and DB M.J. Robotham are two more all-league candidates for the Vikings and newcomers to watch include Virgil Hill, Taylor Sellnom and Jordan Turbyfill.
Shareece Wright of Colton shows his stride at last April's Nike camp at USC.
20. Colton 10-2
Head Coach Harold Strauss' squad is the favorite in the old Citrus Belt League, but the Yellowjackets won't be satisfied with just the league crown. They did get a win in the CIFSS Div. I playoffs last year over Santa Margarita but then lost to Esperanza.
This squad reminds us a little of last season's Lakewood team that had its best season in 30 years in that they are led by a tough defense and the state's best linebacker, but have question marks on offense. The rugged defense is spearheaded by LB Allen Bradford (6-0, 220), who just may be the state's top overall college prospect. Last season, he was in on 129 tackles and rushed for 1,297 yards. Shareece Wright (5-11, 180) is also a standout runner and shines in the secondary, as does James Smith (6-2, 190).
Colton's tough non-league games are against Crenshaw of L.A. and Rancho Buena Vista of the San Diego Section, but in order for Colton to advance deeper in the CIFSS Div. I playoffs they must effectively utilize a passing game or have the threat of a passing game.
21. Loyola (Los Angeles) 9-3
For the first time since 1976, Steve Grady will not be prowling the Cub sidelines. The new head coach at the venerable L.A. school is Jeff Kearin, a Loyola alum who guided last year's team at Brophy Prep of Phoenix to the Arizona Class 5A semifinals.
This year's edition of the Cubs doesn't have the same returning ammo as they've had in previous seasons, but the schedule is strong and there are aspects of the roster that look promising.
On defense, the corner combo of Chad Peppars (5-11, 180) and Reynolds Holmes (5-10, 165) will be one of the slickest in SoCal. WR Marcus Lawrence (5-11, 175) and RB Russell Oka (5-8, 170) will be the ones to watch most on offense while two other honors candidates look like OG/LB Nick Bertole (6-1, 245) and LB Ramon Estrada (5-10, 200).
22. St. Francis (Mountain View) 9-3
The Lancers have even more returning starters back than Valley Christian and if they start winning early against their usually strong preleague schedule then there's no doubt they'll be a serious threat to the Warriors.
Coach Mike Mitchell's team looks good at the skill positions with QB Richie Scudellari (6-3, 190) leading the way. Matt Toufoou (6-1, 210), who is equally stellar as a running back and linebacker, and Div. I college prospect Mark Boskovich (6-4, 280) are two other key players to watch.
23. Centennial (Corona) 13-1
Head coach Matt Logan (our 2004 State Coach of the Year) says the strengths of this year's team will be the defensive secondary, linebackers and quarterback. He'll need to find a running back to step in and replace graduated Brandon Minor (50 TDs last year) and there's an unproven offensive line.
QB Chris Scott returns after throwing for 2,126 yards and 16 TDs as a junior. He completed 68 percent of his passes. An all-league WR returning is Normando Mariscal.
LB Darryl Johnson (6-0, 210), who was in on 127 tackles last year, and DB Yul Hawkins, who also returned three kickoffs for touchdowns, and all-leaguers Robert Upton (6-1, 195) at LB and Jeff Fraga (5-9, 225) at DL are among a group of six returning starters on defense.
24. Norco 12-2
Only two starters are gone on offense off of last year's team that lost in the CIFSS Div. V championship game, 49-35, to Corona Centennial. And other than the boys up front, most of the defensive starters are back as well.
Head coach Todd Gerhart will be getting to coach his son, Toby, for the final season before the budding 6-1, 200-pounder heads off to play baseball or football at the next level. Toby already ranks among the state's career rushing leaders with 6,412 yards and barring injury it looks like he will break the state record of 8.495 set in 2001 by Lorenzo Booker from St. Bonaventure of Ventura.
Others back on offense include QB Kirk Philbrook, WR-K Bryce Holland, junior RB Jordan Campbell and junior Garth Gerhart (6-2, 255). Other than playing league rival Centennial perhaps two times (like last year), the schedule could be stronger. We almost went with the Cougars higher than the Huskies, but the more lopsided nature of last year's first game (37-6) made us think otherwise.
25. Taft (Woodland Hills) 10-2
The Toreadors are almost as loaded as Dorsey in the L.A. City Section. WR Jamere Holland (6-1, 180) just may be the fastest true football player in the state as he won the state 100 and 200 meter dash last spring. Fellow wideout Chris Wellington (6-1, 200) is also a fine player who should land a Div. I scholarship. The running game is led by Shelton Banks (5-10, 185) and transfer FB Andre Harris (6-0, 220) from Palisades.
The program also welcomes back DB Terrance Flourney (5-11, 180), who spent his junior season at Monroe of Sepulveda after playing for the Toreadors as a sophomore. Junior Malcolm Smith (6-2, 200) is also a standout on defense that can carry and catch the ball as well.
If all the talent meshes and coach Tory Starr finds a replacement for all-everything QB Josh Ports, the cards are in place for a very successful season.
Teams Guaranteed To Be Ranked From No. 26 to No. 50
•Aragon (San Mateo)
•Dominguez (Compton)
•Elk Grove
•Los Alamitos
•Los Gatos
•Mater Dei
•Oceanside
•Rancho Bernardo
•South Hills (West Covina)
