OCVarsity’s team preview for 2016:
TRABUCO HILLS MUSTANGS
Coach: John Abdelnour
Last season: 3-8 overall, 2-2 Sea View League
Scouting report: John Abdelnour was promoted to head coach from offensive coordinator. He is the Mustangs’ third coach in as many years. Abdelnour replaces Joe Silvey who was the coach for 2015. Tony Henney coached Trabuco Hills to a CIF-SS title in 2014. Also new for Trabuco Hills: the Mustangs move from the Sea View League to the South Coast League. The South Coast is the more-challenging of the two leagues in the 10-school Coast View Conference. The Mustangs have an abundance of non-seniors that will be starters. “We’re going to go through some growing pains,” Abdelnour said. “We’ll have to grow up quick.” Some of the seniors are varsity newcomers too, like quarterback Tommy Germain. “But we have a lot of good guys around him who can help us make up for the lack of experience at the quarterback position,” Abdelnour said. Among them are senior running back Jake Cuero who as a reserve in 2015 got 48 carries for 298 yards and two touchdowns. Parker Irving is a returning starter at center to lead what Abdelnour expects to be a sturdy offensive line. As for the defense, Abdelnour said the Mustangs will play “simple, technically sound football.” Eight of the 11 projected defensive starters are juniors.
Bottom line: Every team is better in October than it is in August. Given the youth on its roster, Trabuco Hills’ improvement could be dramatic when league starts but the Mustangs still might be behind the top teams in the league.
Players to watch: Alex Castillo, OL/DL, Sr.; Jake Cuero, RB, Sr.; Parker Irvine, OL, Sr.; Colby Rooker, RB/DB, Jr.
RELATED LINKS
- South Coast League preview
- Mission Viejo preview
- San Clemente preview
- Tesoro preview
- San Juan Hills preview
- Trabuco Hills preview
Contact the writer: sfryer@scng.com
