 Orange Lutheran's Bobby Wheatley ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER FILE PHOTO |
Orange Lutheran, Mater Dei earn spots in national top 50
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Lancers are ranked No. 15 and Monarchs are No. 32 in ESPN's FAB 50 preseason poll.
Orange Lutheran and Mater Dei each landed a spot in a national preseason football poll that is sure to get a lot of attention.
The first ESPNRise.com FAB 50, which combines what used to be three separate polls, for 2008 was announced Wednesday, with the No. 1 ranking going to Trinity of Euless, Texas. De La Salle of Concord was ranked third, making it the highest ranked team from California.
Orange Lutheran, which plays its season opener Sept. 5 against Bullard of Fresno at Santa Ana Stadium, debuts in the new poll at No. 15, four spots behind Long Beach Poly.
Mater Dei, which plays its first game Sept. 3 against Carson at Veterans Stadium in Long Beach, is No. 32 in the preseason poll.
Earlier this week, PrepNation.com's preseason Top 101 came out with Orange Lutheran at No. 16 and Mater Dei at No. 53.
Here is part of what the FAB 50 voters had to say about Orange Lutheran, which had its 2007 season end with a 2-0 loss to Long Beach Poly in the Pac-5 semifinals: "Head coach Jim Kunau will be highly motivated to erase the memory of that stinging loss. With nine returning starters plus several talented transfers, his club has the ability to return to the championship round. The defense will be stingy once again ... Lutheran, which plays in the highly competitive Trinity League, has to replace many of its skill position players on offense. ... (Exavier) Edwards will have an expanded role as the primary ball carrier, and to say (QB Bobby) Wheatley has valuable game experience at quarterback is an understatement."
The FAB 50 voters said this about Mater Dei: "While there are some question marks for the Monarchs with the loss of 10 regulars, there is no questioning that (QB Matt) Barkley will generate points for the Mater Dei offense. ... Barkley will miss throwing to his cousin, Robbie Boyer and Andrew Abbott, but the talented (Victor) Blackwell is expected to play a big role in the offense. ... Developing defensive depth will be key for a unit that gave up 48 points in its playoff loss. ... Mater Dei has not won an outright league title, much less a section title, with (Barkley), a USC commit, under center, so it must start out the season ranked lower than Trinity League rival Orange Lutheran in the FAB 50."
To see the complete FAB 50 list and to read more of the story, click here.
Contact the writer: preps@ocregister.com
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