Mater Dei will be among the Division 1 football contenders in action Saturday in the “Battle at the Beach” 7-on-7 passing tournament at Edison High.
The 20-team tournament, annually one of the highlights of the summer passing season, also features Centennial of Corona, St. John Bosco, Bishop Amat of La Puente, Serra of Gardena, JSerra, Loyola of Los Angeles, Santa Margarita and Tesoro from the CIF-Southern Section’s reconfigured Division 1.
Centennial, Mater Dei, Serra, Bishop Amat, Loyola and St. John Bosco each reached at least the quarterfinals of the Pac-5 Division playoffs last season. Centennial captured the division, which will be called Division 1 in the fall, the past two years.
Edison, La Habra and Corona del Mar are the other county participants.
Narbonne of the L.A. City Section is the defending “Battle of the Beach” champion.
Oaks Christian of Westlake Village, which is in Division 2, is another team to watch.
The teams compete in pool play starting at 9 a.m. and advance to the quarterfinals in gold and silver divisions at 1:30 p.m. The championships are scheduled for 3 p.m.
Mater Dei closes pool play against Corona del Mar in a noon game that will pit Monarchs rising sophomore quarterback JT Daniels against Cal commit Chase Garbers of the Sea Kings. Daniels has been offered by several teams, including USC, UCLA and Notre Dame.
Here are three things to watch:
1. Can Mater Dei’s young stars rise to the top?
Daniels is a rising sophomore and some of his top targets are sophomores and juniors. The Edison tournament is loaded with talented teams so it will be intriguing to watch the young Monarchs’ growth.
2. How is Santa Margarita progressing?
The Eagles have a new coach in Rich Fisher and are seeking to replace quarterback KJ Costello. Richard Wagner is the top returning quarterback but how is the program progressing. Top target Grant Calcaterra likely will be missing because of The Opening.
3. Who are the new quarterbacks at La Habra, Tesoro?
The Highlanders and Titans have big shoes to fill at quarterback with the graduation of stars Eric Barriere and Devon Modster. Who are the emerging contenders?
Here is a link to the complete schedule.
Contact the writer: dalbano@ocregister.com
