After a few busy weeks on the high school scene, it’s time to return to my reviews of the Register’s annual Hot 150 list of football players to watch.
The “studs” are ranked players who are having great seasons and the “snubs” are players exceeding my expectations or who I ranked too low on my list or perhaps not at all.
I’m on record that Tesoro safety/wide receiver Tristan Kafentzis — out last week and expected to be out this week with a MCL knee injury — is my snub of the year, but this week I offer two more candidates for that honor. Both are transfers, one of whom was on my radar, one of whom was not.
I’m keeping this positive, so my only two categories are Studs and Snubs:
STUDS
No. 6 KJ Costella, Santa Margarita, QB: Costello has proved worthy of being the highest ranked junior on the Hot 150 board. He ranks second in the county in passing yards and has set school single-game records for attempts (47), completions (34) and yards (495).
No. 2 Keisean Lucier-South, Orange Lutheran, DE: Lucier-South has returned to defensive end and the big numbers are starting to surface. He collected four sacks last week against Santa Margarita, which features a strong offensive line. Lucier-South is capable of racking up huge numbers the next three weeks in the Trinity League.
SNUBS
Edward Vander, JSerra, RB: This junior transfer from Paramount might be the biggest omission from the Hot 150 list. If he keeps running wild, he will be hard to keep off the first-team All-County team. His transfer was confirmed before the season but he wasn’t known for running the ball at Paramount. But Vander has been a perfect fit for the Lions’ offense and has already smashed the 1,000-yard plateau. Let’s see how he fares against Mater Dei on Friday.
A’brae Booker-Currin, Mission Viejo, CB/WR: This Texas transfer is likely the most athletic player not on the Hot 150 list. Mission Viejo assistant coach Bret Johnson calls him one of the three most athletic players in the county, a list that would have to include Travis Waller, Quinten Pounds and Jaylinn Hawkins. He’s an outstanding cornerback (interception in end zone last week against Devon Modster of Tesoro) and he’s got breakaway speed at receiver. Diablos coach Bob Johnson said the senior has speed in the 4.4-range and is a college qualifier. He had a huge, two-way game last week and look for his role on offense to only grow. Booker-Currin started the season playing only defense.
No. 138 Jacob Fimbres, Sonora – The Raiders were high on this junior before the season, but like Rancho Alamitos QB Nick Brown, Fimbres has posted big enough offensive numbers to warrent a promotion. He has rushed fort 1,348 yards.
Please send nominations to Dan Albano at dalbano@ocregister.com