Steve Fryer has his previews and predictions for the featured games in Week 4:
GAME OF THE WEEK
NO. 6 CORONA DEL MAR (4-0) VS. NO. 7 TESORO (3-1)
Where, when: Tesoro High, Friday, 7 p.m.
Last time they met: 2005, Tesoro won, 32-10
Series: Tesoro leads, 2-1-1
Coaches: Corona del Mar, Scott Meyer (44-4); Tesoro, Matt Poston (12-4)
Outlook: Corona del Mar’s nonleague schedule is more challenging than it has been in years. This game is a big part of it. The Sea Kings beat Newport Harbor last week, 28-18, in their annual Battle of the Bay series. The Sea Kings won it without star running back Cole Martin, who was out because of a sprained knee. He might be back for this one. Corona del Mar has won 30 in a row, the longest intact streak in Orange County football. Tesoro walloped, as expected, West Covina last week, 38-7, one week after the Titans’ best win of the season over Upland. These teams were in the Pacific Coast League together, 2002-05. Corona del Mar will continue to make believers of those of us who doubted the Sea Kings can play with the top public-school programs in the county.
Winner: Corona del Mar
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OTHER FEATURED GAMES FOR WEEK 4
THURSDAY
BREA OLINDA (1-2) VS. FOOTHILL (1-2)
Where, when: Tustin High, 7 p.m.
Outlook: These teams were in the Century League together. Now under the Century Conference are two leagues, with Foothill in the Crestview League and Brea in the North Hills League. Brea’s losses are to undefeated teams, Sonora and Valencia. Foothill lost to Tustin, beat Beckman by two points and then lost by 36 points to Palos Verdes, which also has defeated Newport Harbor. Brea’s running back Billy Hanley is averaging 148 rushing yards a game. Brea will win if Hanley produces at that pace in this game.
Winner: Brea Olinda
Also Thursday (all games 7 p.m.)
Nonleague
California of Whittier (2-2) vs. Magnolia (2-2) at Western High
Canyon (0-3) vs. Esperanza (0-3) at Yorba Linda High
Godinez (0-4) vs. Rancho Alamitos (2-1) at Bolsa Grande High
Orange (1-3) vs. Santa Ana Valley (2-2) vs. Orange at Santa Ana Stadium
San Juan Hills (2-2) vs. No. 9 Los Alamitos (3-0) at Veterans Stadium/Long Beach
Gahr of Cerritos (3-1) at Fullerton (2-2)
FRIDAY
SAN CLEMENTE (4-0) VS. NEWPORT HARBOR (1-2)
Where, when: Newport Harbor High, 7 p.m.
Outlook: Sam Darnold, who committed to USC and has been selected to play in the U.S. Army All-American Game, might be the best quarterback in Orange County, which has an unusually large number of terrific quarterbacks. Darnold, a quick runner for a quarterback who is 6-foot-5 and 215 pounds and also an outstanding basketball player, has completed 60 percent of his passes for and average of 212 yards a game with 14 touchdowns and no interceptions. Newport Harbor has a good quarterback, too, Cole Norris. The Sailors are coming off of a difficult loss to Corona del Mar, 28-18. They might find Darnold and company just as difficult.
Winner: San Clemente
GARDEN GROVE (2-1) VS. DANA HILLS (1-3)
Where, when: Dana Hills High, 7 p.m.
Outlook: Garden Grove has been difficult to figure out. The Argonauts opened with a win over Golden West League favorite Westminster, lost to Woodbridge (another enigmatic team) and then beat Pacifica, 21-7, last week. Dana Hills lost to Villa Park on the field, 25-10, last week. That was turned into a win for Dana Hills after Villa Park forfeited the game for using an ineligible player. Garden Grove’s running game, led by quarterback Alejandro Ceja, and the Argos’ offensive line were sharp last week. Look for more of the same in this one.
Winner: Garden Grove
NO. 1 MATER DEI (3-0) VS. NO. 10 EDISON (3-1)
Where, when: Orange Coast College, 7 p.m.
Outlook: Mater Dei got it together in the second half last week to beat Upland, 28-14. It looks like the Monarchs will have standout receiver/defensive back Ben Humphreys for this game. He missed the Upland game because of an ankle injury. Edison fell to a second-half surge by Servite last week in a 42-21 loss. The Chargers were equal to Servite in the first half which ended in a 14-14 tie. Edison needs to play a perfect game and Mater Dei to make a zillion errors for the Chargers to win. Mater Dei does not appear prone to error.
Winner: Mater Dei
KENNEDY (3-1) VS. CAPISTRANO VALLEY (3-1)
Where, when: Capistrano Valley High, 7 p.m.
Outlook: Kennedy’s TJ Williams is the county rushing leader at 665 yards, although he left last week’ Fighting Irish win over Magnolia early because of illness and an injured toe. Williams should be good to go for this game. The Irish will need him. Capistrano Valley quarterback Gavin Pruett is averaging 229 passing yards a game, with eight touchdowns. This could be the best Capistrano Valley team in a few years. That can be said of Kennedy, too. Capo, though, looks like the better of the two.
Winner: Capistrano Valley
TRABUCO HILLS (2-2) VS. EL TORO (3-1)
Where, when: El Toro, 7 p.m.
Outlook: Trabuco Hills might be playing to potential lately. After losing their first two games, the Mustangs defeated Fountain Valley by 21 points and Mira Costa of Manhattan Beach at 28. El Toro beat La Habra and Capistrano Valley before losing to Corona del Mar and bouncing back with a 44-6 win over Norwalk last week. El Toro’s Trey Tinsley -led passing game should lead the Chargers to another win.
Winner: El Toro
VALENCIA (3-0) VS. TROY (3-1)
Where, when: Fullerton High, 7 p.m.
Outlook: Valencia won an emotional, intra-city rivalry game last week in a 31-13 victory over El Dorado. Tigers quarterback Tyler Switzer, after scoring his first varsity touchdown, exited in the third quarter because of a knee injury. If Switzer can’t go in this one, Valencia has a good replacement in Patrick Godoy, who last season was an Empire League co-offensive player of the year. The Tigers shut out Brea Olinda, 21-0, two weeks ago after opening the season with a 28-3 win over Yorba Linda. Troy might be the second-best team in the Freeway League, behind La Habra. The Warriors lost a tough one to Cypress last week, 34-27. Valencia’s balanced offense and strong defense should push the Tigers to 4-0.
Winner: Valencia
ST. MARGARET’S (3-0) VS. LAGUNA BEACH (1-2)
Where, when: Laguna Beach High, 7 p.m.
Outlook: St. Margaret’s is No. 1 in the CIF-Southern Section East Valley Division rankings, one of four county teams that are No. 1 in their divisions (Corona del Mar, Garden Grove and Tesoro are the others). It can be difficult to know how Orange County’s better small-school teams would do against larger-school teams unless they play each other. Laguna Beach is one of the smaller, by enrollment, public schools in the county. And Laguna Beach does not seem to be as good as it was the past three years. So while this is not a “how good are they really” test here for the Tartans it still is a challenge for St. Margaret’s. Look for the Tartans to pass it.
Winner: St. Margaret’s
Also Friday (all games 7 p.m. unless noted)
Nonleague
Century (1-2) vs. Saddleback (1-3) at Santa Ana Stadium
Venice (0-3) vs. No. 4 Santa Margarita (3-1) at Trabuco Hills High
Pacifica (1-2) at Aliso Niguel (1-3)
Loara (0-4) vs. Anaheim (2-0) at Glover Stadium
Tustin (3-1) vs. Beckman (2-1) at Tustin High
Bolsa Grande (0-3) at Ocean View (2-1)
Calvary Chapel (2-2) at Lynwood (3-0)
Savanna (1-2) vs. Costa Mesa (0-4) at Estancia High
Crean Lutheran (4-0) at Arrowhead Christian of Redlands (4-0)
Diamond Bar (2-2) vs. Cypress (3-0) at Western High
El Dorado (0-3) at Yorba Linda (1-2)
Villa Park (1-2) at El Modena (2-1)
Estancia (1-2) at University (3-0)
Westminster (2-1) vs. Fountain Valley (3-1) at Huntington Beach High
Huntington Beach (0-4) at Downey (2-2)
Katella (2-1) vs. Northwood (2-1) at Irvine High
No. 5 Orange Lutheran (3-1) at Vista Murrieta (2-1)
California City (2-1) vs. Saddleback Valley Christian (3-0) at San Juan Hills High
Santa Ana (1-2) vs. La Quinta (1-2) at Bolsa Grande High
Woodbridge (2-2) at Segerstrom (1-3)
Los Amigos (2-1) vs. Sunny Hills (4-0) at Buena Park High
Western (1-2) at Warren of Downey (1-2)
Western Christian of Upland (0-4) vs. Whittier Christian (0-4) at Whittier College
Irvine (3-1) at Laguna Hills (1-2)
St. Paul of Santa Fe Springs (3-1) vs. No. 3 JSerra (4-0) at Saddleback College
Colony of Ontario (3-1) at La Habra (1-3)
Redondo Union (1-3) at No. 8 Mission Viejo (2-2), 7:30 p.m.
8-man
St. Michael’s Prep (1-2) at San Jacinto Valley Academy (1-2-1), 3:15 p.m.
SATURDAY
NO. 2 SERVITE (3-1) VS. DE LA SALLE OF CONCORD (4-0)
Where, when: De La Salle High, 7:30 p.m.
Outlook: Not much changed for De La Salle football when it changed coaches. Justin Almbaugh is in his second year coaching the Spartans who became and remained a national-level program under his predecessor, Bob Ladouceur. De La Salle is ranked No. 2 in the state by CalHiSports.com. The Spartans are averaging 53 points a game and winning games by an average margin of 43 points. Servite had a strong second-half, led by Oregon-commit quarterback Travis Waller, to beat Edison, 42-21, last week. It was not a consistent performance by the Friars, No. 4 in the state top 25. They have to be perfect to win this game on De La Salle’s on-campus stadium that can be a tough joint for visiting teams.
Winner: De La Salle
Also Saturday
San Joaquin League
Webb of Claremont (2-2) vs. Fairmont Prep (2-2) at Yorba Linda High, noon
Nonleague
Heritage Christian of Northridge (3-1) at Brethren Christian (3-1)
Sage Hill (2-2) vs. Classical Academy of Escondido (0-4) at Orange Glen High of Escondido
Fryer on Football last week: 8-2
Season to date: 27-13
Contact the writer: sfryer@ocregister.com
