GAME OF THE WEEK
NO. 4 SERVITE (1-2) VS. NO. 10 VILLA PARK (2-0)
Where, when: El Modena High, Friday, 7 p.m.
Coaches: Servite, Scott Meyer (5-8 at Servite); Villa Park, Dusan Ancich (71-18 at Villa Park)
Last time they met: 1998, Servite 22, Villa Park 14, CIF-SS Division 6 playoffs, second round
Series: Servite leads, 2-0
Analysis: Last week Servite had a lead over De La Salle of Concord late in the fourth quarter but lost, 28-27. For this game, either the Friars come out flat because they are deflated from the near-huge-upset, or they come out fired up and ready to take it out on their next opponent. Coach Scott Meyer said Servite played well and with great effort against De La Salle, so expect more of that from the Friars in this one. The De La Salle game created heightened respect for the Friars – they moved up from No. 6 last week to No. 4 in the Orange County top 25, and they popped into CalHiSports.com’s California top 25 at No. 25. Servite senior quarterback Tyler Lytle, who committed to Colorado, has been outstanding. His 734 passing yards is seventh among Orange County quarterbacks. Lytle has a fine batch of receivers, including Delon Hurt (18 receptions, 247 yards). Villa Park has a terrific quarterback, too. Nick Sipe, a senior committed to Purdue, has thrown for 549 yards and eight touchdowns in two games. Spartans senior John Stamos, a Navy commit, is one of Orange County’s top linebackers. He also is the team’s leading rusher, averaging 164 yards a game and 7 yards a carry. Villa Park, which must be credited for taking on the challenge of playing a Trinity League team, might not be at full strength. A virus has spread through the campus this week. The last time Villa Park played a Trinity League team was in 2014, when the Spartans were splattered by Mater Dei, 63-0. It won’t be like that, but Servite should get its second win of the season.
Winner: Servite
All games 7 p.m. unless noted
THURSDAY
VISTA MURRIETA (3-0) VS. NO. 7 JSERRA (2-1)
Where, when: Saddleback College, 7:30 p.m.
Analysis: JSerra coach Jim Hartigan was delivering truth a few months ago when he said the Lions would be playing their most challenging nonleague schedule this season. They already have played road games against Bishop Amat of La Puente and Alemany of Mission Hills. Vista Murrieta is No. 5 in the Division 1 top 10 and No. 7 in the California top 25. Vista Murrieta has beaten Madison of San Diego, which is No. 6 in the San Diego County top 10, and Redondo and Santiago of Corona. Broncos senior quarterback Karson Greeley is big (6-5, 220) and strong-armed. With so many fine quarterbacks in Orange County, maybe JSerra junior Matt Robinson (528 yards passing, five TDs) gets overlooked. He also is their leading rusher (172 yards). JSerra, ranked No. 6 in Division 1, has a great group of non-seniors. They might not be quite ready to beat the likes of Vista Murrieta … not yet, anyway.
Winner: Vista Murrieta
Century (1-1) at Bolsa Grande (0-3)
Sonora (0-3) at Yorba Linda (2-0)
Calvary Chapel (0-3) at University (2-0)
Santa Ana (2-0) vs. Marina (3-0) at Westminster High
Laguna Beach (2-1) vs. Orange (3-0) at El Modena High
FRIDAY
LONG BEACH POLY (1-1) VS. NO. 2 MISSION VIEJO (3-0)
Where, when: Mission Viejo High, 7:30 p.m.
TV: Prime Ticket
Analysis: Yes, it’s not the Long Beach Poly of 10-or-whatever years ago. But the Jackrabbits still possess those same qualities that scare the heck out of opposing offensive and defensive coordinators – track stars at the skill positions, and big fellas who can scoot. They come into this one well-rested, too. Poly had last week off after losing to state No. 6 Narbonne of Harbor City. The Jackrabbits are ranked No. 19 in the state. They are No. 7 in Division 1, while Mission Viejo is ranked No. 4. Poly, which is coached by former NFL star Antonio Pierce, opened the season with a 27-20 win over Los Alamitos. Running backs Mike Mauai and Aaron Shampklin combined for more than 250 yards rushing in that game. Mission Viejo is rolling. The postseason All-O.C. team will have many Diablos on it, including running back/linebacker Colin Schooler who might be the best player in the county. Th Diablos receivers corps, led by Olaijah Griffin and Austin Osborne, is spectacular. And quarterback Matt McDonald has been excellent, too.
Winner: Mission Viejo
EL MODENA (2-0) VS. NO. 24 FULLERTON (2-0)
Where, when: Fullerton High, 7 p.m.
Analysis: El Modena has wins over Woodbridge and Kennedy. Those are wins over teams that seem to be close to El Modena’s level, so they are good wins. Dillon Keefe was the Vanguards’ Swiss Army knife last week, running for touchdowns, blocking a field goal and setting up scores with long kickoff returns. Fullerton last week walloped Bellflower, 45-13, as the Indians should have. Their win the previous week, a 27-14 triumph over Trabuco Hills, was more impressive. Fullerton sophomore quarterback Gavin Klepper has completed 60 percent of his passes for 294 yards and six touchdowns. A balanced offensive attack could carry Fullerton to a close win.
Winner: Fullerton
GARDEN GROVE (2-1) VS. PACIFICA (1-2)
Where, when: Bolsa Grande High, 7 p.m.
Analysis: Garden Grove might not get tested much by its Garden Grove League opponents. The Argonauts nonleague schedule is substantially more challenging. They lost to Woodbridge, 27-6, last week. More than anything else, that result means Woodbridge (1-2) finally played to its potential. Pacifica also had underachieved until last week when it beat Dana Hills, 49-31. If Pacifica plays to its potential this week, the Mariners will win.
Winner: Pacifica
NO. 14 LOS ALAMITOS (2-1) VS. NO. 12 LA HABRA (1-2)
Where, when: La Habra High, 7 p.m.
Analysis: Los Alamitos’ loss to Long Beach Poly is more impressive than its 42-28 win over Paraclete of Lancaster and its 32-12 win over Lakewood. Paraclete and Lakewood are 0-3. La Habra’s losses are to Tesoro, 14-13 in overtime, and to Mission Viejo, 32-14. No shame there. The Highlanders would have beaten Tesoro, and would have been closer to Mission Viejo, if they had a better passing game. To beat those teams, and to beat Los Alamitos, a balanced offense is required. Los Alamitos had bad, penalty-plagued first halves against Paraclete and Lakewood. The Griffins should be focused and good to go from the start in this one.
Winner: Los Alamitos
NO. 19 TUSTIN (2-1) VS. TRABUCO HILLS (2-1)
Where, when: Trabuco Hills High, 7 p.m.
Analysis: Tustin coach Myron Miller for years has said don’t pay much attention to how his teams do in September because it takes a few weeks for his double-wing offense, which relies heavily on timing and players understanding their assignments, to come together. It came together last week in the Tillers’ 42-21 win over Aliso Niguel in which Kenneth Carr rushed for 305 yards. Trabuco Hills needs to match Tustin touchdown-for-touchdown. The Mustangs have the quarterback, Tommy Germain (706 yards, five touchdowns) to do it. But it’s getting to be that time of year when the Tustin Millers, I mean “Tillers,” get it going.
Winner: Tustin
NO. 13 CORONA DEL MAR (2-1) VS. NO. 16 NEWPORT HARBOR (2-0)
Where, when: Orange Coast College, 7 p.m.
Live coverage: streaming at foxsports.com/west/prepzone-stream
Analysis: Corona del Mar was outstanding last week in a 42-13 win over El Toro. Cal-committed quarterback Chase Garbers threw for 344 yards and four touchdowns, ran for two touchdowns and made one of the game’s better blocks on a 19-yard run by Jaydin Moses. Tae Le caught three of those touchdown passes and finished with 234 receiving yards. Newport Harbor has scored 90 points over its two wins, including a 43-19 win over El Rancho of Pico Rivera. Cole Kinder ran for 153 yards and five touchdowns in the first half and his night was done after that. This is the “Battle of the Bay.” Newport Harbor leads the series, 38-16. Corona del Mar has won the past three against Harbor. The Sea Kings will make it four in a row.
Winner: Corona del Mar
NO. 9 TESORO (2-1) VS. NO. 23 EL TORO (0-3)
Where, when: El Toro High, 7 p.m.
Analysis: A look at the rankings and a look at the records and one might think, “blow out!” Nope. El Toro is the best 0-3 team in the county. The Chargers lost to two superior teams, La Habra and Corona del Mar, and in between was a loss to Eastlake of Chula Vista that we’re going to chalk up to a horribly long bus ride. El Toro probably will be 0-4 after this game. But the prediction remains here that the Chargers will win the Sea View League championship and playing tough opponents like Tesoro will have them ready to roll in league. Tesoro showed a ton of grit in its overtime win over La Habra. Quarterback Chase Petersen is settling in, and he led the Titans to a 38-20 win over Huntington Beach last week.
Winner: Tesoro
NO. 5 EDISON (3-0) VS. NO. 15 SAN JUAN HILLS (3-0)
Where, when: San Juan Hills High, 7 p.m.
Analysis: This will be the best opponent either team has played so far. (Edison beat a less-than-full-strength Tesoro on Aug. 27.) Edison coach Dave White has a fun team for his final year with the Chargers. Griffin O’Connor has been solid at quarterback (657 yards, six touchdowns). He has a nifty group of receivers, including Shaun Colamonico (20 receptions, 440 yards and six touchdowns). San Juan Hills has a good running game led by speedy Cole Suchesk, averaging 82 yards a game and 5 yards a carry. The matchup to watch is inside where Edison center Mike Saffell (6-3, 290) will at times go nose-to-nose against San Juan Hills’ 6-foot, 265-pounds nose guard JJ Glass who had four sacks last week in the Stallions’ win over Capistrano Valley. This is feeling like a special year at Edison.
Winner: Edison
Upland (2-1) vs. No. 1 Mater Dei (3-0) at Santa Ana Stadium
Westlake (1-2) vs. No. 3 Santa Margarita (2-1) at Saddleback College
No. 6 Orange Lutheran (1-2) at Norco (1-1)
No. 8 San Clemente (2-1) at La Mirada (1-2)
Pioneer of Whittier (0-3) at No. 11 Buena Park (3-0)
No. 17 Capistrano Valley (2-1) vs. Esperanza (1-1) at Yorba Linda High
Fountain Valley (0-3) vs. No. 18 Foothill (1-1) at Tustin High
No. 20 Brea Olinda (2-0) at Diamond Bar (2-1)
Irvine (0-1-1) at Estancia (1-1)
El Dorado (1-1) at Valencia (0-3)
La Quinta (1-1) vs. Loara (1-1)
Katella (3-0) at Westminster (0-2)
Godinez (0-2) at Segerstrom (3-0)
Santiago (1-2) at Ocean View (2-1)
Los Amigos (1-1) at Costa Mesa (0-3)
Long Beach Wilson (3-0) at Huntington Beach (1-2)
Kennedy (1-2) vs. Magnolia (0-3) at Western High
Laguna Hills (1-1) vs. Woodbridge (1-2) at University High
Santa Ana Valley (1-2) vs. Northwood (0-3) at Portola High
Valley View of Moreno Valley (1-2) at Aliso Niguel (1-2)
Western (1-1-1) vs. Saddleback (0-2) at Santa Ana Valley High
Anaheim (0-2) vs. Rancho Alamitos (1-1) at Garden Grove High
Marquez of Huntington Park (1-2) vs. Beckman (1-1) at Irvine High
Brethren Christian (2-1) vs. Capistrano Valley Christian (2-1) at Capistrano Valley High
Saddleback Valley Christian (1-2) vs. Escondido Charter (1-2) at Orange Glen High of Escondido
Dana Hills (0-3) vs. Santa Monica (1-2) at Santa Monica College
Bell (0-3) vs. Whittier Christian (2-1) at Whittier College
SATURDAY
Crean Lutheran 2-1) vs. Savanna (1-1) at Glover Stadium
St. Margaret’s (3-0) vs. Bishop’s of La Jolla (2-0) at La Jolla High
Fryer on Football last week: 8-2
Season to date: 23-7
Contact the writer: sfryer@scng.com
