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Kickoff '11: Golden West League preview
OCVarsity continues its league-by-league previews for high school football with the Golden West League.
Find the coaches' poll, individual team previews, players and teams to watch and much more.
COACHES POLL:
T1. Loara, 10-2 in 2010, 31 poll points
IN THE SPOTLIGHT:
Loara: The Saxons assimilated quite nicely into the Golden West League in 2010, earning co-league title honors with Segerstrom. Loara won 10 games overall (best among league teams) and clinched a playoff berth for the first time since 2001. The Saxons will have to find a way to replace the dynamic production of 2010 Golden West League MVP and second-team All-County selection Howard Gauta (36 total touchdowns) along with second-team all-league quarterback Michael Schneider. Senior running back Kezue Nwachie rushed for over 700 yards and seven touchdowns in only six games last season, and he should help spark a Saxons team with nine returning starters.
UNDER CONSTRUCTION:
Santa Ana: The Saints struggled mightily through a winless 2010 campaign. New head coach Carl Swanstrom, a former Saints assistant coach, inherits a young club and will take on the challenge of trying to restore a program that qualified for the CIF-SS playoffs in three of the past four seasons.
PLAYER TO WATCH:
Timmy Robinson, Ocean View. He is the offensive workhorse who plays quarterback and running back for the Seahawks. Robinson led them in carries, rushing yards, and receptions in 2010. The first-team all-league pick also scored a team-high 18 touchdowns, best among all returning league players. Robinson will move to quarterback to start the 2011 season and will once again be the team's starting middle linebacker.
OTHER TOP PLAYERS
Loara: Daniel Allen, RB, Oswaldo Cerpas, CB, Luis Gutierrez, T/DT
Ocean View: Colton Johnson, WR/CB/KR/PR, Travis Sparks, RB/SS/K/P, Ben Sumner, C/DE
Orange: Chris de Leon, RB/KR/PR, Alexis Sanchez, RB/SS; Giovanni Zavala, MLB
Santa Ana: Alexander Barnett, WR/CB, Ben Springfield, QB, Brad Talatilli, G
Segerstrom: Aaron Morales, QB/MLB, Gabriel Roa, WR/SS, Robert Sevilla, RB/CB Westminster: Eugene Aguirre C, Andrew Nguyen, WR/FS, Dominic Pendergrass, QB
MARK YOUR CALENDAR:
Segerstrom vs. Loara at Glover Stadium, Nov. 3. The league's co-champions in 2010 should be back near the top of the standings when they get together on the first Friday in November. The Jaguars will be looking to avenge their only league loss in 2010, as the visiting Saxons outscored the Jaguars 21-6 in the second half to for a 33-19 victory that gave Loara the Golden West League's top seed heading into the CIF Southern Division playoffs.
TOUGHEST SCHEDULE:
Westminster: The Lions will once again face a grueling test during their nonleague schedule. Their five nonleague opponents combined for a 36-21 record (.632 winning percentage) in 2010. They open the season being host to defending CIF Southern Division champion Garden Grove on Sept. 9. Westminster will also take on 2010 CIF playoff qualifiers Anaheim (Sept. 22) and Pacifica (Oct. 6) before being host to Ocean View on Oct. 14.
