O.C. PRESEASON TOP 10
1. St. Margaret’s: Ryan Harnisch, Hunter Edington and Josh Davis are nice building blocks as the Tartans make a run at back-to-back division and section championships.
2. Corona del Mar: The Crance brothers, Hoyt and Hugh, lead a team that fell in the Southern Division title game last season and only features three seniors this season.
3. Foothill: The Knights have gone two years without winning a championship after winning the previous five. Nate Marano and Austin Babb will try to put Foothill back on top.
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Preview story: St. Margaret’s embraces behing hunted
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4. JSerra: It could be a breakthrough season for a team returning a ton of talent from a squad that gave Corona del Mar a battle in the semifinals a year ago.
5. San Clemente: The Tritons didn’t make as much noise as they were expecting in 2013 after reaching the county title game in 2012. Peyton Garrett will make San Clemente formidable again, though.
6. Huntington Beach: Coach Brian Dunn will have one of the best teams in the Sunset League, but he needs to find a replacement for departed goalie Trevor Jackson.
7. Tesoro: Blake Warner and Coach Adam Miner will have the Titans competing with San Clemente for the South Coast League title.
8. Santa Margarita: The Eagles, who welcome Coach Adam Guy to the program, will try to hang tough in the Trinity League.
9. Los Alamitos: The Griffins are another team that will feature a new coach as Chris Jewett is tasked with taking the program to the top of the Sunset League standings.
10. Beckman: Wesley Filipek was a force in some games last season, and the Patriots will ride him and Trevor Keene as far as they can.
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O.C. PLAYERS TO WATCH
Austin Babb, Foothill, Jr.; Scott Barger, JSerra, So.; Warren Case, Foothill, Sr.; Parker Core, El Toro, Jr.; Hoyt Crance, Corona del Mar, Jr.; Hugh Crance, Corona del Mar, Jr.; Jay Damon, Corona del Mar, Sr.; Josh Davis, St. Margaret’s, Sr.; Hunter Edington, St. Margaret’s, Sr.; Brandon Ezell, Los Alamitos, Jr.; Wesley Filipek, Beckman, Sr.; Peyton Garrett, San Clemente, Sr.; Owen Geis, Foothill, Sr.; Sherwin Gersten, Corona del Mar, Jr.; Tucker Guyot, JSerra, Sr.; Ryan Harnisch, St. Margaret’s, Jr.; Trevor Keene, Beckman, Sr.; Mitchell Kingsley, JSerra, Sr.; Kevin Kodzis, Foothill, So.; Nate Marano, Foothill, Jr.; Sean Mastro, Huntington Beach, Sr.; Tyler Miller, Los Alamitos, Sr.; Connor Reed, Aliso Niguel, Sr.; Jack Renard, San Clemente, Jr.; Hayden Ruiz, Santa Margarita, Sr.; Jack Schleppy, JSerra, Jr.; Wes Schuler, Santa Margarita, Sr.; Jason Simaan, Corona del Mar, So.; Stone Sims, San Clemente, Sr.; Kennedy Solomon, JSerra, Jr.; James Yanes, JSerra, Jr.
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IMPORTANT DATES
Huntington Beach at Santa Margarita, Friday, 7 p.m.; Tesoro at Foothill, March 8, 9:30 a.m.; Beckman at Santa Margarita, March 12, 5 p.m.; Corona del Mar at San Clemente, March 21, 7 p.m.; Torrey Pines at Foothill, March 22, 2 p.m.; Foothill at JSerra, April 10, 7 p.m.; St. Margaret’s at Cathedral Catholic, April 12, 7 p.m.; JSerra at Corona del Mar, April 15, 3:30 p.m.; Foothill at St. Margaret’s, April 15, 4 p.m.; St. Margaret’s at Corona del Mar, April 24, 5 p.m.; St. Margaret’s at Harvard-Westlake, April 26, 5 p.m.; Corona del Mar at Huntington Beach, April 30, 7 p.m.; Foothill vs. Beckman at Northrup Stadium, May 2, 7 p.m.; Southern Division playoffs first round, May 6, TBD; Southern Division playoffs second round, May 8, TBD; Southern Division semifinals, May 10, TBD; Southern Division championship game, May 14, TBD; Southern Section championship game, May 17, TBD.
