Steve Fryer has previews – and predictions – of the top football games for Week 6 of the high school football season:
GAME OF THE WEEK
NO. 1 MATER DEI (5-0, 0-0) VS. ST. JOHN BOSCO (4-1, 0-0)
Where, when: St. John Bosco High, Friday, 7:30 p.m. (Ticket info.)
TV: Fox Sports West
Last time they met: St. John Bosco won, 34-7, 2013 CIF-SS Pac-5 championship game
Series: Mater Dei leads, 22-6
Coaches: Mater Dei, Bruce Rollinson (245-76-2); St. John Bosco, Jason Negro (43-11)
Outlook: What a Trinity League opener this is. All three Trinity games this week are high-quality games. This one, though, has two teams ranked in the state top 3. St. John Bosco is No. 1 in CalHiSports.com’s California top 25. Mater Dei is No. 3. Bosco lost to Bishop Gorman of Las Vegas, 34-31. After that loss to a team on top of some national polls, St. John Bosco crushed Crenshaw of Los Angeles, 65-7, last week. Bosco quarterback Josh Rosen, who committed to UCLA, threw five first-half touchdown passes against Crenshaw. Mater Dei beat Westlake of Westlake Village, 28-27, last week. The Monarchs had an 11-point lead midway through the fourth quarter. Mater Dei blocked two Westlake field-goal attempts. The Monarchs defense has been splendid. The defensive front seven that features Malik McMorris, Rasheed Williams, Gerran Brown and Jared Wilson is as good as any group in Southern California. It has not been challenged by an offense like Bosco’s, though.
Winner: St. John Bosco
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THURSDAY’S FEATURED GAMES
RANCHO ALAMITOS (4-1, 0-0) VS. GARDEN GROVE (4-1, 0-0)
Where, when: Garden Grove High, 7 p.m.
Outlook: Jeff Byrd. Ulysses Trammell. Dana Riddle. Those three players were part of a string of dominating running backs a couple of decades ago when Rancho Alamitos ran the ball just about every play. Rancho Alamitos is a passing outfit now. Vaqueros quarterback Nick Brown is averaging 341 yards a game. He has 22 touchdown passes with only two interceptions. Defense and a balanced offense again are Garden Grove’s strengths. Garden Grove is the top-ranked team in the Southern Division. Rancho is No. 5. These clearly are the top two teams in the Garden Grove League, and here they are locking horns in the league opener. If Grove gets turnovers and converts them into points, then the Argonauts will win.
Winner: Garden Grove
VALENCIA (4-1, 0-0) VS. KENNEDY (3-2, 0-0)
Where, when: Western High, 7 p.m.
Outlook: Valencia beat Laguna Hills, 37-7, last week after losing to Troy the week before. Tigers quarterback Patrick Godoy, recently returned from injury, threw three touchdown passes against Laguna Hills. Kennedy running back T.J. Williams missed a couple of games because of a toe injury but is expected to play in this Empire League opener. Williams is averaging a county-leading 206 yards a game. If Williams has it going and Kennedy can control the ball and the clock then the Fighting Irish will win. Valencia, though, can score quickly and its defense is solid.
Winner: Valencia
Also Thursday (all games 7 p.m.)
Empire League
Western (1-4, 0-0) at Tustin (3-2, 0-0)
Golden West League
Ocean View (3-2, 0-0) vs. Orange (1-4, 0-0) at El Modena High
Segerstrom (1-4, 0-0) vs. Santa Ana (3-2, 0-0) at Santa Ana Stadium
Orange Coast League
Calvary Chapel (2-3, 0-0) at Estancia (3-2, 0-0)
Sunset League
No. 9 Los Alamitos (4-1, 0-0) vs. Fountain Valley (4-1, 0-0) at Huntington Beach High
Nonleague
Brea Olinda (2-3) at Yorba Linda (3-2)
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FRIDAY’S FEATURED GAMES
NO. 4 JSERRA (5-0, 0-0) VS. NO. 3 SANTA MARGARITA (4-1, 0-0)
Where, when: Saddleback College, 7 p.m.
Outlook: JSerra beat Santa Margarita during the final week of the regular season last year, one week after beating Servite. JSerra looked like a viable candidate for a Pac-5 Division at-large playoff berth, but the Lions did not get it. They have a bit of a chip on their shoulders about that. JSerra has beaten Chino Hills, which is ranked No. 21 in California, and St. Bonaventure of Ventura, which had been in the state rankings. Santa Margarita’s loss was to Bishop Gorman. Both teams are coming off of their bye week. This Trinity League opener is a huge game because nobody wants to start league 0-1 and then face the likely challenge of having to win three of their last four league games to get a guaranteed playoff berth. Two outstanding quarterbacks are in this one, Nick Robinson of JSerra and KJ Costello of Santa Margarita. JSerra running back Edward Vander has been great, too, averaging 158 yards a game and 10 yards a carry. It could be a high-scoring game. Santa Margarita might be the better team defensively.
Winner: Santa Margarita
NO. 2 SERVITE (3-2, 0-0) VS. NO. 5 ORANGE LUTHERAN (4-1, 0-0)
Where, when: Orange Coast College, 7 p.m.
Outlook: Just like Mater Dei-St. John Bosco and JSerra-Santa Margarita, this Trinity League opener game is crucial. Servite’s losses are to nationally ranked Bishop Gorman and De La Salle of Concord, both one-sided outcomes. Lutheran lost to state-ranked Centennial of Corona by three points. Servite needs quarterback Travis Waller to be spectacular, which seems to come easy for him, and precise, which was a problem for him at times during the win over Edison on Sept. 19. With so many standout quarterbacks in this league, and in the county, Lutheran quarterback LJ Northington might not get the deserved attention. He’s a good one, having completed 75 percent of his passes. Servite has a star-studded defense that should handle Lutheran’s offense.
Winner: Servite
NO. 6 TESORO (5-1, 0-0) VS. EL TORO (5-1, 0-0)
Where, when: El Toro High, 7 p.m.
Outlook: Tesoro has won two big games in a row. The Titans beat Corona del Mar by two touchdowns two weeks ago and followed with a 59-38 win over San Clemente last week. Devon Modster has been outstanding at quarterback for the Titans, and safety Tristan Kafentzis is a candidate for county defensive player of the year. Tesoro has won five in a row since a season-opening three-point loss to La Mirada, which is 5-1. El Toro’s loss was to Corona del Mar. El Toro quarterback Trey Tinsley leads the county in passing yards, 2,061. He has a great group of targets, including Taylor Dodds and Kaleb Fossum. Tesoro looks like the best team in the West Valley Division. The Titans play perennial league favorite Mission Viejo next week, so they best not look past the Chargers.
Winner: Tesoro
SANTA ANA VALLEY (3-2, 0-0) VS. ANAHEIM (3-1, 0-0)
Where, when: Glover Stadium, 7 p.m.
Outlook: This Orange League opener could determine the league championship. These look to be the best teams in the league. They have a common opponent this season: Orange. Valley beat Orange, 21-7; Anaheim beat Orange, 18-0. Neither team’s offense has been spectacular. Anaheim is averaging 18 points a game. Valley is averaging 15. Valley might have the better defense and that could be the difference in what looks like a low-scoring game.
Winner: Santa Ana Valley
HUNTINGTON BEACH (1-4, 0-0) VS. NEWPORT HARBOR (2-3, 0-0)
Where, when: Newport Harbor High, 7 p.m.
Outlook: This Sunset League opener is a rematch of last year’s Southwest Division championship game which Huntington Beach won. Newport Harbor looks like the superior team this year. The Sailors have a good quarterback, Cole Norris, who is No. 1 among Sunset League quarterbacks with 233 yards a game. Huntington Beach’s Chad James is averaging 200 passing yards a game. Newport Harbor has a standout two-way player, Riley Gaddis, who last week had one touchdown reception and ran for two touchdowns in a win over Mira Costa of Manhattan Beach. Gaddis is a good linebacker, too. The Sailors are missing running back Chance Siemonsma, an all-league selection last year who is out for the rest of the season because of a knee injury. Newport Harbor still should be good enough to beat the Oilers and taste a slice of revenge.
Winner: Newport Harbor
LA HABRA (2-3, 0-0) VS. BUENA PARK (5-0, 0-0)
Where, when: Buena Park High, 7 p.m.
Outlook: The schedule has a few games in which league favorites play each other. This Freeway League opener is one of them. La Habra is the best 2-3 team in county football. The Highlanders’ losses are to El Toro, Mission Viejo and La Mirada. Those three teams are a combined 14-4. La Habra beat Colony of Ontario, 55-48, two weeks ago when Colony was No. 1 in the Central Division. Buena Park is averaging 47 points a game while allowing only three points a game. The Coyotes smacked Western, 70-3, last week although their best player, much-recruited receiver/defensive back Jaylinn Hawkins, did not play as a precautionary move to rest a sore ankle. Hawkins will be good to go for this one. La Habra has shown, even in the losses, a fast and physical defense and a productive offense led by quarterback Eric Barriere and running back Carlos Martin. Buena Park is closing the gap between itself and La Habra. But La Habra still is the better team.
Winner: La Habra
TROY (4-1, 0-0) VS. FULLERTON (3-2, 0-0)
Where, when: Fullerton High, 7 p.m.
Outlook: The Freeway League might be as deep as it’s been in years. Three teams are 5-0 – Buena Park, Sonora and Sunny Hills. The Freeway is a six-team league. The top three finishers in a six-team league receive guaranteed playoff berths in the Southwest Division that has three at-large berths. That makes this league opener critical to the playoff aspirations of both teams. Troy has the best win, a 31-28 triumph over Valencia. Fullerton and Troy lost to Cypress, Troy by seven points and Fullerton by five. Troy, especially receiver/defensive back Dominic Vaccher, looked good in the loss to Cypress and might be the league’s second best team.
Winner: Troy
Also Friday (all games 7 p.m. unless noted)
Academy League
Calvary Chapel of Downey (4-1, 0-0) vs. Brethren Christian (4-1-1, 0-0) at Ocean View High
St. Margaret’s (5-0, 0-0) at Sage Hill (3-3, 0-0)
Freeway League
Sunny Hills (5-0, 0-0) vs. Sonora (5-0, 0-0) at La Habra High
Garden Grove League
La Quinta (1-4, 0-0) at Bolsa Grande (0-5, 0-0)
Los Amigos (2-3, 0-0) vs. Santiago (5-0, 0-0) at Garden Grove High
Golden West League
Loara (0-5, 0-0) at Westminster (3-2, 0-0)
Orange League
Savanna (2-3, 0-0) vs. Magnolia (2-3, 0-0) at Western High
Katella (2-3, 0-0) vs. Century (1-4, 0-0) at Santa Ana Stadium
Orange Coast League
Costa Mesa (0-5, 0-0) vs. Laguna Beach (1-4, 0-0) at Estancia High
Godinez (0-5, 0-0) vs. Saddleback (2-3, 0-0) at Segerstrom High
Pacific Coast League
No. 7 Corona del Mar (4-1, 0-0) at Irvine (4-1, 0-0)
Woodbridge (3-1, 0-0) at University (3-2, 0-0)
San Joaquin League
Capistrano Valley Christian (3-2, 0-0) vs. Saddleback Valley Christian (5-0, 0-0) at San Juan Hills High
Sea View League
Laguna Hills (1-4, 0-0) at Aliso Niguel (2-4, 0-0)
Capistrano Valley (5-1, 0-0) at No. 10 San Clemente (5-1, 0-0)
South Coast League
No. 8 Mission Viejo (4-2, 0-0) at Dana Hills (1-5, 0-0)
Sunset League
Marina (0-5, 0-0) vs. Edison (3-2, 0-0) at Huntington Beach High
Nonleague
Canyon (0-5) vs. Villa Park (3-2) at El Modena High
El Dorado (0-5) vs. Foothill (3-2) at Tustin High
El Modena (2-3) vs. Esperanza (1-4) at Yorba Linda High
8-man
Express League
Pacific Lutheran of Gardena (1-3, 1-0) at St. Michael’s Prep (3-2, 1-0), 3:30 p.m.
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SATURDAY’S GAMES
Empire League
Pacifica (1-4, 0-0) vs. Cypress (4-1, 0-0) at Western High, 7 p.m.
Pacific Coast League
Northwood (4-1, 0-0) vs. Beckman (3-2, 0-0) at Tustin High, 7 p.m.
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Fryer on Football last week: 9-1
Season to date: 43-17
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Contact the writer: sfryer@ocregister.com
