Earlier in the week, OCVarsity vets Steve Fryer, Dan Albano and Jonathan Khamis handed out their midseason awards for the county’s top offensive and defensive players.
With the second half of the regular season kicking off this weekend, we wanted to take a look at those small school athletes who’ve also been putting forth great seasons for their respective squads.
Here’s a list of our small school MVPs as well as a quick look at our game of the week.
Midseason Offensive Player of the Year: Oscar Gomez, St. Margaret’s, Sr.
Only two running backs in the county have opened the 2014 campaign with five straight 100-yard rushing performances: Sunny Hills’ Joe Ha and Gomez. Entering Week 6, the Tartans’ feature back has compiled 896 yards on the ground, putting him second behind only Los Amigos’ Moby Contreras (917 yards) for the county’s coveted rushing title.
Dating back to last season, Gomez has been held under 100 yards once in his past 11 starts. He’s been a model of consistency for St. Margaret’s offense, getting anywhere from 18 to 22 carries an outing, and rushing for at least 125 yards in every contest.
Against an Academy League slate which the Tartans scored over 43 points a game against last year, it’s likely Gomez will continue to put up big numbers.
Honorable mention: Justin Osborn (Whittier Christian); Andrew Assaf (Brethren Christian); Noah Evans (Whittier Christian); Jason Fuga (Brethren Christian); Jake Fisher (Sage Hill); Guy Demazeliere (Brethren Christian); Nick Watase (Whittier Christian); Lionel Wiggins (Fairmont Prep).
Midseason Defensive Player of the Year: Preston Ellis, St. Margaret’s, Sr.
As good as the Tartans have been offensively (41.6 points per game), they might be even better on defense. St. Margaret’s is holding opposing teams to a mere 8.2 points a game and has yet to surrender any points in the first quarter.
With the Tartans building commanding leads early on in every contest, offenses are forced to pass the ball to get back into games. The St. Margaret’s secondary has been a stingy unit, allowing a total off three touchdown passes in five games.
Ellis, a senior cornerback, has intercepted more passes (four) then the team has allowed touchdowns through the air. His 58-yard pick six in the fourth quarter against Whittier Christian ensured a St. Margaret’s victory in what was the Tartans’ most competitive game of the season.
Honorable mention: Ryan Garner (Brethren Christian); Daniel Herber (Capistrano Valley Christian); William Ramirez (Whittier Christian).
Midseason All-Purpose Player of the Year: Conner Miller, Brethren Christian, Sr.
The Warriors have a bonafide playmaker on both sides of the ball in their senior captain. Miller is coming off his best game of the season at quarterback in which he passed for 422 yards and eight touchdowns in a 53-53 tie to Aquinas of San Bernardino.
Having tossed seven touchdowns in another game this year, Miller leads the county with 26 TD strikes.
On defense, the 6-foot, 185-pounder starts in the secondary and has used his experience under center to his advantage. Miller is tied for second in Orange County with three interceptions, and he has added 29 tackles from his defensive back position.
Miller and Co. will meet St. Margaret’s on Oct. 17, with the winner becoming the clear cut favorite in the Academy League.
Game of the week
No. 1 Mater Dei (5-0) at St. John Bosco (4-1), Friday, 7:30 p.m.
With future college players all over the field, this has the potential of being the game of the year. It also could be the first of two times these teams play this season.
The Monarchs go into the Trinity League opener ranked No. 1 in the county in addition to supplanting Bosco atop the latest CIF Pac-5 Division poll. The Braves are now second in the Pac-5 poll with its only loss coming on the road to Bishop Gorman of Las Vegas two weeks ago.
Despite the rankings, Bosco remains league favorites for a third consecutive season. The Braves beat Mater Dei twice in 2013, which included a decisive 34-7 victory in the Pac-5 championship game.
While quarterback Josh Rosen is widely regarded as the best pocket passer in the region, he tortured the Monarchs defense with his feet last season, rushing for 105 yards in the CIF final. Braves speedster Sean McGrew also eclipsed the 100-yard plateau in both meetings last season.
“On defense, we obviously have to stop the run and contain Rosen,” Mater Dei coach Bruce Rollinson said. “Needless to say, we want to get pressure on (Rosen). He killed us in the championship game running the football.
“(McGrew) is another running back we have a real high regard for. It’s a two-headed monster you have stop over there.”
Offensively, quarterback Jack Lowary has been a pleasant surprise for the Mater Dei coaching staff. The senior is averaging nearly 210 yards passing a game, and he’s yet to toss an interception in 121 attempts.
“He’s really displayed tremendous confidence,” Rollinson added. “He doesn’t get too high or too down during the course of the game. He’s an even-keeled kid. You throw on some TV lights, put 7,000 people in a stadium that seats 6,500, and Jack is going to be Jack.”
Because their rushing attack has yet to produce huge numbers, the short to intermediate passing game will be Mater Dei’s most effective means of moving the sticks. Tight end Kyle Penniston and Andre Collins will be targeted early and often Friday after both displayed they could make the big catch in a back-and-forth matchup with Westlake last week.
With Ben Humphreys making his second start after sustaining a knee injury, look for the offense to get one him more involved than it did last Thursday.
“You can’t substitute game experience,” Rollinson said. “Your big-time kids got to come up big. The TV cameras will be on, but that’s why you came to this school, to play in games like this.”
Despite what the rankings say, the Monarchs will travel to Bosco as the underdog. The county’s best defense will need to play its best game of the season to have a shot against a loaded Braves team.
The last thing Mater Dei can afford is a subpar first half like it had on the road at Westlake. Bosco is a team that can shut the door on a game early.
