It might happen this week. Maybe next week.
Some day soon, Conner Miller is going to break the Orange County single-season record for touchdown passes.
The senior quarterback at Brethren Christian has 38 touchdown passes this season. The record is 41, set by Conner Manning of El Toro in 2011 and equaled by Manning in 2012.
Miller had three touchdown passes Friday in the Warriors’ 48-14 win over Sage Hill. Brethren has one regular-season game remaining, an Academy League game against Crean Lutheran on Thursday at Irvine High.
A win over Crean would clinch a playoff berth for the Warriors (6-2-1 overall, 2-1 in league). Playoff games count in the compilation of county records.
Miller has already broken one of Manning’s county records this season – most touchdown passes in a game. Miller threw for eight touchdowns – one more than Manning’s record – against Aquinas on Oct. 4.
“He’s a perfect fit for our offense,” Brethren coach Pat McInally said of Miller. “He has great feet and a great stable of receivers. Conner has great versatility, because he can throw from the pocket really well or throw it on the run, or pull the ball down and run it himself.”
Miller, 6-foot-3 and 205 pounds, rushed for 104 yards and a touchdown against Sage Hill.
Like a few other top quarterbacks in the county, Miller is a transfer. He was at Norco his freshman year and spent his sophomore year at Yorba Linda before moving on to Brethren.
McInally’s coaching staff includes former All-CIF players Kerwin Bell and Bill Malavasi (Bill’s father Ray was Rams head coach when the NFL team played in Anaheim). Jack McInally, Pat’s son, is offensive coordinator and was Brethren’s quarterback a few years ago.
“All of Jack’s records are falling to Conner,” McInally said. “And Jack loves it.”
College offers have yet to inundate Miller, but his coach is confident that will happen.
“Oh, he’s legit,” said McInally, who played in the NFL. “He will go to a Division 1 school somewhere.”
But first, there is a record to break.
THE UNDEFEATED
Only two county teams are undefeated: St. Margaret’s and Saddleback Valley Christian. Both are 8-0 and both look like they will be 10-0 going into the playoffs.
Saddleback Valley Christian and St. Margaret’s are high-scoring outfits. Saddleback Christian averages 34 points a game. St. Margaret’s is scoring 42 points a game.
But defense has been just as important to both. Saddleback Valley Christian is allowing only nine points a game, St. Margaret’s only 10 a game.
FRYER’S TOP 25
Here is how I rank county teams 1-25: 1. JSerra (7-1); 2. Mater Dei (6-2); 3. Santa Margarita (6-2); 4. Servite (4-4); 5. Orange Lutheran (4-4); 6. Mission Viejo (7-2); 7. Tesoro (7-2); 8. Los Alamitos (7-1); 9. Corona del Mar (7-1); 10. Edison (6-2); 11. San Clemente (7-1); 12. El Toro (6-2); 13. La Habra (5-3); 14. Trabuco Hills (5-3); 15. Villa Park (6-2); 16. Valencia (7-1); 17. Newport Harbor (3-5); 18. Buena Park (7-1); 19. Cypress (6-2); 20. Troy (6-2); 21. Huntington Beach (2-6); 22. Fullerton (4-4); 23. Fountain Valley (5-3); 24. Tustin (5-3); 25. Foothill (5-3).
FRYER’S EXPLANATION
Head-to-head results are important to the ranking of teams. When the season enters late October, there are plenty of head-to-head results available.
So ranking the top seven is easy. The difficult part is 8-12. There aren’t any head-to-head results among Los Alamitos, Corona del Mar, Edison and San Clemente. Edison and Los Alamitos play each other next week, a game that will clarify the rankings as well as likely settling the Sunset League championship.
Huntington Beach pops back into the top 25 because of its win over Fountain Valley. Six losses are a lot of losses, sure, but four of the losses were to teams that are above .500.
THIS WEEK
As usual this time of year, the schedule is covered with games that will decide league championships and playoff berths. Among them:
El Toro at Mission Viejo, Thursday: Mission Viejo’s defense has to control the El Toro passing attack and muster enough points itself. The Diablos already have clinched a share of the South Coast League championship. A win locks up sole possession of the league title.
JSerra vs. Orange Lutheran at Orange Coast College, Thursday: JSerra showed it can put a heartbreaking loss in its past. Last week, the Lions beat Mater Dei one week after losing a close one to St. John Bosco. Can they now forget a big win and focus on what is another very good opponent?
Santa Margarita vs. Mater Dei at Santa Ana Stadium, Friday: If Santa Margarita wins, it’s definitely on its way to the playoffs. If Mater Dei wins, the Monarchs are still breathing.
Anaheim vs. Katella at Western High, Friday: Anaheim, 2-1 in the Orange League, must rebound from last week’s loss to Magnolia. Katella is in first place at 3-0.
Contact the writer: sfryer@ocregister.com
