CARSON – The best coaches recognize an opportunity when they see one, and that’s how some of Orange County’s top coaches used the Adidas 7on7 Passing Tournament at the StubHub Center on Sunday.
Events like this are often an excuse for powerhouse teams to show off their talent to the other top dogs. Santa Margarita coach Rick Curtis took advantage of the tournament by gauging how his team stacked up against top competition.
“Our defense played really well,” Curtis said. “When you hold the ball for four seconds, it’s tough to play defense for four seconds. The offenses obviously have the advantage in this tournament. Again, I think our defense played really well.”
Narbonne of Harbor City won the tournament, defeating Chaminade of West Hills in the final.
“I think (the event) builds character,” Curtis added. “I think it builds a uniformity for the team. … It’s not our whole team. The lineman aren’t here, and we only have 20 kids. It’s fun to win, but we know this is not really a team aspect about (the game).”
The blistering heat wasn’t able to slow down the Los Alamitos offense, which jumped all over opponents in the first round of the tournament. Coach John Barnes gave a smirk to go along with his short evaluation of the first round.
“It was fun,” Barnes said. “They’re all fun.”
Los Al was without several key playmakers from last year’s team, something Barnes didn’t seem bothered by.
“We’ve got good players,” Barnes said. “We’ll be fine. We’ve got a great receiver in (Jacob) Gasser and a couple others in (Keynin) Charbonnet and (Holden) Edmondson. We’re fine there. Our QB isn’t here today. We’re using our second guy, and he’s pretty dang good.”
Santa Margarita topped Los Alamitos in the knockout round, 13-12.
JSerra fell a game short of the semifinals after making the semis last year at the Edison passing tournament in Huntington Beach. Coach Jim Hartigan thought his team looked solid despite not playing for the last three weeks.
“I thought we got a lot of good work in,” Hartigan said. “Which was what we wanted. We brought some incoming freshman that we thought might be able to help us as early as this year. We gave them a chance to compete and they made some plays.”
With the quarterback job up for grabs, Hartigan said neither Riley O’Brien nor Matthew Robinson did anything to gain a leg on the QB spot.
“I really have to look at the film and make a decision on that,” Hartigan said. “I think probably Riley at times looked good. I thought Matt (Robinson) at times did some things well. We brought a freshman and he did some things well. If anything I think we gained some more depth at the QB spot.”
Hartigan said it might take all summer and maybe even a few regular-season games to see who’s separating themselves from the others. Whatever he takes, Hartigan said he’s in no hurry to make a decision.
“If it happens we’ll make (a decision),” Hartigan said. “I don’t want to eliminate anybody from the race yet.”
FAMILY DUO
Riley and Connor O’Brien of JSerra were all over the field, playing multiple positions for the Lions on offense and defense.
“(Riley and Connor O’Brien) were solid today,” Hartigan said. “Those two guys are going to be big-time players for us, as they were last year.”
BY THE HORNS
Several players caught the attention of their respective coaches, and this could be sign of potential breakout seasons.
Curtis called Grant Calcaterra the team’s “go-to guy” at wide receiver, while also signaling out cornerback Darian Fernandez for an excellent tournament.
Hartigan said cornerback Nate Bowman was impressive, along with the entire receiving corps.
INJURIES
Injuries left significant mark on the event. The most gruesome came in a game between Warren and Cathedral, where two players collided, forcing paramedics to rush to the field.
Warren’s Mason Marquez took the worst of the collision with a cut to the back of his head. He was placed on a stretcher and rushed off in an ambulance.
Santa Margarita receiver Dylan Crawford, a transfer from St. Francis, only played in the Lions’ first game due to a foot injury. The Eagles were also without standout linebacker Maxx Lewis who was out with a pulled groin muscle.
