 AIRBORNE: Dana Hills' Dylan Denso goes airborne while gaining yardage as Foothill's Bryan Zantos defends in the first half. ROSE PALMISANO, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER LATEST FROM THE OCVARSITY.COM BLOG |
Fryer breaks down exciting opening week
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The good thing about being a team with a good passing game: You can play catch-up.
The bad thing about being a team without a good passing game: You can't play catch-up.
Kennedy can throw the ball, and did so in a comeback victory over Tustin, 31-28. Tustin ran its way to a 22-3 lead. The Tillers lost standout junior running back Anthony Wilkerson to a knee sprain, which hurt Tustin's chances to build on that lead.
Tustin's defense could not hold that lead. Kennedy quarterback Andy Peterson passed for 312 yards. The Fighting Irish scored touchdowns on its final two possessions.
Teams that can throw the ball not only have that comeback potential. They also create preparation problems for many opposing teams.
Teams like Tustin that do not throw the ball have a difficult time duplicating a passing game in practice. When their defense lines up on game night to play a passing team, they might not be ready for the challenge.
Another throwing team that had a significant victory Friday: Dana Hills. Dolphins quarterback Sean Schroeder threw for 253 yards and two touchdowns in their 36-14 victory over Foothill. The Dolphins were 1-8-1 last year when they took on perhaps the most challenging nonleague schedule in the county and then played in the tough South Coast League.
Canyon has a good running back. Tuibotein Taylor, a receiver last year, lined up in the backfield and rushed for 119 yards and touchdowns runs of 43 and 73 yards as the Comanches beat Fullerton, 42-21. Fullerton running back Michael Allain still had a fine game, with 179 yards rushing.
Servite went the balanced route in a 41-16 victory over St. Paul of Santa Fe Springs. Senior running back Gregory Portis rushed for 115 yards and three touchdowns, and junior quarterback Cody Fajardo passed for 152 yards. The Friars played aggressively on defense, as usual.
Not every team in the preseason county top 10 has played. No. 2 Orange Lutheran plays today against Bullard of Fresno, at Orange Coast College. No. 3 Los Alamitos plays Mayfair of Lakewood on Thursday at Gahr High of Cerritos, and No. 8 Newport Harbor plays host to Aliso Niguel on Thursday.
These preseason top-10 teams are all 1-0: No. 1 Mater Dei; No. 4 Mission Viejo; No. 5 Edison; No. 6 Servite; No. 7 Esperanza; and No. 9 Tesoro. No. 10 Santa Margarita lost to Laguna Hills.
The first county media poll happens Monday. We have 10 voters ready to go. It's a smart group of voters. The top 10 will look very different from that preseason top 10.
My 11-25 teams will get moved around, too, with unranked Kennedy beating No. 25 Tustin and No. 19 Dana Hills, another throwing team, beating No. 17 Foothill. No. 18 Canyon beat No. 21 Fullerton, too, so that will have some impact on the top 25.
We also will have updates soon on two injuries to top players. Wilkerson of Tustin, and Servite's Bijon Samoodi. Samoodi, an All-County first team defensive back last season as a junior, suffered what looked like a stinger, at least. A proper examination will determine precisely the nature of Samoodi's injury.
So it was a good Week 0 Friday night. Although I am not sure why it's still called Week 0, since so many teams played Week 0 games.
It no longer is a 10-week season. It's an 11-week season, and this, really, was Week 1 of that 11-week season.Whatever, it was a good week for teams that can throw the ball.
Contact the writer: sfryer@ocregister.com
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