Edison passing tournament offers plenty of insight

Comments |

Recommend

HUNTINGTON BEACH – In an effort to jump-start my preparations for the 2008 high school football season, I spent a few hours Saturday afternoon at the Edison passing tournament.

The seven-on-seven tournament didn’t disappoint. I gained plenty of insight, which I’m glad to pass along:

DON'T COUNT OUT THE CHARGERS

Edison figures to be a hard team to rank when it comes to the Register’s preseason poll. The Chargers graduated Nick Crissman, Earnie Sagiao and a lot of other talent. But as it showed Saturday, Edison has a system in place that works.

The Chargers won their tournament for the second consecutive year, defeating Valencia of Valencia in the finals. Edison coach Dave White said the score was, 33-12, but that was after considerable debate, so I’m not sure how accurate that score is.

Here’s how Edison’s day went: beat Santa Margarita, beat Trabuco Hills, beat Centennial Corona, beat La Habra, edged Los Alamitos, 21-20, and handled Valencia in the finals.

Sure, home field advantage helped but that is still an impressive list of opponents. Edison might not have a Division I-A recruit but the Chargers are definitely a preseason top-10 team in my book.

MATT VILES, COME ON DOWN

Junior-to-be quarterback Matt Viles (6-3, 187) took the majority of snaps for Edison on Saturday and established himself as the Chargers’ starting signal caller.

“Right now, he’s our starting quarterback,” White said. “Matt really stepped up today. Unless something drastic happens, he’s going to start our first game (Aug. 23 in Hawaii).”

Viles doesn’t have the prettiest throwing motion but he gets rid of the ball fast and is accurate. He also has a talented and deep group of receivers that help him look good.

White said Edison is at least six deep at receiver. Junior-to-be Jeff Trojan might have made the most receptions Saturday but senior-to-be Jeff Crissman also looked good.

MATER DEI-CENTENNIAL CORONA II

After the show these two put on last fall, any time the Monarchs and Huskies hook-up now, it is must-see action. And in the final consolation game of the afternoon, Mater Dei and Centennial met again.

Centennial won, 28-26, but Mater Dei coach Bruce Rollinson wasn’t too worried about the score.

“We didn’t play well this morning (but) the kids responded well here late in the afternoon,” said Rollinson, who squad lost to Tesoro in pool play. “It’s passing league but I like the way we competed (against Centennial).”

Mater Dei defeated Centennial, 51-37, last season and play host to the Huskies again Sept. 19 at Santa Ana Stadium.

“My biggest thing is, ‘Ok, now, (we’ve) seen them.’ Now, it’s going to come down to, ‘Alright, how big are their horses back at the stable and how big are my horses back at the stable?’ That is what I like.”

The game was played on the field adjacent to the championship, and not surprisingly, it drew the same amount of spectators as the Edison-Valencia clash. Between the two games, there were probably close to 1,000 fans in attendance.

Centennial features two talented and physical linebackers in USC-commit Vontaze Burfict and junior-to-be Brandon Brown, a recent transfer from Norco. Garry Paskwietz of www.WeAreSC.com was very high on both.

MATT BARKLEY UPDATE

Mater Dei’s USC-bound quarterback is noticeably thicker in his chest and shoulders compared to last year. I heard Tesoro had some success against Barkley but he looked very good the times I saw him in the afternoon. He combined his outstanding arm strength with great touch. And with his added muscle, he reminds me of what Carson Palmer was like as a senior at Santa Margarita.

“He had a great weight-lifting season,” Rollinson said of Barkley. “He made some incredible throws today.”

I shared my Palmer analogy with Paskwietz and he said I was right on.

MATER DEI'S RECEIVERS

Mater Dei’s biggest question as a team is on defense but on offense, it is receiver. Rollinson said the group is producing mixed results. “The inexperience shows at times but I like the athleticism,” he said.

Rollinson was high Saturday on junior-to-be Derek Campbell, also a standout in baseball, and sophomore-to-be Victor Blackwell, who made a nice catch in traffic against Centennial.

Barkley showed some frustration with his receivers Saturday but from what I could tell, he seemed justified. Rollinson said Barkley also is showing patience in helping the group progress.

Barkley and Co. will continue their work next week in Oregon when they head to the Nike tournament. Long Beach Poly also will be among the teams in the field.

REMEMBER THE TITANS

Tesoro defeated Mater Dei in pool play to improve to 2-1 against Monarchs in passing league this offseason.

Titans coach Brian Barnes is high on quarterback Robbie Picazo and wide receivers Preston King and Brett Gudim.

Picazo has been offered a preferred walk-on spot at Stanford. Barnes believes King is as talented as former Tesoro stars Sean Calcagnie and Scott McKnight.

Barnes raved about his offensive line. He rattled off three starters who will weigh at least 300 pounds. He said the best of the group is Josh Cabral (6-4, 300), who has moved from right guard to left tackle.

“I’m excited,” Barnes said.

Mark that Mission Viejo at Tesoro game on Oct. 17 as one of the biggest games of the season.

EVANS COMMITS

Los Alamitos senior-to-be quarterback Clark Evans(6-foot-6, 233 pounds) has committed to Colorado.

“When I went down there with my dad, I loved it. It was such a great college town,” Evans said of Colorado.

Evans also considered Boise State, Kansas State and Arizona.

Before committing to Colorado, he attended a camp at Arizona State during the summer but the Sun Devils didn’t offer.

LOS AL'S RECEIVERS

Evans said junior-to-be receiver Brandon Graves has left Los Alamitos for Crespi. But the Griffins still appear deep at receiver with Darryl Jenkins, Paul Richardson and emerging senior-to-be Jonny Cheri. “He’s going to be our third guy,” Evans said of Cheri, who caught a long touchdown pass against Edison in the semifinals.

SHORT ROUTES

There was word late in the afternoon that JSerra left the tournament early.  … Orange Lutheran junior-to-be quarterback Bobby Wheatley showed good arm strength and athleticism. He also looked a few inches taller than his 6-foot-1 listing last season.

Contact the writer: dalbano@ocregister.com