Trinity League Football Podcast
Orange County Register high school sports reporter Dan Albano (@ocvarsityguy) talks Trinity League football with Scott Barajas, former publish of Gridiron magazine. Listen for the inside scoop!
Trinity League Football Podcast
What Santa Margarita's big win reveals and Week 1 intel
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Dan Albano of The Orange County Register and insider Scott Barajas review the Trinity League's perfect week highlighted by Santa Margarita's win over Centennial. The guys also preview the top games of Week 2, including JSerra-Crean Lutheran.
Hello everybody and welcome back to the Treaty League Football Podcast. I'm your host, Dan Albano with the Orange County Register, NOC Varsity, and I'm joined by my partner, Scott Barajas. We're recruit recording our show on Monday, August 31st, 2026. And Scotty, we're coming off a very big week. Some very close games, including a one-point victory by Santa Margarita in a in a very exciting game against Centennial. Modern day one a close game. Big wins for several of the all three of the new coaches in the Treaty League picked up wins from Coach Garretsen at Servite, Ray Fenton at Orange Lutheran, and of course Hardy Nickerson at J Serra. So uh big week uh one it was, and another more out-of-state competition coming up this week with a couple teams from Arizona coming to town, and of course, uh team from Colorado coming in. So lots of uh to break down and talk about, Scotty, in a uh very exciting, unpredictable type season so far.
SPEAKER_03Oh, absolutely, Dan. I mean, it's it was crazy, wacky. Um, you know, who would have guessed that, you know, Gorman and Bosco would both have losses in this in the second week, you know. So uh, you know, and there was a comes a couple other surprises. Um, you know, we'll probably get more into that. But it's it like I said, I told I think I mentioned earlier that I said we're gonna see it, it's gonna be a season that we have never have seen before, and it's already getting off to that start.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, you mentioned it, Scotty. I mean, I know Nat, you know, of course, it did uh it did definitely touch Bosco. Um, and it's of course it's a national scene story, too, is that you know, Bishop Gorman wins the big showdown, number one and versus number two in the country over Bosco, and then the Gales uh take off for Florida and they lose uh to Columbus, kind of a under the radar type team in some regards. Um, not your biggest household name, at least recently in Florida, but yeah, um the Gales lost 33-28 to Columbus, and uh Bishop Gorman tumbles in the uh in the national rankings. Uh and uh now you know St. Aquinas from Florida, you know, there's a bigger and known team from Florida. They're they're number one in some uh national polls, and who do they play this week? They play Columbus. So um yeah, it's pretty tough for for Bosco. You know, they lose that stinging you know game in the in the spotlight in the in Las Vegas, and then they're the team that beat them goes out and loses the next week.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, to Fernando uh uh Mendoza's uh alma mater. That's where he went, Columbus. So um, you know, yeah, and you know, I don't know. I know we can we're we're talking Trinity League, but you know, I I saw that game and and it it it it wasn't the same Gorman game team that we saw that beat uh Bostwell. They look like an average team, and Columbus looked like they were like the ranked team. I mean, you know, Amir Sears, you know, was a commit going to Miami. I mean, he had a you know world game in the quarter. I mean, just they just they just they took it to him, and it was just kind of like surprising. So, you know, and you know, I think we're gonna see a lot of those games down the line that's gonna have that same you know um result or look. So, you know, get ready, everybody.
SPEAKER_02So yeah, we've been saying it. Scotty's definitely been saying it. So, well, just as you know, welcome everybody back to the Trinity League Football Podcast. Uh uh, we appreciate Scotty and I we appreciate your support. Want to remind you that you can follow the Trinity League Football Podcast on X at Trinity FB Pod. You can also follow me on X at OC VarsityGuy. You can subscribe to the Trinity League Football Podcast, and you can find it at many places where you get your podcasts from Apple Podcasts, Spotify, um, iHeartRadio. There's many places where you can find the Trinity League Football Podcast. Um, and Scotty, uh, tonight I want to uh as we start to break down the games from last week, want to start with Santa Margarita, and I want to play a clip here just to start out. Uh give uh the fans a little bit of uh uh audio interview that I had with Santa Margarita coach Carson Pummer.
SPEAKER_01What did you learn about your team tonight?
SPEAKER_00We're tough. We're tough. I mean, this was a physical week. We practiced hard this week. We went on it uh Monday, Tuesday. We rarely take the pads off on Wednesdays. We took the pads off on Wednesday to be fresh tonight because we knew it was gonna be physical, and that's not something we have done. Um but we needed it, yes, yes. Um but we needed it, and just we're a tough gritty football team.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, and determining the gritty, the determination of a defending champion. I mean, new year, but you guys have that.
SPEAKER_00I mean, it was some we played a good game. You know, we don't have a lot of guys that haven't been, and you know, this is a phenomenal environment. This community gets behind this program tremendously. I mean, it's uh you know, just a great place to play high school football game, and just proud that you know we didn't flinch, we came in here, played hard right to the very end, first and map special teams. Our kickoff coverage was phenomenal. Uh, we protected the ball on offense. Um just really proud of the way we we were top to bottom.
SPEAKER_02All right, Scotty. So one of the big uh takeaways from this game, Santa Margarita holding on for the 21-20 win against Centennial out in Corona. It was a very warm uh evening in the inland empire. Temperatures probably, I think, around 95-96 at kickoff. Santa Margarita, the story for this game, Scotty, was well, for one, Santa Margarita has now beaten Centennial four consecutive times. That is no small feat because Centennial is a very outstanding program led by Coach Matt Logan. They got lots of NFL products that have come out of there. Um I posted a picture of a mural they have now um on one of their buildings, right over the field. You can see it on my my my X page where you know they have a mirror of all the NFL players that have come out of Centennial. It's super impressive. But uh Santa Maria's got four in a row against the Huskies, and then uh Santa Maria's defense again, you know, really led the team to the victory. Um you know, really all three scores, all three touchdowns by the Eagles came from the defensive side. They turned an early uh opening series fumble that that they forced against the Huskies, they turned that into a short touchdown run. They turned a fourth down stop into uh around midfield into another touchdown, um short touchdown uh drive. And on the last play of the third quarter, uh Karan Williams returning interception 30 yards for a touchdown, and after the successful extra point, that was big because Centennial did score in the fourth quarter, but the you know, Santa Margarita defense special teams rose up again and blocked the extra point, and that's how they held on for the 21 to 20 win. And it was Santa Margarita's defense leading the way. Um, and you know, uh Adrian Petero, the running back, really helped uh power the offense for Santa Margarita on the with the ground attack um 110 yards and really helped it. You know, Santa Margarita, they ran out the clock, they you know they stopped it around the one yard line of the Huskies. They could have had another score to make it a little bit more convincing, but they were you know smartly managing the clock and getting the victory first, um, not to give Centennial any hope at all. So score was a little deceiving in some ways, because I can also tell you, Scotty, that Santa Margarita dropped two other pick sixes. So they had some chances, so did Centennial. They had some things not go their way as well, but I'm really interested to hear what you have on this game, Scotty.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, you know, um we're two games into the season, and it's already starting to look like you know, you know, Santa Margarita's gonna have the same carbon copy of last year. You know, that was the big question mark. You know, could the Eagles get enough from their defense? You know, um, no one was expecting them to duplicate the same defensive proudness, but you know, they they knew that it was gonna be a solid defense, but they looking like they can possibly have that same elite style of defense. And you know, from the get-go, you know, they went after Centennial, you know, on those first couple of series, blowing up the read option, you know, passes and runs, primarily with Aiden Steen. You know, he's no drop-off from Dash Rafita. I think we're, you know, I know we're only two games in, but you can see the similarities, the burst, you know, um, and the athleticism, and you know, his and his smarts is is you know, you know, right there with Dash, you know. And um, and I also believe that their front three are better this year than they were last year, you know, with with sophomore Kingston, uh, Jimerson, and now you know, freshman KJ Herndon, of course, with Vanderbaid, you know, and Herndon's, you know, I wasn't sure if he how he was gonna get into the rotation. I thought maybe it would take him a little bit longer, but it it seems that you know he's you know right there being able to cause pressure and and havoc and and and they were showing it blowing up Centennial for most of the game. You know, but the Huskies did adjust, they did make some incredible plays to get out of some um some tough spots, you know, from you know the oncoming pressures, whether it was the run, whether it was a scramble from Jefferson, whether he got you know, you know, the pass that just wasn't consistent enough, you know. And then, you know, I had the feeling it was going to come down to who was gonna make or capitalize on the mistake, you know. And sure enough, it was Karan Williams, you know, picking off that miscommunicated pass from Jefferson when Hale looked like he was going deep. Jefferson threw it off to the flat. Williams was right there, sat on it, and returned it for that decisive score. And then, like you mentioned, you know, because it was huge because Centennial scored later, but they can't get that extra point, and that ended up being that difference. And then, you know, but Centennial defense did contain Santa Margarita's offense that you know they held him to two TDs, they limited him to the 56, 52 yards passing, and that was the one question mark for the offense, you know, because they seem to lack explosiveness. Um, you know, Adrian Petero, you know, carried them. You know, he hadn't, you know, he runs hard, you know, but I don't think he's gonna run away from anyone. He does have that good five to six yard burst, you know, and you know, that's we've seen, and which is all you really need for a good ball control offense, you know, and then combine it with that defense, it's pretty much the same blueprint minus Trent Mosley, um, that they don't have that's you know, that was gonna bail him out. Now they got Grant, his brother. He's not Trent, but he does he doesn't have the same explosiveness, but he's still solid and he should help um when they come back, you know, and I think that's also why Palmer has been looking to the other freshman, Keon Kallas, who I think can be that guy. Um, I thought maybe it would take some time, but he caught nine balls last week, and then you know, he can be that go-to guy, but he just they didn't seem to get him the ball this you know last game. We know Centennial has some tough DBs, and I think that was, you know, that probably was one of the reasons. I know he caught a couple of short passes, but they kind of didn't get him flowing in the offense. Um, but um, you know, we won't get a full feel or gauge for this offense until probably week one of the Trinity League. The rest of the schedule won't tell us anything. Um, you know, because I think all the remaining games are going to be running clock games. Um, maybe just you know, work some kinks out, work some things you can practice on. Um but I think that's what we're looking for. And then, you know, just to speak of the, you know, the last part is you know, just to speak on the rest of the I I touched basis with the freshmen. I think those guys um you know are are have really set the tone for them and and helped them. And it's the main reason I think why you know the defense is starting to trend like it was last season.
SPEAKER_02Yeah. Well, very good uh insight, Scotty. And yeah, you know, to your point about the explosive plays, Santa Margarita did not have a play uh on offense over 20 yards. They had their longest play was a J on Smith uh 19 yard uh run um late in the game, I believe. Um so yeah, Grant Mosley will definitely uh help them. Um but you know, so you know, Coach uh Carson Palmer said their strategy was to run the ball, and they did, and uh that's what they wanted to do with the they want to be physical. And uh yeah, they didn't have any turnovers as well, and they limited penalties, and uh they did what they needed to do to get that win. Um, and I agree with you, Scotty. This was gonna be the telling game in the non-league season for Santa Margarita, and now they uh can probably go back to work and try to fine-tune and try to to grow their passing attack and you know get Fletch Palmer some more experience. You know, he's he's 2-0 as a starter, but like you said, you know, he was six of 13 for 52 yards passing, and I'm sure they're gonna try to uh you know continue to help him grow as a junior first-year starter. And like you said, they got to bring in Grant Mosley into um the fold and keep working on with freshman um Callus, among others, and get Luke Zanaga going as well. Um and one uh quick note, Scotty, before we get your players uh uh your player of the game in this one, was gotta give a shout out to Karan uh Williams, who who now in his young career he's played Centennial four times, and he's in four in those four games, he has five career interceptions against Centennial. So, you know, not many players around SoCal can can say that I have that many interceptions um against a team like Centennial.
SPEAKER_03He's got a magnet in his helmet because it's like those those he has like I think three out of his five picks are like right to him, you know.
SPEAKER_02So he's also doing yeah, I mean, uh he's also doing some great film study uh as well. He knows he you gotta give him some credit for uh being in some of those locations. He's looking awful comfortable. Um, and he seems to be knowing what's going on a little bit more uh than he's on on his page on his study more than Centennial was, at least on that pick six. Um Scotty, who is your uh player of the game?
SPEAKER_03Real quick, yeah, without a doubt, with with Karan, yeah, he's he's done that. You know, I'm just you know making a hard time because I I I love when people get Daklays for on ball picks and but he and he's shown that with everybody else. I mean he's made on ball picks in other games, but it's just that the centennial ones, it's like have been like right at him. But anyhow, yeah, so so for player of the game, um, you know, I you know I I was trying to figure out how who is a player of the game, and and I and I was gonna say, you know what, defensive coordinator Steve Fafita, or the entire defense. Um, they all you know seven tackles for loss, four sacks, constant pressure, and then they had the game-winning you know, interception from Quran, you know. So it was like a team effort. I you know, it was hard for me to give all to give that, but again, it's like it's you gotta look back at Fafita and and what he's done because it's like what he's done, nobody else has been able to really do consistently on Centennial from what he has done. I you know, I so yeah, I agree.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, he's doing some really good things, and um, especially the just the way that uh the the as they say in football, right? The like the the tip of the spear situation with the Santa Margarita defense getting in your face from that D line, which like you said, Scotty might be better this year, to the blitzing of the uh the linebacker Aiden Steen coming right in your face. It's putting a lot of pressure on quarterbacks, and um they're gonna they might rush a decision, and Santa Margarita is they they are ready, they're waiting for it. Just like you know, Cruz uh Nunez uh linebacker almost picked it off on the first play. Uh same way. You got Isaiah Vandermaid in your face, you're gonna get the ball out, and Santa Margarita's defense knows it, and they're just waiting for that ball to come out to the flat. And they got guys that are like, yeah, we're we're looking for that that pass to come out because we know what's going on in the backfield. All right, Scott, I want to take you to a game on Saturday, uh, another close game, and I know you're dialed in on this one and checked it out. Um, and that was Modern Day going to the state of Utah and securing a 32 to 26 victory against Oram. So Modern Day, just like Santa Margarita is is 2-0. But this was an Oram team that's one and two now, didn't exactly have the the highest profile. Um but um Modern Day persevering. Um, you know, they did lead you know 26 to 13 at halftime, had them doubled up. But uh Oram actually did win the second half and and made it close. Um you know, Modern Day continues to get uh some clutch running from sophomore running back, uh Sierra Neb Hart, who Scotty's been high on. I have been high on, um, had another big game with three rushing touchdowns and some of those explosive runs. He's making a habit of those. And it was also an interesting uh key kickoff return, Scotty will certainly tell us about from a certain defensive back that's maybe not as known for these uh kickoff returns. That was a big special teams play in this game, but I know you're all over this game, Scotty. What do you got on Modern Day Orum?
SPEAKER_03So I know there was some scoreboard watching out there because I know a lot of people were like saw a Max Preps, you know, made a post, you know, when it was tied, I believe, or I think Modern Day was actually up, but um I know they had the sequence of events wrong, but but the score was actually tied 26-26 in the fourth quarter. But if not for the late heroics of Asir Nemhard, who accounted for 50 of the 70 yards on that go-ahead scoring drive, um, and he capped it on a 23-yard run. I'm not sure Modern Day would have come away with the win. Um, because the momentum, the momentum wasn't with the offense um in this one, as it was non-existent, you know, outside of Nemhard, who unofficially ran for 200 yards um with three TDs. He averaged 11 yards per carry. And but the offense just couldn't sustain anything with its passing game. You know, Puli and Sakona combined for 11 of 15 for 88 yards and then had two or two turnovers. Um and uh, you know, its efficiency is misleading, you know, because you look at them and they're like 11 for 15, but it was all short passes, nothing downfield. The longest gain was a 20-yard screen pass from that Ace Lutelli took. Um, and that and that came on the um the scoring drive that Asir scored on. And um, and then the offense gave Orham two TDs, you know, one the first one on a on a poolie rollout. Um, he was holding on to the ball, should have got rid of it, got sacked, or him scoops and scores. Then later, you know, after Isaiah Dan's interception at the one-yard line, Sakona can't handle the low shotgun-like snap. And it wasn't his, you wouldn't say it was his fault, but they Orham recovers in the end zone for another score. Yeah, so Dan, you know, we've seen a lot of Trinity League football, all right? And these two quarterbacks are not Trinity League level. Even when they do make throws, neither quarterback could complete passes. They either short hopped the ball, um, they overthrew passes, they were late getting the ball out. They're never in in sync, they're never in rhythm. The QBs have to make the receivers reach for the ball, taking it out of stride. You know, and that's one of the biggest issues is their accuracy without, you know, you know, it takes a lot. If you can get the ball out quick and get it to the receiver, it helps, but they're also taking too long on their reads. Um, so that you know, they have that going. You know, you know, modern day needs to find an offensive identity or they won't last the season. And these struggles are coming in, you know, at the hands of you know, American Fork, who is nationally 274, Orham, who wasn't even ranked in the top 300. Um, and we know what's coming up after this week, you know, and there's no more wiggle room. Um, I know we've talked about Guests. I know he's not the savior, you know, he's not the savior, but he can't do any worse than what we've seen. You know, we I know we've, you know, for those of you who are new listening and you haven't heard the yet what we have talked about, um, what he did in the in the scrimmage against uh Cathedral Catholic, he accounted for 21 out of 31 points. Um, and it's at the same Cathedral Catholic who we'll talk about that played against Olu. And he does things that the other two quarterbacks haven't been able to do all summer or in these two games. You know, guess just he goes through his progressions quicker. He has a quicker release. He gets the ball out faster. He improvises. He gives them a fighting chance better than what the offense is showing now. So, you know, I'm just, you know, I'm just being real and it's it's obvious. I'm not the only one, but it's, you know, that's that's what everybody you know seeing. But as far as the rest of the game, you know, Modern Day started fast once again, scoring in three plays, highlighted by a you know, a Sears 63-yard run down to the four-yard line, and then he took it in the next play. Um, he added another uh Modern Day added another scoring run on a five-yard Mark Allen run, and that gave them the 14-point lead. So the the game wasn't as close as the score indicated, only because of those two defensive scores. Um you know, and then another sequence of events with the offense kind of made the game closer than it should have been. Modern Day did held Orm to under 100 yards of total offense. They registered four sacks from three different players, uh, Montana, Tiolo, Mike Davis, and then two from Mata, Unalalehi. They also blocked the field goal with the score tied with five minutes and 45 seconds. That was on the drive before you know Asir took it in. And then Danny Lang also changed the momentum, flipped it back to modern day because after they had the poolie sack and scoop and four score, Danny Lang took the 99-yard kickoff return right before the half. So, you know, there's a lot going on. It's it's you know, it's you know, we'll just wait and see. I know um it's gonna get tougher for the monarchs, they're gonna have they're gonna have to make some changes, otherwise, it to even give them a fighting chance to survive because the defense can't do it all. Um, but you know, that's just that's a tough report, Dan.
SPEAKER_02So yeah, you know, and Scotty, yeah, we've watched a lot of Trinity League football. And um, yeah, and of course, Monday has been blessed with a lot of prolific uh passers over the years. But you know, it's interesting. Um, I definitely hear you, and I think guess is is definitely intriguing. Um, but I did hear you know Carts Laura you know mention about you know they didn't have the most time to work with a freshman coming in, you know, when he did during the summer, and you know, he doesn't have the full offseason. I know we've mentioned that a little bit, so that'll be interesting um to do. Um you know, and like we just talked about Santa Margarita, and I know it's a different you know kind of competition, but what were the stats, you know, on Fletch uh, you know, against Centennial? Yes, it's Centennial, but what six of 13 for 52 yards? We're gonna talk about the Bosco passing uh in their report uh here momentarily. Um they didn't exactly light it up um in their game. They actually their two QBs kind of combined, I think, for like 45% completion. Um so it is, I know, and you and I have talked a lot about it. It is kind of an interesting year for for quarterbacks, and you know, for these guys transitioning from Shamanod and Losinger to playing for you know Modern Day on a national schedule. It does look daunting, though, I'll give you that. With this the schedule coming up, including this week, I I do think Modern Day is gonna be in a very tough game against Valor. Uh, because I think Valor's got some got some guys, um, and Modern Day is not looking uh invincible right now. But then, you know, I think Modern Day could be uh definitely gonna be challenged by Gorman and uh Centennial coming up. But I think relatively though, what I'm trying to say, Scotty, is I think that um you know we got to continue to still be patient with these guys and see where it goes um because of the leap that they're making. And you know, I think relative to some of the field and some of their competition, there's a lot of QBs that aren't exactly lighting it up either. Uh I would say, based on your report, uh player the game. Um, yeah.
SPEAKER_03I mean he's carrying them, you know, right now, at least in the you know, like these two games. Um, but like I said, it's gonna get tougher. Um, and he's there's gonna be a point in time where he's not gonna get you know 200 yards or 100 yards, you know, because like they're starting to you know stack them. That's the other thing. They're stacking the box, and you know, and and they're and then when they do run, they're running into eight-man fronts, you know, and that's the other creativity that's this offense is you know is showing, you know. It's so it's uh yeah, it's just it's just it's just tough.
SPEAKER_02So all right. Let's uh let's move on, Scotty, to Orange Lutheran uh on Friday night. Went down to San Diego, played Cathedral Catholic, top-ranked team out of San Diego, defending open champion out of San Diego. And also, oh, by the way, they're the the reigning Division I double A champ in SoCal as well, played in the state championship game. Uh I believe they lost to Folsom, but very highly uh rate team, and Orange Lutheran coming off that really tough uh you know narrow loss um in their opener uh to um Miami Central got the first win for Coach Fenton, and it was 38-24 Orange Lutheran over Cathedral Catholic. Orange Lutheran now one and one, and they got there by riding the hot hand of sophomore quarterback Ezra Brown. Check out these uh stats, Scotty. 18 of 19, 253 yards, and two touchdowns. And Orange Lutheran uh stuck with him because he was on fire. Um Chris Flores, six catches for 108 yards and a touchdown. He was high, but Nico uh Bland and Raiden uh Velasquez also had uh five receptions and um and young sophomore running back uh Ryan Christensen pushing toward 100 yards with 21 carries for 95 yards and two TDs. So that was a big part of it. And I'm sure you saw this, Scotty. Um, you know, we were talking how you know last week it was a little bit tough for that Orange Lutheran secondary, um, as they lost on a last second play to Miami Central. Um, but the secondary did rise up against Cathedral Catholic, two interceptions, um, one by uh King Richard Johnson, a junior, and another one by uh Matthew Xabian. So um that was uh pretty big um and uh King Johnson's uh interception, I believe was a pick six. So um Scotty, what do you have on this game?
SPEAKER_03So I'm gonna take you back to week seven of last year, Orange Lutheran versus Jay Sarah. If you recall that game, you know, the the viewers may, you know, the podcasters may not, but Ezra Brown went 17 for 17, 360, and three touchdowns in the 6323 win over Jay Sarah. So who would believe that he would duplicate almost a perfect throwing performance again? 18 of 19, you know. Um, and he didn't even start. He came in on Olu's second series, um, and then he threw, you know, threw uh and then he also threw two two second half TDs. You know, again, he was efficient, um, but he did throw a lot of short passes. He did have some scrambles, but the difference is he also connected on two long passes, a 56 yard down the seam to Radian Velazquez, and then a 55-yard down the same seam to Chris Flores, who made a nice cutback and then dove hitting the pylon, getting in for the score. So, you know, Olu was also able to throw, and they also did it, and they did it keeping away from Ana Favai Johnson. They didn't throw anything to his side, so they were still able to like, you know, keep doing all of this, but they never went tested him. Um but it was also an interesting series of events because you know, like I said, Toki started the game, he went one for two, 11 yards, and then Ezra entered the game, played the entire first half until the last series of the second quarter. Toki comes back in, had two scrambles, but he didn't extend the drive, and then Ezra opens the second half and went the rest of the way. But like you had mentioned, you know, they decided they went with the hot hand, and that's that was the reasoning for that. So but the game was pretty much it was another back and forth game again for um you know both teams. Uh Cathedral, you know, on the hand, or on the other hand, you know, had was on the end was on the other side of some unfortunate events and calls, you know, and outcomes that could have swung the game the other way. So with 40 seconds sec 46 seconds left in the half, former Jay Saraqubi, Koa Smith Mayall. So he finally got eligible and he played, he started this game, uh, flung like a Hail Mary like pass up and um uh Cathedral Catholic San Diego commit receiver Isaac Cook hauled the ball that bounced off his chest and he recaught it, eluded King Johnson, ran down the sideline what appeared to be a score, but the official said he stepped out at the two-yard line. But when you re-watch it again, he didn't, and they should have gave him the score, which was huge because Olu makes a goal line stand stuffing three straight runs with time expired. So it was like a odd series of events because honor for carried the ball up the middle once, but the other two they gave it to the big back who ran off tackle and was too slow and got caught. So it you know, so they and they get nothing out of that. So that was a huge series of events, like I said. So then, you know, Cathedral comes out after Jay score, uh Jay Sarah scores the go-ahead score to make it 31-24 on a Ryan Christensen run. But um King Johnson then snatches the ball in the air as the receiver bobbled, as you mentioned, it for the return, you know, returned it for a score and sealed the win to make it 38-38-24, and that's how the game ended. Um, so you know, Olu's defense, you know, showed a bend, but don't break defense. You know, they made stops when they needed. They also gave up some big plays, you know, including a fourth-down um score when Mayel Smith hit a tight end in the flat for a 38-yard reception, and then that set up the score. Um, you know, they gave up a long pass to Cook, um you know, who took a short pass, wiggled to the defenders. But, you know, but they did contain honor. You know, that was the key we said contain honor. They only allowed him 79 yards rushing, they never allowed him to break loose. They held Cathedral to 289 yards of total offense. They got three turnovers, the two intercepts, Sabian and the King Johnson, and they also got a fumble recovery. Um, and then, you know, lastly, I'll say, you know, Christiansen, he put up blue-collar numbers, you know, he had the 95 yards on 21 carries. You know, he had a he had a pedestrian, you know, good four yards per carry, but he had a nice 35-yard run. He was steady and just pounded out that tough yardage. So, you know, and it was, you know, Cathedral's first game, you know, and they didn't look anything like last year's team, and they didn't use honor the way they, you know, they could have gave him more touches, but they didn't. I don't, you know, he they didn't look as explosive as they did last year. Um, yeah, but it, you know, it was a good win for Olu, you know, because that because that schedule's murderous, and uh they're gonna go have another another tough one this coming week.
SPEAKER_02Oh yeah. All right, Scotty. Well, yeah, good breakdown on that. And uh, yeah, good insight again on Ezra Brown uh re uh conjuring up memories of last year, where he did have some highlights, like you mentioned, uh, with his accuracy. Who's your player of the game in this one, Scotty?
SPEAKER_03And it was Ezra, Ezra gets that player of the game, yeah.
SPEAKER_02Okay, all right, Scotty. Let's we talked about him earlier here on the Trinity League Football Podcast. That would be St. John Bosco. Scotty had uh pretty good stat, I would say, uh, last week and had me uh doing some research afterwards, but Scotty highlighted that Bosco entered its game uh last week against Roman Catholic of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on a three-game losing streak. Um and he was, you know, Scotty was telling us about how it's pretty rare. Went back and looked at back, and the last time St. John Bosco had lost three games on the field uh was in actually Coach Negro's first season of 2010. So that was only the second time it's ever happened, and but Bosco got back on track, I think, uh pretty convincingly, especially with their first half coming out so strong, bouncing back from their Bishop Gorman loss. The Braves defeated Roman Catholic 45 to 25, and some of the impressive things were uh how about 31 points by the Braves in the second quarter? That led to a 38 to 7 lead at halftime. So that was a major positive. And I know Coach Negro talked about how he was pleased with that start because they did not start fast against Bishop Gorman, and that was one of the the big uh emphasis that uh you know they didn't get off to it, they got off to a pretty rough start against the Gales. So they corrected that uh against um Roman Catholic. Uh they also got Malik Allen going 23 carries for 139 yards and three touchdowns as a team. Uh St. John Bosco ran for 228 yards, so they did a great job running the ball. Passing game left a little bit to be desired, Scotty. Like I was saying, uh two QBs combined for 45% passing. Um and uh but Bosco gets to uh one and one. Uh and Scotty was mentioned a little bit about the the national rankings at the top of the show. So where is uh St. John Bosco right now? Well, they're number nine uh in the nation. Um they're one spot, you know, according to at least Max Preps, one spot behind Bishop Gorman. I should have mentioned earlier, but Santa Margarita, at least in Max Preps, has climbed to four in the nation. I think the Eagles are actually third in high school football America, if I'm not mistaken. But Scotty, what do you have on this uh on this uh bounce back effort by St. John Bosco?
SPEAKER_03Yeah, you know, there was some chatter about the final score, um, and despite Bosco winning the game, putting up 45 points. But I think people have wondered about the 40, 25 that was given up to Roman Catholic, you know. And then there was some you know chatter that Koa was banged up, that he wasn't 100%. But whatever the case, the Braves, you know, leaned on Malik Allen, his you know, four TDs, the 139 yards rushing, you know, and then he added, you know, two rushing, short rushing TDs early, and then he added a highlight catch out of the backfield, juking one defender, breaking another tackle downfield for the 20-yard score that helped them jump out to the 38-7 lead. And then, you know, they sure needed Allen's play because the Braves passing game wasn't sharp as you you talked about, whether it was Cohen up, you know, being banged up, you know, he wasn't on, you know, the eight for 13, 68 yards, but they were never able to connect anything long. You know, they went with a lot of receiver screens, slants, short stuff, and then with the score 38-7 midway through the second um backup, Aiden Marchetta came in, and the offense struggled the rest the rest of the way. He ended up going 5-16-48. Um, that included a turnover on downs at the Roman Catholic one-yard line, you know. Um, but then after Roman Catholic blocked a Bosco punt, they scored two plays later, you know, made it 38-19. Koa and Malik Allen come back in with 8.28 left in the game. Interesting, you know, and it was again though that Allen um picked up the slack. He accounted for 60 of the 70 yards on this drive, capping it with the 20-yard TD run that made it 45-19. And then Roman Catholic added another TD after um it was aided by a long kickoff return that set up that score. And this wasn't against backups, you know. All the Bosco defense was it played with a mixed group, but primarily of their starters. I know Bosco, you know, has guys that that rotates that play a lot of guys, but um they were in it to the end. And these were key guys in their rope, you know, in their rotation. It wasn't their third team JV kids, so that was kind of interesting. But you wonder, you know, after jumping out to a big lead, you know, and the deep, you know, the defense did give up an early TD on Roman Catholic second drive, they got the ball and drove it, and it was 7-7. But then after that, that's when Allen went to work and they you know went on the 31-point um you know run. But Bosco's defense did have six starters with at least six or more tackles. They had five sacks from five different players, and they got an interception from Dorian Franklin. So, you know, it's it, you know, you take it for what it's worth. I mean, yeah, it was kind of interesting to see that they did give up 25 points, um, but they did have that jump out lead. But yeah, you know, you know, they kind of got saved by the heroics of you know, Allen. You know, we'll just have to go and see what happens, who goes forward, um, you know, with um with Fosco and its offense, and you just have to have to watch out to see, you know, if Koa's if there's something going on there or you know, they get it fixed. And um, because I know that the rest of the way, I think Bosco has a couple of solid games. I wouldn't, you know, they're gonna have you know Pittsburgh next week and Kahuku the following week and then St. Louis uh St. Louis, but you know, not real solid, but still good games. So we'll just have to wait and see what Bosco does before they you know before they get to Trinity League play.
SPEAKER_02So yeah. All right, Scotty, yeah. You mentioned the defense, you mentioned uh Franklin um with the uh interception, you know, also in the uh in the secondary um Willy Ava um had a good game, I thought, you know, nine overall tackles uh to lead the Braves uh in total tackles, and he also forced a fumble. So um shout out to um uh to uh Isala uh Willy Ava. Very good safety for um St. John Bosco. Who's your player of the game in this one, Scotty?
SPEAKER_03Uh Malik Allen, you know, with his with his four touchdowns, and then that that run, you know, the receiving song. Yeah.
SPEAKER_02All right, Scotty. So we mentioned about Ray Fenton uh just a couple games ago. Orange Lutheran got his first win as a head coach at Orange with the uh the Orange Lutheran Lancers. So did um servite football coach Rick Garrison, um, got his first win as a head coach of the Survite Friars, and Survite went on the road and defeated Mirieta Valley, the Nighthawks, 42 to 14. And there were some uh good positives for the uh the Friars who even their record at 1-1, and they bounced back after their loss to Centennial Corona. Um, namely, uh they kept Jordan uh Wells running well. Um, the junior running back, the speedster, eight carries for 120 yards and two touchdowns. And so he's um over 100 yards in both his first games, uh first two games of the season. So maybe uh trying to keep keep pace, I'm sure, for with uh guys like uh Sierra Nebhart and um you mentioned uh yeah, we just talked about Malik Allen. A couple running backs you got to keep uh in the Trinity League. You gotta keep and we mentioned Patero at the top with Santa Margarita. Um got to keep Jordan Wells, uh Scotty, in that in conversation as a running back off to a good start. Gino Wayne had a very solid game, I thought. 8 of 13 for 119 uh yards passing, two touchdowns. And interesting, uh Gino also caught my eye. The junior, four carries for 59 yards. He is an athletic guy, and uh he showed that dimension, um, highlighted by a 25-yard one run. And Ben Harris uh continues to be solid, you know, um definitely contributing six receptions, uh, 53 yards and a score. Um, but I think for also for uh servite of note, you know, uh third it was 28 to 10 at halftime. Um, so I think Fryers got off to a good start on the road. Miriad uh Valley is a little bit down in Scotty, in my opinion. Um they are 0-2, playing some good teams like they usually do. But this is a uh this was a solid win for Survite, um, much needed, and they uh they did what they needed to do out there.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, you know, they just didn't have an answer for Jordan Wells. You know, he was responsible for four of Survite scores. You know, he touched the ball 10 times, but he averaged 15 yards per carry. You know, he scored on runs of 59 and 20 yards, and then he set up another one with a 38 yard reception and then capped it on an and then the last scoring drive, he he aided it with a 20 yard run. So, you know, and then Survite also got a block point for a scoop and score. Um, and they didn't need much from the passing game. You know, Wayne was solid, like you you mentioned. Um, so he he did did enough. Um And then you know the defense held the Nighthawks, the 41 yards rushing. They did allow a combined 195 yards passing. And what's interesting though is that the Marriott starter, Ty Isa, was 15 of 20 for 133 yards before he left the game. And he gave way to another familiar name, sophomore Buck Bachmeyer. And if you guys, the same sounds familiar, he's the third of the Bachmeyer brothers. Um and uh so he came in and he kind of finished up uh not as successful as as Issa in passing, but um, you know, it was a good win. And you know, like I said, Survey needed to get that, you know, wanting you always want to get that first win. Um and uh yeah, you know, we'll have to keep you know watch on Jordan on one wells because yeah, what you know if they can um you know he's right there with the Sear and Allen, and it's interesting because we're usually, you know, it the league has been like a heavy quarterback receiver, yeah. And it's it's it's off to looks like it's gonna be a uh a running back, you know, heavy league, you know, star league so far. We'll have to wait and see.
SPEAKER_02So yeah. And who's your player of the game on this one, Scotty?
SPEAKER_03Well, I went with Wells again, you know, um with that at 15-yard average, you know, you know, the you know, touching the ball. I mean, that's pretty yeah, it's pretty it's pretty good.
SPEAKER_02So awesome. All right, Scotty. Our last game to wrap wrap up from week one. It was a perfect week for the training league at 6-0, um, after their after the league struggled in their in in the opening week at 2-4. And more history uh as far as coaching, and that was the first win for Jay Sarah coach Hardy Nickerson, first year coach, uh, as the Lions defeat uh visiting Long Beach Wilson 63-0. Scotty, it was 49-0 after the uh at halftime because the Lions scored 21 points in the first quarter and 28 in the second quarter. Started uh very fast. Um, you know, a couple minutes into the game, Will Frederickson um broke a 78-yard touchdown run, and uh that was pretty much there was a short touchdown run by RJ Corleigh, uh two-yarder, and then uh Sam Frederickson added a um a 34-yard touchdown reception from Hayes uh Kloitor, uh Clowter, excuse me, um, and it was 21-0, and this game was uh you know getting out of hand uh pretty quickly. Uh Will Frederickson uh finished 109 yards on only six carries, so that's an average of almost, I mean, over 18 yards a carry, Scotty. And and of course, the touchdown run we mentioned of 78 yards. Um, RJ Corleigh, who I mentioned, 11 carries, 74 yards. Um, good average there. As a team, Jay Sarah ran for 244 uh net yards. So, you know, right up there with like St. John Bosco, as far as you know, pushing that ground game. And like you just mentioned, Scotty, the the ground games are looking pretty powerful right now. Uh Hayes uh Clowter, eight of ten, 142 yards, three touchdown uh passes um for him, and uh he led the way. And yeah, it was first win for for uh Coach Nickerson. So big uh Nickerson, so that was big history. Um leading tackler, Daniel Grady, five total tackles, um, including a one sack for for uh Daniel Grady. So Scotty, what did you have on this game?
SPEAKER_03Yeah, this one was you know no contact, you know, overmatch Wilson team. Yeah, like you said, it was over quite quick. You know, a lot of young kids got to see some action. Um, and it was you know number win number one for Nickerson. So um, you know, Jay Sarah had four scores of 20 or more yards. You know, Clark uh Cochley only caught one pass, but it was a 23 yard TD. Yeah, um I think Hayes played a half. Um you mentioned his stats, Frederickson um you know had the long TD run, and then he gave way for sophomores in the freshman backs, Corley and uh Tiilee Gao, and both of them combined for 22 rushes for 140 yards for scores. So um, and then the defense held Wilson to 23 yards passing, 107 yards of total yards of offense, and then 11 tackles for loss. So, you know, um, but this week is gonna be an entirely different story. So, you know, in fact, this game's gonna be a measuring stick for Jay Serrett and its other private school brethren, who we will talk about in a bit.
SPEAKER_02So yeah, you know, interesting uh too, Scotty. You mentioned um I uh you were mentioning the running back uh uh Gagua.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, Galua.
SPEAKER_02Gawa. Um freshman running back. So some uh some new names uh for the Trinity Football Podcast. Uh, you know, guys we'll probably be hearing about more. Um, you know, he did have the last two touchdown runs. Um so uh there's a few freshmen. I think you know Jay Sarah likes their freshman class. I know you know a couple of the names as well. Um, but they they're there's some good freshmen that they they do like, and I and that's one of them. Uh he finished uh 11 carries. I think you had it 66 yards in the two touchdowns. Um so fun to mention a couple uh uh a couple new guys uh that are freshmen. Um I believe I saw one of the other freshmen um names that had uh maybe a tackle uh or two on defense. Um but yeah, Santa Margarita, you know, in this kind of game, not surprising. This is what happens in these kind of games, right? There's some younger guys get in, and uh maybe there's some future stars for us um to uh to notice and talk about for the first time. But I noticed that a lot of freshmen and sophomores were um in the stats uh for sure. Uh Scotty, who was your player of the game in this one?
SPEAKER_03Uh it was a go moment Hayes, just for the you know, being eight of ten, one forty-two, yeah, the three T's and pretty much, you know, a half's work. So um yeah, that's cool.
SPEAKER_02It's um, you know, probably gotta be special for Hayes. You know, uh that's a senior. We talked about he's a transfer from he's been she's been well traveled, most recently came from Texas where he played well, but that's a guy that first got on our radar uh at Santa Margarita. And uh here he is uh you know uh playing well. Um you know, like you said, eight of ten, getting player the uh game honor. So um that's pretty uh cool. I think uh yeah, the guy I was searching for uh Corlay uh is a sophomore, that running back I mentioned um with the uh uh two touchdown runs. So two touchdowns by a sophomore, two touchdown runs by a freshman. So some uh some younger guys uh definitely um in the mix for the Lions. So all right, Scotty. Well that wraps it up for week one. A lot of interesting things that we broke down from the narrow Santa Margarita um win, dramatic, you know, sweated out win for modern day Orange Lutheran impressing on the road, and you know, historical wins for the new uh first year coaches. Let's look at week two, Scotty. Um, let me set up uh the schedule here over overall. All these games are on Friday, September 4th. Yes, we're into September, guys. It is uh we're turning the uh turning the calendar pretty quickly here. Um St. John Bosco travels to Pittsburgh up in Northern California, modern day host Valor of um Colorado. Got some interesting uh highly recruited players out of Colorado. Valor, by the way, is 2-0. Um maybe uh a very good game this week. Basha, the number one ranked team out of Arizona, taking on Orange Lutheran. Uh Basha's one-on-one. Uh, they they won a Basha won a big game in-state um to open their season. Speaking of Arizona, Scotty, Centennial of Arizona is coming in to take on Survite. That game's gonna be at La Morada High School, and uh Survite bounces around a little bit uh home wise, but that game is interesting where Coach Garrison has been a head coach at Chandler, Arizona, and yes, they did cross pass with Centennial um uh Arizona. They're not actually that not terribly far away from each other. Um, but yeah, they they hooked up. Coach Garrison has a history with Centennial. Um the Orange Lutheran game is gonna be at Orange Coast College against Basha, and then um two more uh to mention. Um Highland, uh 0-2 taking on Santa Margarita, and that's gonna game is gonna be at Saddleback College. Should be, you know, uh pretty uh one-sided game. Santa Margarita took care of Highland last year, and Highland is 0-2, and then maybe the game of the week, I think, uh probably in Orange County. Um, there's some other good games as well uh in the Trinity League. Um, I think um, you know, uh we'll talk about them, but I think Jay Sarah 1-1 going to Crean Lutheran, uh, which is 2-0. Creen Lutheran's got a lot of firepower, got a really good quarterback in Caden Jones, got a lot of got some transfers, they got some uh what several guys committed to Arizona on that team. I think it might be five players that are committed to the University of Arizona, Scotty, including Caden Jones, uh, who was number one uh player in my hot 150, um, is off to a pretty solid start. Um they've had the Saints have solid wins to begin the season against Loyola and Miracosta. But Scotty, um, you know, which game do you think is the the top game for you this week?
SPEAKER_03I would say that one, the Kreen Luther and Jay Sarah. Um you know, it was interesting. They are coming off, you know, Green is coming off of a 31-10 win over Miracosta, but it was it was only a 14-10 at the half. Yeah and then they opened it up, you know, and Jones has put up solid numbers in these two games, but it you know, he hasn't gone as crazy, I think, as you would. He hasn't put up Brady-like and star-like numbers, but um, but he's but he's did he's been able to distribute it to like you know to everybody. And you know, week one he went, he went to John Ty Johnson, who was over 100 yards. Then this past week he went to Ross, who caught 10 balls for 140 yards, you know. So, you know, he has he has the guys to do it. What's going to be interesting is we all kind of know what happened uh over the summer when they played another Trinity League full, um, which was an eye-opener because it was supposed to favor Crean Lutheran with its receiving core and Jones, and they were kind of held scoreless. I know it's it's you know, there was a different caliber of team. Um, I know it's you know, it was in it was, you know, it wasn't pads, right? But now we're gonna see can Crean play physical, the physicality, even though it is Jay Sarah, um, who's you know considered the least of the Trinity teams, but the physicality is what's there because that physicality is always what's is what sets the Trinity League apart from everybody else. And so this is gonna be something new for Crean Lutheran. Um, so we'll have to wait and see because they have packed that team with you know some transfers and some you know college guys, but you know, saying it and doing it is a whole nother story. So, you know, we're gonna see that in this week.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, you know, it's interesting, Scotty. I think that you were mentioning that seven on, we were both at that game, but I think you're you're talking about in the summer when Crean Lutheran faced Santa Margarita in seven on down at Mission Viejo, and um they got shut out. Um, was it like 30 to nothing?
SPEAKER_03Yeah, and that were you know, and that was like we're talking skills, and that was they were supposed to have this great skills. Well, now we're now we're into the physicality and the pads, so now we're you know we're going into that. So we'll see, you know, it's just kind of interesting dynamic there.
SPEAKER_02So yeah, yeah, and I double-tecked, it was actually 29-0. So yeah, it's a big uh moment for Santa Margarita. Uh I mean, excuse me, it's a big moment for Kareem Lutheran. They want to measure themselves against Jay Sarah. This is a new matchup, so um, I think it's gonna be uh a good game. I'm gonna be taking it in. And uh, I'm interested to see, yeah, how Jay Sarah uh physicality, uh, you know, how that plays out, the progression of some of their younger players, um, the progression of offense and defense under Coach U Nickerson. You know, it's also an interesting side story too, Scotty, is um there it's a it's kind of a uh it's pretty big, you know, especially for maybe for uh Crean Lutheran, is that former Crean Lutheran assistant coach um is um on the staff at uh um at J Sarah, uh Coach Porter.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, that's right.
SPEAKER_02So that's an interesting dynamic. Um he was he made a big impact in a in a positive way with um with the uh with the Krean Lutheran program. Um you know he has been a big mentor for specifically for Caden Jones. So there's a few uh interesting storylines, I think, in this in this one. So um I think we're both agree that you know Santa Margarita should roll Highland. Um Survite uh Centennial uh should be an interesting game. But uh what do you think about I think Valor, Modern Day, and Basha, Orange Lutheran are outstanding.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, just to touch on on the survived uh centennial game. Um, you know, the the thing interesting there is the two brothers, uh the Hill brothers, Titus Hill and Torrent Hill. Um they're a tandem over there, and and they're pretty good. So that's one to watch there uh with them. And they're the number nine team in Arizona, and they've only they've they're coming off a uh 49, 44 to 10 win um there. And then um, you know, as far as what was the other one you the other two you see?
SPEAKER_02I also like yeah, Basha, Orange Lutheran, and of course Valor of um and Moder Day.
SPEAKER_03So with the Valor team, um, you know, they're they're two and all, they're two and oh, they're the number two team in Colorado, but they're not in among the national 300. So but um, you know, they they beat a Kincaid team from Texas 38-22 and a one and two Faith Ruther in 46-9. And they are led by a QB receiver combo of Titus Heward and 6-3 receiver Jackson Coleman, who's committed to Notre Dame. So, and Heward's completed 69% of his passes for 5-98 and four TDs in those two games, and then Jackson's caught 14 of his balls for 310 uh of them in all four touchdowns. So, and Hewitt is the son of ex-NFL QB Brock Hewitt and the college football analyst. Um, so yeah, so this game is interesting from the standpoint of where again Modern Day is offensively, it puts that pressure on that defense to contain this tandem. You know, you know, they're gonna have to at least hold them to two scores at least. Um, anything more is gonna make the game more interesting, you know, unless Modern Day makes some changes offensively, and that remains to be seen.
SPEAKER_02So yeah, you mentioned uh Titus uh Heward. Um he's a junior 6'5, 205. You know, if you check out Rivals, I mean they they rank him as the number one junior prospect in the state of Colorado for the class of 2028, and he's kind of considered a Kansas state uh lean at this point, but they have a few other guys in uh Valor uh in the junior class, in the senior class. So I you know, like I like I said, I think this could be a very good game. Yeah, I mean intel on the uh Basha. So um, you know, one interesting thing which was Basha, you know, Basha's been a familiar foe in Orange County, and I've got to see them play a few times. I've seen him, I've seen uh Basha come into Orange County and I've seen him play against Los Alamitos and win when Coach Fenton was over at um Los Alamitos coaching guys like um Malachi Nelson and that crew. Um and I've also seen Basha come in and play very tough against Mission Viejo, and of course um Basha beat uh Orange Lutheran last year, so that's pretty interesting. But uh this is another one where Coach Fenton does know about Basha.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, you know, Basha's you know, nationally they're they're coming in at 12, they're the number one team. They've only played one game, and that was last you know, Saturday night um when they beat uh number three and number 26 nationally Chandler, and it was it was game was tied 2020 and late in the third before Basha went on to win. You know, and then you mentioned Basha won last year's game against in Arizona against um you know Olu. But the Bears are stacked. You know, they got 12 committed players from their senior class, headlined by running back Noah Roberts, committed to Texas offensive tackle, Jake Hildenbrand, he's committed to Arizona State. Wide receiver Jaden Baldwin, he's committed to pit. Defensive lineman and Tony to High, he's committed to Kansas State. And then a name you may remember, TK Cunningham, who's the younger brother of the Cunningham that played at Losalle a few years ago, that's well traveled and transferred all over. He's actually at at Basha now and he's committed to Purdue. Um then um, you know, uh there's a couple of other guys that aren't committed that are on the radar too. Uh the quarterback, I think he's a they have him as a Princeton commit, um, but he's a he's a a two-way, uh two-year starter. Um they have an offense, another offensive tackle who's uncommitted, but he's gonna end up going somewhere. So you know they have guys. So this is gonna be a good game. You know, we're gonna see if Oluk can control the line of scrimmage, if they can contain Bash's you know, weapons. Um, you know, I'm assuming you know, we'll see if assuming Brown gets the start, um, but we'll have to wait and see if he's if he still goes with the two-man rotation and then and then goes with who's hot, you know, that can we could possibly see that, but you know, maybe Brown gets the start this time. You know, we'll see. But um it's gonna take everything, you know, and more, you know, then some for Lutheran to to uh to pull this one.
SPEAKER_02So yeah. Interesting, you know, there is another connection with Coach Fenton and Basha because Coach Fenton coached one of the Cunningham uh brothers at Los Alamitos, so he he kind of knows those guys as well. Um and you know, Scotty mentioned a lot of those commits. You know, one guy to watch for Orange Lutheran, you know, eligibility-wise, he hasn't played yet, but that's the big Cajone junior um offensive tackle, Austin Autelaya. Um he is a junior, um, arguably the top you know junior in the st recruit in the state. Um he hasn't played yet, but he is showing up now on the CIF website. Um his transfer eligibility uh is listed as incomplete, but um there that might be a signal that he's getting closer to being declared eligible, and um you know that could be a big uh big addition for you know this game if if Lawrence Lutheran were to get him eligible because it looks like it's gonna be a uh very tough matchup, uh Scotty. So um I'm sure Orange Luther would like to have him sooner than later.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, especially with the in the trenches going against those that that defensive front. Yeah, you want to have all the help and strength you can get.
SPEAKER_02So uh and then uh uh Scotty, St. John Bosco going up to take on Pittsburgh. Pittsburgh is one and oh. Um, what's your thoughts on this one?
SPEAKER_03You know, I mean it's interesting for this, you know, they are the they they they're listed as the 20th ranked team in California, you know, and I know we, you know, you know, sometimes you have to wonder with the Northern California teams because they're just not as yeah, potent as as we they are down in in uh the Southern California area. You know, they are coming off a 40-7 win over Monterey Trail. They were 11-3 last season, losing to Central East um 55 to 36, I think, in the state when in the championship game. I can't remember if it was what division it was, but it was one of the lower divisions. It wasn't the D D one, it might have been one one AA. Um, but it was um, you know, and then two seasons ago came down to Bellflower. They lost to the Braves 35 14. You know, they're led by junior wide receiver Kenneth Ward, who, if you recall in that last game, Ward was a freshman in that basketball game, and he he provided all the offensive punch for the Pirates. Um, and he's a highly rated junior, he's the number 23 in California. Um, I'm I don't know. I'm not expecting you know Pittsburgh to have enough to go toe-to-toe with Bosco, but they could make it interesting. Um, you know, but I still think Bosco would, you know, still comes away with it.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, I'm I'm glad you brought up uh Kenneth Ward. Um, because yeah, I remember that. Um and it looked it looked it up and he had two catches uh for 81 yards and a touchdown um in that game, including a 76 yarder. Um that was a big play. Um ran it, you know, just had one carry, but uh he was an impactful guy in that game.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, they have a couple other guys too that are that are on their, you know, that I you know less less on the radio. I mean, then I saw you know a couple of the highlights from the last week, and the quarterback seems to be um he's an athlete. Same with the running back. They uh they do got a uh a pretty much, you know, the offensive line looks pretty formidable, pretty big size. So, you know, from a size point, they you know they could stack up with Moscow and make it interesting, but but I think Moscow just has too much and just wears people out.
SPEAKER_02So yeah. Um I I uh I think it's interesting too. Uh from a dip, you know, from a Division I Southern California perspective, it's interesting to keep track of this one a little bit too and see how the uh how the how the Braves fare against Pittsburgh because uh in a couple weeks, Pittsburgh uh plays Mission Viejo. Um so um they come down to Mission Viejo uh September 18th. So uh kind of an interesting game to keep an eye on um as we're you know adding some NorCal flavor uh to the mix this week. Uh speaking of the Diablos and Northern California powerhouses, um you know you know who the Diablos play this week uh and travel up to uh Sacramento to play, right, Scotty?
SPEAKER_03Uh de La Salle?
SPEAKER_02Folsom. Folsom. Yeah, so not De LaSalle, but a team that has been in the mix um, you know, uh as far as that, you know, top team out of NorCal um, you know, conversation. So that'll be an interesting one um to keep uh uh keep track of what's Mission Viejo got going on this week and uh how do they do against uh Pittsburgh in a few weeks. So Scott, you look at the schedule. What do you think the Trinity League goes this week?
SPEAKER_03I'm going. I'm gonna go four and what is it?
SPEAKER_02Five and one? Five and one. So who do you have uh who do you have uh losing? Orange Lutheran?
SPEAKER_03Orange Luther.
SPEAKER_02I think so. Uh as well. I I do wonder about um so you got Jay, so you got you're gonna pick J Sarah.
SPEAKER_03I'm gonna go, I'm gonna pick J Sarah.
SPEAKER_02And I could see that because maybe um Crean Lutheran hasn't shown us. I have uh Crean Lutheran ranked higher in Orange County than Jay Sarah.
SPEAKER_03They just like you said, you just were I think you started to say they haven't shown us uh, you know, like that explosion explosiveness as we you know, more so that we would expect with the group of that that they have on offense. You know, like they're not putting up like you know, but it's like their their two their two scores in the last two weeks have been like a slow roll, you know, like they've and their defense is kind of, you know, they're and they think they have a lot of athletes on defense, and so they're able to, I think, to keep those those these lesser two teams at bay from their athletic standpoint. Um so that that's kind of you know, but but I that's the only reason why I'm until I can see it prove otherwise, I think it's gonna be a good game, and I think it's gonna be close. I don't think no one, I don't think either team is gonna blow each other out. I think it'll be a tight game.
SPEAKER_02So I'm probably gonna pick uh I'll pick King Lutheran that one. Um quarterback matchup. Um, I mean, I do I have the intel on all the injury stuff that I do have some questions about um warned uh Krean Lutheran. Um I saw Ty Johnson seemed a little limited last week. Haven't seen anything from Caleb Bay yet. Um, still wondering about uh Nasir Walker, the defensive end transfer. Um, but we know Kreen Lutheran's got a really good secondary. They got some linemen this year, they're running some different guys. Um, they got their linebacker, um uh St. John Bosco transfer going, uh Williamson. So yeah, I I I'll have the Trinity going for uh four and two with uh with Orange Lutheran losing and um and and uh and Jay Sarah. I guess modern day I I got winning a close game against Valor.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, I got I got them you know close one as well. But like I said, I you know if they're not the if they don't make a change on uh on offense and they end up having to lose that one, I wouldn't be surprised. That's I mean, that's how crazy. That's that's where they're at, but that's crazy to say.
SPEAKER_02So yeah. Well that would be pretty wild if we're coming back talking about that. But either way, Scotty, I think we got some good things to talk about uh for that next week's schedule. And it was great uh breaking down week one with you because it was uh a very revealing week once again.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, yes, it was. Yes, it was, and like I said, it's just it's just gonna get more interesting and more crazy, but it's yeah, you gotta love it.
SPEAKER_02So all right, so for Scott Barajas, I am Dan Albano, and thanks again for listening to the Trina League Football Podcast.