Valencia High’s Zach Tartabull has hands, speed and genes

There should be no doubt that 16-year-old junior Zach Tartabull of Valencia belongs in any discussion about who ranks among the top receivers in the Southland this fall.

All summer in seven-on-seven passing competitions, the 6-foot, 185-pound Tartabull has stood out with his dependable hands, precision patterns and excellent speed.

On Saturday in the 16-team Huntington Beach Edison tournament, he caught nine touchdown passes in six games, causing Valencia Coach Larry Muir to conclude, “Tartabull is one of the best in Southern California.”

Although Valencia had to settle for second place in a tournament for the third time this summer, losing to host Edison, 39-18, in the championship game, the Vikings know they can build around Tartabull, who also starts at free safety.

No one should be surprised with Tartabull’s development considering his genes. Sixteen years ago, his birth was reported in the New York Times sports section and other New York newspapers because his father, Danny, was an outfielder with the Yankees. Danny’s father, Jose, also played in the major leagues.

Danny played 14 years in the majors, but his son has no intention of pursuing baseball.

“It’s a little too boring for me,” he said.

Football and track are his specialties, and Muir intends to find ways to make sure Tartabull gets the ball.

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The four-way competition to decide the starting quarterback job at Edison appears to be over after junior Matt Viles led the Chargers to victories Saturday over Santa Margarita, Trabuco Hills, Corona Centennial, La Habra, Los Alamitos and Valencia en route to the tournament title.

Of course, he had lots of help, with Jeff Crissman contributing as a receiver and defensive back, but the most important summer goal for Edison was to find a quarterback, and Viles seems the obvious choice.

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Edison showed off its new $1-million weight-training room, and what a facility it is. I’ve seen the weight-training areas for North Hollywood Harvard-Westlake, Westlake Village Oaks Christian and Santa Ana Mater Dei, but Edison now has the best.

Visitors were taking cellphone photos of the 5,000-square-foot room that has 12 power-cleaning stations and six bench-squat racks.

The Chargers also have a new $1-million all-weather field that will be used for soccer games, field hockey and football practice.

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Corona Centennial could be ranked No. 1 in the Southland in the preseason after picking up its latest transfer student, junior linebacker Brandon Brown from Norco. Brown is a top recruit for the class of 2010, and he’ll get to play next to USC-bound Vontaze Burfict. He was on the field Saturday at Edison. The Huskies defeated Mater Dei in the consolation final.

The Huskies already are relying on another top transfer, Taylor Martinez from San Bernardino Cajon. He’s slated to take over at quarterback for Matt Scott. Martinez was originally declared ineligible by the Southern Section when his hardship appeal was denied, but he has since moved into the Centennial district, making him eligible, according to Coach Matt Logan.

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The Umodu family has made a big impact at West Covina South Hills, and the best player in the family could be junior receiver Ify Umodu, who’s 6-3, weighs 188 pounds and is the fastest of three football-playing brothers.

Tobi is a sophomore fullback at UCLA and Kebin is a freshman defensive lineman at Air Force.

“They’re stronger than me,” Ify said. “They have something to be proud of.”

But when it comes to speed, the older brothers no longer want to race Ify, who also plays basketball.

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It’s good that the summer seven-on-seven season is coming to a close because tempers have been rising with the heat.

On Saturday at the 31-team Claremont tournament, the championship game between Pasadena Muir and Palmdale was halted because of a fight. Ditto for the third-place game between Canyon Country Canyon and Bonita.

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Mission Viejo won its tournament championship, defeating Upland in the final. It was a battle between California-bound quarterback Allan Bridgford of Mission Viejo and Tennessee-bound quarterback Josh Nunes of Upland.

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Thousand Oaks and Newbury Park each went 5-0 in the Rio Mesa tournament. Camarillo won the lineman competition.

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USC-bound quarterback Matt Barkley of Mater Dei will be dressed in a suit and tie Wednesday at a hotel in Hollywood to learn whether he has been selected the Gatorade high school athlete of the year. He was the Gatorade football player of the year. Now all the players of the year in the individual sports will gather to see who’s No. 1 overall in the nation.

Also in the running are Jrue Holiday, the basketball player of the year from North Hollywood Campbell Hall, and Kyle Skipworth of Riverside Patriot, the baseball player of the year.

eric.sondheimer@latimes.com