Lots of top 100s among 909ers

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I have to admit, when I took a look at the top 100 high school football players in California this season, according to rivals.com, I was surprised how many play in the Inland Empire.

Two of the state’s top three offensive linemen, Tyron Smith of Moreno Valley Rancho Verde and Max Tuioti-Mariner of Corona, are both 909ers (or is it 951 now?) and seven of the top 25 reside in the foreclosure capital of California. That’s more than Orange County and the City Section combined.

I had the chance to see Corona Centennial running back Ryan Bass, ranked No. 24, tread all over a very speedy Compton Dominguez defense on Friday night (Centennial linebacker Brandon Magee is also ranked No. 34), I plan to get back on the 91 freeway this Friday and watch Redlands East Valley and its USC-bound reciever, No. 23 Chris Polk, go up against defending section champion Riverside North at Riverside College. Polk had Ronnie Fouch, now at Washington, throwing to him last year, so he might have to do a little more on his own this season.

And if my co-blogger, Orange County-based Martin Henderson, doesn’t mind, I might head back out to Glover Stadium in Anaheim on Saturday night to watch Corona Santiago and its UCLA-bound defensive back, No. 18 Anthony Dye, go head-to-head against Anaheim Servite, which has two offensive players ranked in the top four in the state, offensive lineman Matt Kalil and all-purpose back D.J. Shoemate, both of whom have committed to USC. Dye is supposedly very strong against the run, so it should be a good matchup against Shoemate, not to mention a pretty decent game.

Hopefully, I’ll see enough of these teams over the next month to give you my perspective of how the top leagues will shake out.

- Dan Arritt