Prep Rally: How good is Servite football? We’ll find out Saturday against Mater Dei
Hi, and welcome to another edition of Prep Rally. My name is Eric Sondheimer. The Mater Dei-Servite football rivalry has been so popular that games used to be played at Angel Stadium. Saturday’s game will be at Santa Ana Stadium and match No. 1 Mater Dei (6-0) against No. 2 Servite (8-0) at 8 p.m. Prepare for fireworks.
No. 1 vs. No. 2
All those people wondering just how good Servite is will finally learn the truth with a showdown against unbeaten Mater Dei on Saturday night. Bally Sports West asked for an 8 p.m. start, so prepare for Trinity League After Dark.
The last time receiver Tetairoa McMillan went against Mater Dei’s defensive backs, the Monarchs were called for six pass interference penalties. Servite quarterback Noah Fifita has even more weapons this season, and running back Houston Thomas is ready to add some balance.
The big question mark for Servite is its secondary. Mater Dei quarterback Elijah Brown is likely to use his precision passes and many receivers to cause problems. Mater Dei’s depth advantage also figures to come into play.
But Servite comes in with all its top players healthy, so this will be a fair test to see who’s best in the Trinity League and in Southern California for the moment.
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Centennial gets revenge
Six months of waiting. Six months of plotting. Six months of preparing to seek revenge. Corona Centennial players, coaches and fans just could not forget what happened on April 3, 2021, the day Norco ended the Huskies’ 57-game football win streak in the Big VIII League with a 38-36 victory.
“It felt like they kicked our butts,” coach Matt Logan said.
Ever since, the Huskies have counted down the days to Friday night’s rematch in cowboy country, where waving American flags stationed on pickup trucks could be seen above Norco’s sold-out stadium on Hillside Avenue on a warm, windy evening.
The competition was fierce. Centennial started fast, then Norco countered. By the third quarter, Centennial got big plays from Jaden Mickey and Jayson Cortes to help the Huskies (8-0, 3-0) pull away for an impressive 48-24 victory.
Here’s the report.
Banning loses Jakob Galloway
The No. 1-ranked team in the City Section, Banning, appears to have lost All-City running back Jakob Galloway for the rest of the season after a knee injury against Carson.
Coach Raymond Grajeda was still waiting for a final MRI to confirm the seriousness of the injury, but he was already planning to get his capable backups ready to step in.
Galloway is a San Jose State commit who rushed for 1,339 yards and 14 touchdowns in six games. He was averaging 12.4 yards per carry and was a huge factor in the Pilots taking down City favorite San Pedro.
The replacements include Seth Fao and Caleb Nuhi-Yandall, who rushed for 320 yards against Carson after Galloway went down.
Football rewind
Palisades stayed unbeaten with a 63-7 win over Hamilton. Here’s a report.
There were many punts and kickoffs returned for touchdowns this past weekend. It was feast or famine. Here’s a report.
Huntington Beach Edison is looking very threatening for the Division 2 playoffs. Here’s a report from the Chargers’ win over Corona del Mar.
Thomas Kensinger of Venice had 13 tackles, including two sacks, in his team’s 14-13 win over Westchester.
Here’s the week nine schedule.
Top 25 rankings
A look at The Times’ top 25 high school football teams in the Southland.
Rk. SCHOOL (W-L) Last week | Next game (last rank)
1. MATER DEI (6-0); def. Santa Margarita, 56-3; vs. Servite (at Santa Ana Stadium), Saturday; 1
2. SERVITE (8-0); def. JSerra, 53-0; at Mater Dei (at Santa Ana Stadium), Saturday; 2
3. ST. JOHN BOSCO (7-1); def. Orange Lutheran, 49-25 ;at Santa Margarita (at Saddleback College), Friday; 3
4. CORONA CENTENNIAL (8-0); def. Norco, 48-24; at Eastvale Roosevelt, Friday; 4
5. MISSION VIEJO (7-1); def. Tesoro, 45-3; at San Juan Hills, Friday; 5
6. SANTA MARGARITA (5-3); lost to Mater Dei, 56-3; vs. St. John Bosco (at Saddleback College), Friday; 8
Here’s the link to remaining top 25 teams.
Linemen like to eat
Every Tuesday, the family of quarterback Jack Jacobs invites the La Cañada St. Francis offensive line over for a meal. They’re like a pack of lions eager to devour meat.
“They do eat a lot,” said Jacobs’ father, Brian. “Almost to the player, everyone comes for second and thirds.”
Now it becomes clear why St. Francis coach Dean Herrington calls the offensive line the best he’s coached, spanning some 35 years from his days coaching at Newhall Hart, Mission Hills Bishop Alemany and Lancaster Paraclete. The team is 7-1.
They’re motivated to protect Jacobs with their stomachs always growling. It’s called feeding the beasts.
The line includes left tackle Peter Terry (6 feet 3, 300 pounds); left guard Naasir Asiata-Tatum (6-2, 290); center Duncan Sprengel (6-2, 305); right guard Nicholas Ortega (5-11, 230); right tackle Racin Delgatty (6-4, 320). And don’t forget sophomore Phillip Ocon (6-4, 325), who was starting at left tackle until an ankle injury.
Here’s a report on the Golden Knights’ line success.
Emergency replacements
A “next man up” mentality is part of sports lore, when a player steps in after another goes down in a seamless transition. Except that doesn’t always happen. More frequently, there’s chaos, disruption and uncertainty.
That means a coach has every right to celebrate when an unknown reserve actually fulfills the replacement role at moment’s notice, and no one is happier than Simi Valley football coach Jim Benkert.
Somehow, someway, the Pioneers are 9-0 after losing the team’s two top players to injuries, quarterback Travis Throckmorton and linebacker Malachi Hannah.
Two weeks ago against rival Royal, freshman quarterback Steele Pizzella completed 12 of 15 passes for 347 yards and three touchdowns in a 42-6 victory. Senior linebacker Will Bush recorded 18 tackles, including 11 solo. Both were backups filling in for the star players.
Here’s a look at their contributions.
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Fulfilling dream of Vietnamese parents
Nhusuong Hoang calls it the “angry face.”
Her husband Tom Huynh would tense every time he watched their daughter Haily Huynh play in a tennis tournament. If she lost, he’d go silent with anger. Car rides home would turn into cold wars until the atmosphere exploded and Haily would cry as the two argued back and forth.
“I went through so many years like, ‘Oh, my god, this is torturing,’” Hoang said. “Every time she lost, he couldn’t take it. He just couldn’t take it. And it makes her feel horrible.”
There were plenty of times Hoang pleaded with her husband to take it easy on Haily, who is now captain of the Mira Costa High girls’ tennis team, thinking her daughter would quit. But father and daughter would always bounce back and head to the courts together to restart the dance, over and over.
Huynh watches volleys off his daughter’s racket with the same eyes that grew up in a war-torn Vietnam. That saw trucks shuttling across the main road that carried coffins upon coffins. That saw the inside of a refugee camp for a year.
With bits and pieces gleaned at the dinner table, Haily has put together a patchwork of her parents’ history, both immigrants from Vietnam. A senior now, Haily understands her dad’s desire for her and sister Maily, who also plays for Mira Costa, to never experience that kind of poverty. Now, with a scholarship to UC Irvine, Haily hopes she’s made him proud.
“I just spent so much time and effort and he dedicated so much time and effort into me that I wanted to pay him back in that kind of way,” Haily said.
Here’s the profile.
Girls’ volleyball
History was made Tuesday night at Venice High when the Gondoliers became the first Western League girls’ volleyball team to defeat Palisades in a league match dating back to the 2010 season.
Venice, under coach Raul Aviles, defeated the Dolphins 3-1 to end Palisades’ 130-match win streak. It was also the first league loss for coach Carlos Gray since he took over the program in 2013.
Daniella Kensinger, whose twin brother Thomas is a star on the football team, recorded 14 kills, 14 digs and four aces. Rain Martinez had 17 kills.
Venice rallied after losing the first set.
“The key was executing our game plan and staying disciplined,” Aviles said.
Afterward, the celebration was loud and enthusiastic.
“It was a little exciting,” Aviles said. “The kids got a little crazy.”
By winning, Venice put itself in position to be the No. 1 seed for the City Section Open Division playoffs. The score was 27-29, 25-17, 24-14, 25-13.
Marshall ended another City Section streak when it defeated Eagle Rock in a Northern League match. Eagle Rock had not lost a league match since 2010.
Playoff pairings
Los Angeles Marymount is 28-0 and a heavy favorite to win the Southern Section Division 1 girls’ volleyball championship. Playoff pairings were released on Saturday, and Marymount is seeded No. 1, followed by No. 2 Mater Dei, No. 3 Lakewood and No. 4 Mira Costa.
Here’s the link to complete pairings.
The first round begins on Thursday. Marymount has an opening bye and will play the winner of Redondo Union-Harvard-Westlake on Oct. 27 in its opener.
Giving back
Former NBA player Josh Childress, who graduated from Lakewood Mayfair in 2001, has made possible a new weight-training area for his alma mater. The Mayfair High Childress Performance Center was unveiled on Friday.
The old weight room was gutted and updated with all new equipment. The project began during the summer.
“It’s beautiful,” basketball coach Tony Davis said. “When he approached me about it, I was all for it. We saw the design. Everything they’ve put into has blown us away. It’s something we’ll see the benefits from for years to come. I’m thankful he was willing to invest in our community. Even more, he’s always wanted to give his time to mentor and give back to kids.”
Cross-country
Orange County held its cross-country championships.
Here’s a report from the finals.
Notes . . .
Offensive lineman Wendell Moe of Long Beach Poly has committed to Morgan State. . . .
Receiver Louis Brown from Inglewood has committed to Nevada. . . .
Lucas Gimenez, a soccer player at Servite, has committed to Sacramento State. . . .
Valencia has lost quarterback Tyler Voss because of knee injury. . . .
Newbury Park cross-country standout Colin Sahlman has committed to Northern Arizona, where he’ll join another former Panther, Nico Young. . . .
After delays, Hueneme will get to play its first football game on a new home field Friday night. The school district approved bringing in temporary lighting. The new all-turf field, bleachers, press box and scoreboard have been ready but issues with power have continued. . . .
Third baseman Jordan Kang of Harvard-Westlake has committed to Harvard. . . .
Ryan Bateman is the new baseball coach at Sunny Hills. . . .
Junior pitcher Garrett McGuigan of Maranatha has committed to Cal. . . .
Charles Dickerson is the new baseball coach at Hollywood. . . .
Freshman Ivy Kim of Sherman Oaks Notre Dame had a hole-in-one on the par-3 No. 7 hole at Woodley. . . .
Junior Trent Turner of Loyola has committed to Loyola University of Maryland for lacrosse. . . .
Beverly Hills basketball player Jac Mani has committed to UC Davis. . . .
Birmingham junior shortstop Gavin Taylor has committed to Nevada . . . .
Tesoro junior Jackson Freeman has committed to Northwestern for baseball. . . .
Baseball players loving football
Let’s give a standing ovation to the group of baseball players who decided to also play football this fall and make the most of their high school experience while ignoring those doomsayers recommending to play year-round baseball or you’re supposedly hindering development.
Take the case of Matt Quintanar, one of the best catchers in Southern California who’s a Pepperdine commit. He gave up football after his freshman season at Hart.
“That was my biggest regret,” he said Sunday morning. “I just had to go back and play with my best friends.”
He returned to playing football in his senior season, joining the team after two games. On Friday night, he scored the tying touchdown and the winning touchdown in an overtime victory over Valencia.
Here’s a report on the baseball players playing football.
From the archives: Max Fried
No pitcher in the major leagues has been throwing better than former Harvard-Westlake pitcher Max Fried of the Atlanta Braves.
He was a first-round draft pick of the San Diego Padres in 2011.
He’s the last athlete from the now closed Montclair Prep to still be active. Here’s a story from 2010 when Fried was a junior at Montclair Prep discussing his curveball that came from his love of Sandy Koufax.
Since July 28, in 13 starts, he had 82 strikeouts and 11 walks with a 1.45 ERA. He started on the mound against the Dodgers on Saturday in the NLCS.
Here’s a 2012 video of Fried and former Harvard-Westlake teammate Lucas Giolito together.
The Braves have four players with Southern California ties. Here’s the link to look at Fried, Freddie Freeman, Tyler Matzek and Travis d’Arnaud.
Recommendations
From IESportsnet.com, a profile that ran last year on Corona Centennial football coach Matt Logan.
From Texashsfootball.com, a story about a high school quarterback named Drew Brees, who was supposedly too small.
From The562.org, a profile on Long Beach Millikan sophomore cross-country standout Jason Parra.
From the Daily Pilot, a story on girls playing running back at Ocean View and Laguna Beach.
Tweets you might have missed
Until next time...
Have a question, comment or something you’d like to see in a future Prep Rally newsletter? Email me at eric.sondheimer@latimes.com, and follow me on Twitter at @latsondheimer.
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Get our high school sports newsletter
Prep Rally is devoted to the SoCal high school sports experience, bringing you scores, stories and a behind-the-scenes look at what makes prep sports so popular.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
