Hi, and welcome to another edition of Prep Rally. I’m Eric Sondheimer. It’s Mater Dei at St. John Bosco week. With one week to go in the football regular season, here’s the unbeaten teams: Westlake (9-0), Laguna Beach (9-0), St. John Bosco (9-0), Sierra Canyon (9-0), Crean Lutheran (9-0), Corona del Mar (9-0), Oxnard Paciifica (9-0), Crespi (9-0), Rio Hondo Prep (9-0), Rowland (9-0) and Palisades (9-0).
Receiver Madden Williams will be a key player for St. John Bosco.
(Craig Weston)
The Trinity League championship will be decided Friday night when St. John Bosco hosts Mater Dei. St. John Bosco will either win the title outright with a victory or there will likely be a three-way tie among the Braves, Mater Dei and Santa Margarita. Then it will be up to the computer to decide playoff seedings.
St. John Bosco needs a win to stay ahead of unbeaten Sierra Canyon for the No. 1 seed in Division 1. The top six teams look clear: 1. St. John Bosco, 2. Sierra Canyon, 3. Corona Centennial, 4. Santa Margarita, 5. Mater Dei, 6. Mission Viejo. The last two spots of an eight-team bracket might go to Servite and Orange Lutheran, which play each other Friday. Pairings will be announced Sunday at 10 a.m.
One of the best games of last week was the battle of the unbeatens, Laguna Beach at Dana Hills, before a packed crowd. Laguna Beach prevailed 49-40 with quarterback Jack Hurst throwing five touchdown passes and 387 yards passing.
Norco gave Corona Centennial all it could handle in a 59-49 loss. The Cougars attempted six consecutive onside kicks and recovered two. Receiver Blake Wong had 14 catches for 214 yards and three touchdowns.
Bishop Diego defeated St. Bonaventure 35-27 to improve to 8-1. Behind the scenes, former St. Bonaventure coach Joe Goyeneche is now an assistant at Bishop Diego, so that game had special meaning.
San Clemente handed Los Alamitos its first defeat, 28-9. Los Alamitos has another tough matchup Thursday night, hosting 8-1 Mission Viejo at Artesia High.
Quarterback Colin Creason has led Los Alamitos to an 8-0 record.
(Craig Weston)
Los Alamitos quarterback Colin Creason had to wait three years to finally start a varsity game. Here’s the report on his rise for the Griffins.
It’s time for the 101st meeting between Fillmore and Santa Paula. It will be played Thursday night at Larrabee Stadium in Ventura to take care of the large fan bases.
The Loyola-Sierra Canyon game Friday night has the Riordan family split. Brothers Madden and Jordan are on different sides. Madden is the star defensive back for Sierra Canyon. Jordan is secondary coach for Loyola. Madden used to be a ball boy for Loyola when Jordan played for the Cubs.
Somto Nwude of Crespi did something at SoFi Stadium that not even future Hall of Famer Aaron Donald achieved. He had six sacks in a win over Harvard-Westlake. That’s a school record.
Newbury Park quarterback Brady Smigiel has had surgery on his knee for a torn ACL.
Here’s this week’s top 25 rankings by The Times.
Here’s the top individual performances from last week.
Here’s this week’s schedule of games. A lot of games are Thursday night this week to avoid Halloween on Friday.
The 90th edition of the East L.A. Classic on Friday night drew a crowd estimated at 14,000 at East L.A. College.
(Craig Weston)
The 90th edition of the Garfield vs. Roosevelt East L.A. Classic drew a crowd estimated at 14,000 at East Los Angeles College. Garfield won 37-30 to wrap up the Eastern League championship. Here’s the report.
Crenshaw defeated King/Drew 6-2 to win the Coliseum League championship and improve to 8-1. Here’s the report.
Crenshaw football coach Robert Garrett.
(Robert S. Helfman)
One interesting aspect is that Crenshaw coach Robert Garrett has been on administrative leave. He started the season with 290 wins and will get credit for every Cougar victory as long as he’s eventually reinstated, so he may reach the historic figure of 300 wins without being allowed to be on the field this season. Garrett would be the 16th coach in state history to be at 300 wins, according to CalHiSports.com.
Senior running back Darnell Miller of Santee broke the City Section rushing record with 502 yards against Jefferson. He had 33 carries and scored five touchdowns. The state record is 619 yards held by Ronnie Jenkins of Hueneme.
South Gate junior quarterback Michael Gonzalez is showing he’s one of the best in the City Section. Here’s the report.
Birmingham has won 53 consecutive games against City Section opponents.
The big game of the week is Thursday. San Pedro is hosting Carson to decide the Marine League championship. Playoff pairings will be announced Saturday after 5 p.m. It’s going to be a close call whether Birmingham or Carson will be the No. 1 seed depending on the outcome of San Pedro vs. Carson.
Here’s this week’s top 10 City Section rankings.
Coach of the year
Crenshaw interim coach Terrance Whitehead speaking with quarterback Daniell Flowers.
(Robert H. Helfman)
There are numerous candidates for football coach of the year this season. So many have been doing terrific coaching jobs.
Here’s a look at possible candidates.
The Southern Section Division 1 flag football quarterfinals are set for Monday, and there’s should be some terrific games.
Top seeded JSerra plays at Santa Margarita. Dos Pueblos is at Edison. Huntington Beach will travel to Camarillo for a 7 p.m. showdown. Orange Lutheran is at San Marcos. The semifinals at Saturday.
Here’s updated pairings.
In the City Section, Wilson knocked off Northern League power Eagle Rock for the first time 18-7. City Section pairings come out Saturday.
Girls volleyball
Venice is seeded No. 1 in the City Section Open Division girls volleyball playoffs that begin Monday and Wednesday. Here’s the link to pairings.
In the Southern Section, a key Division 1 playoff match as Mira Costa at Marymount on Tuesday. Here are the complete pairings.
Cross-country
At the Mt. SAC Invitational, Braelyn Combe of Corona Santiago ran a meet course-record time of 16:53.
Mira Costa finished first in the girls team competition. Great Oak was second.
San Clemente topped the boys team competition. Redondo Union was second.
Top girls’ players staying home
McDonald’s All-American Kennedy Smith of Etiwanda.
(Greg Stein)
There’s rising talent in girls’ basketball in Southern California, and the coaches at UCLA and USC agree that the big change is keeping the talent in Los Angeles.
In the old days, top players would look to leave for national powers back east to receive TV exposure. UCLA and USC have become a first option as their programs rise nationally.
Here’s a look at how the changes are affecting girls basketball.
More transfer problems
In case schools in the Southern Section haven’t noticed, just because a school sends in transfer paperwork and approves a valid change of residence or even a sit-out period transfer doesn’t mean it can’t be switched to ineligible when additional information is provided.
That happened again last week when Orange Lutheran’s football team forfeited two wins at the start of the season after an investigation determined that a previously approved student who submitted valid change of residence paperwork had not moved.
Here’s the report.
Be like Shohei
Jared Grindlinger of Huntington Beach has now been named to USA Baseball national teams in three different age groups.
(Nick Koza)
Shohei Ohtani is inspiring a generation of high school baseball players to try pitching and hitting at the same time like he does for the Dodgers.
One of those players is junior Jared Grindlinger of Huntington Beach, an outstanding outfielder and pitcher. He and others discussed the challenge at practices and their admiration for what Ohtani keeps accomplishing.
Here’s the report.
Water polo
The chase begins to try to beat top-seeded Newport Harbor in the Southern Section water polo playoffs.
The Division 1 favorite all season, Newport Harbor has lost only once, to San Diego Cathedral Catholic.
Evan Wu of Santa Margarita.
(Lloyd Sicard)
Santa Margarita is seeded No. 2 and has Evan Wu, who has scored 111 goals this season. Here’s a look at Wu.
Here’s the playoff pairings.
Basketball
Donovan Webb, a 6-foot-4 junior point guard at Golden Valley, has been receiving rave reviews for his skills.
(Eric Sondheimer / Los Angeles Times)
The first high school basketball media day was held at Canyon on Saturday, bringing together coaches and players from the Foothill League.
Here’s a look at some players to watch, including junior point guard Donovan Webb of Golden Valley.
Notes . . .
St. John Bosco coach Jason Negro, left, shakes hands with Mater Dei coach Bruce Rollinson in 2022 at the Rose Bowl. Bosco won 24-22.
(Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)
The Rose Bowl will be the site for the Southern Section Division 1 football championship game on Friday, Nov. 28. It will be the first time for the Pasadena stadium to host the final since nearly 16,000 fans showed up for St. John Bosco vs. Mater Dei in 2022. The girls flag football final is at El Modena. . . .
L.A. Southwest College will host the City Section Open Division championship football game on Saturday, Nov. 29. . . .
Sierra Canyon’s boys and girls basketball teams will compete in the Hoophall Classic in January. Also making the trip back east are Ontario Christian girls and boys teams from Sherman Oaks Notre Dame, St. John Bosco, Mater Dei and Inglewood. Here’s the schedule. . . .
Cornerback CJ Lavender of Mater Dei, having the best season of any Monarch defensive back, has committed to UCLA after previously being committed to Washington. . . .
Offensive lineman Andre White from Rancho Cucamonga has committed to UNLV. . . .
Distance runner Millie Bayles from Trabuco Hills has committed to Brigham Young. . . .
Jacob Webster, a 6-foot-4 quarterback at Oak Hills, has committed to Loyola Marymount for baseball. . . .
Jaylin Conard, a junior guard who played at DNA Prep, has transferred to St. Francis. . . .
Barron Linnekens, a senior center for Harvard-Westlake, has committed to Washington University in Missouri. . . .
Kobee Finnikin, a senior first baeman from Rancho Mirage who is committed to Cal Baptist, has transferred to Corona. He was the Desert Sun athlete of the year in 2024. . . .
Josh Irving, a 6-foot-11 center at Pasadena, has committed to Texas A&M. . . .
Luke Barnett, a top shooting guard at Mater Dei, has committed to Kansas. . . .
L.A. Jordan officially canceled its football season last month for lack of players. The school had a successful coach last season in Derek Benton, who moved to Fremont. First-year coach James Boyd was let go in the middle of this season. . . .
From the archives: Bear Bachmeier
Quarterback Bear Bachmeier poses for a photo on his family’s three-acre plot of land while attending Murrieta Valley.
(Gina Ferazzi/Los Angeles Times)
There’s a bear on the loose in Provo, Utah. Bear Bachmeier, a freshman quarterback from Murrieta Valley, has led Brigham Young to an 8-0 record. He originally attended Stanford, then transferred to BYU. His brother, Hank, is a former college quarterback and brother Tiger transferred from Stanford to BYU with him.
Bachmeier wore No. 47 in high school and sometimes ran as if he were a fullback. His toughness and intelligence are two qualities he showed throughout high school.
Here’s a story from 2021 on Bear throwing to Tiger for the first time in high school.
Here’s a profile on Bachmeier in 2023 explaining his background and family history.
Recommendations
From Thenewstribune in Tacoma, a story on the son of a former NFL receiver starring as a receiver.
From Elisportsnetwork.com, a story on a football coach being suspended in Washington and his staff refusing to coach. He has since been reinstated.
From MaxPreps.com, a story on a high school football team in Minnesota that keeps losing and losing (150 straight losses) but won’t quit.
From the Daily Pilot, a story on a student at Corona del Mar writing a book on flag football.
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 [email protected], and follow me on Twitter at @latsondheimer.
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