Where Are We Now? - Trinity League

by Les Lukach

High School Football America Correspondent

With most league teams having played three games, we should be able to more closely make out the teams identities. However, after last week’s games, where we saw school records shattered at Santa Margarita and St. John Bosco, a new passing wrinkle in the OLu offense, and a stout defensive performance from JSerra, there may be more questions than answers. We will do our best to answer those for you here.

Q: How is anyone going to stop Santa Margarita?

A: No clue. Johnny Stanton, who is getting early attention for National Player of the Year honors, seems to be unstoppable. Whether it’s running or passing Stanton is playing on a different level than anyone else on the field. When you consider he has six BCS level recruits on his team alone, what he is doing is even more impressive. For the season Stanton has completed 38 of 62 attempts for 629 yards with seven touchdowns and three interceptions. Stanton broke the school record for total yards (5,459), which was held by current Oakland Raider Carson Palmer, last week in another dominant performance. The Eagles were tested a little bit in a nationally televised game against Brophy Prep (Phoenix, AZ), but have since had no trouble with opponents. They should have no trouble with Carson this week but should get a good look from St. Bonaventure (Ventura, CA) before taking on an inconsistent Servite (Anaheim, CA) team to kick off league.

Q: How good is St. John Bosco?

A: Last week we mentioned the defense being the early storyline for the Braves this season. Well, it looks like head coach Jason Negro and his offense got the message. After throwing one pass in the season opener and 14 in Week 1, Josh Rosen went 18 of 26 for 312 yards and 7 touchdowns against Santa Fe (Santa Fe Springs, CA) last week. Wide receiver AJ Holman was on the receiving end of four of those touchdown passes, all in the first half, which shattered the school record. The Braves offense is beginning to find a rhythm and could be the most prolific in the league. In their first three games of the season the Braves have had six, nine, and 10 players with carries and now Rosen seems to have settled into a comfort zone with his receivers. With a very good offensive line and a defense which has done a superb job against inferior competition, the Braves look forward to this Friday’s showdown against Loyola (Los Angeles, CA). There will be a lot of Division I talent on display in this game and could serve as a springboard into a special season for St. John Bosco.

Q: They throw the ball in the veer-option offense?

A: Sort of! Orange Lutheran (Orange, CA) showed a new wrinkle to their offense in last Friday’s game as they threw a 75 yard reverse touchdown pass in the second quarter of their game against El Modena (Orange, CA). Wide receiver Adam Connette took the reverse from QB Luke Langdon and threw a gem to WR Brady Billups who displayed some speed in separating from the defense on his way into the end zone untouched. People in the stands were as surprised as the El Modena defense was, not because the Lancers pulled it off, but because they were just familiarizing themselves with the intricacies of head coach Chuck Petersens’ offense. With Langdon working hard to master the offense it wouldn’t be surprising to see Coach Petersen open up the passing opportunities in the next couple of weeks to give league coaches something else to game plan for. The Lancers are as good as anyone in the front seven defensively and the secondary is growing each week. Their offensive line is in the top three in the league; the kicking game is arguably the best behind senior Kicker Reese Flynn’s strong leg; and if the wide receivers continue to develop, the Lancers are going to be tough to beat. After playing a rebuilding La Habra (La Habra, CA) and a pesky Redondo Union (Redondo Beach, CA), the Lancers will have a bye before kicking off league against St. John Bosco.

Q: Is Mater Dei back?

A: We don’t know just yet. The Monarchs have played only two games against teams they’re supposed to beat. This Thursday’s game against Santa Monica (Santa Monica, CA) will tell us a little more about where Mater Dei (Santa Ana, CA) is at this stage in the season. Quarterback Ryan McMahon’s growth from last season to this one is impressive. The USC baseball commit is clicking on all cylinders and has developed a great relationship with WR Thomas Duarte, who is BCS level recruit. When head coach Bruce Rollinson compliments his defense you know they’re pretty good; the coach isn’t one to fawn over units on his teams, he prefers to speak of the team as a whole. The defense will have its hands full this week against WR Sebastian LaRue (USC) and a potent Santa Monica offense. The Monarchs cannot afford to get caught looking ahead to a potential huge showdown against Edison (Huntington Beach, CA) next week.

Q: What is going on at JSerra?

A: Very good things. However, be warned that we’ve seen this before. After going 5-0 and 4-1 in non-league the last two seasons respectively, the Lions have won only one league game in those two seasons. The difference this season is how they’re winning these games. They had a 27-0 lead in the third quarter over Wilson (Long Beach, CA) before emptying the bench in week one. The Lions used a blocked punt return for touchdown against Huntington Beach (Huntington Beach, CA) on the road to claim their second victory last week. JSerra is fighting an uphill battle as they have low numbers but Head Coach Jim Hartigan is getting the most out of them in the early part of the season, especially junior WR/CB Dante Pettis, who is proving to be a pleasant surprise on both sides of the ball for the Lions. The rest of the non-conference schedule will be a good test for JSerra despite going against some teams that aren’t playing to their potential. The true test will come in league where the Lions will look to add to their one win seasons of the past.

Q: How will Servite respond to the shakeup on the coaching staff?

A: If we know anything about head coach Troy Thomas it’s that he’s a no-nonsense kind of guy which he proved by letting go of his fourth-year offensive coordinator…after a win! The Friars have been a disappointment this season in many people’s eyes despite their 1-1 record. After losing to what should be a very good Bishop Amat (La Puente, CA) team, Servite (Anaheim, CA) needed a furious late rally to beat a very good Rancho Cucamonga (Rancho Cucamonga, CA) team. Shortly after that comeback it was announced by Thomas that Matthew Mitchell would no longer be on staff. For the Friars the challenge is going to be adapting to a new play caller and handling the changes in the scheme. On a team without a ton of senior leadership we could see the residual effects of this decision the rest of the season. On the flip side, don’t be surprised if this move brings the Friars closer together and they make yet another run at league and state titles. In order for that to happen though, the offense and defense must begin to play to Servite standards which in the past have meant being more prepared, more physical, and more confident than their opponents. We haven’t seen any of that yet thus far.

Les Lukach appears on High School Football America - SoCal on AM 570 Fox Sports LA. You can follow Les Lukach on Twitter: @leslukach