Trinity League - Week 3

By Les Lukach

High School Football America – SoCal Correspondent

With the exception of a hiccup by Servite in week zero (more on that below), the Trinity League seems to be playing out the way we anticipated during preseason camps.

Santa Margarita (Santa Margarita, CA) appears to be the class of the league as they traveled to Arizona and defeated a very good Brophy Prep team which was playing their second game in four days. The Eagles responded to that victory by breezing through an outmatched Wilson (Long Beach, CA) team. The Eagles all-world offensive line - with three D1 recruits - is allowing QB Johnny Stanton (Nebraska) to shine in head coach Harry Welch’s offense. Despite losing three-key players to transfer, the Eagles seem primed for big matchups against Carson and St. Boneventure before they open league against Servite.

Speaking of Servite (Anaheim, CA), much was made about their loss to Bishop Amat – a Pac 5 team which should make some noise in the postseason – because it was the Friars first loss to a California team in 26 games. The loss actually exposed some serious issues for the Servite. The offense struggled and needed a furious late comeback to beat a very good Rancho Cucamonga team by one point. The following day head coach Troy Thomas announced the firing of his offensive coordinator, Matthew Mitchell, which had been with him for three consecutive league championships and a state bowl appearance. Thomas stated that "It came down to us not being philosophically on the same page”, which seemed interesting given Mitchell’s tenure with the team and status as JV head coach.  The Friars go into games against Edison (Huntington Beach, CA) and Bishop Gorman (Las Vegas, NV) with a new offensive coordinator and lots of questions on defense before they head into league.

The team no one seems to be talking about is St. John Bosco (Bellflower, CA). The Braves are loaded on offense and their defense is playing lights out thus far. The level of competition can be questioned, but when you are putting up 55 point a game, you’re obviously doing something right. The formidable trio of wide receivers - Jaleel Wadood, Arlandis Hinton, and AJ Holman – is proving to be great targets for sophomore quarter back Josh Rosen. The line, anchored by Nico Fallah – a USC commit – is blowing holes for a duo of running backs. While the offense is clicking on all cylinders, it’s the defense which is making headlines early for the Braves. While only allowing seven points-per-game, the defense has allowed less than 150 yards total offense in each game. If the defense continues to play like this the Braves are sure to rise towards the top of league standings when all is said-and-done. The Braves have a big matchup against Loyola (Los Angeles, CA) before opening up against Orange Lutheran in league.

It’s too early to get a true read on Mater Dei (Santa Ana, CA) given that they’ve only played one game versus an outmatched St. Paul (Santa Fe Springs, CA). The Monarchs won that game 35-0 pulling away at the end after having a 14-0 lead at the half. The Monarchs return players at all the key spots (QB, WR, DL, OL, TE) to make that offense roll. If the defense can string together performances like last week the Monarchs will make some noise in league as they look to get back into the playoffs after missing out on post season play last  year for the first time in over a decade. Mater Dei will be challenged by Edison and Narbonne (Harbor City, CA) before opening against Jserra (San Juan Capistrano, CA) in league.

The big question for Orange Lutheran Lancers coming into this season was how the players would adjust to a new coaching staff with a new philosophy and commitment to running the ball. If the first two games are any indication, the answer to that question is just fine. Behind an offensive line which feature John Lopez (UCLA) and Colin Sutton (Colorado) the Lancers are taking the challenge of running the Wing-T and running with it…literally. After a close call against Wilson (Long Beach, CA), the Lancers completely dominated Damien (La Verne, CA) behind first-time starter JD Pickell at quarterback who managed the offense perfectly. If there is a question for the Lancers it’s on defense where they counting on four new starters in a secondary which play a lot of cover zero protection leaving inexperienced defensive backs on an island. The Lancers will face a rebuilding, but always tough, La Habra (La Habra, CA) team and very aggressive Redondo Union (Redondo Beach, CA) team before opening up league against St. John Bosco.

The JSerra Lions (San Juan Capistrano, CA) rolled to a 37-21 victory against Wilson (Long Beach, CA) with the starters pitching a shutout for the first three quarters before giving way to the backups. The Lions are a program on the cusp of being very competitive and look to build on their back-to-back one win seasons in league. The Lions will be tested by Huntington Beach (Huntington Beach, CA), Dana Hills (Dana Point, CA), and Trabuco Hills (Mission Viejo, CA) before they open league against Mater Dei. If the Lions can continue to be stout on defense and efficient on offense they are certain to cause some headaches for coordinators in league.

With three games remaining in the non-conference schedule for most teams we should have a great indication of which teams are for real and which teams aren’t by the time we get into league play. One thing we know for certain, the winner of the Trinity League – which many consider to be the best in the state of California – is going to be battle tested heading into the post season.

Follow Les Lukach on Twitter @leslukach