FEATURE PRESENTATION: ARMED AND READY FOOTHILL LEAGUE LOADED WITH `GREAT' QUARTERBACKS.Byline: Gerry Gittelson Staff Writer Foothill League football teams hoping to succeed this season will have to do so the Old West style: by heading 'em off at the pass. That's because the league's quarterbacks have never been more impressive as a group, with four of the six starters - Canyon's Nate Longshore Nate Longshore (born June 30, 1986 in Canyon Country, California, U.S.) is an American football quarterback for the California Golden Bears. Longshore was an Elite-11 quarterback in high school and a 4-star recruit rated by Rivals.com and Scout.com."How Far ... , Hart's Sean Norton, Valencia's Michael Herrick and Burbank's Mike McDonald Mike McDonald (born June 22, 1958 in North Hollywood, California) is a former professional American football player who played long snapper for nine seasons in the NFL. - among the area's top-10 passing-efficiency leaders. ``It's the best depth at quarterback I've ever seen,'' said Canyon head coach Harry Welch, who's been coaching prep football for 25 years. ``Can you imagine any other league with this many great quarterbacks? I can't. We're going to see some great games coming up.'' Longshore long·shore adj. Occurring, living, or working along a seacoast. [Short for alongshore.] and Norton are coming off personal bests in passing yardage yard·age 1 n. 1. An amount or length measured in yards. 2. Cloth sold by the yard. Noun 1. , with Longshore throwing for 354 yards against Highland of Palmdale and Norton passing for 400 against Birmingham of Lake Balboa. The two are among the best college prospects on the West Coast. Longshore committed to California last Thursday, and Norton is being heavily recruited by Wyoming, Washington and others. McDonald's 258 yards and three touchdowns against Gabrielino of San Gabriel San Gabriel (săn gā`brēəl), city (1990 pop. 37,120), Los Angeles co., SW Calif.; inc. 1913. Fabric, furniture, paper products, tools, and aircraft parts are manufactured. last week was among the junior's finest performances. More important, he has carried the team to a 3-1 record, which means Burbank already has won more games in one season than any year since 1992. Herrick might be the most intriguing of the bunch. A sophomore, he beat out three prospects for the starting position, then passed for a school-record 400 yards in a season-opening victory at Bishop Amat of La Puente La Puente (lä pwĕn`tē), city (1990 pop. 36,955), Los Angeles co., S Calif., a suburb of Los Angeles; laid out 1841, inc. 1956. Primarily residential, the city manufactures hardware, electronics, and paper products. - the first of three comeback wins for Valencia, which is off to its best start since 1996. ``Michael Herrick is off the chart. He's the best sophomore quarterback I've ever seen,'' Welch said. Junior Travis Babin of Saugus hasn't thrown for as many yards and touchdowns as the others, but he's 6-foot-3, athletic and expected to improve. And then there's Stephen Mercier of Heritage League hopeful Santa Clarita Santa Clarita, city (1990 pop. 110,642), Los Angeles co., S Calif., suburb 30 mi (48 km) NW of downtown Los Angeles, on the Santa Clara River; inc. 1987. Situated in the Santa Clara valley and nearby canyons, Santa Clarita includes the former towns of Canyon Country, Christian. A junior, he's developing into one of eight-man football's most dominating players at any position, completing 19 of 33 passes for 419 yards and six touchdowns with no interceptions for the undefeated Cardinals (4-0), who have climbed to No. 6 in the Southern Section rankings after knocking off annual power Faith Baptist of Canoga Park last week. Mercier has also rushed for 405 yards - averaging 8.1 yards a carry - and scored 11 touchdowns. Gerry Gittelson, (661) 257-5218 gerry.gittelson(at)dailynews.com TODAY'S GAMES No. No. 5 HART (1-3) vs. LOYOLA (3-1) at COC See chip on chip. , 7:30 p.m. Player to watch: Sean Norton, QB, Hart Norton is coming off a personal-best 400-yard passing performance against Birmingham last week. Despite a rib injury suffered in the season opener, he has completed 55 percent of his passes for 1,038 yards and nine TDs. Key stat: .333 Hart's all-time winning percentage against Loyola, which leads the series 4-2 since the rivalry began in 1995. Why Hart will win: After losing its first three games (four in a row counting last year's loss in the Div. II final), Hart appeared to finally come together during last week's victory over defending City Section champion Birmingham of Lake Balboa. Hart figures to improve as its junior players improve. Junior WR Evan Surratt caught seven passes for 164 yards and three TDs last week, a key development since defenses will be less inclined to key on top WR Kevin Ciccone. Why Loyola will win: Annually among the state's strongest programs, Loyola of Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. is rolling again. Like Hart, the Cubs have faced difficult competition, losing to City favorite Venice in Week 2 and beating Golden League power Antelope Valley This article is about the Los Angeles County region. For the census-designated place in Wyoming, see Antelope Valley-Crestview, Wyoming. The Antelope Valley of Lancaster last week. QB Scott Deke deke tr.v. deked, dek·ing, dekes To deceive (an opponent) in ice hockey by a fake: deked the goalie with a move from left to right. n. has committed to Virginia. Last week: Hart beat Birmingham 45-22; Loyola beat Antelope Valley 16-7. Perspective: Hart is 12-5 against private schools since 1991, 10-1 against private schools other than Loyola. Outlook: Loyola is among the most conservative teams Hart will face this season because the Cubs run about twice as often as they pass. So Hart must control the line of scrimmage line of scrimmage n. pl. lines of scrimmage Football Either of two imaginary lines extending across the field parallel to the goal line at the ends of the ball as it rests prior to being snapped and at which each team lines up for - no easy task against Loyola's large front line - and receive solid performances from LBs Brian Elledge, Brock Arndt and Bubba bub·ba n. Slang 1. Chiefly Southern U.S. Brother. 2. A white working-class man of the southern United States, stereotypically regarded as uneducated and gregarious with his peers. Hetman het·man n. pl. het·mans See ataman. [Ukrainian het'man, from Polish hetman, from German dialectal hötmann, hetmann, captain; akin to German Hauptmann . Last game, Elledge, the team's leading tackler over the past two seasons, moved from MLB MLB Major League Baseball MLB Minor League Baseball MLB Middle Linebacker (football) MLB Motor Life Boat MLB Matt Leblanc (actor) MLB Mother Love Bone (band) to OLB OLB Outside Linebacker OLB Online Broker OLB Online Bidding OLB Other Leading Brand OLB Offshore Life Boat OLB Operation Location Bravo OLB Object Library OLB on Line Backup OLB Outlook Backup OLB on Line Banking OLB Off Line Browser , presumably pre·sum·a·ble adj. That can be presumed or taken for granted; reasonable as a supposition: presumable causes of the disaster. so he could more involved in pass defense. No. 2 CANYON (4-0) at ALEMANY (2-2) 7:30 p.m. Player to watch: Sean Coen, WR/DB, Canyon Coen is coming off his best game with 12 catches for 200 yards and three touchdowns. He also had an interception against Highland last week. Key stat: 37.5 Canyon's average margin of victory Why Canyon will win: No region team has been more dominant. Canyon leads the area in scoring (47.5 points per game) and offense (474.3 yards) and is second in defense (186.8 yards). QB Nate Longshore couldn't be more confident. A day after committing to California, he passed for a school-record 354 yards and four TDs at Highland of Palmdale to become the school's all-time passing-yardage leader. Why Alemany will win: The team isn't intimidating but is better than usual after winning a combined five games in three previous seasons. Calvin Taylor is among the region's top WRs with 20 catches for 383 yards and four TDs. Last week: Canyon defeated Highland 60-32; Alemany of Mission Hills defeated Campbell Hall Campbell Hall can refer to:
Perspective: Canyon has scored at least six touchdowns every game and is on pace to break the school's all-time single-season scoring record (1985, 439 points in 14 games) by the end of the regular season. ... A step up in competition for Alemany? Let's put it this way: Campbell Hall, Alemany's opponent last week, probably doesn't have a single player who would get playing time at Canyon this season. Outlook: This one should be routine for Canyon. The team has two many weapons and too much depth for Alemany to keep pace. But Alemany is no stranger to high-powered opponents after losing to St. Bonaventure of Ventura by 29 points two weeks ago. SAUGUS (2-2) at ST. FRANCIS (4-0) 7:30 p.m. Player to watch: Hunter Schmidt, DB, Saugus After making 21 tackles over the previous two games as a LB, Schmidt switched to S last week against St. Bonaventure of Ventura and came through with another fine performance. ``Hunter was phenomenal,'' coach Jason Bornn said. Key stat: 5 INTs by St. Francis in last week's victory over Pasadena. Three came in the final five minutes. Why Saugus will win: Saugus, coming off three consecutive matchups against difficult opponents (Highland of Palmdale, Crescenta Valley The Crescenta Valley is a small inland valley in Los Angeles County, California. Its name derives from its crescent-like shape, with the convex portion facing roughly northeast and the concave portion southwest. of La Crescenta and St. Bonaventure of Ventura), is well-tested. ``We've proved we can compete with anyone,'' Bornn said. The team is still waiting for a big game from QB Travis Babin. Once Babin and his WRs are on the same page, Saugus should improve dramatically because it already has a strong running game, led by RB Drew DeRousseau. Why St. Francis will win: The team is off to a great start, proving it can win even when top RB Blake Milton, who had been averaging 140 yards through the first three games, suffered an ankle injury in the first half last week. Last week: Saugus lost to St. Bonaventure 41-7; St. Francis of La Canada beat Pasadena 21-14. Perspective: Saugus has made a habit of playing St. Francis tough, upsetting the Golden Knights
Outlook: Don't be deceived by the overall records or the results from last week. Saugus has faced more difficult competition, and this game figures to be closer than expected. An upset by Saugus is possible. EIGHT-MAN FOOTBALL Eight-man football is a type of American football, generally played by small high schools. Rules and formations vary greatly among states and even among different organizations, but the one constant is eight players from each team on the field at one time, as opposed to eleven-man SANTA CLARITA CHRISTIAN (4-0) vs. CALIFORNIA LUTHERAN (3-1) at First Lutheran High, Saturday, 3:30 p.m. Outlook: A showdown between two of eight-man's elite teams. Santa Clarita Christian, led by QB Stephen Mercier, is coming off its most impressive victory in history, a 29-28 win over annual power Faith Baptist of Canoga Park. California Lutheran of Wildomar is a returning section finalist that also defeated Faith Baptist this season. Since an 8-6 opening loss to La Jolla La Jolla (lə hoi`yə), on the Pacific Ocean, S Calif., an uninc. district within the confines of San Diego; founded 1869. The beautiful ocean beaches, in particular La Jolla shores and Black's Beach, and sea-washed caves attract visitors and Country Day, the team has won three in a row and hasn't been held to fewer than 46 points. ``Cal Lutheran is a very fast team. Both their tailback tail·back n. Football The back on an offensive team who lines up farthest from the line of scrimmage. tailback Noun Brit a queue of traffic stretching back from an obstruction and their quarterback are very quick,'' Santa Clarita Christian coach Garrick Moss said. The game originally was scheduled for 1 p.m. but was changed to 3:30 p.m. to accommodate Cal Lutheran's long travel. GAME OF THE WEEK No. 4 VALENCIA (4-0) at No. 3 NOTRE DAME Notre Dame IPA: [nɔtʁ dam] is French for Our Lady, referring to the Virgin Mary. In the United States of America, Notre Dame (3-1) 7:30 p.m. Player to watch: Geoff Tisdale, DB, Valencia Tisdale leads the region with four INTs, including a game-saving pick at the goal line as time expired during last week's 14-13 victory over Arroyo Grande. Key stat: 1,104 Valencia QB Michael Herrick's passing yardage. In four games, he's already No. 7 on the school's all-time single-season passing-yardage list. Why Valencia will win: Among the region's hottest teams, Valencia is brimming brim n. 1. The rim or uppermost edge of a hollow container or natural basin. 2. A projecting rim or edge: the brim of a hat. 3. A border or an edge. See Synonyms at border. with momentum after its third comeback victory of the season. Herrick has been the league's surprise star of the first month, and he should expect a breakout performance from leading WR Shane Morales (24 catches), who was held to one late reception last week. Why Notre Dame will win: The defending Div. III champion Knights of Sherman Oaks are the most complete team Valencia has seen. The game could come down to the final possession, but give Notre Dame the edge because of home-field-advantage. Last week: Valencia beat Arroyo Grande 14-13; Notre Dame defeated Crespi of Encino 20-3. Perspective: Valencia can begin the season 5-0 for the first time in school history. The previous best start was 4-0 in 1996, but that was against mostly lower-division opponents. Outlook: This one is tough to call. It is difficult to pick against Valencia because the Vikings appear to be a team of destiny. But over the years, Valencia has had difficulty defeating top-notch opponents on the road, and that does not bode well this week. CAPTION(S): 3 photos, 6 boxes Photo: (1) HART'S SEAN NORTON Joel P. Lugavere/Staff Photographer (2) VALENCIA'S MICHAEL HERRICK Tom Mendoza/Staff Photographer (3) CANYON'S NATE LONGSHORE Evan Yee/Staff Photographer Box: (1) TODAY'S GAMES (see text) (2) GAME OF THE WEEK (see text) (3) GAME DAY (4) STANDINGS (5) LOGS (6) LEADERS |
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