2014 Dispatch Football Preview

The San Juan Hills High School football team’s script could hardly have read better in 2013. The Stallions were led by a strong

group of seniors who played beside each other for four years, culminating in an impressive undefeated run through the Sea View League. The Stallions set a school record for most wins in a season (10), captured the fi rst league title in school history and won a playoff game. Because of their efforts, San Juan Hills

was moved from the Sea View League to the South Coast League over the offseason. The new league features established football powerhouses, like Mission Viejo and Tesoro high schools, along with El Toro, which has always been a threat in the high school football scene. Dana Hills rounds out the league. It is a league schedule the likes of

which the Stallions have never seen. But that hasn’t stopped the team from building on their momentum from last year and preparing for the new chal-lenge.Head coach Aaron Flowers said that

the Stallions are preparing the same way they always have, by taking things one step at a time.The Stallions lost a large group of

San Juan Hills High School

SCHEDULE

8/29 Thousand Oaks Thousand Oaks, 7 p.m.

9/5 Canyon SJHHS, 7 p.m.

9/12 Capistrano Valley CVHS,

7 p.m.

9/19 Marina SJHHS, 7 p.m.

9/25 Los Alamitos LBCC, 7 p.m.

10/4 Beckman

SJHHS, 7 p.m.

10/17 El Toro*

SJHHS, 7 p.m.

10/24 Mission Viejo* MVHS, 7 p.m.

10/30 Dana Hills* DHHS, 7 p.m.

11/7 Tesoro*

SJHHS, 7 p.m.

*-- League game

a team leader and echoed his coach’s views on the Stallions need to fi nd an identity if they are to improve on last year’s efforts. “Since we did lose a lot of guys last

year we have a lot of new kids coming up. It’s great, I love the opportunity to play with new kids because we have the chance to build as a team,” Mis-cione said. Paving the way for Miscione up front

will be returning senior guard Jake Nel-son, the lone returner on the Stallions offensive line.Senior receiver Kolton McCluskey

caught 30 receptions for 504 yards and two touchdowns in 2013 and will return to lead the receivers. The Stallions defense will feature

senior returning corner Griffi n Grutz, a reliable player who had 49 tackles and one interception last season. San Juan Hills’ linebackers were a key

part of their stingy defense last season and return one starter, senior Jacob Venegas. Venegas was second on the team in total tackles last year with 73 and tallied two sacks. The South Coast League stretch is

weeks away and the focus will be on a tough road matchup with Thousand Oaks in the season opener. When the team takes the fi eld against the Lancers, Flowers and his staff plan on getting a lot of players into the game to fi gure out what works and what doesn’t. “We’re hoping we can continue the

momentum just by working hard on a daily basis. It’s going to be a game by game process for us,” Flowers said.

some things we can do but we don’t know. We’re going to fi nd out with Thousand Oaks (on Aug. 29) about who we are,” Flowers said. “That’s why I’m excited and fascinated to see how this team is going to develop into their own identity because we had kids who graduated last year who played a ton as sophomores, juniors and seniors. So now it’s a new identity. To see that come together is pretty cool.”Junior quarterback Patrick O’Brien

will lead the Stallions offense in 2014. O’Brien has only played the position for the past two years but is under the watchful eye of Flowers, a former stand-out quarterback himself. Senior running back Mike Miscione

was among the team’s leading rushers last season, taking 134 carries for 833 yards and nine touchdowns as a junior. He also caught 32 passes and scored four touchdowns as a receiver. The versatile Miscione has developed into

standout seniors last year and only re-turn seven starters, which left multiple spots on the fi eld open for competition. San Juan Hills has used the offseason to fi ll those spots and work on building new team chemistry, something the Stallions thrived on last year. Heading into their fi fth game of last

year, a Sept. 27 tilt against Fullerton, the Stallions were winning games but did not have an identity, according to Flowers. The intensity in practice and preparation was not there. But following that week’s 28-21 loss, the team refo-cused and hit their stride. They began clamping down on defense and built their identity around that. With so many new faces, the 2014

version of the Stallions still have a lot to fi gure out, according to Flowers. Luckily for them, it’s still very early. “We don’t know our strengths yet. I

think that’s kind of the interesting thing with this team. We feel like there are

2014 DISPATCH FOOTBALL PREVIEW

he 2014 high school football season kicks off on Friday, Aug. 29. As usual, there are plenty

of storylines to get caught up on and games to look forward to.

San Juan Capistrano Area High School Football PreviewLocal teams gear up for new season

www.thecapistranodispatch.com2014 Dispatch Football Preview

TBY STEVE BREAZEALE

for more successful seasons and are looking for consecutive playoff berths.JSerra Catholic and St. Margaret’s

Episcopal School enjoyed plenty of suc-cess in 2013 and will have to regroup if they are going to continue their winning ways.San Juan Hills High School will enter

waters never before tested by a Stal-lions football program as they enter the formidable South Coast League for the fi rst time in school history. For in-game updates, scores, news

and more for all of the San Juan area football teams, follow us on Twitter @SouthOCsports all season long.

Two of the San Juan Capistrano area schools, Capistrano Valley Christian and Saddleback Valley Christian, have spent the offseason working with a new head coach. The two rivals are primed

Senior quarterback Patrick O’Brien, right, will lead the San Juan Hills offense in 2014. Photo: Steve Breazeale

Schedule

8/29 Cabrillo Cabrillo, 7 p.m. 9/5 Chino Hills Saddleback College, 7 p.m.9/12 Huntington Beach HBHS, 7 p.m.9/19 St. Bonaventure Saddleback College, 7 p.m.9/26 St. Paul JSCHS, 7:30 p.m.10/10 Santa Margarita* Saddleback College, 7 p.m.10/16 St. John Bosco* San Juan Hills, 7 p.m.10/24 Mater Dei* Santa Ana Stadium, 7 p.m.10/30 Orange Lutheran* OLHS, 7 p.m.11/7 Servite* Saddleback College, 7 p.m.*-- League game

BY STEVE BREAZEALE

The injury bug has made its way into the JSerra Catholic High School football training camp.

Some of the injuries are more minor than others, but the biggest of them all came at the expense of returning senior middle linebacker David Eugenio. The Lions leading tackler in 2013 suffered a broken foot during the offseason, which will sideline him for 6-8 weeks, according to head coach Jim Hartigan.

Eugenio had a team-high 97 tackles last year and was named to the second team All-



Trinity League. Hartigan expects Eugenio to be back in time for Trinity League play. Senior Aaron Mathews fi gures to be Eugenio’s replacement.

Eugenio wasn’t the only impact player from last year’s seven-win season to go down with an injury, as standout receiver Ethan Aguayo is nursing an injured hamstring. Hartigan said he does not anticipate Aguayo, who also plays cornerback, to be sidelined for long.

Their middle linebacker may be injured, but the Lions have a wealth of players returning on defense that could make an impact during their tough preseason schedule.

The defensive line will again be a strength for the Lions this season. Four players from last year’s line return, including D.J. Bailey, Brody Barrett and Joe Monroe. Bailey had a breakout junior season, racking up 52 tackles and a team-high seven sacks. The Lions strength and size at the line was a major fac-tor all last season and Hartigan expects even bigger things out of the unit in 2014.

“The defensive line has gotten better. We’ve gotten stronger up front,” Hartigan said. “The inside guys, Barrett and Monroe, are both over 300 (pounds) so they’re good sized kids.”

Junior cornerback Isaiah Diego-Williams and free safety Connor O’Brien will patrol the Lions’ secondary.

The Lions lost standout playmaker Casey Eugenio to graduation, which makes fi nding his replacement a priority this offseason.

Eugenio, the team’s former running back and punt/kick returner, was a huge threat to opposing defenses all season. Hartigan said they have not decided on who will be the Lions running back yet.

This season will mark the last go around for returning senior quarterback Nick Robinson. Robinson earned the starting job as a sopho-more and has steadily progressed since. In his fi rst year, Robinson threw fi ve touchdowns and 11 interceptions. He drastically improved on that ratio last season, throwing for 2,140 yards, 22 touchdowns and six interceptions. Robinson’s ability to maintain possession of the ball on offense gave the Lions a puncher’s chance in the Trinity League last year, when they won two games.

Aguayo, when healthy, along with Diego-Williams and Sam Fillipi, will be the go-to receivers for the Lions.

Despite fi nishing with a 7-3 overall record and fi nishing in a three-way tie for third place in the Trinity League, the Lions were not awarded an at-large berth into the CIF-SS football playoffs, a process which heavily re-lies on strength of schedule. This year, the Li-ons will play arguably the toughest preseason schedule in school history and one of the most diffi cult schedules in the area. Games against Huntington Beach, the reigning CIF-SS Southwest Division champions, Chino Hills and St. Bonaventure highlight the preseason slate. After preseason, things only get tougher when the Lions enter the Trinity League.

“Our schedule has gotten tougher … You really have to do some special things to get to eight (wins) and, more importantly, you think how we are going to get into the playoffs,” Hartigan said. “We may get there with six wins, it all depends what happens with the rest of the league. But league will be tough. We’ll hopefully get a wild card but there are no guarantees unless you’re top-3, which is what we’re shooting for.”

JSerra Catholic High School

JSerra will play one of the most daunting schedules in school history in 2014. Photo: Steve Breazeale

On paper, St. Margaret’s Episcopal School appears to have all of the pieces they need to win a 10th consecutive league title and make another deep playoff push.

The Tartans return 13 starters from a team that appeared in the CIF-SS Eastern Valley Division championship game.

A main strength of last year’s team was the defense, which held teams to one score or fewer four times, including a shutout. Despite losing three All-CIF defenders to graduation, eight players return on defense to make up what has become a stingy unit.

Junior cornerback Nick Shanks, senior Preston Ellis and All-CIF senior middle line-backer Dalan Cragun bring valuable varsity experience.

The Tartans are still fi guring out who will be their starting quarterback. Ellis, sophmore George Krantz and senior Ryan O’Hare are currently battling for the spot. But one thing is certain—whoever it is will have plenty of offensive weapons surrounding him.

Five players return to the Tartans offense, which scored plenty of points in 2013. St. Margaret’s eclipsed the 40-point threshold on offense 10 times last year, including a pair of 55 and 56-point performances. The offense was effective, averaging just over 38 points per game during their 14-game schedule, including the playoffs. Graduated quarterback Josh Davis fueled the Tartans prolifi c passing attack while Oscar Gomez took care of things on the ground.

Gomez, now a senior, burst onto the scene as a junior in the Tartans fi rst game of the season. Gomez rushed for 360 yards and six touchdowns against Village Christian School

St. Margaret’s Episcopal School

SCHEDULE

9/5 Capistrano Valley Christian CVHS, 7 p.m.

9/12 The Webb Schools SMES, 7 p.m.

9/19 Whittier Christian SMES, 7 p.m.

9/26 Laguna Beach LBHS, 7 p.m.

10/2 Douglass TBA, 7 p.m.

10/10 Sage Hill* SHHS, 7 p.m.

10/17 Brethren Christian* SMES, 7 p.m.

10/24 Crean Lutheran* SMES, 7 p.m.

11/7 Calvary Chapel* SMES, 7 p.m.

*-- denotes league game

on Sept. 6 and didn’t stop there, earning All-CIF honors for his standout season.

Gomez had an impressive season despite missing three games to injury. Head coach Rod Baltau said that Gomez piled up over 1,600 yards last year in seven games, which makes the possibility of a 2,000-yard sea-son for him in 2014 seem within reach.

Shanks, who also plays running back and wide receiver, fi lled in very well when Go-mez was injured early last season. Shanks rushed for 257 yards in a game against Whittier Christian and seemed to be on a roll before an injury sidelined him for the rest of the year.

With both Gomez and Shanks healthy and back in the mix, Baltau can deploy multiple formations on offense.

“They’re both going to get carries. We are going to try and get them on the fi eld at the same time as much as possible,” Baltau said. “We have several guys where we want to make sure to get the ball in their hands. That’s a good problem to have.”

All-CIF wide receiver Fernando Delgado returns to add depth to the Tartans skill positions.

St. Margaret’s secret weapon lies in return-ing senior kicker Charlie Beall, who Baltau says has 50-plus-yard fi eld goal range and almost assures the Tartans a touchback whenever he kicks off.

The Tartans preseason schedule is fi lled with several promising games, including a tilt against Laguna Beach on Sept. 26. Their competition in the Academy League fi gures to be Brethren Christian, who fi nished sec-ond in league last year, and Sage Hill.

Sophomore George Krantz is one of three St. Margaret’s players vying for the starting quarterback position. Photo: Steve Breazeale

Junior receiver/cornerback Nick Shanks is a part of a large group of talented skill players at St. Margaret’s Episcopal School. Photo: Steve Breazeale



Saddleback Valley Christian will be under the guidance of fi rst-year head coach Brian Pearsall in 2014. Pearsall comes to Saddleback Valley Christian after having spent the past several years as the defensive line coach for both Santa Margarita and Corona del Mar high schools. Last year, Pearsall was a part of the Sea Kings coaching staff that guided the program to the CIF-SS Southwest Division title. Pearsall said he came to campus with

the intention of meshing into what had already been hardwired into the Warriors football program—a winning tradition.The Warriors will keep their spread of-

fense and 4-3 defensive scheme, which served them well in 2013. The War-riors compiled a 9-3 overall record last season, including a perfect 4-0 record

Saddleback Valley Christian SCHEDULE

8/29 Windward WHS, 3:30 p.m.

9/12 Garey SVCS, 7 p.m.

9/19 Chadwick HS

9/26 California City SJHHS, 7 p.m.

10/3 Aliso Niguel ANHS, 7 p.m.

10/10 Capistrano Valley Christian SJHHS, 7 p.m.

10/18 The Webb Schools* TWSHS, 1 p.m.

10/24 Southlands Christian* SJHHS, 7 p.m.

10/31 Fairmont Prep* SJHHS, 7 p.m.

11/6 Santa Clarita Christian* Canyon, 7 p.m.

*-- denotes league game

for football this season and will try to use his 6-foot-1 height and athleticism to be a lockdown corner.

Bethea, who graduated, and the spot is up for grabs in camp. Pearsall isn’t sure who the starter will be yet but said Mo-lina has made a strong case for himself.In all, the offense returns six starters,

including three offensive linemen. Morris also doubles as the team leader

on defense at safety. One of the team’s most productive de-

fensive players, junior Jonathan Bunnel, returns to lead the defensive line. Bunnel had a standout year as a sophomore, av-eraging 7.6 tackles per game to go along with a team-high 16 sacks.The Warriors preseason schedule fea-

tures two matches against larger division schools. They open their season with a road game against Windward of Los Angeles. The fi fth game of the preseason will be against Aliso Niguel, a public school that plays in the Sea View League. until after training camp.Morris will be the other player to start

both ways after securing a starting role at safety. He picked off two passes last season and returned one of them back 27 yards for a touchdown. Junior cor-nerback Avery Bright gave up basketball

in the San Joaquin League. Behind a powerful running and passing game, the Warriors were primed to make a deep playoff run but lost in the fi rst round of the CIF-SS Northeast Division Champi-onship. “I defi nitely see a drive. They’re hun-

gry,” Pearsall said. “Everyone felt like they went home too early last year and they want to prove a point. We’re just hoping to build on that momentum go-ing into the season.”The Warriors return their starting

quarterback Jake Markum. Markum had an effective junior season, passing for 1,528 yards and 24 touchdowns.Saddleback Valley Christian’s receiv-

ers group barely felt a hit to graduation. Seniors Sawyer Caso-Nogle (271 yards, eight touchdowns), Caleb Ward (409 yards, six touchdowns), Charlie Mor-ris (576 yards, seven touchdowns) and junior David Molina (388 yards, four touchdowns) all return. In years past, Saddleback Valley Chris-

tian has always had a prolifi c running back that lights up scoreboards. They had it last year in the form of James

When Dan Dodd stepped down as the head football coach at Capistrano Val-ley Christian School, the administration turned to his defensive coordinator and pupil Eric Preszler to fi ll his mentor’s shoes. Preszler has been on the Eagles coach-

ing staff the previous three years learn-ing under Dodd, a veteran coach whose career includes stints at Texas Christian University, Tulane and Utah State. Preszler learned a lot from the man he assisted on the football fi eld and has been with the Eagles since they were an 8-man football team.Preszler has been on campus since his

current crop of seniors were freshmen, which he feels has made his transition to head coach seamless. “It’s been a nice transition. I was for-

tunate to be able to take over for a guy like (Dodd). They know me and I know

Capistrano Valley Christian

SCHEDULE

8/29 Maranatha Christian CVHS, 7 p.m.

9/5 St. Margaret’s CVHS, 7 p.m.

9/13 Tri-City Christian TCCHS, 1 p.m.

9/19 Linfi eld Christian CVHS, 7 p.m.

10/3 Crean Lutheran CLHS, 4 p.m.

10/10 Saddleback Valley Christian SJHHS, 7 p.m.

10/17 Southlands Christian* CVHS, 7 p.m.

10/25 Fairmont Prep* Yorba Linda, 12:05 p.m.

11/1 Santa Clarita* CVHS, 7 p.m.

11/7 The Webb Schools CVHS, 7 p.m.

*-- League game

some huge steps going from 8-man to where we are,” Preszler said. “But now it’s ‘What’s the next thing you can do?’ That was the next step for us, to beef up that preseason schedule so we can (take the next step).”

and 30 touchdowns last season. What Babick is to the offense, Sukut is

to the Eagles’ defense. The free safety was second on the team in tackles last year (73), had one sack and one inter-ception. Sukut holds offers from BYU, San Diego State University and Arkan-sas State, according to Preszler. The Eagles have had success against

preseason and league opponents in the past, but where they have fallen short of late is in the playoffs.The Eagles were eliminated from the

postseason in the fi rst round for a sec-ond consecutive year last season. They also fi nished runner-up to crosstown rival Saddleback Valley Christian in the San Joaquin League standings.Preszler and his staff addressed this is-

sue in the offseason by scheduling pre-season games against larger schools, like St. Margaret’s Episcopal, Tri-City Christian of Oceanside and Crean Lutheran. All three of those opponents will bring much deeper lineups to the table when they square off against the Eagles. Preszler sees the matchups as an opportunity for the Eagles to become battle tested by the time playoffs roll around.“The whole concept is that we need

to get those games and get developed, challenged and pushed to take this program to the next step. We’ve had

them,” Preszler said. “We’re doing some of the same stuff offensively and defen-sively so they’re not having a whole new system to learn … at the end of the day everyone was comfortable with that.”The Eagles will feature two of the

biggest playmakers in southern Orange County this season in quarterback Riley Babick and junior safety/wide receiver Ben Sukut. Babick has been the offensive foun-

dation on which the Eagles success is built upon. Since Babick’s fi rst start as a freshman, the Eagles have moved up to 11-man football and put up a combined 22-8 record. He threw for 2,152 yards



Junior KC Thompson and the Capistrano Valley Christian football team will play a tough preseason schedule this season. Photo: Steve Breazeale

2014 Dispatch Football Preview

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