13 Comments

• Greendog says:

  August 25, 2008 at 7:31 am

  What is the Register's love for Santa Margarita based on? Last year they went 5 and 4 in the regular season, it would have been 5 and 5 if the fires hadn't have forced a league game to be cancelled. To the best of my knowledge they did not beat a team with a winning record last year. It is not enough to play good teams you need to beat some of them too. And the idea that the Trinity league's fourth place team is the best in the county asks the question about last year again. Los Al was fourth in the Sunset League and missed out on the wild card to Santa Margarita who then got crushed. Do you think that Santa Margarita was better team then Los Al? And as for this year Santa Margarita will be the fourth place team in their league. Now look at the Sunset again, especially after you put out your own top 8, 4 Sunset teams will be there and 3 Trinity teams... you might want to rethink that blanket statement.
• Stringbeanie says:

  August 25, 2008 at 10:31 am

  Response to Greendog. Have you seen the record of the Freshmen last year from Santa Margarita. They were undefeated and not only that, they slaughtered almost every team that they played. Maybe the Register's "love" has something to do with the fact that the Freshmen are damn good and some will be playing varsity this year.
• STEVE FRYER, ocvarsity.com says:

  August 25, 2008 at 3:51 pm

  Greendog ... well, last year was interesting. But these are 2008 rankings.
  And since you brought up 2007 ... Los Al and Santa Margarita had one common opponent in '07 -- Fountain Valley. Los Al beat Fountain Valley by 10; Santa Margarita bet FV by 24.

  Greendog makes a great point about that fire-canceled game for Santa Margarita. That opponent would have been Orange Lutheran.
• Greendog says:

  August 25, 2008 at 5:54 pm

  Thr Freshman went 10 and 0, WOW! Since when do freshmen play varsity. What type of players are they now, and do they fit into the system the varsity is running. Edison lost to Los Al last season, Name 1 quality opponent that SM beat last season? Now to my point about the Trinity vs. Sunset. Youranked Newport fourth in the Sunset and SM fourth in the Tritnity. Now your own county rankings have Newport higher then SM yet you state they are the best fourth place team in the county? If you look at the leagues objectively Newport has a real chance to win their league where SM has none!!! So which league is stronger from top to bottom??
• glenn emanuel says:

  August 25, 2008 at 8:02 pm

  there are 5 starting sophomore players on the eagles team, all of which are very talented and will be 3 year starters.. sm did lose up to about 6 starters from that freshman team last year, unfortunately.
• Fireman says:

  August 25, 2008 at 9:07 pm

  What about Jr. RB Spencer Tyson I heard he is turning some heads.
• eagle fan says:

  August 25, 2008 at 9:27 pm

  greendog needs to stop freaking out. He's probably an upset los al fan, but he needs to realize that SM could bulk up their record by playing the Dana Hills and Trabucos and such, but they challenge themselves and that takes a toll with who they deal with in league. Whats done is done and if you say los al and Newport are better we will find out when the year unfolds. Until then leave SM alone and comment on you own team. PS as a player for SM I really hope we see Los Al in the playoffs so we could shut them up
• Greendog says:

  August 26, 2008 at 7:13 am

  I am happy to see so much loyal SM support, however attacking SM was not the main arguement I was making. I was arguing that the blanket statement that the Fourth place team in the Trinity league was the best in the county if not the Southern Section is not correct. I used the example of last years team to support my contention that despite the hype the fourth place team in the league is not that strong. I noticed that no one listed a win against a team with a winning record either, I think that further proves my point. Now to this year, I argued that given the Register's own rankings of teams in the county the best fourth place team would be from the Sunset league!!! To the person that argued since SM was starting 5 or 6 Sophs they were going to be good, that is a statement that leads me to think the past freshmen teams have not been very deep if there are so few JR's and SR's playing. After this year those guys should really make SM tough, however it is very tough for that many Sophs to make a Varsity team really good right away. I am not a Los Al fan either, in fact I found great enjoyment in the fact they finally got knocked out the top 3 in the Sunset, however they should have still made the playoffs.
• Top 25 countdown: No. 11 - OC Varsity - OCRegister.com says:

  August 26, 2008 at 1:01 pm

  [...] Click here to see the No. 10 team. Share and Enjoy: These icons link to social bookmarking sites where readers can share and discover new web pages. [...]
• turtle 101 says:

  August 30, 2008 at 11:12 am

  i love how parents think a frosh team's success will translate into varsity wins in the future...no guarantee.
• SM'04_OhioState'08 says:

  September 5, 2008 at 9:55 pm

  I can't remember a year when the Sunset League has ever been up to the level of the Trinity/Serra League. Perhaps they could rise to be competitive with the teams of the Trinity League this year, but until that happens, I wouldn't go shooting off with my mouth.
  It's funny that Greendog said: "What is the Register’s love for Santa Margarita based on?" I note this because in most circles, especially those of southern oc and SM in particular, it is common thought that the register has a distain for SM, as they were in the same league as Mater Dei and Servite throughout the first part of the decade, and consistently better than them. In addition, not taking a dig at Friar, but his writing constantly projects a slant in favor of MD and Servite.
  These rankings are based in large part on how the writers believe teams will perform this year, but school history plays a role just as it does in college. Those with past success will always be given the benefit of the doubt.
  And one final comment, the Trinity League IS on a completely different level than the Sunset League, and any other league in the southern section for that matter. The athletes are quicker, better, and more well-trained; The coaches are more professional, and the school's reputations speak for themselves.
• Greendog says:

  September 9, 2008 at 8:45 am

  SM,04 I have to respond to your comments, albeit a little late. I was just wondering how many CIF final games SM has been in since they entered the Trinity league? And in same vane how many CIF final games have teams from the Sunset league competed in? Since 2000 I know that Los Al has won it all and that both Esperanza and Edison have played in the Finals. And as to the Trinity being different, you are right, they have the ability to recruit players and public school leagues cannot "legally" do so. And don't say that private schools don't recruit as I was recruited at a passing league game by SM boosters when I was in high school. We will see how the leagues stack up this year has SM will play Fountain Valley soon. SM was picked fourth and FV was picked fifth respectively in their leagues. Then Edison plays both Servite and MD so we shall see, However Edison is not picked to win the league either. I sincerely hope that the leagues will match up in the playoffs this year. After watching MD against Carson I was not that impressed, no running game. Orange Lutheran is another story with all of their recruits this year they will be tough. Are you ready for some football!!!????
• Fireman says:

  September 13, 2008 at 8:45 pm

  42-20 SM pwned Poway, the best team in CIF San Diego