The Calhoun Six to Watch: Tesoro vs. Orange Lutheran
December 2nd, 2008, 10:40 pm · 17 Comments · posted by Damian Calhoun, OCVarsity.com since 2004
Tesoro (12-0) vs. Orange Lutheran (10-2)
Saturday, 7:30 p.m., Santa Ana Stadium
TV: Prime Ticket
Outlook: Didn’t you have a feeling that Orange Lutheran would still be alive?
The Lancers are the truth when it comes to the playoffs.
In my opinion, no team adjusts in a game quite like the Lancers do. The Lancers knocked off an undefeated team, Notre Dame, last week, 24-14. Can they beat do it again?
Orange Lutheran will be the best defense that Tesoro has faced. The Lancers get good pressure from the front four, sure-tackling linebackers and a secondary that is legit.
Offensively, the Lancers can run it with a full stable of running backs (Exavier Edwards, Kyle Dravis, Damani Wilson), and quarterback Bobby Wheatley has been steadily improving every week.
That’s why they’re the “Playoff Truth.”
Can the Orange Lutheran defense get Tesoro quarterback Robbie Picazo out of his comfort zone? They did it to Matt Barkley (8-of-17 passing, one interception) and Notre Dame’s Ryan Kasdorf (8 of 19, one interception).
Can anybody slow Mr. Preston King? He’s going to be the most dangerous player on the field. He can score on offense and defense.
There are a lot of other weapons at Picazo’s disposal, starting with Zach Mitchell, Brett Gudim and Zach Bevan. Will that be too much for the Lancer defense to handle?
We’ll see.
The winner of this game should be the favorite to win the Pac-5 title. Who is it going to be?
MORE OF THE CALHOUN SIX:
- Tustin vs. Canyon
- Trabuco Hills vs. La Habra
- Corona del Mar vs. Mayfair
- Laguna Hills vs. Norwalk
- St. Margaret's vs. Maranatha
- Bonus: Long Beach Poly vs. Lakewood
17 Comments
Media Partners :
KOCE |
MSNBC |
OCExcelsior |
Home Magazine |
Coast Magazine |
Preferred Destinations Magazine |
KPCC |
KMEX |
NguoiViet |
RSS Feed 
|
Contact us |
Privacy policy |
User agreement |
Corrections |
Career opportunities |
Advertise with us |
About us|
Archives |
Homes
Cars |
Jobs |
OC Single Scene |
California Lottery |
Register Insiders |
Register in Education |
Buy our Photos |
Feedback |
Local Businesses |
OC H.S. Sports
once again it's all about defense and mistake free football. If the lancers can continue to play this way they should be able to beat Tosoro.
OK... I owe Mr Fryer an apology. He did not go to Servite and he has talked alot about previous players at OLU...so having my facts a bit off I do apologize.
I still think though it is like pulling teeth this year to hear something positive about OLU football....May be that is just my bias since I am a Olu fan...so to that end I will give Steve Fryer and the OC Register another week....lucky them
With all due respect to Mr. Calhoun as well as OLu and Tesoro, neither of these teams will be favored over LB Poly for the PAC-5 Championship.
I myself am looking forward to OLu-LB Poly III. All of us OLu faithful would like a "cleansing" from last year's epic game that ended in a 2-0 loss.
Daimen Calhoun wake up and apologize to all the knowledgeable So. Cal. football fans. No way are Tesoro/OLu favored over LB POLY. For that matter Lakewood should be favored.
OLu deserves another shot at POLY after what happened on that fluke play.
I agree with Brett and David. Poly is the favorite by far. Just because they are the favorite doesn't mean that they will win. I too would like to see game three of the Poly and O-Lu series where a team scores with their offense!
After watching Poly play last week, I think it's a reasonable argument to say OLu or Tesoro will be favored against the Jackrabbits.
I was thinking the same thing as I watched this game. If you haven't seen Poly play this season, they are beatable, they just haven't loss.
I've seen both Tesoro and OLu play this year. I would pick either OLu or Tesoro to beat Poly.
Off-based? Maybe.
But my thoughts nonetheless.
I don't know that LB Poly should be favored vs OLu. They just barely got by Bishop Amat and Esperanza. Poly will be lucky to get by Lakewood this weekend.
I agree with Chris Tobolski! I would favor OLu as well. I think that win over Notre Dame and Kasdorf was more impressive than the Tesoro win against Mater Dei or the Poly win against Esperanza. You have to realize that Lutheran has given up 14 points in the entire playoffs. Outstanding.
I think Calhoun is the only Register staff writer to pick Lutheran over Notre Dame.
I hope the register puts the games on live like they did last week. I hope to watch Orange Lutheran beat Tesoro
Calhoun,
Regarding you comments about the OLU front 4, Tesoro will be the biggest O-line they will see. Best of luck to both teams.
I agree with Jerry.
Poly should have blown out their first 2 opponents.
Also, I think the Serra & Sunset leagues were the weakest in the playoffs.
Chris, Jerry and Dovecanyon you have good reason to not believe in the strenghth of LB Poly, they have not played to their potential. I think Amat and Esperanza our two very good teams with exceptional players and held Poly in check.
Notwithstanding Poly is capable exploding at any moment. The two running backs can break 80 yard run in a blink off the eye.
Maybe I am just hoping for too much and the reality is they are just a good team. Well I can't stop rooting for the Green and Gold!!!! Go Poly
My post yesterday was not to suggest that either OLu or Tesero could not defeat Poly - only that Poly would be favored against either school.
This year's addition of LB Poly seems to be much like that of last year - exceptional defense and limited offense that relies heavily on rushing the ball. You cannot underestimate their athletic ability - especially on defense where they have a number of D1 caliber players.
Anyone who attended the OLu - Poly game last year realizes that OLu controlled - if not dominated - the game. However, the Poly defense puts tremendous pressure on offenses to have error free execution. I would argue that Poly won that game directly from OLu errors.
I did get a chance to see the first half of the MD-Tesoro game on TV and was impressed with Tesoro's size. However, MD was in the game until the end despite very sloppy first half play. Tesero cannot expect that to happen against OLu. The OLu coaching staff will find Tesoro's weaknesses and exploit them relentlessly. They are the best staff at game planning from game-to-game. The best example of this was last week's game against ND. OLu ran the option (which they had not run effectively all year long) right down their throats. Now that gives one more dimension that Tesoro must plan for. That's what makes OLu so difficult to beat.
Tesoro's huge offensive line will be problematic for OLu, but this coaching staff will find a way to control Tesoro's offense. The question is how effective will Tesoro's game plan be against OLu. It will be fun to watch and see!
if im not mistaken...bishop crushed O-lu, ive seen O-lu play there not all that...so how can jerry and company say that O-lu would be favorites over LB Poly if they get there...honestly i Would like to see a 3rd repeat...but i would also like to see Tesero....they look good on TV. but before i count my eggs bfor they hatch....we have a barn burner on our hands with FLAKEwood.............ummmmmmmmmm first half. hahaha. GO POLY 31-10
Great matchup of two of the newer County powerhouses, should be a lot of fun to watch i'm glad it was picked as the t.v. game,both team feature very fast hard hitting well coached defenses and both have explosive potential on offense, if i was to pick a favorite i would take Tesoro in a close race do the the fact they have the better QB and have Preston King on their side, good luck to all and let's play injury free ball
Amat crushed Lutheran by a whole 8 points. 1 score, in a game Lutheran was winning 24-0, no excuses though Lutheran lost and deserved to in that game with 5 turnovers. You can't win many games with that type of play. It's surprising you'd bring up the Amat game as an example anyways since Amat was crushed by ND 56-21, a team which Lutheran just beat.
I went to the LB Poly/Lakewood game and Poly's defense is getting better. At crunch time in the 3rd and 4th quarters the Poly D came up with some huge plays to turn the game around. This preformance will only strengthen the confidence of the boys in green/gold. Confidence which was lacking greatly against Amat and Espy.
It will be a exciting final with either team of the OC. I want to see Tesoro win for the fresh new match-up, but in my heart I think it will be OLu 21-17 over Tesoro. Picazo and Preston King are very special players.
Good Luck to the coaches and the players.
.
P.S. If Long Beach Poly had 1/5 th the quality of quarterback of Picazo they would be the best team in the nation. It is strange that LB Poly with the talent pool available can't find even a "good" quarterback let alone a great one. Yet the Orange County has so many excellent young QB's