OC Varsity » Football

North practice insider

DAN ALBANO, ocvarsity.com — Sat, 04 Jul 2009 05:18:40 +0000

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NORTH PRACTICE INSIDER

Football recruiting: Tesoro OL nabs another Pac-10 offer

DAN ALBANO, ocvarsity.com — Sat, 04 Jul 2009 05:08:15 +0000

Tesoro senior-to-be offensive lineman Sil Ajawara been offered by Arizona, Titans assistant coach Matt Poston said in an e-mail.

Ajawara also has offers from UCLA, Arizona State and Washington.

Arizona, of course, has already landed another top county offensive lineman in Matt Jakubiec of Servite.

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Edison Passing Tournament approaching

DAN ALBANO, ocvarsity.com — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 05:11:41 +0000

Yes, the Orange County all-star football game (July 10) isn’t the only major gridiron event quickly approaching. The Edison Passing Tournament arrives the day after the game - July 11 - and is loaded with top schools.

Here’s a first-look at the groups:

Pool A

Tesoro

South Hills

Centennial Corona

JSerra

Pool B

Valencia/Val.

Mater Dei

Crespi

Mission Hills

Pool C

Carlsbad

Los Al

Oaks Christian

Foothill

Pool D

La Habra

Edison

Notre Dame/SO

Chaparral

Pool-play games are 9, 10 and 11 a.m. LosAl opens against Oaks Christian. Edison opens with La Habra. Tesoro starts with JSerra and Mater Dei begins against Valencia. Foothill opens with Carslbad. The championship round begins at 1 p.m.

It will be interesting to see if Edison can capture the tournament after claiming last month’s Air Strike at Dana Hills.

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Football: Checking in on the North all-stars (Thursday’s practice)

Damian Calhoun, OCVarsity.com since 2004 — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 04:55:34 +0000

The North squad, led by John Barnes and the Los Alamitos coaching staff, continued preparation Thursday night for the July 10 O.C. All-Star Game.

What: North football practice

Where: Los Alamitos High

Three questions with John Barnes

What are your thoughts on the first week of practice?

We have a bunch of great kids. Great character kids. We’ve put in everything we wanted and they’ve polished it fast in four days. We still have a couple of things to drop in, but they’ve handled everything …I like it.

Thoughts on the defense?

Our linebackers are a lot better coverage guys than I thought they would be and so our are secondary, so I’m excited. Mike Arakelian (Orange Lutheran) makes a lot of plays. He only knows one speed and that’s full speed.

Has anything surprised you?

Kane Wilson (El Dorado, QB) is a big-time guy. Ronnie Hillman (La Habra, RB) is a special player. He’s going to be a great college player. Not many guys can run like him. The offensive line is better than in most all-star games….(Servite’s Zach) Burge is real good, (Western’s Daniel) Jamokha is good …They’re all good, I like them.

Up next: The North has four practices remaining. Thursday is a walk-through.

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Football: O.C. All-Star game to be televised nationally

Damian Calhoun, OCVarsity.com since 2004 — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 16:23:56 +0000

For the second consecutive season, the county football all-star game will be televised nationally. Starting, July 25th, the game featuring the best of the county will be shown on a tape-delayed basis on ESPNU.

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Football: Checking in on the South all-stars (Wed practice)

Damian Calhoun, OCVarsity.com since 2004 — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 06:03:47 +0000

The South squad, led by Brian Barnes and the Tesoro coaching staff, continued preparation for the July 10 O.C. All-Star Game, Wednesday night.

What: South football practice

Nik Abele is back in action: Abele missed the first two days of practice with a broken left foot. Well, the boot was off Wednesday and there he was getting time on both the offensive and defensive lines.

“He’s a man child,” Barnes said. “I wouldn’t want to meet him in an alley. He’s tough to stop.”

Abele joins an already sizable offensive line, which includes Aliso Niguel’s Matt Peleti (6-3, 275), Laguna Hills’ Jeff Quigley (6-4, 280) and San Clemente’s Steve Watts (6-4, 260).

Three days in and Barnes likes what he’s seeing: “I’m impressed with how things are going. We have our offense in, our defense in and the kids have really meshed together well.”

Here is Barnes’ thoughts on those who have stood out: Segerstrom WR Nicalaus Powell-Calhoun (no relation) has been great. On the offensive line, Steve Watts (San Clemente) has done a great job pass-blocking … Jeff Quigley (Laguna Hills) is a tough kid.

The list continues: Jaron Hytche (Mater Dei), Gavin Escobar (Santa Margarita). On the defensive side of the ball, Artie O’Keefe (Fountain Valley) and the three Edison kids (Bryce Brantley- OL, Will Andrew-DE, Matt Reza-LB).

Are you checking in with dad? We talk every day, but we’re both keeping secrets.

The roster: Laguna Hills defensive back Shawn Tucker was on the field. It was his first day. He replaced Colton Fitch (Mission Viejo).

*Check back Thursday for a look at the North.

RELATED:

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All-Star game: date and ticket info

ocvarsity — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 23:06:04 +0000

The 50th Annual North-South All-Star Football Game

Date: Friday, July 10

Where: Orange Coast College, Lebard Stadium

2701 Fairview Road, Costa Mesa

Time: Gates open at 6 p.m.; Kick-off at 7:15

Tickets: $9 pre-sale; $10 at the gate

For more info. or to buy tickets: 714-524-3335 or 949-855-1556 or 714-532-8330

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Football: Checking out the North All-Star team

Damian Calhoun, OCVarsity.com since 2004 — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 05:34:04 +0000

The North All-Star team completed Day No. 2 Tuesday night. The team has hit the ground running, going pads both days.

I stopped by Los Alamitos for practice, here are some of my thoughts.

What: North All-Star practice

When: Monday-Thursday, 6-8 p.m.

The pressure is on: Sure this is an all-star game, but watching John Barnes during practice and I could see that he really wants to win. Maybe it has something to do with his record in all-star games (5-0).

Options at running back: What a trio of running backs. Josh Brannon rushed for 2,168 yards last season, Ronnie Hillman (1,401) and Greg Portis (1,227) both topped the 1,000-yard mark.

There are some big boys on the O-Line: Zach Burge (Servite) checks in at 6-4, 265. Kevin Rowlands (Los Alamitos) is 6-3. Willie Mayoral (La Habra) is 285. Then there is Daniel Jamokha (Western). Jamokha is 6-5, 260.

Versatile QB’s: Clark Evans (Los Alamitos) and Kane Wilson (El Dorado) are rather similar. They both can throw and run, making life difficult for opposing defenses.

The roster update: Michael Allain (Fullerton) didn’t show up Monday or Tuesday and hadn’t contacted Barnes. He will probably be replaced.

RELATED:

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Football: Changes to the South roster

Damian Calhoun, OCVarsity.com since 2004 — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 03:58:21 +0000

Laguna Hills defensive back Shawn Tucker has replaced Colton Fitch (Mission Viejo) on the South roster. Tucker had four interceptions last season for the Hawks.

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Football: New coach at Century

STEVE FRYER, ocvarsity.com — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 23:46:27 +0000

Longtime assistant coach Ted Crego is the new varsity football head coach at Century. He replaces Jesse Gomez, who has moved on to new Yorba Linda High where Gomez will be an assistant football coach (former El Dorado head coach Jeff Bailey is the Yorba Linda head coach). Crego, 53, an alum of University High, has coached at Segerstrom and Century.

Century in 2008 was 2-8 overall and 0-5 in the Orange League. The Centurions’ most recent playoffs appearance was in 2004.

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