The Calhoun 6: Games to Watch

No. 10 Tustin (7-1, 3-0) vs. No. 20 El Dorado (5-2-1, 3-0)
Friday, 7 p.m. at Tustin High

Outlook: The Tillers are averaging 41 points in three Century League victories. El Dorado has only allowed seven points in its first three league games.

Something has to give, right?

El Dorado has won at least a share of the previous four league titles. The Golden Hawks were outright champions in 2005-2007 and tri-champions, along with Tustin and Canyon last season.

Last season, Anthony Wilkerson rushed for over 300 yards against El Dorado. Wilkerson enters this week as the leading rusher in the county (1,675 yards) and tied for first in touchdowns with 26. He is averaging 239 yards a game.

Tustin quarterback Nick DiMaio has completed 31 of 47 passes (66 percent) for 572 yards and six touchdowns. He has yet to throw an interception.

On the other side, the Tillers have a ball-hawking secondary. Avery Lynch has five interceptions and Rommel Lilly has four. The team has 15.

El Dorado went in the start of league play coming off of consecutive losses to Tesoro and Glendora, by a combined score of 45-10. Since then, the Golden Hawks have outscored their first three league opponents (El Modena, Brea Olinda and Villa Park) by a combined score of 96-7.

Running back Brock Dunn has rushed for 399 yards in the previous three games.

Can the Golden Hawks get big performances out of Dunn and quarterback Andres Ambuehl?

Or will the Tillers continue their march to the league title?

Will the Golden Hawks be able to slow down Anthony Wilkerson?

The Calhoun 6 (Plus Two Bonus Games):

No. 1 Edison vs. No. 4 Fountain Valley

No. 2 Servite vs. No. 6 Orange Lutheran

No. 2 Mission Viejo vs. No. 12 San Clemente

No. 7 Los Alamitos vs. No. 18 Esperanza

No. 16 Cypress vs. No. 24 Pacifica

BONUS GAMES

No. 17 Laguna Hills vs. No. 25 Irvine

Westminster vs. Segerstrom

RELATED SLIDE SHOW:

The Calhoun Six: Players to Watch Week 9

Check out highlights from the contest and postgame interviews with Wilkerson, Coulter, Lynch, and Coach Myron Miler in this video by OCVarsity.com's Jonathan Khamis.

Read the game story here.

The best games on the Week 6 schedule:

No. 11 Tustin (4-1) vs. No. 25 Canyon (2-3)
Thursday, at Tustin High, 7 p.m.

Outlook: A lot has been written about the Tustin offense, and it has all been deserved, but have you been paying attention to the defense?

Aside from the Kennedy game (28 points) and the loss to Orange Lutheran (46 points), the Tillers have allowed 12, 3 and 0 points in three of their victories.

Anthony Wilkerson leads the county in rushing (1,036 yards) and rushing touchdowns (17). He is averaging 29.5 carries a game. I’m not sure if can be stopped.

Canyon might be the tough-luck team of the season. The Comanches have lost two games by one point, and last week they lost by eight to Laguna Hills.

Tustin was the preseason pick to win the Century League title. Canyon was tabbed to place second.

Quarterback Beau Perry will lead the offense against the Tillers. He has completed 48 of 84 passes (57.1 percent) for 666 yards, with nine touchdowns and five interceptions. Nick Prescott has caught eight of his touchdown passes.

The duo is going to have to have a big night against the Tustin defense.

Canyon would like to forget the two meetings with Tustin last season.

The Tillers won the regular-season game, 42-13, and the playoff contest, 63-28.

Will we see another one-sided affair?

Links to the rest of The Calhoun Six:

No. 20 Corona del Mar vs. No. 22 Laguna Hills

No. 15 Esperanza vs. No. 1 Edison

No. 4 Los Alamitos vs. No. 13 Newport Harbor

No. 9 Orange Lutheran vs. No. 6 Mater Dei

No. 7 Dana Hills vs. No. 12 Tesoro

So where was Kunau?

He was talking a short break to wish injured Tustin star running back Anthony Wilkerson (strained hamstring) well. Kunau also wished Wilkerson good luck at Stanford.

For Kunau, walking across the field to be a good sportsman is nothing new. He is often quick to praise opponents or congratulate them after a game.

But for me, it never gets old watching Kunau. He competes as hard as any coach in the county but goes about it with a ton of class.

Taking a look at the best games of Week 2:

No. 4 Orange Lutheran (0-1) vs. No. 9 Tustin (2-0)
Friday, 7:30 p.m., at Orange Coast College

Outlook: Do you remember the Lancers? Orange Lutheran hasn’t played since Aug. 30, when it opened the season with a 28-14 loss to Pickerington Central of Ohio.

They have had all this time to try to correct what went wrong in the opener.

The Lancers might get a huge break  in this game, as Tustin running back Anthony Wilkerson, the county's leader in rushing yards and TDs, is injured.  Tustin coach Myron Miller said Tuesday night that Wilkerson won't play in the game.

That would be a huge loss for Tustin. Wilkerson has rushed for 671 yards and 10 touchdowns in two games.

Wilkerson is quick to credit the play of his offensive line (Sergio Franquis, Angel Rios, Scott Hungerford, Jovanny Melendez and Manuel Villa), so is it possible for Tustin to replace him and still challenge the Lancers?

Even with Wilkerson, this was going to be the Tillers' greatest test. Are they up for the challenge?

Remember this, the teams met last season, and the Lancers won, 10-0. Wilkerson missed that game, too, because of an injury.

RELATED:

Thursday: No. 3 Edison vs. No. 14 Dana Hills

Thursday: No. 10 La Habra vs. South Hills of West Covina

Friday: No. 13 Trabuco Hills vs. No. 6 San Clemente

Friday: No. 8 Mater Dei vs. Centennial of Corona

Friday: No. 1 Servite vs. Crespi of Encino

Orange Lutheran (0-1) is ranked No. 4 in Orange County and Tustin (2-0) is No. 9.

Miller said Wilkerson was injured during the game against Foothill this past Friday.

Tustin running back Anthony Wilkerson. / Photo by Miguel Vasconcellos, The Register

The senior has been undergoing treatment this week in hopes that he could face the Lancers, but he has not been able to practice.

Wilkerson, who has committed to Stanford, has rushed for more than 300 yards in each of Tustin's first two games this season. He has scored a county-leading 11 touchdowns.

"And when they don't practice they don't play. It's just not fair to the kid," Miller said. "We have other running backs, and one of them is going to have to come up big."

Miller said the running back duties would be shared Friday by Romel Lilly, Avery Lynch and A.J. Rafter.

Steve Fryer contributed to this report.

No. 10 Tustin vs. Kennedy
Friday, at Tustin High, 7 p.m.

Outlook: This is a Fighting Irish team that should scare opponents. (Forget about what Lou Holtz said about Notre Dame making it to the BCS title game this season.)

Brit Johnson is in his second year as Kennedy's coach, and if I had to pick a team to watch in the Empire League, it would be Kennedy.

The Fighting Irish return 14 starters from last season, including dual-threat quarterback Andy Peterson. Kennedy is picked to finish fourth in the Empire League, but don't be misled. Kennedy is a team to keep an eye on.

Tustin returns eight starters from a defensive unit that helped the Tillers reach the CIF Southwest Division championship game.

And then there’s running back Anthony Wilkerson, who is back for his senior season. Wilkerson rushed for 2,299 yards and scored 32 touchdowns last season. (During the summer he committed to Stanford.)

When these two teams met last year, Tustin built up a 28-3 lead, but Kennedy rallied for a 31-28 victory.

Will there be another wild finish? Or will Wilkerson run wild and lead the Tillers to victory?

*The rankings are based on the OCVarsity.com preseason poll

Check out the rest of this week's Calhoun Six:

• No. 1 Servite vs. Long Beach Poly
•  No. 5 Mater Dei vs. Carson
• No. 17 Dana Hills vs. No. 14 Santa Margarita
• No. 12 Fountain Valley vs. No. 22 Foothill
• No. 24 Fullerton vs. No. 19 Canyon

(If you want to see my list of the Top 5 overall players to watch for '09, click here.)

TOP SENIORS FOR 2009

Jesse Aguilar, K/P, Anaheim
Jordan Allen, RB, Mater Dei
Sil Ajawara, OL, Tesoro
Otto Behrle, DB, JSerra
Josh Barut, DB Los Alamitos
Joe Branker, WR, Mission Viejo
Jesse Bueno, WR, El Toro
Jaye Byun, DB, Sunny Hills
Manuel Carillo, WR, Troy
Michael Christe, OL, Mission Viejo

Thomas Cobbs, LB, Woodbridge
♦♦♦♦   ♦♦♦♦   ♦♦♦♦   ♦♦♦♦   ♦♦♦♦   ♦♦♦♦  ♦♦♦♦
Ken Davis, TE, Western
Brock Dunn, RB/DB, El Dorado
Exavier Edwards, RB, Mission Viejo
David Espino, RB, San Clemente
Nico Espinoza, OL, Servite
Cody Fajardo, QB, Servite
Stetson Fitch, DB, Missio Viejo
Parker Flynn, K/P, Orange Lutheran
Pete Foo Chong, LB, Western
Garrett Gilliland, LB, Orange Lutheran
Luis Gomez, RB, Costa Mesa
Chris Gonzalez, WR, La Habra
Dominic Greco, LB, Fullerton
Clay Guess, RB, Capistrano Valley
Sean Guite, QB, Huntington Beach
Alex Gutierrez, DL, Santa Ana Valley
♦♦♦♦   ♦♦♦♦   ♦♦♦♦   ♦♦♦♦   ♦♦♦♦   ♦♦♦♦  ♦♦♦♦
Will Hinn, RB/DB, Saddleback Valley Christian
Zach Huff, LB, Garden Grove
Andrew Husseini, Beckman, OL/DL
Drew Huusfeldt, QB, Esperanza
Matt Jakubiec, OL, Servite
Mike Jones, LB, Foothill
J.D. Krill, TE/LB, Aliso Niguel
Keith Lawson, RB, Beckman
Lukas Lopez, DL, Esperanza
♦♦♦♦   ♦♦♦♦   ♦♦♦♦   ♦♦♦♦   ♦♦♦♦   ♦♦♦♦  ♦♦♦♦
Jake Marshall, RB/DB, Mission Viejo
Matt Martindale, DB, Laguna Hills
Oscar Martinez, OL, Marina
Michael McCullough, DL, Laguna Hills
Sean McEvilly, OL, Orange Lutheran
Kyle Middlebrooks, RB, Fountain Valley
Marc Milan, DL, Mission Viejo
Justin Mills, LB, Segerstrom
Anthony Milone, Fullerton, DL
Wade Minshew, Tustin, RB/DB
Zach Mitchell, RB. Tesoro
John Murayama, RB, St. Margaret’s
Brian Murrietta, QB, Segerstrom
Darius Nacoste, RB, Santa Ana Valley
Chris Nicholls, WR, Servite
Trevor Ofisa, Magnolia, DL
Theo Okai, LB, Western
Dominic Orman, DB, Western
Ruben Ortega, RB/LB, Western
♦♦♦♦   ♦♦♦♦   ♦♦♦♦   ♦♦♦♦   ♦♦♦♦   ♦♦♦♦  ♦♦♦♦
Preston Pemasa, DL, Orange Lutheran
Robert Peralta, RB, Santa Ana
Jose Perez, WR/DB, Los Amigos
Hayden Pierce, WR, Esperanza
Joshua Quezada, RB, La Habra
Dominic Ragland, QB, Fountain Valley
Chase Rettig, QB, San Clemente
Shaquille Richardson, WR/DB, Los Alamitos
Kyle Rodriguez, DB, Canyon
Kaller Roemer, WR, Huntington Beach
Brian Roth, DL, El Toro
♦♦♦♦   ♦♦♦♦   ♦♦♦♦   ♦♦♦♦   ♦♦♦♦   ♦♦♦♦  ♦♦♦♦
Niusuamalie Sale, OL, Los Alamitos
Anthony Sandoval, La Habra, DL
Roman Sapolu, OL, Edison
Nick Schlemmer, WR, Foothill
Curtis Simonton, WR, Trabuco Hills
Jacob Slemmer, DB, Servite
Andrew Spangenberg, LB, Santa Margarita
Alex Stamos, DL, Mission Viejo
Ryan Steadman, WR/DB, Fountain Valley
Alex Swigert, RB, Corona del Mar
Tenne Tafuna, DE, Villa Park
Kirifi Taula, OL/DL, Servite
Jeff Trojan, WR, Edison
♦♦♦♦   ♦♦♦♦   ♦♦♦♦   ♦♦♦♦   ♦♦♦♦   ♦♦♦♦  ♦♦♦♦
Chris Ward, OL, Mater Dei
Pat Webster, OL, Mission Viejo
Trevor Weiss, DB, Tesoro
Bobby Wheatley, QB, Orange Lutheran
Cecil Whiteside, WR/LB, Newport Harbor
Riley Whyte, OL, Servite
Anthony Wilkerson, RB/LB, Tustin
Troy Willett, LB, Santa Margarita
Damani Wilson, RB, Orange Lutheran
Cody Wittick, WR/DB, Tesoro
Sean Young, QB, Garden Grove
Jordan Zumwalt, LB, Edison

The Bulldogs like Quezada  (6-0, 190) at running back and outside linebacker, the coach said.

The Register's other first-team running back, junior Anthony Wilkerson of Tustin, has already been offered a scholarship by Stanford.

RELATED:

• Top 20 O.C. recruits for Class of 2009
• Football recruiting: 15 for 15
• OC'S top committed recruits
• Updated lists of Orange County's top football players
• More recruiting news

Wilkerson (6-0, 210) is planning two trips to Palo Alto, but the Cardinal have some competition for the back, who has been compared to Tustin great and NFL veteran DeShaun Foster.

Wilkerson plans to attend Stanford's Junior Day in late February. In late January, he plans to visit the school unofficially with his uncle, Marc Davis, who played baseball at Stanford.

Of the offer from Stanford, Wilkerson said: "Good news. That's one of the top schools I'm looking at."

Wilkerson said Stanford offered the week after the CIF-SS Southwest Division final. That same week, USC's Pete Carroll was among the coaches who visited Wilkerson at Tustin. Cal also made an on-campus visit.

Wilkerson said he also is interested in UCLA and Oklahoma. He said the Sooners are sending him a steady flow of letters.

Wilkerson carries a 3.8 grade-point average and is currently playing basketball for Tustin.

I think Tustin coach Myron Miller has brought Wilkerson along very nicely. The kid is going to be even more amazing next season.