Beckman's Tawni Martino
Here is my list of the Top 10 Juniors in the county, based on performance so far this season.
These players should be followed closely throughout the rest of the season.
(Players listed in alphabetical order:)
• Ariana Carillo (Los Alamitos): Great speed and ability to get off quality shots in traffic.
• Morgan Gage (El Modena): Has tallied 10 goals (second among players in her class).
I have read countless posts on this blog about how the only real soccer is being played in academy soccer, and the boys who aren't serious about the game are stuck playing in high school.
Saddleback's David Zepeda
Well, those kinds of comments undercut everything that these players, who are loyal to their schools, have been doing this month.
True there are gifted players in academy soccer, but there is a lot of talent left on the high school field as well.
I covered the sport when kids such as Danny Califf and Tomas Serna were on the field, and I have seen some kids this year who would have been able to keep up with them.
(Which brings up something else. Califf always seemed to make some time for his high school team before heading off to play in Egypt or some other exotic place.)
Playing high school sports just seems to make the four years you spend in a school mean a bit more. OK, that's my two cents worth, now onto what this post is really about.
The top 11 players in December that I HAVE SEEN (notice those words that are capitalized. I haven't seen La Habra, Troy or JSerra, among others).
Here is Steve Fryer’s Frankly Fryer column for Week 1 games:
MAMMOTH (0-1) VS. ST. MARGARET'S (0-0)
Site, time: St. Margaret's High, Saturday 7 p.m.
Read the rest of this entry »
Check out the top underclassmen to watch in Orange County:
1. Mater Dei (9-2 in 2007) – You start with USC-bound Matt Barkley, and that's a good place to start.
2. Orange Lutheran (10-2) – The Lancers are not as big as the past couple of teams at Lutheran, but there is plenty of speed and skill all over the field.
3. Los Alamitos (7-3) – The Griffins missed the playoffs last year, but they are poised for a huge comeback this year.
4. Mission Viejo (4-6-1) – The Diablos got bounced out of the playoffs quickly last year, by Orange Lutheran, so they are out to make amends. They have the ammo to do so, too.
Tartans football coach Harry Welch is so high on his quarterback David Mothander, he said the 6-foot-2, 172-pound senior could have been the passer on many of his teams at Canyon of Canyon Country.
During the offseason, Mothander did pick up some tips from one of Welch's top stars at Canyon -- quarterback Nate Longshore. The senior quarterback at Cal spent time with Mothander at St. Margaret's.
Surprisingly, Longshore hasn't been tabbed the starter this season at Cal but I'm sure he helped Mothander.
Welch added that if he were at Canyon and Mothander was his quarterback, he would feel good about the season.
5. Edison (8-4 in 2007) -- This team is known for throwing the ball, but it might use the running game quite a bit more this year. That still should translate to plenty of victories for the Chargers, who shared the Sunset League championship with Esperanza last year.
6. Servite (9-3) – They don't have the stars, such as Matt Kalil and D.J. Shoemate, they had year, but the Friars have enough good ones coming back and the usual grit and team spirit to be a factor in the ultra-tough Trinity League.
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