If there's a more improved team in the county this year than El Toro, I would love to see it. The Chargers are so much better, I do believe they will beat out Trabuco Hills for the Sea View League title.

I'm not sold on the Mustangs as much as I'm sold on the Chargers.

There common opponents are San Clemente and Laguna Hills. TH lost to SC 21-3, beat LH 27-0. ET lost to SC 35-14, beat LH 24-0.

Going by those scores, it seems El Toro would have the edge offensively, and Trabuco Hills the edge defensively.

I know they say defense wins, but having watched El Toro against San Clemente, I think Chargers win a shootout, 38-35.

The teams play in two weeks in the Sea View opener.

Your thoughts?

More from the football blog:

DIVISION I

1. Royal

2. Arcadia

3. Trabuco Hills

4. Rancho Cucamonga

5. Dana Hills

6. Marina

7. Corona

8. El Toro

9. Yucaipa

10. Great Oak

•••••    •••••    •••••

DIVISION II

1. Claremont

2. Camarillo

3. Westlake

4. Foothill

5. Thousand Oaks

6. Canyon

7. Saugus

8. Redondo Union

9. Loyola

10. Ayala

•••••    •••••    •••••

DIVISION III

1. St. John Bosco

2. Palos Verdes

3. Golden Valley

4. Woodbridge

5. Granite Hills

6. Brea Olinda

7. Cabrillo/Lompoc

8. Orange Lutheran

9. Oak Park

10. Dos Pueblos

•••••    •••••    •••••

DIVISION IV

1. Laguna Beach

2. Morro Bay

3. Harvard/Westlake

4. Nordhoff

5. San Juan HIlls

6. Notre Dame/S.O.

7. JSerra

8. Banning

9. Salesian

10. Big Bear

•••••    •••••    •••••

DIVISION V

1. Woodcrest Christian

2. Pasadena Poly

3. Flintridge Prep

4. Thacher, Ojal

5. Sage Hill, Newport Harbor

6. Chadwick

7. St. Margaret’s

8. Oak Hills

9. Webb

10. Oakwood

DIVISION I

1. Dana Hills

2. Great Oak

3. Trabuco Hills

4. Esperanza

5. King, Riverside

6. San Clemente

7. Warren

8. Chaparral

9. Tesoro

10. Vista Murrieta

•••••    •••••    •••••    •••••

DIVISION II

1. Saugus

2. Mira Costa

3. Sultana

4. Redondo Union

5. Foothill

6. West Ranch

7. Canyon

8. Ayala

9. Serrano

10. La Mirada

•••••    •••••    •••••    •••••

DIVISION III

1. Orange Lutheran

2. Corona del Mar

3. Oak Park

4. St. Lucy’s Priory

5. Northwood

6. West Torrance

7. Palos Verdes

8. Atascadero

9. Woodbridge

10. Agoura

•••••    •••••    •••••    •••••

DIVISION IV

1. La Reina, Thousand Oaks

2. Morro Bay

3. Harvard/Westlake

4. Mayfield

5. Laguna Beach

6. JSerra

7. San Juan Hills

8. Paraclete

9. Nordhoff

10. Oaks Christian

•••••    •••••    •••••    •••••

DIVISION V

1. Woodcrest Christian

2. Chadwick

3. Saddleback Valley Christian

4. St. Margaret’s

5. Whittier Christian

6. Sage Hill, Newport Beach

7. Flintridge Prep, La Canada-Flintridge

8. Calvary Chapel, Downey

9. Linfield Christian

10. Arrowhead Christian Academy

Pool 4 (Marina HS)

2. Carlsbad

3. Brea

4. Irvine

Breakdown: The Mustangs are an up-and-coming team, evidenced by their victory over Capistrano Valley this week. A strong showing here could have Trabuco Hills among others in the top 10 voting.

Pool play begins at 3:30 p.m. Friday

1 VS 3 – REF 2
2 VS 4 – REF 1
1 VS 4 – REF 3
2 VS 3 – REF 1

Saturday games start at 8 a.m.
3 VS 4 – REF 2
1 VS 2 – REF 4

Pool 1

Pool 2

Pool 3

Pool 4

Pool 5

Pool 6

Pool 7

Pool 8

Last year the Mustangs began the season 0-3, with consecutive losses to Laguna Hills, San Clemente and Villa Park.

The team was beat up early last year, and once healthy showed their potential. They finished the season by winning eight of their final 10 games, with their only losses to Foothill and La Habra (playoffs).

The Mustangs started slow against Estancia in their season opener Thursday night. However, the team used a big third down conversion to get going.

After opening the contest with two punts on their first two offensive series, the Mustangs faced 3rd and12 from the 50 after a fumbled snap pushed them back. Yet Ryan Ochoa hooked up with Tommy Smith for a 20-yard catch and first down.

Trabuco Hills went on to score on the drive, and added touchdowns on its next three series as well and took a 28-0 lead into halftime.

"Estancia came out good," Mustangs coach Jason Negro said. "I give them a lot of credit. That third down conversion was a big play. We needed a spark."

The schedule takes a step up the next two weeks. The Mustangs will have a shot at redemption against both Laguna Hills (Sept. 11) and San Clemente (Sept. 18).

More from the football blog:

• Video: Servite dominates Long Beach Poly
• Scoring and stats: Trabuco Hills vs. Estancia
• Scoring and stats: San Juan Hills vs. Godinez
• Scoring and stats: Beckman vs. Cerritos
• Scoring and stats: Fountain Valley vs. Foothill

Top 25: Teams 16-20

(Quality victories are victories over top-25 teams or top non-county teams)

16. PACIFICA (Empire) 17-10

Streak: 9 W

Quality victories: Simi Valley, 7-1; West Orange (Wintergarden, Fla.), 1-0; Los Alamitos, 7-1; Sonora, 2-1; Sonora, 5-4; Kennedy, 2-0; Valencia (Placentia), 3-0; and Kennedy, 1-0.

Losses: Mission Viejo, 1-3; Elkins (Missouri City, Tex.), 6-7; Chaparral (Scottsdale, Ariz.,) 1-5; Cienega (Vail, Ariz.), 1-2; Sheldon (sacramento), 0-3; Norco, 0-2; Valencia (Valencia) 1-2; Valencia, 3-6; Rancho Bernardo (San Diego), 1-2; and Trabuco Hills, 0-5.

17. TRABUCO HILLS (Sea View) 17-8-1

Streak: 1 L

Quality victories: Santa Margarita, 7-0; Dana Hills, 10-0; Northwood, 3-2; Pacifica, 5-0; Long Beach Wilson, 3-0; El Toro, 5-1; and Northwood, 2-0.

Losses: Aliso Niguel, 0-2; Laguna Hills, 0-2; Laguna Hills, 1-2; Canyon, 1-2; Ayala (Chino Hills), 0-2; Foothill, 2-3; El Toro, 0-2; and Foothill, 2-11.

Ties: Laguna Hills, 0-0.

18. ROSARY (Trinity) 14-14

Streak: 1 W

Quality victories: Beckman, 3-2; Esperanza, 5-3; Mission Viejo, 4-3; Aliso Niguel, 3-1; Mater Dei, 7-5; Santa Margarita, 2-0; and Orange Lutheran, 3-2.

Losses: Marina, 3-4; Esperanza, 2-10; Esperanza, 0-6; Laguna Hills, 0-1; Marina, 6-1; Foothill, 1-7; El Dorado, 3-4; Fullerton, 0-1; El Segundo, 0-2; Savanna, 1-3; Beckman, 0-1; Mater Dei, 1-2; Santa Margarita, 3-14; and Orange Lutheran, 2-6.

19. MISSION VIEJO (South Coast) 17-10

Streak: 2 W

Quality victories: Pacifica, 3-1; Durango (Las Vegas), 7-0; Orange Lutheran, 6-5; Edison, 3-1; Dana Hills, 8-1; and Dana Hills, 9-5.

Losses: Chino Hills, 4-7; Saugus, 1-8; Fountain Valley, 4-5; Rosary, 3-4; Santa Margarita, 5-6; Villa Park, 9-10; San Clemente, 4-5; Aliso Niguel, 7-11; Woodbridge, 3-6; and Aliso Niguel, 2-5.

20. RANCHO ALAMITOS (Garden Grove) 17-4-1

Streak: 8 W

Quality victories: Dana Hills, 4-2.

Losses: Marina, 1-3; Long Beach Wilson, 3-4; Edison, 1-4; Tesoro, 0-9;

Ties: Santa Margarita, 0-0.

*Records are through May 10

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Brandon Poon

Brandon Poon

Trabuco Hills High

Poon is the rare talented senior who doesn't play tournaments or plans on playing in college. He has Division I game, however, and showcased his ability in the Mustangs big victory over El Toro, 11-7, last week to take over sole possession of third place. Trabuco Hills is attemptiong to make the postseason for the first time under coach Jerry Grams, and Poon's sweep, 6-0, 6-1, 6-4, including beating El Toro's No. 1 player and freshman stud Gannon Daynes in the final round, is the reason they are positioned to do just that.

More from the boys tennis blog:

• Boys tennis: Top 7 Seniors
• Boys tennis: Top 7 Juniors
• Boys tennis: Trabuco Hills earns key Sea View League victory
• Boys tennis: Top 7 Sophomores
• Boys tennis: No. 7 Dana Hills cruises past Mission Viejo
• Boys tennis: Top 7 Freshmen
• Boys tennis: Athlete of the Week

Trabuco Hills' Brandon Poon

What happened: The Mustangs moved into sole possession of third place in league with an 11-7 victory over visiting El Toro on Thursday afternoon.

Records: Trabuco Hills 3-2; El Toro 2-3

Impact: Both teams entered 2-2, each having lost to Woodbridge and Northwood. Mustangs Coach Jerry Grams said his team has never finished third in league and made a trip to the postseason, so pulling out Thursday's tight match was a big deal. If Trabuco Hills can replicate its first round run in the second round, CIF will happen.

How it looked: The teams were tied at 3 after the opening round, with Trabuco Hills winning two singles and El Toro two doubles. However, the Mustangs won the next two rounds 4-2 to end the drama. The first three matches to end in the final round all favored Trabuco Hills as it clinched the  victory.

Match of the Day: Gannon Daynes (ET) vs. Jonathan Poon (TH), both freshmen and part of the top 7 to watch in their class (see the others here). Daynes won in a closer than the score match, 6-2.

Sweeps: The Mustangs No. 1 singles player Brandon Poon and their No. 2 doubles team of Alex Archibeque and Shiva Ramamaurthi.

More from the boys tennis blog:

• Boys tennis: Top 7 Sophomores
• Boys tennis: No. 7 Dana Hills cruises past Mission Viejo
• Boys tennis: Top 7 Freshmen
• Boys tennis: Athlete of the Week
• Boys tennis: Top 10 rankings
• Boys tennis: Playing with two forehands and two backhands
• Boys tennis: Laguna Beach picking up steam in latest victory

Madi Geiger had a two-run double in the bottom of the fourth to break open the game. Click here to read the full story.

Check out some post-game videos with the Mustangs:

TRABUCO HILLS CATCHER MADI GEIGER

TRABUCO HILLS COACH ERIN WEBBER

MVP: Sarah Halverson (Trabuco Hills, Sr.)

Most Valuable Goalie: Michelle Wieland (El Toro, Sr.)

First Team– Brooke Ellison (El Toro, Jr.); Emily Goldstein (El Toro, Jr.); Felicia Franco (El Toro, Sr.); Liz Nare (El Toro, Jr.); Callie Payetta (Huntington Beach, Sr.); Jordan Snyder (Huntington Beach, Sr.); Danielle Miller (Northwood, So.); Tara Budnick (Northwood, So.); Jacqui Samis (Trabuco Hills, Sr.); Kursten Magyar (Trabuco Hillls, Sr.); Natalie Warner (Woodbridge, So.); Brooke TenBosch (Woodbridge, So.)

Second Team– Izzy Pozurama (El Toro, Sr.); Megan Daniels (El Toro, So.); Sandra Roberts (El Toro, Jr.); Julie McKee (Foothill, Sr.); Beth Ramsey (Huntington Beach, Jr.); Elise Nordin (Huntington Beach, Sr.); Brittany Langdon (Northwood, Sr.); Lauren Porter (Northwood, So.); Alexis Huerta (Trabuco Hills, Jr.); Aubrey Baker (Trabuco Hills, Fr.); Dani Benton (Trabuco Hills, Sr.); Jessica Mandrich (Trabuco Hills, So.); Kassidie Stade (Trabuco Hills, Fr.); Madison Krauser (Woodbridge, Fr.)

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