PREVIEWS AND PREDICTIONS: CIFSS FOOTBALL WEEK 5 EDITION

League play opens on the JPWest Media slate this week, and the board runs from a Big West North opener in Murrieta on Thursday to Trinity League Friday night at Saddleback College. Rankings below are the JPWest Media board.

Thursday, October 1

#5 Centennial (2-3) @ Vista Murrieta (2-3)
7 PM — Vista Murrieta High School, Murrieta
Photographer: Joey Gray

Centennial’s record does not match the tape. The Huskies went to Concord on Saturday and lost 35-32 to De La Salle after missing an extra point and two two-point tries, and they still had a chance to take the lead late. Senior quarterback Jaden Jefferson was 22 of 36 for 322 yards and three touchdowns with two interceptions, and he added 70 rushing yards and a score. Jaden Bynum caught six balls for 116 yards and a touchdown, Gavin Lorge had seven for 92, Quentin Hale six for 85 and a score, and sophomore Mason Fowler two for 27 and a touchdown. Braylin Drake punched in a rushing score. That is 496 total yards against a national program, and it is the résumé Centennial carries into the Big West North opener.

Vista Murrieta is also 2-3, and the Broncos just found a way. They beat El Camino 24-21 in overtime Friday at home, tying it in the fourth and winning it with a field goal in the extra period. El Camino came in 0-4 and left 0-5, so this is not a signature win, but Murrieta has a live home crowd and a league opener against a team that has already dropped three. The Broncos need a cleaner night on the edges than they got against El Camino, because Jefferson will not need 36 throws to find Hale and Bynum if the coverage busts.

JP’s Pick: Jefferson finishes the drives he left on the field in Concord. Centennial 38, Vista Murrieta 20.

#21 Dana Hills (5-0) @ Western (0-5)
7 PM — Handel Stadium (Western High School), Anaheim
Photographer: Jeremy Westerbeck

Dana Hills set a program scoring record on September 18, beating Mayfair 70-7 to go 5-0 for the third straight season, then used the bye. Junior quarterback Carter Anderson threw for 217 yards and three touchdowns on eight completions, including a 52-yarder. Senior receiver Jack Norman caught four balls for 118 yards and three scores. Junior running back Enzo Gallo scored three times on five carries and 61 yards. Senior Chase Rasmussen added 74 rushing yards and a touchdown. Junior linebacker Deshawn Rufus leads the defense with four interceptions. The Dolphins have scored 56, 62, 66, 35, and 70. League play is not going to look like Mayfair, but Western is not the team to test that.

Western is 0-5. The closest call was a 23-21 home loss to San Dimas on September 18. The Pioneers have hung around once. They have not closed. Handel Stadium is the right place for a league opener, and coach D. Davidson’s group will get Dana Hills’ first real look at a conference front. The problem is the scoreboard Dana Hills has been posting, and a defense that has already taken the ball away.

JP’s Pick: Anderson and Norman do not need a full night. Dana Hills 48, Western 10.

Laguna Beach (5-0) @ Troy (3-2)
7 PM — Troy High School, Fullerton
Photographer: Tank Valenzuela

Laguna Beach is unbeaten and just won a road game that looked like a league tape. The Breakers beat San Pedro 21-7 on Friday behind senior quarterback Jack Hurst, who was 15 of 29 for 157 yards and three touchdowns. Sophomore Charlie Christian carried 26 times for 112 yards and a score. Freshman Ryder Bright caught five balls for 80 yards and a 60-yard touchdown. Senior Brady Stringham had three catches, two scores, and the kicks. It was not a shootout. It was a controlled road win, which is the version of Laguna Beach that travels.

Troy is 3-2 and coming off a 26-12 loss at El Dorado. Junior Riley Billington was the offense: 18 carries, 122 yards, two touchdowns, and a 64-yard run. Senior Mason Mays was 14 of 25 for 141 yards and an interception. Chandler Lieberman caught five for 49, Andrew Green four for 38. The Warriors can run the ball when Billington gets a crease. They have not protected the passer or the scoreboard on the last tape. Troy High is the advantage. Laguna Beach’s five wins are the argument.

JP’s Pick: Hurst does enough, and Christian keeps Troy’s offense off the field. Laguna Beach 24, Troy 17.

Friday, October 2

JPWest Media Game of the Week: #4 Mater Dei (4-1) @ #1 Santa Margarita (5-0)
7 PM — Saddleback College, Mission Viejo
Photographer: Marco Beltran | Watch: Spectrum SportsNet

This is the Trinity League opener, and it is the game the section has been pointing at since August. Santa Margarita is 5-0, ranked No. 1, and already owns the head-to-head that matters most on this résumé: a 21-20 win over Centennial. The Eagles then shut out Jones, beat Highland 55-7, hung 41 on Inderkum, and closed nonleague with a 34-0 win over Norco at this same field. Norco had scored at least 49 in every game and was averaging 54. Santa Margarita held the Cougars to six rushing yards, sacks included. Fletch Palmer was 10 of 16 for 134 yards and a 10-yard touchdown to Luke Gazzaniga. Adrian Petero has been the hammer in the run game, including four scores and 101 yards against Inderkum. Aydan Steen blocked a punt for a score and added a sack. Jayden Jack’s interception set up another touchdown. Carson Palmer’s defense has three shutouts. The Eagles were on a bye last week. They have had seven days to sit on Mater Dei’s Gorman tape.

Mater Dei is 4-1 and still the most physical roster in the league, but the last image is a 25-8 loss to Bishop Gorman at Santa Ana Stadium on September 18. The Gaels scored on the opening drive and held the Monarchs scoreless for the first 43 minutes. It was Mater Dei’s first loss to an out-of-state team since 1991. Junior quarterback Russell Sekona was under pressure all night. Sophomore Asir Nembhard is still the lead back at 94.8 rushing yards per game, and senior Gavin Honore leads the receivers. The Monarchs also had the bye. Trinity League openers at Saddleback have ended seasons before. This one can reorder the JPWest board by Saturday morning.

JP’s Pick: Santa Margarita’s defense travels from the Norco shutout to the league opener, and Petero finishes drives. Santa Margarita 27, Mater Dei 17.

El Modena (5-0) @ #12 Huntington Beach (5-0)
7 PM — Cap Sheue Field (Huntington Beach High School), Huntington Beach
Photographer: Jeremy Westerbeck

Two unbeaten teams, one of them ranked, on the same Friday night as the Trinity League opener. Huntington Beach is 5-0 and coming off the bye after a 29-25 win over Yorba Linda on September 18 at Cap Sheue. Ohio State commit Brady Edmunds was 25 of 33 for 310 yards and two touchdowns, and he scored on a 3-yard run and a two-point conversion. Dylin Bruce caught nine balls for 126 yards and a score. Skylar Robinson had seven for 124 and a 45-yard touchdown, then housed a 90-yard kickoff return. Nathan Santillan carried 16 times for 62. Maxx Hopkins, Nikko LaShelle, and Jonathan Yadrik each had seven tackles. The Oilers did not run away from a 4-1 Yorba Linda team. They won a track meet. League play will ask whether the defense can get off the field when the other team is also unbeaten.

El Modena is 5-0 because it knows how to finish. The Vanguards beat Trabuco Hills 20-17 on Friday when junior Alejandro Teran Martinez hit a 32-yard field goal with five seconds left. Trabuco Hills had tied it at 17 with 6:56 to play. El Modena answered with 12 straight runs, including a fourth-and-1 sneak from senior quarterback Ethan Sorenson, and Martinez kicked it after a timeout wiped out his first try. Nathan De La Vega ran for 103 yards and a touchdown on 11 carries. The Vanguards rushed for 259. Coach Matt Mitchell’s group is built to shorten the game. Cap Sheue and Edmunds are built to lengthen it.

JP’s Pick: Edmunds and Robinson make the Vanguards chase, and the Oilers close it at home. Huntington Beach 31, El Modena 20.

Foothill (2-3) @ Newport Harbor (3-2)
7 PM — Davidson Field (Newport Harbor High School), Newport Beach
Photographer: Joey Gray

Newport Harbor is 3-2 and opening league play at home after a 42-0 win over Colony on September 18. The Sailors already have the Hawaii shutout of Nanakuli, a 29-24 win over Murrieta Mesa, a 44-35 loss at Lancaster, and a 16-6 Battle of the Bay loss to Corona del Mar. Jordan Spigarelli is the quarterback who has had to throw when the game gets loose, and the Colony shutout is the cleanest tape they have put up since the islands. Davidson Field in a league opener is a different ask than a nonleague Friday. Foothill is the opponent that lets them play in front of their crowd without a ranking attached.

Foothill is 2-3 after a 21-7 win over Cypress on September 18 at Northrup Field. The Knights have a win to carry into Newport Beach and a defense that held Cypress to a touchdown. They do not have a result that says they can trade scores with a Sailors team that just hung 42. If Newport Harbor’s defense looks like the Colony night and not the Corona del Mar night, this gets away in the second half.

JP’s Pick: The Sailors play the Colony tape, not the CDM tape. Newport Harbor 28, Foothill 13.

Edison (2-3) @ #8 Mission Viejo (4-1)
7 PM — Diablo Stadium (Mission Viejo High School), Mission Viejo
Photographer: John Clingan

Mission Viejo opens Alpha League play at home, ranked No. 8, off a bye and off the best win of its season. The Diablos trailed Pittsburg twice in the fourth quarter on September 18 and won 42-35 on Carson Vandermade’s 9-yard touchdown run with 41 seconds left. Brett Burnor threw four touchdown passes and ran for another. Duke commit Luke Karby caught three of them. Jack Junker had a scoring catch, and Jeremy Bonhomme’s long reception set up the winner. Jojo Reed intercepted the last play. Maddox Mataele, Stephen Smith, and Toa Nansen had sacks. Mission Viejo has also beaten Lincoln, St. Paul, and Chaparral by a combined 188-29, and it has the Folsom loss on the résumé. This is a team that can win a shootout and a team that can end one early.

Edison is 2-3 and just played its cleanest game. The Chargers shut out Summit 36-0 at home on Friday, scoring nine in the first quarter and never giving the SkyHawks a point. That is the tape Edison wants to take to Diablo Stadium. Alpha League openers against a top-10 team are not Summit. Edison needs the same front that produced the shutout, and it needs a quarterback night that does not turn into the track meet Pittsburg just forced on Mission Viejo.

JP’s Pick: Burnor and Karby cash the bye week. Mission Viejo 35, Edison 17.

Loyola (3-2) @ #3 Sierra Canyon (5-0)
7 PM — Sierra Canyon School, Chatsworth
Photographer: Peter Zhan

Sierra Canyon is 5-0 and No. 3 after a 42-10 win over previously unbeaten Pacifica on Friday that snapped the Tritons’ 17-game regular-season winning streak. Senior Demarco Hernandez was 22 of 23 for 282 yards and three touchdowns. Sophomore Ian Patterson was 6 of 6 for 50. The two quarterbacks combined for 26 straight completions. Cal commit Jaxsen Stokes carried 13 times for 116 yards and two scores, including a 58-yard touchdown on fourth-and-1. Lance Brown caught a 20-yard score from Hernandez. Coach Jon Ellinghouse has two quarterbacks who can run the offense and a back who ends drives. Chatsworth is not a friendly trip for a 3-2 team.

Loyola is 3-2. The Cubs shut out Hamilton 29-0 on September 11, then lost 21-16 at Cathedral on September 18. Kane Casani was the player of the game in the loss. Loyola can defend and it can stay in a one-score game. It has not shown a way to match Hernandez-to-Brown or Stokes on fourth down. Mission League play opens with the ranking already settled if Sierra Canyon plays the Pacifica second half.

JP’s Pick: Hernandez stays clean and Stokes finishes it. Sierra Canyon 42, Loyola 14.

#19 Crean Lutheran (3-2) @ #25 Tustin (4-1)
7 PM — Tustin High School, Tustin
Photographer: Joshua Harrell

Crean Lutheran closed nonleague with its best offensive night and a bye to sit on it. The Saints beat Oakdale 38-21 on the road on September 18, snapping a two-game skid and finishing nonleague 3-2. Quarterback Caden Jones was 18 of 25 for 276 yards and three touchdowns, and he ran for 126 yards and a score on eight carries. Freshman Eden Gamiz, filling in for Caleb Bey, had 13 carries for 117 yards and a touchdown. Braylen Ross caught 10 balls for 131 yards and two scores. Damari Hall had five for 108. Nate Collins added a touchdown catch. Coach Rick Curtis’ group put up 539 yards. Bravo League opens at Tustin, which is the best team on the Saints’ calendar.

Tustin is 4-1, ranked No. 25, and also coming off the bye. The Tillers went to Westlake and trailed 14-0, then scored 28 unanswered in a 28-21 win. Jeremiah Williams and Steele Holcomb both found the end zone in the comeback. Westlake’s coach said he had not seen a team like that in a long time. Tustin High is the edge. Crean Lutheran’s Oakdale tape is the problem for a Tiller defense that had to climb out of a two-score hole two weeks ago.

JP’s Pick: Jones is the best player on the field, and the Saints’ skill talent travels. Crean Lutheran 31, Tustin 24.

Upset Watch

• #5 Centennial @ Vista Murrieta. The Huskies just lost a one-score game they should have closed, and Jefferson threw two picks in Concord. If Murrieta’s overtime version shows up and the Broncos get a takeaway in the red zone, Big West North opens messy.
• Laguna Beach @ Troy. Riley Billington already has a 122-yard, two-score night on the last tape. If he gets 20 carries at Troy High, the Breakers’ 21-7 formula gets stressed.
• El Modena @ #12 Huntington Beach. The Vanguards just won on 12 straight runs and a 32-yard kick with five seconds left. If they keep Edmunds off the field, Cap Sheue turns into a field-goal game.
• #19 Crean Lutheran @ #25 Tustin. Tustin already erased a 14-point hole at Westlake and has had two weeks at home. If the Tillers start fast, Jones has to throw into a crowd.