The challengers

Official football practice begins this week for Southern Section teams. The only real question is which team can break into the top four in Southern California?

Sierra Canyon will certainly get a shot. The Trailblazers won Division 2 last season after stumbling early on and not being able to get back into the Division 1 picture until it was too late. This time, with games against JSerra and Orange Lutheran, Sierra Canyon knows it needs to win immediately and there will be no excuses. Few teams are better prepared to run the ball with Dane Dunn and the passing game should be much improved with Sherman Oaks Notre Dame transfer Wyatt Becker at quarterback. The secondary can’t be any stronger with four future college players in the lineup.

Orange Lutheran is preparing for the Trinity League with a daunting schedule but most of its top players are back, led by quarterback TJ Lateef. An opening game against Gardena Serra should provide an early glimpse where the Lancers stand.

Los Alamitos has loaded up on transfers, so who knows how long it takes for the Griffins to develop chemistry.

Mission Viejo has inexperience at quarterback but that shouldn’t be an issue. The Diablos have a solid defense and improving offensive line. They also added an elite receiver last week in, a junior who moved from Sacramento to Bishop Alemany last semester and but is now at Mission Viejo. Here’s the updated high school football transfer tracker.

Long Beach Poly loves its quarterback, Colorado State commit Darius Curry, and there’s plenty of fast, athletic players to build around. Warren knocked off Mater Dei in a summer passing tournament. That means nothing when the Monarchs add their offensive and defensive lines to the mix, but beware of receiver Jordan Ross.

JSerra has a new coach in former Asuza Pacific head coach Victor Santa Cruz. Don’t underestimate what he can do. If the Lions can upset Sierra Canyon in their opener, they’ll be off to the races.

Gardena Serra is always good when the season begins. It’s just a matter of depth. Can the Cavaliers avoid injuries? Quarterback Jimmy Butler is ready for a breakout junior season with Zacharyus Williams serving as his big target. And don’t forget that running back Cincere Rhaney is back to bowl over some linebackers.

So those are the candidates to secure the fourth-best team label in Southern California.

Nine-part series

Highly recruited Murrieta Valley junior quarterback Bear Bachmeier, 17, has grown up on a three-acre plot of land on top of a hill in Lake Elsinore.

(Gina Ferazzi/Los Angeles Times)

The Times’ annual nine-part series previewing the top high school football players in Southern California begins Sunday with a profile of Murrieta Valley junior quarterback Bear Bachmeier. He has one brother, Hank, playing quarterback at Louisiana Tech, and another brother, Tiger, playing receiver at Stanford. He has grown up on a three-acre plot of land on top of a hill in Lake Elsinore.

The complete schedule of profiles will appear in next Monday’s Prep Rally.

Shoulder pads go on

Cleveland High football players practice for the first time in helmets in shoulder pads on Thursday.

(Eric Sondheimer / Los Angeles Times)

After being dropped off at Reseda Cleveland by his mother, sophomore Tristan Cordero was carrying his new shoulder pads from the parking lot to the locker room Thursday afternoon, on the first day City Section players could wear helmets and shoulder pads at practices.

Cordero had never put on shoulder pads before, but he was confident he wouldn’t have trouble.

“The coaches showed us a video,” he said.

Thank goodness for YouTube.

Assistant coach Mario Guzman still said it was about an hour of chaos helping players with shoulder pads, helmets and mouthpieces. The big issue with helmets is the chin straps. Some were ending up over the player’s lip, not allowing them to speak. Players were supposed to have molded their mouthpieces by taking them home, putting them in boiling water, then cool water and biting down to get them to fit.

And just wait until the tackling drills begin.

A look at the opening day for shoulder pads and helmets for the City Section.

Early morning practices

Chatsworth High football has been practicing at 6 a.m. to beat the heat and also teach players about commitment.

(Eric Sondheimer / Los Angeles Times)

For two years, linebacker Edwin Torres was unable to become academically eligible to play football at Chatsworth. Being late to class. Lack of discipline. Lack of commitment.

“I overslept a lot,” he said.

Apparently his sleeping habits have changed. He’s been getting up at 4:30 a.m. to prepare for 6 a.m. football practices. He’s finally eligible to play his junior season.

“I feel I have to wake up earlier,” he said. “It was lack of discipline. Now I feel committed and proving everyone who doubted me wrong.”

Coach Marvin Street has been using early morning practices to help with safety concerns related to the extreme heat. But he has found additional reasons to schedule the early morning work. Parents like it. It gets their kids up early to begin the day and keeps them available for chores or family responsibilities later. And the kids are learning about how much they want to play football.

A look at Street teaching life lessons.

Summer preview: Defensive backs

Peyton Waters of Birmingham looks like he’s going to make a great catch. He does to make an interception against Venice.

(Craig Weston)

Defensive backs who make plays and can cover receivers have become invaluable at all levels of football.

Continuing a summer look at players to watch for the upcoming high school football season, it’s clear that Southern California has lots of quality defensive backs. And it starts with players named Peyton.

Peyton Waters of Birmingham is committed to the University of Washington. He’s moving to safety this season, his projected position in college, after starring as a cornerback. He also plays receiver and wildcat quarterback and uses his instincts, athleticism and versatility to make an impact.

Peyton Woodyard of St. John Bosco is committed to Georgia. He’s a safety who plays with a physicality and confidence hard to duplicate.

Here’s a rundown of other defensive backs to watch.

Girls’ volleyball

Huntington Beach setter Dani Sparks.

(James Carbone)

The girls’ volleyball season begins next week, but Huntington Beach, with seven of its top eight players returning, is already serving notice that it intends to compete with Division 1 powers Mira Costa, Sierra Canyon and Mater Dei.

Huntington Beach won a summer tournament last week at Oxnard, knocking off defending Division 1 champion Sierra Canyon in the final.

Coach Craig Pazanti said setter Dani Sparks, outside hitter Haylee LaFountaine and libero Olivia Foye were on top of their games.

The team is set to leave for Hawaii on Aug. 8 for a season-opening tournament in Honolulu Aug.10-12 that will also include Sierra Canyon and Mira Costa.

Sierra Canyon, which returns four starters, has picked up a talented transfer from Saugus in 6-foot-2 Taylor Treahy.

Notes . . .

Andrew Moore has resigned after four seasons as basketball coach at Crespi. . . .

Derrick Taylor, associated with the Taft basketball program since 1987 and head coach from 2001-2011 and 2015 until last season, won’t be coming back as head coach after guiding the Toreadors to the City title. Here’s the report.

St. Francis tight end/linebacker Preston Jernegan has committed to the admission process at Princeton. . . .

Kristen Sherman is the new girls’ flag football coach at Orange Lutheran. She’s the wife of 11-man coach Rod Sherman. . . .

Former Harvard-Westlake pitcher Lucas Giolito was acquired by the Angels in a trade with the Chicago White Sox. It will be a homecoming for Giolito, who grew up in Santa Monica. He’s a free agent next season. It’s an interesting time for the Harvard-Westlake pitchers in the majors. Jack Flaherty of the Cardinals also will be a free agent and Max Fried of the Braves is two years away.

Allen Caveness is the new basketball coach at St. Monica. He was an assistant at Long Beach State and head coach at St. Anthony for seven years. . . .

BS High, a documentary on the Bishop Sycamore high school football scandal, is scheduled to premiere on HBO and Max on Aug. 23. It was two years ago Bishop Sycamore faced IMG Academy on national television losing 58-0. Then came the revelations about the program. . . .

Setter Charlie Fuerbringer of Mira Costa will begin playing this week for the USA U19 girls’ volleyball team competing at the FIVB Girls U19 World Championships Aug. 1-11 in Osijek, Croatia and Szeged, Hungary. . . .

In what could be huge basketball news, Bryce James, the younger son of LeBron James, has made inquires about transferring to Sherman Oaks Notre Dame instead of Campbell Hall. Nothing has been finalized. James has played the last two seasons with older brother Bronny at Sierra Canyon. Notre Dame defeated Sierra Canyon four times last season. . . .

Sean Kelly of Loyola has been selected to be captain for the USA U19 volleyball team that will play this week at the FIVB boys U19 World Championships in Argentina. Also on the team are Kellen Larson from Woodbridge, Marek Turner from Long Beach Wilson, Victor Loiola from Mira Costa, Trent Taliaferro from JSerra, Sterling Foley from Corona del Mar, Josh Aruya from Mission Viejo, Tread Rosenthal from Mira Costa and Kaumana Carreira from Tesoro. . . .

Former Newbury Park cross-country coach Sean Brosnan will not have his contract renewed as distance coach at UCLA. . . .

From the archives: Milan Tolentino

Former Santa Margarita infielder Milan Tolentino, a fourth-round draft pick of the Cleveland Guardians in 2020, continues to progress in the minor leagues. He has five home runs, 24 RBIs, 11 stolen bases and a .265 average.

Here’s a story from 2022 describing his rise in the Guardians’ farm system.

Tolentino was the Trinity League player of the year as a junior in 2019. He was committed to UCLA but signed with the Guardians.

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