Hi, and welcome to another edition of Prep Rally. I’m Eric Sondheimer. Drum roll, please. With the high school football season set for zero week Aug. 20-21, The Times begins a nine-part series profiling some of the area’s top players with a top 10 position list.
Let the series begin
Quarterback Chris Fields III of Carson passed for two touchdowns and ran for three touchdowns in loss to Delano Kennedy.
(Craig Weston)
The Times’ nine-part series previewing top high school football players begins Tuesday with a profile of Carson quarterback Chris Fields III, the reigning City Section player of the year. Headed to Georgetown, he has risen from the bottom to earn his place as a top quarterback.
Here’s the other profiles:
Running back AJ McBean of Mira Costa ran a 10.61 100 meters in his first meet of the season.
(Eric Sondheimer / Los Angeles Times)
Wednesday: Running back AJ McBean of Gardena Serra worked hard when no one was watching to gain a scholarship to Stanford and establish himself as a bruising ball carrier.
Austin Miller a 15-year-old sophomore receiver, is helping bring attention to Bellflower’s football program.
(Eric Sondheimer / Los Angeles Times)
Thursday: Sophomore receiver Austin Miller of Bellflower decided to earn respect by attending his local public school and proved his point by earning a scholarship offer from Ohio State, then committing.
Luke Gazzaniga is a tight end for Santa Margarita who dares people to try to tackle him.
(Steve Galluzzo / For The Times)
Friday: As the youngest of three brothers, tight end Luke Gazzaniga of Santa Margarita used to engage in the Oklhoma drill with his brothers growing up, showing his toughest that he retains.
Offensive tackle Vincent Shields of Murrieta Valley in the middle.
(Sandy Huffaker/for The Los Angeles Times)
Saturday: Offensive lineman Vincent Shields of Murrieta Valley is rising fast as a college prospect, and if you like dogs, you’ll love Shields, whose family owns a dog-training business.
Godschoice Eboigbodin of JSerra is a basketball player turned football player at JSerra.
(Craig Weston)
Sunday: Defensive lineman Godschoice Eboigbodin of JSerra is a native of Nigeria learning the sport and becoming more than good.
Crenshaw wide receiver Deance’ Lewis (11) celebrates his touchdown with tight end De’Andre Kirkpatrick (10).
(Gina Ferazzi/Los Angeles Times)
Monday, Aug. 17: Linebacker De’Andre Kirkpatrick of Crenshaw has overcome family tragedy to become one of the best in the City Section.
Orange Lutheran quarterback TJ Lateef goes airborne hurdling over Wesley Ace (18) of Gardena Serra.
(Craig Weston)
Tuesday, Aug. 18: Defensive back Wesley Ace of Gardena Serra is switching to cornerback and can’t wait to show off his speed.
Kicker Gabriel Goroyan of Westlake enters the 2026 football season as one of the best for his position.
(Eric Sondheimer / Los Angeles Times)
Wednesday, Aug. 19: Kicker Gabriel Goroyan of Westlake has a 4.7 GPA, a scholarship to Stanford and can kick or punt with the best.
Top kickers/punters
Special teams is important for winning football games, so let’s take a look at kickers/punters to watch for this season.
Westlake’s Gabriel Goroyan has distinguished himself with his strong leg, making him an outstanding kicker and punter. He’s committed to Stanford.
Ethan Miller of San Clemente had nine field goals last season and was cool under pressure. Jerry Shifman of Mater Dei should be a candidate for a field goal beyond 50 yards. Carter Sobel of Sierra Canyon had nine field goals. Caleb Sylvia of Mission Viejo made a 49-yard field goal in 2025.
Colin Elia of Temecula Valley was 10 of 11 on field goals. Ayden Brannum of Fontana averaged 48 yards on punts. Noah Ahari of Chino Hills had nine field goals. Peter Batsaras of Cypress earned an invitation to an all-star game with his kicking skills. Jackson Hauducoeur of Upland is a returning All-CIF kicker. Kasra Maghami of Harvard-Westlake showed potential as a freshman. Dylan Moreno of San Pedro is back for his senior year trying to return to his All-City form as a sophomore.
If you look closely at the CIF participation survey for 2025-26, there’s a notable stat. While there’s record overall participation of 835,088 for boys and girls sports, the number for the most popular sport, football, dropped to its lowest level since 2022 at 87,718.
The CIF looks for trends, so next year’s numbers will be the most important.
There is a rise in eight-man football, but that also shows how schools might be struggling to field 11-man teams. Lots of City Section teams have failed to recover since the 2021 COVID season in no longer having junior varsity programs.
LAUSD teams began practices last week but some have struggled to get players cleared because school nurses have to clear physicals and some aren’t around. The LAUSD has money to pay the nurses to come in early before school starts but this issue continues to happen seemingly every season, disrupting teams’ practice schedules.
Crenshaw has received a new football locker room courtesy of Nike.
Reseda, Eagle Rock and Canoga Park are having their fields worked on and will be all road games this season.
Corona Centennial and De La Salle have finalized an agreement to play their football game at Cal’s Memorial Stadium on Sept. 26 at 2 p.m.
Bishop Diego has 370-pound tackle Donovan Tupa’i (left) and 270-pound tackle Terrence Tasila.
(Eric Sondheimer / Los Angeles Times)
The Marmonte League is filled with big linemen, which should make for some interesting clashes. Bishop Diego has perhaps the biggest in 6-foot-3, 370-pound Donovan Tupa’i. Teammate Terrence Tasila can hold his own in the buffet line at 6-1, 270 pounds. Speaking of buffets, Tupa’i said he once went for five visits to the buffet, filling each plate. Call him the Buffet Buster.
Teams traveling to Hawaii will be playing Thursday, Friday and Saturday this week to open their seasons. Here’s this week’s schedule.
JSerra High quarterback Kate Meier threw for 3,729 yards and 58 touchdowns as a freshman last fall when the Lions went 28-0.
(Steve Galluzzo / For The Times)
Flag football action begin on Saturday, with Oxnard and Oaks Christian among the teams opening with wins.
One of the best tournaments of the year is set for Friday and Saturday in Costa Mesa, bringing out most of the top teams in the Southern Section and City Section. It’s first look at Sierra Canyon joining flag football with a new coach and lots of top transfer students from Orange County.
Alums return to Dorsey
Dorsey High alum and former major league Don Buford sits under a towering ficus tree on campus Saturday during the school’s all sports reunion.
(Caleb Otte / For The Times)
A reunion of those who attended Dorsey High and played sports took place Saturday. It was organized by Hall of Fame football coach Paul Knox and drew plenty of alumni.
Here’s a look at the activities.
Notes . . .
Former Orange Lutheran baseball coach Eric Borba has been hired as the new head coach at Servite. He served 16 years as coach at Orange Lutheran before stepping down in 2024….
Former San Fernando football coach Bill Marsh died last Monday. He was 79. It was his wishbone offense that led the Tigers to back-to-back City titles in 1974 and 1975. Here’s the report.
Safety Sean Byrnes from Villa Park has committed to Idaho State….
Former UCLA softball player Anna Vines is the new softball coach at Village Christiain….
Aiden Echavarria of Whittier Christian has committed to Pepperdine baseball….
Outfielder Dru Wilson from Sherman Oaks Notre Dame has transferred to Sierra Canyon, joining Mateo Mier, who came from Harvard-Westlake….
Sophomore Brett Burnor has been named the starting quarterback at Mission Viejo….
Infielder Sebastian Navarro of Mater Dei has committed to UC Davis….
Pitcher Carson Caras from Harvard-Westlake has committed to Pepperdine….
Jackson Alba of Palos Verdes has committed to UC Irvine baseball…..
Pitcher Mac Kennedy from Sierra Canyon has committed to Santa Clara….
Catcher Logan Miller from Mater Dei has committed to San Diego State….
Vaughn Sharp from Yorba Linda has committed to Cal State Northridge baseball….
Standout left-handed pitcher Roy Kim from Great Oak has transferred to Norco, the likely No. 1 baseball team in preseason rankings in 2027. Kim is committed to Stanford and gives Norco three top pitchers with the return of Jordan Ayala and Jacob Melendez.…
Defensive back Jacob Whitehead from Crean Lutheran has committed to Arizona. He’s the fifth Crean Lutheran player to commit to Arizona, joining Braylen Ross, Caden Jones, Evan Mack and Ty Johnson.…
Noelle Quinn is returning to UCLA women’s basketball to be an assistant coach. She was a standout guard for the Bruins, played 12 years in the WNBA, became head coach at Bishop Montgomery, then left to be head coach of the WNBA’s Seattle Storm….
Eva Madarang is the new girls soccer coach at Agoura….
The 13U PONY baseball team from Placentia won the World Series championship, the fourth time in five years that the group of players have won a title. The MVP was eighth-grader Finn Knapp, who had 71 stolen bases on the season and had three triples and three doubles in the tournament. He has a brother who plays for El Dorado High….
Justin Siegel has resigned as softball coach at Sherman Oaks Notre Dame to become an assistant coach at Loyola Marymount. Assistant Brian Luderer is the leading candidate to take over. Luderer has two daughters in the program….
The girls volleyball season picks up steam this week with a number of local teams traveling to Hawaii for the Ann Kang tournament, including Division 1 powers Sierra Canyon and Mira Costa.
From the archives: Jordin Canada
Jordin Canada in 2022.
(Kamil Krzaczynski / Associated Press)
Back during her days playing basketball for Windward, Jordin Canada said one goal was to become a nurse. But she became so good at basketball, from UCLA to the WNBA, the nursing days were put on hold.
Playing for Atlanta this season, she’s averaging 11.3 points and 7.7 assists. She graduated from UCLA in 2018 after a standout career at Windward, where she was a two-time player of the year by The Times in 2013 and 2014.
Here’s a story from 2013 about her magic on the court.
Recommendations
From The562.org, a look at Moore League football.
From the Star-Telegram, a story on a Texas high school football coach being suspended for the season for conducting illegal practices in May.
From the Los Angeles Times, a story on former Gardena Serra defensive back Rodrick Pleasant.
Tweets you might have missed
Until next time….
Have a question, comment or something you’d like to see in a future Prep Rally newsletter? Email me at eric.sondheimer@latimes.com, and follow me on Twitter at @latsondheimer.
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