Hi, and welcome to another edition of Prep Rally. I’m Eric Sondheimer. It’s time to give some love to the linemen doing the dirty work in high school football. Let’s examine the offensive and defensive linemen to watch.
Big men in spotlight
Size certainly helps playing on the offensive line and has become much in demand from college recruiters. The Trinity League is home to an outstanding group of blockers that includes Drew Fielder of Servite, Lucas Rhoa of Orange Lutheran, Jack Schein of JSerra, Elisha Mueller of St. John Bosco and Lex Mailangi of Mater Dei. Fielder is going to USC, Roha to Texas and Mailangi to Oregon.
The extremely big linemen list includes 360-pound Amaziah Siale of Mission Viejo, an LSU commit, 300-pound Jackson Hill of Chaminade, a Notre Dame commit, and 350-pound junior Lincoln Fa’alafi of JSerra. Vincent Shields, a 6-5, 285-pound junior from Murrieta Valley, is gaining traction as an improving blocker and top college prospect.
Sierra Canyon has 6-6, 270-pound junior Lance Ciechanowski. San Pedro’s David Medina isn’t tall but his strength and passion comes through as an All-City player. Birmingham’s Pablo Granados enters his senior season with high expectations to continue his development.
The matchups this fall featuring top blockers against top defensive linemen will be electric. Sierra Canyon’s Marcus Fakatou transferred from Orange Lutheran and reclassified to be a senior. He’s committed to Ohio State. The Trailblazers also have Kasi Currie. Call them the Great Wall of Chatsworth.
Godschoice Eboigbodin of JSerra is 6-5, 260 pounds and still learning the game as a UCLA commit. Elija Harmon of Inglewood is an Oklahoma commit returning from an injury.
Caleb Pasina of St. Bonaventure is a 6-4, 270-pound junior just beginning to show his dominance. Siave Seti of Bishop Amat was All-CIF and all-Mission League as a freshman.
Sione Felila of Oak Hills is 6-3, 290 pounds and had 18 tackles for losses. Isaia Vandermade of Santa Margarita was one of the best players during last season’s Division 1 playoffs. Opponents couldn’t block the USC commit. Hunter Taylor from Mira Costa is an Army commit with lots of agility. Hunter Eligon starred for Division 2 champion Los Alamitos last season and now is at Western. Miles Schirmer of Corona Centennial is a 6-5, 260-pound disruptor.
Oaks Christian has improving Aliseleti Tuihalamaka. Junior edge Elijah Tuua of St. John Bosco will be turned loose to harass quarterbacks. David Nansen of Bellflower is a sophomore coming off a standout freshman season. Jon Ioane of Tustin was heavily recruited and ended up committing to Washington. Elyjah Staples of Marquez, a Cal commit, had nine sacks last season. Kingston Sula of Carson had 16 sacks as a sophomore. Kenneth Webb of King/Drew had nine sacks. Will Gelt of Agoura contributed 11 sacks.
Taft High football player Carter Wallace, who has been deaf since birth, works with interpreter Jo Beth during practice.
(Craig Weston)
Taft High’s Carter Wallace is not letting being deaf serving as a roadblock to prevent him from playing football.
Here’s a profile of a player making an impact.
And so it begins
Official high school football practice begins Monday for Southern Section teams with zero week games and in the City Section. There’s a five-day acclimatization period before pads go on. Each player needs 14 days of practice before being able to compete in a game. Scrimmages count as a practice day.
Here’s a look at how much change has come to practices from the days when schools were doing two-a-days.
Preseason top 25
(Ronaldo Bolanos/Los Angeles Times)
St. John Bosco begins the 2026 season ranked No. 1 in The Times’ preseason high school football rankings. Last year’s No. 1 team, Santa Margarita, begins at No. 4.
Here’s the link to the top 25 rankings.
National title game?
The Aug. 21 football opener in Las Vegas between Bishop Gorman and St. John Bosco might as well be called a national championship game, though Bishop Gorman is expected to participate in a postseason competition run by Overtime that began in 2025.
It was 108 degrees earlier this week in Las Vegas and Bishop Gorman coach Brent Browning is predicting 110 degrees with a chance of a thunderstorm or two when St. John Bosco makes the trip.
In fact, during the Josh Rosen quarterback days at St. John Bosco, the Braves lost to Bishop Gorman 34-31 during a memorable thunderstorm in 2014 when the Braves’ band kept playing despite getting a downpour.
Bishop Gorman also has a nonleague game with Mater Dei, so the Gaels are trying to win the Trinity League, which they would gladly join if the CIF allowed non-California teams to participate.
Notes . . .
Linebacker Wyatt Bogdan from Laguna Beach has committed to Portland State….
Receiver Nathan Williams of Carson has committed to Idaho State….
Standout St. John Bosco pitcher Julian Garcia signed with the Milwaukee Brewers for $1.5 million. He was a fourth-round draft pick….
Grace McCabe has been named the first girls lacrosse coach at Harvard-Westlake, which is adding the sport this year along with flag football as the school prepares to open its new sports complex in Studio City….
Spectrum will once again televise Southern Section football games this fall, with Chaparral facing Mission Viejo in the opening game….
Former Yucaipa baseball coach Ralph Grajeda is the new head coach at Citrus Valley….
Santa Margarita will play its home football games at Saddleback College this season. It’s a return for the Eagles, who once played all their home games at Saddleback….
Jordan Vogel of Arcadia has committed to St. Mary’s baseball…..
Pitcher Robbie Erspamer of San Clemente has committed to UC San Diego….
Cal Lutheran assistant Alec Iniguez is the new baseball coach at Thousand Oaks….
JSerra’s girls’ basketball program could be facing a Southern Section investigation after possible rules violations were detailed in court documents. Here’s the report. …
Johnny Garcia is the new girls basketball coach at Bishop Alemany….
The Area Code Games in baseball begin this weekend with underclassmen at Blair Field in Long Beach, followed by upperclassmen next weekend….
Former Newbury Park cross country coach Sean Brosnan has taken over the program at USC….
Rafael Segura is the new lacrosse coach at St. John Bosco….
Delvon Rose is the new boys basketball coach at South Pasadena….
Isabella Dolce, a girls soccer standout at Santa Margarita, has committed to the University of Louisiana Lafayette….
St. Monica basketball coach Allen Caveness has resigned to become head coach at Long Beach Jordan….
Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford presented a $10,000 equipment grant to Dominguez High on Sunday to help purchase blocking sleds, uniforms and practice gear, among other items, for the upcoming season….
Encino Little League’s team made up of 11- and 12-year-olds won its opening game of the state championships in Aliso Niguel to advance to the winner’s bracket semifinals Tuesday. The state champion advances to the Western Regional finals tournament in San Bernardino, with a berth in the Little League World Series on the line.
From the archives: Gabe York
Former Orange Lutheran basketball player Gabe York has found a way to become a pro basketball player since going undrafted in 2016 after leaving the University of Arizona. At age 32, he keeps finding opportunities in overseas leagues, the latest being with the Zhejiang Golden Bulls of the Chinese Basketball Assn.
He has always been known for his shooting prowess. He averaged almost 25 points at Orange Lutheran and had a 43-point performance. Always well liked for giving his all, York keeps finding ways to contribute.
Here’s a story from 2015 on York playing for Arizona.
Here’s a story from 2011 on York’s scoring potential.
Recommendations
From Globenewswire, a story from 2019 that projected youth sports spending.
From the Los Angeles Times, a story looking into the Hall of Fame induction of former Edison High and Dodger second baseman Jeff Kent.
From Wired, a story on how elite young runners are becoming freakishly fast.
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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