advantage

Tre’ Harris watched as Oronde Gadsden II burst by him, the 6-foot-5 tight end chugging over the turf at Golden West College’s football field.

Months before Harris and Gadsden suited up as Chargers rookies, the duo were catching passes from Jaxson Dart — now the starting quarterback for the New York Giants — during pre-NFL Scouting Combine training sessions at the Huntington Beach community college as the trio took advantage of sunny weather in Southern California.

“I saw his talents immediately,” Dart said of Gadsden. “Skill set-wise, I thought he was a very unique athlete, being, you know, the stature that he is. I thought his footwork was some of the best that I’ve seen.”

Over the past two weeks, the footwork that Harris said separates Gadsden from the rest of the NFL, has been on display.

Gadsden, 22, ranks fifth in NFL tight end receiving yards this season (385) despite not playing in the first two games. Two weeks ago, against the Colts, the son of former NFL wide receiver Oronde Gadsden emerged for 164 receiving yards and a touchdown. Against the Vikings last week, the former Syracuse standout, who set the program record for receptions in a season with 73 catches, recorded another 77 receiving yards and a touchdown.

Those accomplishments — which he credits to studying the likes of Chargers teammates Keenan Allen and Will Dissly — earned Gadsden earned NFL Rookie of the Week honors in Week 7, the first Charger to claim the award since Asante Samuel Jr. did it twice in 2021.

“It’s been good, getting in passes with Justin [Herbert], whether it’s a practice, and then following up in the game,” Gadsden said. “It feels good to see all the hard work that I’ve been doing, all the hard work that the whole team has been doing, come forward and translate into the game.”

Chargers tight end Oronde Gadsden II (86) celebrates after scoring a touchdown against the Minnesota Vikings on Oct. 23.

(Gregory Bull / Associated Press)

Jim Harbaugh can’t help but smile when talking about Gadsden. Asked about the Chargers’ rookies — and the efforts they’ve put in to keep the team afloat amid a rash of injuries — the usually stoic Chargers coach remarked about how wide his grin was before slamming his hands down onto the podium in front of him.

“I mean, Oronde Gadsden,” he said, “of course, has been great.”

Herbert added: “It was only a matter of time until he put together two games like he has back-to-back, and he’s gonna make a ton of plays for us. He’s gonna have a super long career.”

Gadsden had his first opportunity to relax during the mini bye week in the 10-day gap between the Chargers’ win over the Vikings and their game against the Tennessee Titans on Sunday. He said it’s been non-stop football for him since the beginning of his senior year at Syracuse; from the college season to pre-draft training, rookie mini camp, and now the NFL season.

Chargers tight end Oronde Gadsden II tries to fight off Miami Dolphins linebacker Jordyn Brooks during a Chargers’ win on Oct.12.

(Rebecca Blackwell / Associated Press)

For the first time since those training sessions at Golden West, Gadsden decided to visit Disneyland. It was a rare break for Gadsden since his daily pre-draft days working alongside trainer T.J. Houshmandzadeh, the former Pro Bowl wide receiver for the Cincinnati Bengals.

What makes Gadsden a special player, Harris said, is his never-stop attitude. During minicamp, Gadsden would arrive at the facility at 5 a.m. — using his East Coast-wired clock to his advantage to get extra work in.

“I’m not gonna say I knew he was gonna do this,” Harris said of Gadsden’s recent success, before pausing. “There’s not a lot of tight ends that can move like he does. And, you know, I’ve seen it firsthand.”

Piastri, meanwhile, cut a somewhat forlorn figure. He had a difficult weekend in the US a week ago and thought he had found the answers. But as he put it: “What’s been a bit surprising here has just been that the gap has been the same pretty much every session.

“I feel like I’ve done some decent laps through the weekend, but everything seems to be about 0.4-0.5secs off.”

Team principal Andrea Stella said Piastri was losing a little bit everywhere, and Piastri said: “I feel like I did a reasonable job and the car felt reasonable as well. So, yeah, the lack of lap time is a bit of a mystery.”

Piastri has been off Norris’ pace whether on short runs or long, low fuel or high, so it is more in hope that he said of the race: “If I can unlock the pace in the car, we can have some fun. We’ve just got to try to unlock it.”

This is now Piastri’s fifth difficult weekend in a row, his form mysteriously evaporating since he won in the Netherlands at the end of August.

He did not talk directly about what this means for the championship, but there was no hiding the meaning behind one of his comments: “There’s a lot of things I could worry about, but ultimately being that far off when you feel like you’ve done a reasonable job is a difficult place to be. And so that’s my biggest concern at the moment.”

Stella said that the conditions in Mexico, like those in Austin, are ones in which Norris thrives and Piastri is less comfortable – low grip, hot tyres.

And he said that “every evidence, every piece of data, every indirect measurement of information we have, tells us that there is no problem with the car”.

He added that it was “good” for McLaren to be able “to confirm that we can have the fastest car”, adding that their “focus is to stop the momentum of Verstappen”.

Hi, and welcome to another edition of Prep Rally. I’m Eric Sondheimer. With two weeks left in the football regular season, teams are trying to wrap up league titles. But one thing we’ve already learned: St. John Bosco’s collection of receivers are second to none.

Carson Clark of St. John Bosco catches 62-yard touchdown pass and leaves Logan Hirou of Santa Margarita chasing him.

(Craig Weston)

When you have four top receivers and spread the ball to each, you are close to unbeatable. That’s what St. John Bosco has with receivers Madden Williams, Carson Clark, Daniel Odom and DJ Tubbs. Each caught a touchdown pass from quarterback Koa Malau’ulu in a 27-14 win over Santa Margarita last week. Here’s the report.

Upon further reflection, this has to be the best receiving group ever for St. John Bosco, which is 8-0. When Malau’ulu has time to throw and the Braves mix in a little running, their offense is something else. Williams, a Texas A&M commit, has improved every season. Odom, an Oklahoma commit, and Clark, a San Jose State commit, patiently waited their turns. And Tubbs, only a sophomore, is a future college commit.

Los Alamitos won its eighth consecutive football game and first in the Alpha League with a 41-22 win over Edison.

The player drawing rave reviews is running back/defensive back/punter Lenny Ibarra, who’s committed to Army and rushed for 216 yards and two touchdowns while repeatedly refusing to go down unless tackled by multiple players. One opposing coach sent me a text: “Ibarra=Skattebo,” referring to the former Arizona State running back Cam Skattebo, known for his punishing running.

Los Alamitos closes the regular season with games against San Clemente this week and a showdown against Mission Viejo on Oct. 30.

Caden Jones of Crean Lutheran continues to be one of the best athletes in Southern California. The starting point guard for the basketball team, he’s also a terrific quarterback. He passed for 314 yards and five touchdowns in a win over La Habra.

Crespi took control of the Del Rey League race with a 31-16 comeback win over Salesian. Somto Nwute had three sacks for the unbeaten Celts (8-0).

It was a big week for freshman quarterbacks. Ezrah Brown of Orange Lutheran was 17 for 17 passing for 368 yards and three touchdowns in a win over JSerra. Ford Green of Westlake passed for 287 yards and three touchdowns in a double overtime win over Newbury Park. Westlake, 0-10 last season, is 8-0. Marcus Washington of Cajon passed for 238 yards and three touchdowns in a win over Redlands East Valley.

Long Beach Wilson defeated Long Beach Poly for the first time since 1991.

The Southern Section is scheduled to announce the site for its Division 1 championship game on Monday, and the speculation is a return to the Rose Bowl, where St. John Bosco and Mater Dei played in 2022, drawing almost 16,000.

Here’s a list of top individual performances from last week.

Here’s this week’s top 25 rankings by The Times.

Here’s this week’s complete schedule.

What a week it was for City Section football.

Garfield running back Ceasar Reyes set a school record with 420 yards rushing and four touchdowns in win over South Gate

(Nick Koza)

Ceasar Reyes of Garfield turned in the greatest performance by a running back in Bulldogs history, rushing for 420 yards in 42 carries and scoring four touchdowns in a 39-28 win over South Gate that clinched at least a share of the Eastern League title. Here’s the report. It’s now time for the game that draws the largest regular season crowd: the East Los Angeles Classic. Garfield faces Roosevelt on Friday at East Los Angeles College.

Palisades improved to 8-0 and clinched at least a share of the Western League championship by holding off University 19-17. University had the ball on the Palisades eight-yard line with 49 seconds left when a lost fumble cost the Warriors a potential huge upset victory.

King/Drew defeated Dorsey 17-16 to set up a Coliseum League title decider on Friday night at Crenshaw.

Eagle Rock is going to be the Northern League champion after defeating Franklin 42-28. Quarterback Liam Pasten passed for 290 yards and four touchdowns and Melion Busano rushed for 92 yards and one touchdown, caught a touchdown pass and had an 81-yard kickoff return.

Here’s this week’s top 10 City rankings by The Times.

‘The Lion’ roars at Eagle Rock

Senior Melion Busano of Eagle Rock has become one of the best running backs in the City Section after never playing football until sophomore year.

(Eric Sondheimer / Los Angeles Times)

Melion Busano has become one of the best City Section running backs at Eagle Rock in his senior season, and how he even started playing football in his sophomore year is a story itself.

Here’s the report.

Lessons from Max

Loyola’s Max Meier (97) rushes against Gardena Serra at SoFi Stadium.

(Craig Weston)

Stanford-bound Max Meier of Loyola lost his home to the Palisades fire and lost his best friend, Braun Levi, to a suspected drunk driver. The lessons he has learned this year alone and his attitude of giving his all every day is something inspirational.

Here’s the report.

The Southern Section flag football playoffs begin this week, with unbeaten JSerra (23-0) seeded No. 1 in the Division 1 bracket.

Here’s the complete brackets.

JSerra owns two wins over No. 2-seeded Orange Lutheran, the defending Division 1 champion. This is a much more balanced Division 1 bracket, with lots of challenges ahead for all 16 teams. JSerra hosts Trabuco Hills on Thursday and Orange Lutheran hosts Redondo Union. Nine of the 16 teams are from Orange County.

Dos Pueblos quarterback Kacey Hurley.

(Michael Owen Baker/For The Times)

Ventura County is represented by a top opener, with Oxnard playing at Camarillo. Dos Pueblos is another title contender, hosting Etiwanda.

Girls volleyball

Sierra Canyon is seeded No. 1 for the Southern Section Division 1 girls volleyball playoffs.

Here’s the link to complete pairings.

Notes . . .

Long Beach Poly’s football team has forfeited a nonleague game against Tustin because of an ineligible player, dropping to 3-5. . . .

Newport Harbor’s water polo team won the North-South challenge championship, defeating Cathedral Catholic 15-11 in the final, avenging its only defeat during a 25-1 regular season. . . .

Wrestler Michael Kase from Chaminade has committed to Cal Poly. . . .

Kicker AJ Salo of Chaminade has committed to the University of Chicago. . . .

Junior swimmer Chloe Teger of Villa Park has committed to North Carolina State. . . .

Redondo Union will be hosting a terrific group of girls basketball teams Nov. 24-29, including defending state champion Etiwanda. . . .

Tajh Ariza (right) and Malachi Harris of Westchester celebrate after winning the City Section Open Division title on Friday night.

(Nick Koza)

Tajh Ariza, the 6-foot-9 senior who had transferred from Westchester to St. John Bosco, has now left St. John Bosco and will enroll at a prep school. Ariza is committed to Oregon and was the co-City Section player of the year last season at Westchester. . . .

Junior infielder Sam Pink of Great Oak has committed to San Diego State for baseball. . . .

Cornerback Jayden Crowder from Santa Margarita has committed to USC. . . .

At the Orange County cross-country championship, Woodbridge junior Aidan Antonio set a course record at 13:56. Irvine senior Summer Wilson won the girls sweepstakes race in 15:47.3.

From the archives: Miller Moss

Former Bishop Alemany quarterback Miller Moss in 2019. He led Louisville to an upset of No. 2 Miami.

(Eric Sondheimer / Los Angeles Times)

It’s been a long journey for former Bishop Alemany and USC quarterback Miller Moss. Last week, he helped Louisville upset No. 2 Miami.

Good grades and good patience have always been the impressive qualities displayed by Moss. He missed his senior year in 2020, which was the COVID season. He spent 2021 through 2024 at USC. After leaving USC, there was little doubt he’d have success wherever he ended up. Louisville offered a new beginning.

Here’s a story from 2020 on his decision to choose USC out of high school.

Here’s a story from 2024 when Moss fulfilled a dream, being named the starting quarterback at USC.

Here’s a story from last summer when Moss returned to hold a youth camp after losing his home to the Palisades fire.

Recommendations

From Nebraska, a story on how transfers are changing high school sports.

From ESPN, a story about a lawsuit in Ohio trying to allow high school athletes to profit off NIL.

From Footballscoop.com, a story on a coach in Pennsylvania having to resign under parental pressure after disciplining players.

From the Los Angeles Times, a story on former Loyola and UCLA quarterback Jerry Neuheisel.

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 [email protected], and follow me on Twitter at @latsondheimer.

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The normally surf-themed bar at the Hyatt Regency Huntington Beach Resort and Spa has transformed into Pete’s Spookeasy for the month of October with Halloween-themed decor, food and drinks. Order mains such as Pasta from the Black Lagoon, with squid ink spaghetti, sautéed shrimp, lobster cream sauce, roasted tomato, asparagus and micro parsley, plus starters including “Bugs” in Stinky Cheese with whipped goat cheese, dates, marzipan “grubs,” figs, hot honey, micro thyme and crackers. Seasonal cocktails include Hex on the Beach, with rum, pineapple juice, orange juice, coconut and nutmeg, and BooBerry Margarita, with tequila, fresh blackberries, lemon and lime juice, agave and a black salt rim.

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While Arsenal had a longer turnaround, three of England’s other Champions League teams had a Premier League game three days later like City.

Newcastle, like Manchester City, were also in Champions League action on Thursday night – at home to Barcelona.

And they faced a Premier League trip to Bournemouth on Sunday in an earlier fixture than City, at 14:00.

Liverpool had an even shorter turnaround.

They hosted Atletico Madrid on Wednesday – and then faced Everton in the Merseyside derby at 12:30 on Saturday – 62.5 hours after full-time.

Chelsea were away to Bayern Munich on Wednesday and visited Manchester United on Saturday.

Tottenham had four days in between games, hosting Villarreal on Tuesday and then Brighton on Saturday.

The Champions League teams are all in Carabao Cup third-round action this week.

Five of the six teams have their tie three days after their league game, with Tottenham getting an extra day.

And between seasons, Chelsea had less preparation time than Manchester City having won the Club World Cup – with City going out two weeks earlier in the last 16.

The series kicked off this weekend with the highly anticipated launch show, with the celebrities meeting their professional partners for the first time

Strictly Come Dancing is back on our screens with a bang after an epic launch show which saw this year’s batch of famous faces paired up with their professional partners.

Viewers tuned in to see the 15 celebrities meet their dance partners as well as perform in a huge group dance for the very first time as the real competition begins next week.

However, before this year’s crop even shows off their dance moves or lack of, two celebrities have already secured a huge advantage. The bookies have declared which contestants are favourites to win and there’s two that are at the top of the list, according to Paddy Power.

Currently, Emmerdale star and late entrant, Lewis Cope is leading the pack with a bookies odds of 12/5 and just behind him is Love Island winner Dani Dyer, who is on 7/2 at the time of writing.

Rounding out the top five are model Ellie Goldstein with 6/1, social media sensation George Clarke at 9/1 and Gladiators star Harry Aikines-Aryeetey.

READ MORE: Strictly Come Dancing star Vicky Pattison admits filming launch show was ‘worst experience’READ MORE: Strictly Come Dancing star La Voix’s life including TV career and real name

On the other end and currently the least favourites to win are former rugby ace Chris Robshaw and Lorraine showbiz correspondent Ross King, who have outside chances of winning at 100/1.

This makes these two contestants favourites to leave the show first, with Ross at 5/2 to exit the show first, with Chris at 3/1.

During the launch show, the first pairings unveiled were Lewis with Katya Jones, Dani with Nikita Kuzmin, Ross and Jowita Przystal, Chris and Nadiya Bychkova and Drag Race UK’s La Voix with Aljaz Skorjanec.

The next to be revealed were Vicky Pattison and Kai Widdrington, Alex Kingston and Johannes Radebe, Ellie and Vito Coppola, Balvinder Sopal and Julian Caillon plus Karen Carney and Carlos Gu.

The final matches were confirmed as Harry and Karen Hauer, Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink and Lauren Oakley, George and Alexis Warr, Stefan Dennis and Dianne Buswell as well as Thomas Skinner and Amy Dowden.

Following the announcement, many fans sadly predicted Ross would be first out as one said: “Poor Jowita out first.” Another added: “Sorry Jowita, it’s an early exit for you this year.”

Eagle-eyed viewers also revealed they think they’ve spotted early signs of tensions between one celebrity and their dance partner. The Apprentice 2019 star Thomas was paired with Welsh beauty Amy but viewers are convinced the two will clash.

Eyebrows were raised when show hosts Claudia Winkleman and Tess Daly introduced the coupled up dancers and interviewed them about their early experiences together. Talking to Thomas and Amy in the green room, Claudia asked the former Apprentice hopeful what his dream Strictly breakfast would be.

He replied: “The best breakfast. We’re going down Deano’s cafe, nice and early, before we get started, get spicy Korean noodles, with chicken breasts and poached eggs and a little bit of Tabasco sauce.

He continued: “Or, if you don’t fancy that, we can have the sunshine chicken curry with the round chips.”

But fans noticed that Amy didn’t look convinced by Thomas’s suggestion, commented that they would beed to dance some of their routines close together, and remarked: “I really hope your food doesn’t repeat on you whilst you dance.”

Thomas then suggested he would be able to freshen his breath with chewing gum before they needed to dance closely. But viewers were convinced they could smell friction between the pair.

Taking to X, one shared a screenshot of Amy’s distressed expression that she pulled when Thomas was describing his dream breakfast. They wrote: “Oh Amy you poor thing getting put with skinner.”

And another shared a similar screenshot and wrote: “Amy Dowden’s face speaking for everybody at the same time… #Strictly #TomSkinner.”