Prep Rally: Tessa Russell leads a wave of great high school girls athletes
Hi, and welcome to another edition of Prep Rally. I’m Eric Sondheimer. Remember when Kobe Bryant said, “I’m a girl dad” in 2018? If only he could see how far everyone has come. JSerra’s unbeaten flag football team, led by sophomore Tessa Russell and many others, is an example. Let’s explain.
The rise of a phenom
Standout JSerra receiver Tessa Russell.
(Steve Galluzzo / For The Times)
In 2018, when Hall of Fame basketball player Kobe Bryant said, “I’m a girl dad,” it helped ignite a movement that continues today. Female athletes are gaining attention aided by dads who were great athletes themselves.
Tessa Russell, the daughter of former NFL safety Brian Russell, is on a journey in flag football that could take her to unprecedented success in a high school sport that is only four years old as an official sport in the Southern Section.
There are few better receivers in the nation.
“I’d say nobody,” JSerra coach Brian Ong said. “I think it’s her dedication. When you are dedicated to something and practice it over and over and you constantly challenge yourself, it appears to look easy.”
Russell has spent countless hours catching passes under the watchful eyes of her father. She started playing flag football with boys in a youth league at 8, about the time of Bryant’s comment.
“I definitely heard a lot about how much Kobe Bryant put into women’s sports and how much he tried to make it something we could do as we got older,” Tessa said. “And I’m really grateful he was able to make it bigger for us and make it at a bigger stage.
“I think it was really important, because looking where we are today, I think it’s been such a big improvement from then to now. Flag football is on a big stage, too, and hopefully it will keep growing as the Olympics come here.”
She also had 10 interceptions for a 28-0 JSerra team that ended its season Saturday with another Southern Section championship and a 56-game winning streak. The Lions defeated Newport Harbor 40-14.
Imagine what she might look like over two more years of high school flag football. She’s hoping she can inspire others to join the sport and help teach lessons to younger girls.
“It’s definitely cool to see the sport grow,” she said.
Damir Peraza (50) starts the Sun Valley Poly victory celebration after 20-0 Division I playoff win over Marshall.
(Craig Weston / For The Times)
The opening week of playoff action had only three No. 1 seeds out of 14 divisions go down to defeat in the Southern Section and none in the four City Section divisions. In other words, most of the favorites won, which should lead to great quarterfinal games Friday.
One of the major City upsets was No. 12-seeded Sun Valley Poly defeating No. 5 Marshall 20-0 behind King Exusdus’ 174 yards rushing. Here’s the report.
The City Open Division playoffs begin, with No. 1 Carson a huge favorite. The best opening matchup could be No. 3 Cleveland hosting No. 6 Crenshaw in a rematch of a nonleague game won by Cleveland.
The Southern Section Division 1 playoffs begin, with Mater Dei playing Corona Centennial at Santa Ana Stadium in another rematch that the Monarchs won earlier this season.
The most drama of the week occurred at Chaparral, where the death of 16-year-old linebacker Connor Rios on Wednesday tested coaches, players, friends and family members. They were in mourning and trying to figure out how to honor Rios. Chaparral decided to play its Division 2 playoff game against Orange and advanced.
Quarterback Ryan Rakowski runs for a first down during Palos Verdes’ 38-20 playoff win over Gardena Serra on Nov. 6, 2026.
(Steve Galluzzo / For The Times)
One of the best Division 2 games on Friday is another rematch matching Bay League rivals Palos Verdes and Inglewood. Palos Verdes opened with a win over Gardena Serra. Here’s the report. Inglewood advanced by eliminating unbeaten Huntington Beach.
Here’s a look at top individual performances from the opening week of playoff action.
Here’s a look at possible game changers during the playoffs.
Here’s this week’s playoff schedule.
QBs are being loaned
San Pedro quarterback Seth Solorio.
(Craig Weston / For The Times)
Only one player gets to play quarterback, which leads to the backups looking for more playing time at other schools. It happens every year, and the schools that end up starting sophomores or taking in transfers can really see an exodus of backups.
St. John Bosco and Mater Dei have successful programs, and it’s been tough to keep their backups from leaving.
Among the former Mater Dei quarterbacks who left are Trevor Scott (Long Beach Poly), Furian Inferrera (Mission Hills), Reagan Toki (Orange Lutheran) and Ayden Edwards (Tustin).
Former St. John Bosco quarterbacks include Seth Solorio (San Pedro), Brodie Scheinberg (Newbury Park) and Gharam Lunzer (Valley Christian).
If you take a look who’s starting on the freshman and JV teams, it’s tough to keep them waiting their turn on varsity.
San Juan Hills has two former San Clemente quarterbacks in Eiler King and Preston Getz.
Two former Sierra Canyon quarterbacks, Kris Carranza and Delvin Young, are starting at Agoura and Birmingham, respectively.
Chaparral’s Dane Weber was a roadblock, so Alexander Doucette (Etiwanda), Trent Lux (Great Oak) and Julian Gallardo (Winchester Liberty) are at other schools.
Two former Sherman Oaks Notre Dame quarterbacks, Cooper Berry and Donovan Shirley, have been starting at Cathedral and Salesian, respectively. Two former Chaminade quarterbacks, Cameron Pooley and Tahj Skinner, are at Mater Dei and Notre Dame.
It’s one of the toughest challenges for coaches convincing backups to stick around because they are one injury away from playing, but few are willing to stick out, which is why one solution is to play multiple quarterbacks.
The ringer at Cleveland
Shiloh Wickliffe was a late edition to Cleveland’s unbeaten football team.
(Eric Sondheimer / Los Angeles Times)
Cleveland is 10-0 and seeded No. 3 in the City Section Open Division playoffs. And let’s just say Shiloh Wickliffe deciding to come out for the football team in the middle of the season was great timing.
Calll him Cleveland’s ringer. He was a second baseman for the baseball team but had played football his freshman year at Sierra Canyon. His arrival has been big for the Cavaliers. Here’s the report.
Girls volleyball
(Steve Galluzzo / For The Times)
It was No. 1 vs. No. 2 to decide the Southern Section Division 1 girls’ volleyball championship, and Mater Dei prevailed over Sierra Canyon in four games.
Here’s the report.
Making its fourth finals appearance in five seasons, Taft defeated West Valley League rival Cleveland in five thrilling sets at Birmingham High to claim the City Section Open Division championship — its seventh City title under coach Arman Mercado since he took over the program in 2000.
Here are the pairings for the Southern California regionals that begin this week.
Sophomore wins City title
Harbor Teacher sophomore Layla Phillips watches her tee shot soar down the fairway at the CIF City Section Championships at Balboa Golf Course in Encino on Nov. 5, 2026.
(Steve Galluzzo / For The Times)
Sophomore Layla Phillips of Harbor Teacher defended her City Section individual golf championship last week. Granada Hills won the team title.
Here’s the report.
Water polo
Orange County powers Newport Harbor and JSerra have advanced to Saturday’s Southern Section Open Division finals.
In the semifinals, Newport Harbor defeated Oaks Christian 13-8. JSerra defeated Harvard-Westlake 11.
The finals will be at Mt. SAC.
Notes . . .
Cherif Millogo of St. Francis has committed to Kentucky.
(Craig Weston)
Cherif Millogo, a 7-foot-5 senior at St. Francis, has committed to Kentucky….
Addison Archer, the state girls’ basketball freshman player of the year last season by CalHiSports.com when she played for Rancho Christian, will be eligible at Mater Dei as a sit-out period transfer student. Mater Dei has also been waiting to see if Ontario Christian transfer Tatianna Griffin becomes eligible. She has been “under review” for weeks in the Southern Section transfer portal. Griffin is one of the top juniors in the state…
Girls basketball standout Charis Rainey of Windward has committed to USC…
Junior pitcher Steven Genovese III of Valencia has committed to UC Santa Barbara….
Ron Jones, who guided Pasadena to a Southern Section football title in 2024, has been dismissed as head coach after the team was forced to discontinue this season because of lack of players….
Ken Holsenbeck has resigned as football coach at Canyon Country Canyon after five years as head coach….
Mario Morales has stepped down as football coach at Lakewood….
Coley Candaele is stepping down as football coach at Vista Murrieta after his second stint as head coach. He’s been at Vista Murrieta for 32 years, 17 in football. Alex Rosenblum, who joined the staff this year from Murrieta Valley, is expected to be a candidate to be promoted….
Lance Neal has retired as football coach at Century….
Jarid Allchin has resigned as football coach at Santa Ana….
Frank Sanchez, who was head baseball coach at Hart, an assistant coach for USC’s 1995 national championship team and head coach at Pepperdine, died on Nov. 4. He was 73….
Loyola High, the all-boys school near downtown Los Angeles, has added a 13th sport to its program: wrestling….
After concerns from schools whether baseball and football fields would be reseeded, a Los Angeles Unified School District spokeswoman said, “The District is committed to providing safe, well-maintained athletic facilities for students, families, and the community. Reseeding of LAUSD baseball and football fields is underway. At some campuses, the work began about a month later than planned. The District’s Maintenance and Operations teams maintain the fields and carry out the reseeding.”
From the archives: Steven Perez
Former Banning safety Steven Perez in 2024 when he was a 16-year-old senior the first month of the season.
(Eric Sondheimer / Los Angeles Times)
Former Wilmington Banning football standout Steven Perez has become a star in his freshman season at Wyoming.
After redshirting last season, Perez ranks second on the team in solo tackles with 28 and 54 overall playing linebacker. He’s grown to 6 feet 1, 231 pounds.
At Banning, he could play any position, including quarterback. He was All-City and expected to keep getting better because of his work ethic and the fact he played the first month of his senior year at the age of 16.
Here’s a profile of Perez and his versatility in 2024.
Here’s an interview from 2024.
Recommendations
From the Los Angeles Times, a story on how two 0-10 teams made the City Section football playoffs.
From FrontOffice, a story on the changing roles for high school athletic directors.
From the Los Angeles Times, a story of a football hazing incident has rocked a Northern California school.
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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