los alamitos

Standing under four palm trees in the quad area of Calabasas High, Los Alamitos football players have their eyes trained on coach Ray Fenton’s face for more than five uninterrupted minutes.

Looking to see if anyone loses focus when a mother walks by and starts yelling at her daughter, the answer is incredibly no. The players keep listening and keep their eyes directed on Fenton.

It’s tough enough to make teenagers listen for 30 seconds to adults these days, but to see an entire football team not letting anyone or anything disturb their focus while their coach is speaking provides a hint why Los Alamitos is 7-0 and the surprise high school football team in Southern California this season.

“Everyone has their eye on coach,” offensive lineman Braiden McKenna said. “It’s all the little things that keep you disciplined. Wearing your mouthpiece, keeping your eyes on him.”

It’s not true that Los Alamitos doesn’t have any stars. They might not have been mentioned much in preseason hype lists, but players have performed at a high level so far.

Tight end Beckham Hofland, 6 foot 5 and 230 pounds, is a load to cover and also serves as a kicker. Running backs Kamden Tillis and Lenny Ibarra are versatile and reliable. Quarterback Colin Creason, who sat out last season while transferring from Long Beach Poly, keeps improving. The offensive line, led by the veteran McKenna, who plays center, is very good. Ibarra leads the defense with 66 tackles.

Coach Ray Fenton and his 7-0 Los Alamitos football team.

(Eric Sondheimer / Los Angeles Times)

“It’s so much easier to want to win with someone you care about and they care about you,” McKenna said of the team chemistry.

Los Alamitos has had more talented teams in recent years aided by transfer students. This one is mostly home grown, and Fenton couldn’t be happier.

“They’re friends,” Fenton said. “They’ve grown up together. You play harder with guys you’re friends with. You don’t want to let them down. They’re Los Al kids. They take pride in the community.”

They won in Hawaii 34-31 on tying and game-winning field goals by Ibarra, who practiced kicking the ball between two palm trees at a park. They knocked off Gardena Serra 42-21. They beat a good Granite Hills team 49-42. Seven straight wins came over seven weeks, so now they are on a two-week break to prepare for the daunting task of facing three good Alpha League opponents — Edison at SoFi Stadium on Oct. 16, at San Clemente on Oct. 24 and a finale against Mission Viejo on Oct. 30 at Artesia.

They are serious contenders for a Southern Section Division 1 playoff berth even though some people still can’t figure out how they keep winning.

The answer is simple: they’re hungry. Never underestimate a team where one teammate after another supports each other no matter the challenges, no matter the obstacles, no matter the skepticism of others.

“This is throwback,” Fenton said. “It’s old school. Play for your local school, play for your community, play for your friends. The kids you played Pop Warner with are the kids you’re playing high school football with. It’s the way it was supposed to be.”

Caleb Sanchez, a Cali boy, packed his memories of sunshine, beaches and In-N-Out burgers to get an Ivy League education and football experience at Columbia University in New York.

He became one of the most talked about freshman quarterbacks at the end of last season, passing for 241 yards and three touchdowns in a 21-12 win over Brown and passing for 201 yards in a 19-11 win over Cornell that helped Columbia win the Ivy League title.

Then came the real challenge — snow, a blizzard and freezing temperatures.

“I was very shocked,” he said. “I was warned every day the winter would be hard. I didn’t expect it to be as cold as it was.”

It wasn’t cold enough to discourage Sanchez from continuing his quest to balance athletics and academics. He began his sophomore season on Saturday as the backup quarterback in Columbia’s 38-14 loss to Lafayette. It’s another experience that he got used to at St. John Bosco, waiting until his senior year to become the starting quarterback and prove his ability,

Quarterback Caleb Sanchez of St. John Bosco.

(Craig Weston)

He’s one of 39 graduates of Southern Section schools to be playing Ivy League football this season. Harvard-Westlake and Loyola have the most with five players each.

There’s going to be standouts, such as Princeton defensive back Tahj Owens (Loyola), heading into his fourth season, and Yale receiver Nico Brown (Edison), who had five catches for 119 yards and one touchdown in his season debut against Holy Cross on Saturday.

Sanchez was able to redshirt last season as a freshman, having played only in the final three games, and the goal is to be a standout the next three seasons, earn his valuable Columbia degree and spend a fifth year at perhaps a big-time college program.

He has no regrets of seeking out an Ivy League experience after helping St. John Bosco reach the Division 1 championship game in 2023.

“I’ll leave here with one of the top degrees in the world,” he said.

That’s the attraction in a league where the eight schools don’t participate in NIL revenue sharing with students but will finally let football teams participate in the FCS playoffs this season.

The students have to be all in for academics and athletics.

“We’re 100% in school, 100% in football,” Sanchez said. “There’s no help for football players. Professors don’t care. They treat you as normal students.”

Sanchez, 20, rarely has free time. It’s classes, meetings, homework, practices, watching film, then sleep. His transition last year was challenging in that the Columbia offense was much different than that of St. John Bosco. He had to learn plays needing 20 to 30 words to call from a listening device in his helmet where just four words were used to call plays at St. John Bosco.

He’s 6 feet 3½ and 217 pounds, and could be preparing to have a season that will draw lots of attention. Certainly looking on and rooting from home will be his younger brother, Ryu, a seventh-grader with a future in football and academics.

Look for lots of good news from the Sanchez brothers in the coming years.

As for the coming weather change, Sanchez said he’s ready.

“I’m prepared now. Winter is not going to shock me.”

Can anyone deliver In-N-Out to New York?

Brown: DB Elias Archie, St. John Bosco; OL Kai Faucher, Harvard-Westlake; DL Mitch Mooney, San Marino; DL Caden Harman, Sierra Canyon.

Columbia: WR Caden Butler, Chaparral; DB Ethan Fullerton, Sherman Oaks Notre Dame; QB Caleb Sanchez, St. John Bosco; LB Patrick Sodl, Loyola; DL Will Matthew, Orange Vista; TE Santiago Hernandez, Harvard-Westlake; WR Elliot Cooper, Sherman Oaks Notre Dame; DL Shawn Lin, Loyola; DL Austin Coronado, Glendora.

Cornell: DB Rayjohn White, Bishop Amat; DB Brayon Crawford, Village Christian; WR AJ Holmes, Harvard-Westlake; QB Cameron Shannon, Riverside North; LB Darryl Davis, Culver City; LB Connor Klein, Loyola; TE Brandon Gilbert, Murrieta Valley.

Dartmouth: RB Desmin Jackson, Orange Lutheran; OL Ryan Turk, Loyola.

Harvard: K Dylan Fingersh, Capistrano Valley.

Pennsylvania: RB Julien Stokes, Grace Brethren; DB Alec Wills, Los Alamitos; LB Trevor Pajak, Mater Dei; WR Dylan Karz, Brentwood; K Josh Barnavon, Harvard-Westlake.

Princeton: DB Tahj Owens, Loyola; RB Kai Honda, Gardena Serra; DB D’Shawn Jones, Sierra Canyon; LB Jalen Jones, Santa Margarita; DB Justice Croffie, Los Alamitos.

Yale: WR Nico Brown, Edison; QB Marshall Howe, Harvard-Westlake; DL Ezekiel Larry, Sierra Canyon; DB Dillon Rickenbacker, St. John Bosco; TE Scott Truninger, Corona del Mar; WR Davis Wong, Brentwood.

WEDNESDAY’S RESULTS

CITY SECTION

Annenberg 20, Rise Kohyang 6

Crenshaw 18, Bernstein 13

New Designs University Park 26, Locke 0

Orthopaedic 12, Collins Family 6

South East 34, Maywood Academy 6

South East 33, Marquez 0

South Gate 18, LA Jordan 0

Sotomayor 6, Huntington Park 0

Stern 38, Camino Nuevo 0

Sun Valley Magnet 32, Chatsworth 0

USC Hybrid 22, Simon Tech 0

Verdugo Hills 46, Chavez 0

SOUTHERN SECTION

Antelope Valley 7, Bakersfield Christian 0

Aquinas 14, Ontario Christian 6

Arroyo 33, Mountain View 0

Banning 35, Rancho Mirage 12

Beckman 32, Dana Hills 25

Bonita 27, Glendora 6

California 44, El Rancho 0

Castaic 26, Canyon Country Canyon 13

Channel Islands 31, Santa Paula 18

Compton 32, Lakewood 0

Corona Santiago 20, El Modena 20

Costa Mesa 15, Ocean View 7

Cypress 21, Crean Lutheran 12

Desert Hot Springs 22, Cathedral City 0

Downey 67, La Mirada 0

Eastside 53, Littlerock 7

Eastvale Roosevelt 38, Victor Valley 0

Edison 21, Los Alamitos 20

El Dorado 13, Troy 6

Esperanza 20, Sonora 6

Fairmont Prep 12, Whittier 7

Garden Serra 13, St. Anthony 6

Golden Valley 19, West Ranch 12

Hart 33, Vasquez 8

Huntington Beach 47, Fountain Valley 0

JSerra 26, Corona del Mar 7

Kaiser 7, Rialto 0

Laguna Beach 31, Irvine 14

Laguna Hills 19, La Palma Kennedy 18

La Serna 19, Santa Fe 7

Long Beach Jordan 34, Long Beach Wilson 8

Los Amigos 6, Saddleback 0

Montclair 14, Chaffey 0

Montebello 36, Alhambra 13

Newport Harbor 27, Marina 7

Northview 13, Hacienda Heights Wilson 0

Orange 24, Bolsa Grande 6

Portola 26, Irvine University 20

San Gabriel 30, Bell Gardens 6

Santa Monica 31, Leuzinger 0

Saugus 6, Valencia 0

St. Mary’s Academy 28, Bishop Montgomery 0

Valley View 27, Vista del Lago 8

Warren 20, Dominguez 0

Western 18, Magnolia 8

Westminster 13, Segerstrom 12

Westridge 27, Monrovia 20

Woodbridge 27, Sage Hill 6

Yorba Linda 19, Villa Park 6

THURSDAY’S RESULTS

CITY SECTION

Franklin 45, Elizabeth 0

Jefferson 35, Elizabeth 0

Jefferson 27, Franklin 6

Narbonne 26, El Camino Real 0

Panorama 12, San Fernando 6

Panorama 31, Sylmar 25

San Fernando 27, Sylmar 19

West Adams 6, Stella 0

SOUTHERN SECTION

Agoura 60, Calabasas 0

Aliso Niguel 18, Mission Viejo 12

Antelope Valley 34, Knight 0

Artesia 38, Glenn 6

Beverly Hills 18, Compton Centennial 0

Camarillo 47, Oak Park 14

Chaminade 26, Bishop Alemany 12

Culver City 19, Hawthorne 13

El Toro 26, Trabuco Hills 19

Inglewood 19, Lawndale 6

La Serna 12, St. Paul 0

Los Alamitos 50, Loara 0

Newbury Park 26, Thousand Oaks 7

North Torrance 27, West Torrance 19

Oxnard 41, Buena 12

Palos Verdes 32, Mira Costa 0

Placentia Valencia 20, Bolsa Grande 12

Quartz Hill 19, Highland 14

San Marcos 40, Oxnard Pacifica 0

Schurr 35, Sacred Heart of Jesus 0

Shalhevet 6, Providence 0

Ventura 40, Rio Mesa 13

Westlake 33, Oaks Christian 12

INTERSECTIONAL

Eagle Rock 7, Corona 6

High school football began on Friday night in California, and no one was having more fun than the tourists/players from Sparks, Nev., the Spanish Springs High Cougars.

They flew in Friday morning on Southwest Airlines, with plans to visit the Santa Monica Pier on Saturday and Six Flags Magic Mountain on Sunday. First up was a game against Simi Valley, and it went better than expected.

Brady Hummel, a senior receiver and the son of coach Robert Hummel, caught 14 passes for 121 yards and three touchdowns in a 41-21 victory. There were 11 turnovers, with Simi Valley losing four fumbles and getting intercepted twice.

Hummel was so wide open on one touchdown because of a Simi Valley secondary communication error that he could have been counting one Mississippi, two Mississippi, three Mississippi and still would have been wide open. Quarterback Tyson McNeil passed for 211 yards.

From the opening kickoff, when Jackson Sundeen returned it for a 96-yard touchdown, the Pioneers were trying to come from behind.

The two teams combined for seven turnovers in the first half. Spanish Springs held a 20-14 halftime lead. Micah Hannah and James Scida each had interceptions for Simi Valley. The Pioneers lost three fumbles. Quarterback Connor Petrov had touchdown passes of 29 yards on fourth down to Quentin McGahan and 50 yards to Cole Alejo.

In the second half, Petrov was intercepted twice and also lost a fumble that turned into a touchdown. Zane Tryon had a 73-yard touchdown run.

Simi Valley was 12-2 last season and defeated the Cougars in Nevada, but two new quarterbacks and a rebuilt offensive line has the Pioneers working to improve.

“We’ll bounce back,” Hannah said.

As for playing against Hummel, Hannah gave up a touchdown against him, but also picked off one of his passes.

“He’s smooth,” Hannah said.

Los Alamitos came away with a 20-12 win over Inglewood. A two-yard touchdown run Lenny Ibarra put Los Alamitos ahead for good. Los Alamitos is headed to Hawaii next week.

In Henderson, Nev., Long Beach Millikan defeated Foothill 27-14. Tight end/defensive end Jude Nelson had two sacks and made nine catches. Quarterback Ashton Pannell threw two touchdown passes.