offensive

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

Santa Margarita celebrates after winning the CIF State Football Championship Open Division game in 2025.

(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.

Did you get this newsletter forwarded to you? To sign up and get it in your inbox, click here.

Relations between North Korea and Japan remain deeply strained due to historical grievances, North Korea’s nuclear and missile programmes, and growing regional security tensions. In recent years, Japan has significantly increased defence spending and accelerated military modernisation in response to North Korea’s missile launches and China’s expanding military presence.

Tokyo has adopted a new national security strategy that includes acquiring long range strike capabilities, expanding missile defence and strengthening cooperation with the United States and other regional partners. Japan says these measures are necessary to deter growing security threats, while North Korea and China have criticised them as evidence of Japan moving away from its post World War Two defensive posture.

The latest remarks come as North Korea also continues expanding its own naval capabilities and developing new missile systems.

North Korea accused Japan on Tuesday of transforming its military into an offensive force, claiming Tokyo’s overseas military ambitions are now a reality rather than a hypothetical threat.

A commentary published by the state run Korean Central News Agency criticised Japan’s defence modernisation programme, pointing to plans to develop unmanned submarines, expand long range missile capabilities and acquire advanced weapons from the United States.

The comments come amid growing military activity across East Asia as regional powers continue strengthening their armed forces.

The KCNA commentary argued that Japan is abandoning its long standing policy of maintaining forces solely for self defence.

It claimed Tokyo is developing unmanned submarines capable of carrying torpedoes and naval mines that could be deployed near neighbouring coastlines to conduct pre emptive attacks during a conflict.

The report portrayed these developments as evidence that Japan is shifting toward a more offensive military posture.

Japan’s Foreign Ministry did not immediately comment on the allegations.

North Korea also highlighted Japan’s efforts to strengthen its missile capabilities.

According to the commentary, Tokyo is pursuing domestically developed long range missiles, a new ballistic missile with a reported range of up to 3,000 kilometres, upgraded anti ship missiles and hypersonic glide weapons.

The report also criticised Japan’s acquisition of United States made Tomahawk cruise missiles as part of its broader military modernisation programme.

Japan has argued that these capabilities are intended to strengthen deterrence against growing regional threats.

The criticism comes as North Korea continues expanding its own military capabilities.

State media recently reported that leader Kim Jong Un observed the launch of a strategic cruise missile and inspected weapons systems aboard the newly built 5,000 tonne destroyer Kang Kon.

Kim has instructed that the vessel enter operational service within two months as part of efforts to strengthen North Korea’s naval combat capabilities.

Pyongyang has also commissioned another destroyer, the Choe Hyon, and announced plans to construct additional warships, including larger 10,000 tonne vessels.

The exchange of criticism reflects broader security tensions across Northeast Asia.

Japan has strengthened defence cooperation with the United States and regional partners while increasing military investment in response to North Korea’s expanding nuclear and missile programmes and China’s growing military activities.

North Korea has responded by accelerating weapons development, conducting missile launches and modernising its naval forces, further contributing to regional strategic competition.

The latest comments highlight the increasingly confrontational security environment in Northeast Asia, where military modernisation by one country is often cited by others to justify their own defence expansion.

As Japan strengthens its deterrence capabilities and North Korea continues developing advanced weapons, the risk of heightened regional tensions and military competition is likely to remain elevated.

North Korea

Seeking to strengthen its military capabilities while criticising Japan’s expanding defence posture.

Japan

Modernising its armed forces in response to growing regional security threats.

United States

Supporting Japan’s defence strategy as part of its broader Indo Pacific security framework.

South Korea

Closely monitoring military developments involving both North Korea and Japan.

Regional Neighbours

Watching the evolving security balance as military competition intensifies across Northeast Asia.

Regional attention will remain focused on Japan’s continuing defence modernisation and North Korea’s naval expansion, including the planned deployment of its new destroyers.

Any additional missile tests, military exercises or defence announcements by either country are likely to be closely monitored by neighbouring governments and could further shape the security dynamics of the Indo Pacific region.

With information from Reuters.

SAN DIEGO — The Dodgers claimed a series win against the San Diego Padres with a 4-2 victory Sunday, widening the gap between division rivals to 10 games.

The Dodgers (54-30), who have the best record in the majors, have won five of the first six games of a three-city trip that ends in Sacramento.

A bounce-back start from right-hander Emmet Sheehan made the Dodgers’ win Sunday possible. He held the Padres to one run, on Manny Machado’s fourth-inning homer, through five innings.

“Maybe being a little more comfortable in my mechanics,” Sheehan said after limiting the Padres to two hits. “But also just the focus in between starts of trying to get a little more execution instead of delivery thoughts. I had seven days, so I got to throw two bullpens this week, which is nice.”

It was the first time Sheehan held an opponent to a single run since May 8, when he threw 4⅔ innings against the Atlanta Braves.

“He just beared down and made pitches when he needed to,” manager Dave Roberts said, “versus feeling it with the mechanics or being uncertain.”

Mookie Betts stayed hot with his bases-loaded, two-run single off Padres starter Michael King to spearhead a three-run rally in the fifth. Betts also singled in the seventh.

Freddie Freeman had an RBI on a nine-pitch walk in the fifth, and Shohei Ohtani drove in the Dodgers’ first run with a single in the third.

“The last six weeks, Shohei’s been out of this world,” Roberts said. “Freddie’s been very consistent all year, and then now we got Mookie this last week on track. So it has been the better part of the season that we haven’t had all three of those guys. You can see it — when those three guys are threats, it just kind of takes a lot of pressure off everybody else.”

Over the three-game series, the Dodgers outscored the Padres 20-12. Here are offensive takeaways from the series:

Tucker ‘grinding’ through

Kyle Tucker hits a two-run home run against the San Diego Padres on Saturday in the Dodgers’ 15-3 win.

(Orlando Ramirez / Getty Images)

Dodgers right fielder Kyle Tucker never had been through a stretch like this. He entered Sunday with a .719 on-base-plus-slugging percentage, the lowest he’s had 77 games into a season in his career.

“I feel fine coming to the field and everything, it’s just not being as productive as I normally am, or as I want to be, kind of sucks,” Tucker said in a conversation with The Times a couple of weeks ago. “But I’ve just got to come back for the next at-bat, or the next day, and whatever, and just move on.”

Has battling this uncharacteristic slump taught him anything?

“I’d rather not suck,” he said. “But just try and grab through and just whenever anything works or clicks or whatever, just don’t let it go.”

Tucker has had moments this season when it looked like he was heading toward an offensive turnaround.

In mid-April, he homered twice in three games, including a three-hit performance. In early May, he went on a six-game hitting streak. He hit .303 over a nine-game stretch in mid-June. But none led to sustained success.

So, when Tucker logged three hits, including a home run, on Saturday as the Dodgers routed the Padres 15-3, he was cautious in his optimism. Tucker even nitpicked the nine-pitch at-bat that ended in the pull-side homer.

“There were some pitches I swung at earlier in the at-bat that I thought should’ve gotten the job done earlier, just didn’t put a great swing on it,” he said after the game.

Manager Dave Roberts was more enthusiastic about that at-bat.

“He’s handled it well,” Roberts said. “He’s frustrated, certainly. But he hasn’t run from the work. Even [Friday] night after the game, he was hitting in the cage. … You hear the word ‘grind’ a lot, but he’s grinding. It’s good to see him have some success. I just liked that one at-bat tonight where it was just compete. It wasn’t about mechanics. It was about competing and getting the job done.”

On Sunday, Tucker singled in four at-bats.

Edman’s consistency

Tommy Edman hits against the San Diego Padres on Friday.

(Derrick Tuskan / Associated Press)

There were times last year when utility player Tommy Edman could look at video of his swing and think, “OK, that doesn’t look like how I want it to look.” But there was only so much he could do in the middle of the season, while playing through nagging ankle issues.

“Part of it is kind of just breaking habits that I built last year,” said Edman, who underwent surgery on his right ankle in the offseason. “Was just getting into some bad movements with the lower body, probably just compensating for the ankle, and hips get out of whack, and that kind of stuff. So I’m hopeful that I’ll just be able to keep this up the rest of the year and just be consistent with it.”

Since returning from the injured list on June 16 to make his season debut, Edman is hitting .333 (11 for 33) with a .405 .on-base percentage. He hit his first triple and second double of the season in the Dodgers’ blowout win Saturday.

“I feel like this is kind of one of the rare times where both swings feel good, both from the right and left,” switch-hitting Edman said after that game. “It’s really tough to maintain both swings over the course of the season, so just happy that I feel that way.”

Betts is back

When Betts went three for four, a triple short of the cycle, in the Dodgers’ series finale in Minnesota last week, he couldn’t put his finger on a cue that had snapped his swing into shape over the last couple of weeks.

“Today, I was able to just find something,” he said then. “I don’t even know really what I found. After the home run the first at bat, I wasn’t sure what I did, but I just kind of stayed there. And I think that was the beauty of it. And not really fully knowing and just kind of going to play kind of let me know my training is paying off.”

It continued playing off. That performance kicked off a three-game homer streak. And by the end of his two-week heater, Betts had raised his OPS from .591 to .737.

By Saturday night, Roberts was ready to declare that Betts was back.

“I say ‘back’ because I just think there’s more intent with him in the batter’s box and a lot less indecisiveness,” Roberts said. “So for me, if he can have that kind of proactive approach, aggressive approach, then everything else is going to take care of itself.”

Betts credited his resurgence to a shift in how he prepares for games. Instead of taking 100 swings in the cage with a specific cue, he’s building up from a blank slate every day.

“I used to have things I would think about that would produce a swing, and now I’m actually just training my body every day,” he said. “So kind of one in the same, but they’re just two completely different ways of going about it. And still trying to get fully used to it, but it’s working, so I’m not changing it.”

Just over the Litani river line, the IDF has confirmed it has captured one of the key strategic prizes in the area – Beaufort Castle. It was built as a fortress commanding views from high on the cliffs above the Litani river by the Crusaders some 900 years ago, and has been fought over many times since.