Prep

“Wait your turn.”

Those three words are repeated again and again by parents trying to teach their young sons and daughters good manners, whether it’s at the dinner table, the amusement park or the ice cream shop.

So why do parents suddenly forget or ignore their words of wisdom when their kids become teenagers, find themselves in sports competitions, lose out on a starting job or don’t receive the attention they think they deserve and decide to flee rather than “wait your turn.”

At least the Lee family stuck to old-time parenting. Taylor Lee was a huge talent at quarterback after enrolling at Oxnard Pacifica as a freshman. He got to play a little when needed as a freshman and sophomore, but he wasn’t the starter. He stayed and waited his turn and what a reward he’s received.

In the last two games, the junior has thrown 15 touchdown passes for 4-0 Pacifica. He’s passed for 1,356 yards and 22 touchdowns with no interceptions this season. He’s picking up scholarship offers. He’s become an example for his coach, Mike Moon, though who knows how many will learn the lesson.

“For all these kids who transfer around and with not a ton of success, maybe the old-school way of grinding and waiting for your time is best,” he said.

Yes, patience is hard. Passing up an opportunity offered elsewhere is hard. Accepting the decision of a coach is hard. Listening to third parties with agendas speak glowingly of your talent is hard.

As many stories as there are of successful player movements, there’s many others of those who remember the wisdom, of “wait your turn.”

Luke Fahey of Mission Viejo.

(Craig Weston)

The No. 1 quarterback in Southern California, Ohio State-bound Luke Fahey of Mission Viejo, accepted sharing time for two seasons, trading off every other series with his teammate. He and his parents were patient and supportive. This season, on his own, he’s led the Diablos to an unbeaten record and keeps adding to his reputation as a great quarterback with great character.

Years ago, in a different era, Matt Cassel became an NFL starting quarterback without ever starting a game at USC as the backup to Heisman Trophy winners Carson Palmer and Matt Leinart.

The environment has changed with the introduction of the college transfer portal. No one is saying there’s anything wrong with switching schools while looking for an opportunity when someone’s path is blocked, but there’s also the old-fashioned way of staying and competing, waiting your turn, trying to get better and being ready when opportunity beckons.

It’s the quarterback position, in particular, where athletes and their parents are unwilling to be backups. Only one person gets to start. But the failure to recognize there’s other positions to try (tight end, receiver, defense?) is also a forgotten alternative.

The responsible thing is to never try to take away a dream from a passionate, committed teenager. Let them keep grinding if that’s what they want to do. But sometimes someone has to be the adult in the room, just like when they were four or five and rushing ahead in the line for an ice cream cone and mom or dad says, “Wait your turn.”

There’s proof that option still works.

It was the end of an era on Friday night at Canoga Park High, where Mark Nogy completed his final high school football home game as the public address announcer on the 30th anniversary of his debut.

He’s a Canoga Park graduate who later became a school counselor and also announced Pierce College football games.

Former Canoga Park principal Denny Thompson wrote on Facebook, “Mark has never been shy about telling anyone who will listen just how great the community, staff, and students are. Thank you for being such a great Ambassador for our school. We will miss you on the mic at games. You are one of the reasons that ‘every day is a GREAT day at Canoga Park High.’”

The person who has been sitting next to him for 30 years in the press box running the scoreboard clock, Anthony Villalobos, will take over announcing for the rest of the season.

Canoga Park is set to get a new grass field, new scoreboard and new all-weather track next year.

This is a daily look at the positive happenings in high school sports. To submit any news, please email [email protected].

Sophomore running back Arman Papazyan was supposed to be the backup to his brother, Gev, this season at Glendale High. Then Gev went down with a season-ending injury. Little brother Arman came to the rescue.

He had 215 yards rushing in 32 carries in a loss to Marshall. He has continued to be a productive offensive weapon for 1-2 Glendale. He has 349 yards and five touchdowns in three games.

“He’s been carrying the load,” coach Manuel Lemus said. …

Several football teams are enjoying turnaround seasons. Westlake has gone from 0-10 to 4-0. Bellflower is 3-0 after going 0-10. L.A. University is 4-0 after going 2-9 last season, while L.A. Marshall and Norco are 4-0 after finishing 3-7 last season. …

Banning improved to 4-0 on Friday night with a 21-20 win over Garfield in which the Pilots stopped a two-point conversion attempt to win. Mauricio Ortiz Jr. made the game-saving tackle.

This is a daily look at the positive happenings in high school sports. To submit any news, please email [email protected].

In his 36th season coaching, Angelo Gasca has been known for his quarterbacks and passing the ball at Venice High. Well, Air Gasca is taking a back seat to defense this season.

Last week, the Gondoliers improved to 2-1 with a 17-3 win over Harvard-Westlake that featured six tackles for losses by Jon Sharp and 11 tackles by Donner Livingston. Donte Ross had two interceptions. Gasca also points out Joseph Iwunze, Nicholas Stratman, Will Oeser, Joshua Aaron and Hector Lopez.

The team’s defensive coordinator, Iggy Porchia, is a Venice grad, so Gasca is enthused that his defense can make Venice a Western League title contender.

Most of the defensive players have grade-point averages of 3.5 or higher, which helps give options to the coaches because of their intelligence.

“Hard workers and very fast,” Gasca said.

Why does Gasca keep coaching?

“It’s taking your guys, a group of kids every year, and shaping them, developing them, on and off the field,” he said. “While ultimately helping them live out their dreams on the football field. All of this while they are navigating growing up. It’s everything and more, way more, than I could have ever imagined it being. That’s what being a part of this for so long has been. I am very grateful, to say the least, and also very proud.”

Venice plays at Norwalk on Friday night.

This is a daily look at the positive happenings in high school sports. To submit any news, please email [email protected].

Dominick Catalano waited four years to be the starting quarterback at Corona Centennial. He’s taken control of a team that’s 2-1 and facing No. 1 Mater Dei at home on Friday night.

Catalano, though, got a start in the season opener last season because of an injury to Husan Longstreet and made the most of his debut against one of the best defenses in the state — Mater Dei. He completed 17 of 32 passes for 188 yards and two touchdowns with two interceptions in a 42-25 loss.

He’s more mature and confident going into Friday’s game. He still gets all A’s on his report card and is headed to Pomona-Pitzer, which isn’t exactly easy to get into.

His brother, Anthony, served as Centennial’s interim coach two weeks ago against Santa Margarita, and the Catalano brothers almost pulled off a victory in overtime.

Coach Matt Logan appreciated Dominick’s loyalty waiting his turn to be a starter, but it was inevitable. He’s a former Centennial ball boy. He’s passed for 757 yards and eight touchdowns and must deal with the expected Mater Dei pass rush on Friday.

It’s the third Trinity League team the Huskies are playing in nonleague games, having beaten Servite and lost to Santa Margarita.

This is a daily look at the positive happenings in high school sports. To submit any news, please email [email protected].

Hi, and welcome to another edition of Prep Rally. I’m Eric Sondheimer. It was another week of scandal in high school football. And also games with top performances. It’s an interesting balancing act for sportswriters.

Scandal widens

There’s continuing fallout from an Archdiocese of Los Angeles investigation that self-reported violations by Bishop Montgomery’s football program to the Southern Section, resulting in the school ending its varsity season after playing one game and forfeiting another. Now the rest of the season will be forfeits as the school investigates its 24 transfer students.

President Patrick Lee has been placed on administrative leave, according to a parent who says faculty were told of the decision. The Archdiocese has declined to confirm, saying it doesn’t comment on personnel matters. Most interesting is that Lee was brought in last school year as Bishop Montgomery’s first president. Also faculty members have been directed not to speak to the media. The school’s principal resigned from her role as president of the Camino-Del Rey Athletic Assn.

The school is trying to play a junior varsity schedule while allowing eligible varsity players to participate, but that’s unlikely to gain traction. Hart canceled this week’s JV game with Bishop Montgomery, not wanting to subject its regular JV players that include freshmen to a game against possible varsity players out of concern for player safety.

The Southern Section has to decide whether eligible Bishop Montgomery varsity players can transfer and be eligible immediately since the school dropped its varsity program.

An attorney is representing fired head coach Ed Hodgkiss and five ineligible players. Legal action is expected.

The Southern Section has continued its crackdown of transfer students who submitted inaccurate paperwork. Long Beach Millikan had to forfeit two games for using ineligible players and most of its transfer students are now listed under review on the Southern Section transfer web page. One of those players who didn’t play Friday after previously being cleared was quarterback Ashton Pannell, who transferred from Loyola after previously attending St. John Bosco. Other schools are also dealing with issues involving transfer students.

The Archdiocese held a scheduled meeting with principals and athletic directors. The Catholic schools chief indicated changes are coming on how to handle transfer students within Archdiocese high schools.

Remember, under CIF rules, you have to move physically with the entire family unit to be eligible immediately. Otherwise you get a one-time sit-out period transfer status that lasts for a portion of the season. Schools confirm the transfers through paperwork requirements. The Southern Section appears to be using AI technology to catch students using addresses that had previously been used. That can result in a violation of bylaw 202, which prohibits providing false information. It also is a violation to receive inducements to transfer, such as housing, known as bylaw 510, undue influence.

One good thing is the early season attention on ineligible players can prevent numerous forfeits at the end of the football season that could prevent a school from entering the playoffs because of an anonymous tip.

Marine League coaches who forfeited to Narbonne last season alleging money payments feel vindicated after a booster confirmed during a podcast that he paid parents to transfer their sons to Narbonne. Here’s a report.

Madden Williams of St. John Bosco prepares to make a game-tying 51-yard touchdown catch against St. Frances.

(Craig Weston)

It was the Madden Williams show in Bellflower. He made two spectacular catches in the fourth quarter to rally St. John Bosco to a 21-14 victory over Baltimore St. Frances. Here’s the report.

Los Alamitos improved to 4-0 with a 41-21 win over Gardena Serra. There’s no doubt no coach has done a finer job in the first month of the season than Ray Fenton.

Mission Viejo exposed the weakness in Northern California football, routing one its top teams, Folsom, 53-14. Folsom and De La Salle are considered the top Northern California teams in contention for a CIF state championship Open Division bowl spot. San Mateo Serra comes to town to play St. John Bosco on Friday.

Jason Miller, the Leuzinger coach who used to coach in Northern California, was asked to explain the downward trajectory.

“Lots of traditional football families have moved out of the Bay Area, replaced by tech families,” he said. “Black and white families with generations of football players have found the Bay Area unaffordable. Interest has lacked in college football as well. East Palo Alto and West Oakland were once treasure chests of athletes that have been watered down by gentrification.”

Bishop Amat came up with an upset win over Valencia behind a game-winning 79-yard touchdown run from Ryan Salcedo. Here’s the report.

Huntington Beach quarterback Brady Edmunds.

(James Carbone)

Quarterback Brady Edmunds of Huntington Beach had a big game in win over Western. Here’s the report.

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

Here’s the top performers from the weekend games.

Here’s this week’s schedule of games.

City Section

Hamilton coach Elijah Asante poses next to campus mural of Hall of Fame quarterback Warren Moon.

(Eric Sondheimer / Los Angeles Times)

The City Section’s top teams continue to struggle in nonleague games against Southern Section opponents, but the strategy is designed to prepare them for league play. Birmingham lost to Moorpark, Carson lost to Palos Verdes and San Pedro lost to Great Oak.

Meanwhile, Palisades and Granada Hills engaged in a passing vs. running scoring marathon before Palisades prevailed 59-44 behind 387 yards passing and six touchdowns from quarterback Jack Thomas.

Robert Garrett, the longtime coach at Crenshaw, continues to be on administrative leave. The Cougars suffered their first team in falling to Hamilton 23-6. Jacob Riley of Hamilton had three interceptions. Here’s the report.

Garfield got its first win for new coach Patrick Vargas over La Palma Kennedy. All-City running back Ceasar Reyes rushed for 172 yards and had 12 solo tackles on defense.

Here’s this week’s top 10 City Section rankings.

Verbum Dei rising again

Verbum Dei President Father Travis Russell finally got around to putting up a photo of the new Pope.

(Eric Sondheimer / Los Angeles Times)

Verbum Dei is preparing to play its first football game later this month after dropping its varsity season last year for lack of players. It’s a re-start with a new coach and the backing of an energized school president who carries around a tool box acting like a handy man for any and all problems.

Here’s the report.

Girls volleyball

The Stillwell volleyball family. Sophomore Lucy (left), father Tom, a former UCLA All-American, and senior Maya. The daughters play at Harvad-Westlake.

(Eric Sondheimer / Los Angeles Times)

Tom Stillwell won three NCAA titles playing volleyball for UCLA. Now he has two daughters playing for Harvard-Westlake. He’s enjoying life as a Girl Dad. Here’s the report.

Four-year starter Abby Zimmerman has led Redondo Union girls volleyball.

(Steve Galluzzo)

What a week it was for Redondo Union volleyball with wins over previously unbeaten Marrymount and powerful Mater Dei. Here’s the report from the Marymount victory.

The schedule doesn’t get any easier with a home match against Sierra Canyon on Tuesday.

Venice handed Palisades its first defeat in winning its own tournament championship. Gaia Adeseun-Williams and Samantha Lortie was named co-tournament MVPs from Venice.

JSerra is 11-0 and continuing to look like one of the best flag football teams in the Southern Section. The Lions began the El Toro tournament with shutout wins over Classical Academy of San Diego and Edison.

Freshmen receivers Tessa Russell and Ava Irwin continue to be impact players.

Panorama is off to 7-0 start in the City Section behind quarterback Yadhira Hermenegildo.

Prep talk

A look at the positives from high school sports last week.

All-American Kami Miner dropped by Redondo Union to offer a pep talk to the girls volleyball players.

Louie Vargas (left) with his son, Danny, has been officiating for 52 years.

(Courtesy Danny Vargas)

It’s year No. 52 as a high school sports official for Louie Vargas, who’s 80 years old and still a head linesman for football games.

The Slye brothers, Jordan Jr. and Marty, are lifting up Salesian football and a third brother will arrive next season.

First-year coach Derwin Henderson has Rialto off to a 3-0 start.

Notes . . .

Infielder Trevor Deack of Orange Lutheran has committed to Utah Tech. . . .

Pitcher Damian Catano of Arcadia has committed to St. Mary’s. . . .

A refurbished outside basketball court at Crenshaw High was dedicated Saturday and painted in the school’s colors. . . .

Sophomore point guard Josh Lowery has transferred to Sierra Canyon. . . .

Swimmer Tori Yamamura of Valencia has committed to Missouri. . . .

Bishop Alemany baseball has picked up Mikey Martinez from Crespi. He was a starting infielder and top relief pitcher as a sophomore for the Mission League champions. Also senior pitcher Jaden Lee, the younger brother of UCLA pitcher Justin Lee, has left Sherman Oaks Notre Dame for Alemany. . . .

Casey Patterson is the new boys volleyball coach at Newbury Park . . . .

The stadium fields at Newbury Park, Thousand Oaks and Westlake will be receiving refurbishment beginning Dec. 1, forcing soccer teams to seek alternative sites. . . .

Long Beach Millikan has forfeited wins over Las Vegas Foothill and Newbury Park for using ineligible players.

From the archives: Ty Dieffenbach

Former Agoura quarterback Ty Dieffenbach

(Eric Sondheimer / Los Angeles Times)

Former Agoura quarterback Ty Dieffenbach, who originally signed with and spent two years at Pittsburgh, made his debut for Cal Poly last week and passed for 263 yards and ran for 69 yards in a win over San Diego. He accounted for three touchdowns and was named the Big Sky player of the week. On Saturday, things didn’t go as well in a 63-9 loss to Utah. He passed for 82 yards.

Here’s a story from 2022 looking at Dieffenbach’s potential as a quarterback.

Recommendations

From Burlisononbasketball, a story on top girls basketball players making an impression at a local camp.

From Communityforwardredlands, a story on the return of Hall of Fame football coach Dick Bruich.

From SFGate.com, a story on the rapid growth of girls flag football.

From the Los Angeles Times, a story on the soccer Thompson sisters gaining money and attention.

From the Los Angeles Times, an excerpt from a book on Newbury Park’s cross-country success.

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.

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

Derwin Henderson was not intending to coach this season. He hadn’t been a head coach since 2019 at Hawthorne. But he lives in the Inland Empire, and Rialto High kept asking him to take the open position. He finally relented, and big changes are already taking place.

Rialto is off to a 3-0 start with wins over Ontario, Temecula Prep and Indio. That’s notable because the team was 0-10 last season and 1-9 in 2023.

Henderson has been a head coach at Morningside, South East and Hawthorne. He was in the LAPD for 33 years, rising to sergeant. His son, Bryce, is a freshman football player at Sherman Oaks Notre Dame.

Linebacker Alberto Tapia has been a standout for Rialto on defense. Noah Valdez is a top athlete on offense and defense.

The games figure to get tougher in the coming weeks, but there’s a culture change at Rialto that certainly is good for the players and the student body.

This is a daily look at the positive happenings in high school sports. To submit any news, please email [email protected].

The Slye brothers at Salesian High, Jordan Jr., a sophomore defensive back/receiver, and Marty, a freshman quarterback, certainly have the genes to succeed.

Their mother, Dena, a counselor at the school, was a softball standout at Washington. Their father, Jordan, was a receiver at Washington.

Now the boys have helped Salesian to a 2-1 start. Jordan Jr. is a 6-foot-1 cornerback with big-time potential. Marty got the size in the family at 6-4 and 235 pounds. He’s been the starting quarterback in three games, asked to contribute immediately as a freshman.

Jordan Jr. said it’s fun playing together on the same team. Jordan caught a touchdown pass from Marty on Thursday night against Bishop Alemany, but it was called back because of a penalty.

“It’s amazing having them, and a third one is on the way,” coach Anthony Atkins said.

Yes, a third Slye brother, Michael, will be a freshman next fall, so prepare for the era of the Slye brothers at Salesian.

This is a daily look at the positive happenings in high school sports. To submit any news, please email [email protected].

There’s already two games in the books for some high school football players, so let’s take a look at the impressive two-game statistical performances.

Quarterback Deshawn Laporte of Burbank has nine touchdown passes with one interception. Ditto for quarterback Cooper Berry of Maranatha. Quarterback Caden Jones of Crean Lutheran has passed for 601 yards with five touchdowns and one interception.

Quentin Pacelli of Garden Grove is averaging 11.2 yards per carry with 584 yards rushing and seven touchdowns.

Blake Wong of Norco has six touchdown receptions among his 18 catches. Mahseiah Banks of La Palma Kennedy has caught eight touchdowns.

Kane Casani of Loyola has been credited with 31 tackles in two games. Samu Moala of Leuzinger has 5 1/2 sacks with Khary Wilder of Gardena Serra has five sacks. King Butler of Norte Vista has four interceptions. Ernest Nunley of Western and Tareq Abdul of L.A. University have three interceptions.

Aaron Rivera of El Monte is five of six on field-goals attempts. Parker Wilson of San Marino has six punts with a 49.7-yard average.

This is a daily look at the positive happenings in high school sports. To submit any news, please email [email protected].

Kami Miner, an All-American volleyball player at Redondo Union and Stanford, dropped by her alma mater’s match last week before heading to Italy to play pro volleyball.

Coach Tommy Chaffins knew what to do.

“Hey, you want to come into the team room?” he asked.

“‘I’d love to,” Miner said.

Redondo Union players got a good pep talk before a win over Long Beach Poly.

“She loves Redondo,” Chaffins said.

Redondo Union is 13-1 heading into a competitive home match on Tuesday against Marymount, followed by a showdown against Mater Dei on the road.

Abby Zimmerman, a four-year starter and captain headed to Cal, has been leading the Sea Hawks.

This is a daily look at the positive happenings in high school sports. To submit any news, please email [email protected].

Hi, and welcome to another edition of Prep Rally. What’s a high school football season without scandal and success. It’s just happening in the opening week.

Bishop Montgomery woes

Bishop Montgomery announced the firing of its football coach after weeks of turmoil that saw the program lose five transfer students to ineligibility, saw numerous players suspended for leaving the team bench during a loss in Hawaii and finally was forced to forfeit to Mater Dei because it did not have enough players to compete.

Here’s the report on the firing.

Here’s a look at who’s responsible for this latest scandal involving a Catholic school in the Archiocese of Los Angeles.

Valencia quarterback Brady Bretthauer has his team at 2-0.

(Craig Weston)

Valencia has come out with a 2-0 start behind its dynamic duo of quarterback Brady Bretthauer and running back Brian Bonner. Here’s a report from its victory over Chaminade.

Santa Margarita went to overtime to beat Corona Centennial and deliver a first victory for coach Carson Palmer. Here’s the report.

Loyola, despite losing more than a dozen players in the off season to transfers, upset Long Beach Millikan behind Stanford commit Max Meier, who had 10 tackles and two sacks.

Yorba Linda rallied for a win over Edison in a battle of top 25 teams. Here’s the report.

Gardena Serra and Sierra Canyon are showing off great defenses. Here’s the report from Serra’s 47-0 win over Hamilton.

Sierra Canyon defeated Oaks Christian 63-0 and has two shutouts in two games.

St. Frances from Maryland is coming to town to face 2-0 St. John Bosco on Friday.

It took six overtimes before Orange defeated Laguna Hills 46-43.

Here’s a list of top individual performances from Week 1.

Here’s the score list from Thursday. Here’s the score list from Friday.

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

Here’s the Week 2 schedule.

Hamilton freshman quarterback Thaddeus Breaux.

(Craig Weston)

It was a rough opening game for Hamilton freshman quarterback Thaddeus Breaux. The Yankees lost to Gardena Serra 47-0. But Breaux showed off a strong arm and looked resilient, good qualities for the future. Hamilton plays Crenshaw on Friday. Here’s the report from the Serra loss.

Crenshaw is 2-0 but longtime coach Robert Garrett has not been on the sideline. Here’s a report.

San Pedro and Carson rebounded from losses in their opening games to rout City Section opponents Kennedy and Dorsey.

University coach Bryan Robinson (left) and brother Jason Robinson, an assistant, with their father, 80-year-old EC Robinson, a former Locke and Uni coach.

(Eric Sondheimer / Los Angeles Times)

The sons of former Locke and University coach EC Robinson have University at 2-0. Here’s the report.

Marquez is 2-0 and has moved into this week’s top 10 City Section rankings by The Times.

Orange Lutheran (12-0) and JSerra (8-0) continue look like the top two teams in flag football and they will be meeting twice in league play with games on Sept. 30 and Oct. 9.

Redondo Union defeated San Pedro in the championship game to win the LA City Girls Flag Football Classic.

Agoura won the Malibu tournament championship. Kiyomi Kohno was named MVP.

Flag football scores from Monday and Tuesday.

Flag football scores from Wednesday and Thursday.

Girls volleyball

It’s go tiime for Redondo Union in girls volleyball facing two huge tests this week. First up is a home match against 9-0 Marymount on Tuesday, followed by a road match against 7-1 Mater Dei.

Redondo Union is 13-1 and led by four-year starter Abby Zimmerman.

Prep talk

Quarterback Diego Montes of Granada Hills Kennedy passed for 2,508 yards and ran for 1,400 yards as a junior.

(Eric Sondheimer / Los Angeles Times)

Your daily look at positive happenings in high school sports:

Two quarterbacks injured last season return to lead their teams to victory.

Kennedy All-City quarterback Diego Montes says, “Do not sleep on the City Section.”

Crespi continues its improvement in football behind sophomore quarterback Chase Curren.

El Camino Real football player Lincoln Elder almost got a perfect score on the SAT, loves math and want to enter the sports data business one day.

Running back Moyo Odebunmi of Cleveland went off for five touchdowns.

Golfer Andrew Rodriguez of La Serna is rising and has a big tournament this month.

Notes . . .

Brandon McCoy gets fired up after a basket for St. John Bosco. He had 28 points in overtime win over Richmond Salesian.

(Nick Koza)

After rumors all summer that he would be transferring from St. John Bosco to Sierra Canyon, standout guard Brandon McCoy made it official, enrolling at the Chatsworth school last week. He didn’t attend St. John Bosco’s opening day of school last month, so it was only a question of the news becoming official. His arrival coincides with the arrival of JSerra transfer Brannon Martinsen at Sierra Canyon. The best player might be Maximo Adams, who’s being recruited by Duke and Kansas. It will make for a quite a Mission League season with Sherman Oaks Notre Dame, Harvard-Westlake and Crespi all having top players.

And don’t feel sorry for St. John Bosco, which picked up sophomore point guard Cam Anderson from Eastvale Roosevelt. . . .

Pauley Pavilion will be the site on Nov. 22 for a Mission League vs. Trinity League basketball challenge that features an 8:30 p.m. matchup of St. John Bosco vs. Harvard-Westlake. Santa Margarita will play Sherman Oaks Notre Dame at 7 p.m. and Sierra Canyon will face JSerra at 5:30 p.m as the featured matchups that begin at 9:30 a.m.. . . .

Cole Knupfer of St. John Bosco has committed to St. Mary’s for baseball. . . .

Sophomore 6-6 forward Evan Willis has transferred from Mater Dei to Crossroads. . . .

Tom Kelly is the new swim coach at Edison. He was at Crean Lutheran. . . .

Westlake pitcher Caden Atkinson has committed to UC San Diego. . . .

From the archives: Tahj Owens

Loyola running back Tahj Owens on his way to scoring five touchdowns against Culver City in 2021.

(Brody Hannon)

Entering his senior season at Princeton, Tahj Owens is a former Loyola running back who’s become a key player at defensive back for Princeton. He started every game last season.

He was Angelus League MVP at Loyola.

Here’s a story from 2021 telling the story how he had to drive from Chino Hills to attend Loyola in downtown Los Angeles.

Recommendations

From the Los Angeles Times, an opinion piece on if tackle football isn’t safe for girls, why is it safe for boys.

From Runnersworld, a story on a 16-year-old turning pro by signing with Nike.

From the Press Enterprise, a story on Southern Section commissioner Mike West.

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.

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

During an interview that will be aired on Thursday for “Friday Night Live” on The Times’ X account, Kennedy All-City quarterback Diego Montes was asked about players in the City Section being overlooked.

That produced a response, “Do not sleep on the City Section.”

“I can’t afford to play for a private school,” he said. “I don’t think where you play should matter that great. You’re telling me if I play for a private school, that makes me any better than I am now? No. There’s talent in the City Section.”

The complete interview can be seen at 5 p.m. Thursday via X at LATSondheimer.

Montes accounted for seven touchdowns (four running) in a 56-51 win over Eagle Rock last week.

This is a daily look at the positive happenings in high school sports. To submit any news, please email [email protected].

Hi, and welcome to another edition of Prep Rally. I’m Eric Sondheimer. Let the bidding begin. A 15-year TV contract that the CIF signed with Time Warner Cable in 2011 ends in 2026. What will happen next?

CIF seeks new TV deal

The California Interscholastic Federation is about to open up bidding for its television broadcast rights because a 15-year deal with Time Warner (now Spectrum) is ending on July 31, 2026.

Signed in 2011, the $8.5-million deal gave Time Warner Cable the rights to televise state championship games and playoffs. It turned out to be a boon for the CIF, because game rights fees for high school sports ended up declining. Charter Communications acquired Time Warner in 2016 and rebranded to Spectrum, which has struggled at times as to how to maximize its investment in the TV package. Spectrum recently signed a three-year deal to broadcast Southern Section games.

CIF executive director Ron Nocetti.

(Eric Sondheimer / Los Angeles Times)

This year, the final payment of $952,422 is being made and will go into the CIF general operating budget. The deal started with a $550,000 payment and has gone up 4% each year. The CIF, which runs high school sports in California, uses money from membership fees, championship events and corporate sponsorships for its budget. The TV package is the largest financial deal among the sponsorships and helps reduce dues charged to schools.

Executive Director Ron Nocetti said the CIF will soon initiate a request for proposals and put it out for bidding. The market has changed considerably since 2011, with online streaming coverage of high school events surpassing linear coverage.

It will be interesting to see which media companies decide to bid, how much money they are willing to pay and how long the contract might last.

Another contract ending next year is with SBLive, which originally was trying to compete with MaxPreps and help the CIF design a way for fans to get immediate scores from games. SBLive changed its focus, entered into a partnership in 2021 with The Arena Group and in 2024 joined Minute Media, which runs Sports Illustrated sites. MaxPreps has moved to take further control of the prep sports scene after being acquired in April by PlayOnSports, the owner of GoFan and the NFHS Network, which started streaming a national game of the week.

This changing world of high school sports offers opportunities for the CIF to expand its media reach but also possible pitfalls depending on how media companies view the future.

How it started

Eric interviewing Sophomore Tajh Ariza after a basketball game. Son of Trevor Ariza. Taken December 2022.

(Nick Koza)

Starting with John Elway as a high school student at Granada Hills High in the 1970s, my journey covering prep sports has been going on for 49 years. It’s been quite a journey.

My mission has always been to entertain, inform and make a difference. There’s no reason to quit something you enjoy as long as the challenges keep coming and the athletes keep getting better and better with personalities that make you laugh and cry.

Here’s some observations how it started and where I’m going.

The opening weekend of Southern Section football saw a terrific matchup of top 10 teams: Mission Viejo vs. Santa Margarita. It turned out to be a defensive struggle until Ohio State-bound quarterback Luke Fahey struck late in the third quarter with a 33-yard touchdown pass to Jack Junker to give the Diablos a 7-3 victory. Here’s the report.

Three Trinity League teams — Mater Dei, St. John Bosco and Orange Lutheran — traveled to Florida for games, and each one came home with a victory. Here’s the report. Mater Dei plays Bishop Montgomery on Friday at home. Bishop Montgomery went to Hawaii and lost to St. Louis in Honolulu 34-27 in a game that ended with 51 seconds left when players from both sides left benches. Here’s the report.

Huntington Beach showed off its passing attack in a win over Orange. Here’s the report.

Corona Centennial defeated Servite 42-14 to give coach Matt Logan victory No. 296 in his 29 years with the Huskies.

Here’s the score list from last week.

Here’s The Times’ top 25 rankings.

Here’s the schedule for this week.

Here’s a list of top individual performances in the Southland.

Granada Hills Kennedy quarterback Diego Montes, right, and Eagle Rock quarterback Liam Pasten stand next to each other after Kennedy’s 59-56 win on Friday night.

(Benjamin Royer / For The Times)

The best high school football game of the weekend belonged to City Section teams Kennedy and Eagle Rock in a battle of All-City quarterbacks. After more than three hours, 15 touchdowns and the game ending past 11 p.m., Kennedy prevailed 59-56 on a late touchdown by Diego Montes. Here’s the report on the drama.

Granada Hills’ Troy Versa makes interception in 50-16 win over North Hollywood.

(Craig Weston)

Granada Hills rushed for 420 yards with no passing yards or attempts in an impressive 50-16 win over North Hollywood. Here’s the report.

Birmingham knocked off Hart 24-14 in a sign the Patriots are clearly the No. 1 team in the City Section. Quarterback Kevin Hawkins ran for more than 150 yards and Jimmy Renteria had a touchdown on a fake punt, catching a pass and also recovered a fumble.

Crenshaw defeated Fairfax 37-6 to give coach Robert Garrett victory No. 291.

Teams will be playing Thursday this week, with Dorsey at Carson a big one for future playoff seedings. Also Hamilton opens up its new stadium Thursday against Gardena Serra.

Here are the top 10 City Section rankings.

JSerra is unbeaten and looking like a challenger to Orange Lutheran. The Lions won their own tournament championship with a 19-0 win over Carlsbad.

Camarillo defeated Oxnard 13-12 in the championship game of a tournament at Rio Mesa.

Here’s score list from Friday and Saturday.

Girls volleyball

Marymount put an end to Harvard-Westlake’s seven-match winning streak with a 3-0 win at Marymount.

Mater Dei swept Los Alamitos 3-0 to improve to 2-0 on the season. The Monarchs are headed to Florida for a tournament.

Redondo Union hosts Long Beach Poly on Tuesday in a big nonleague match in preparation for a showdown against Marymount on Sept. 2.

Prep talk

Athletic trainer Jonathan Rivas of Culver City helped save an athlete who went into cardiac arrest last spring.

(George Laase)

Every day, there’s positive information coming from high school sports. That’s Prep talk. Here are last week’s stories.

Athletic trainer Jonathan Rivas saved an athlete last spring in cardiac arrest. Here’s a report.

Mira Costa’s special teams trio of punter Jackson Shevin (left), snapper Jackson Reach and kicker Nico Talbott.

(Eric Sondheimer / Los Angeles Times)

Mira Costa has a trio to make its special teams pretty good this football season. Here’s a report.

Harvard-Westlake started the girls’ volleyball season 7-0 under a first-year coach. Here’s a report.

John Michael Flint is quite a two-sport star at Bishop Diego with a 38-inch vertical leap. Here’s a report.

Ty Plinski of Corona Centennial became a media sensation with his one-handed catch on Friday night. Here’s a report.

Notes . . .

High school sports participation has risen to record levels aided by one of the new sports, girls flag football. Here’s the report. . . .

Last season’s Southern Section singles tennis champion, Sophie Suh of Orange Lutheran, will not be playing for the team this season. The sophomore will be focusing on the International Tennis Federation circuit. . . .

Grant Leary of Crespi won the Southern Section individual golf championship. He’s also a photographer for the Yearbook.

(Eric Sondheimer / Los Angeles Times)

Crespi golfer Grant Leary, the winner of the Southern Section individual title last season, has committed to San Jose State. . . .

The Downey vs. Warren football game on Oct. 24 has been moved to Dignity Health Sports Park at Cal State Dominguez Hills at 7 p.m. . . . .

Richard Schroeder is the new baseball coach at San Marcos. . . .

After 16 years as basketball coach at Beverly Hills, Jarvis Turner announced he has stepped down. . . .

Orange Lutheran girls water polo coach Brenda Villa has resigned to become associate head coach at Stanford. She’s a former Olympian and won two Open Division championships coaching the Lancers. . . .

Omari Cuffe, a 6-foot-4 junior basketball player who’s played sparingly the last two seasons at St. Pius X-St. Matthias, has transferred to Loyola. So has senior guard Deuce Newt from Campbell Hall. Newt started at times. Loyola has a new coach, Cameron Joyce. . . .

St. Francis basketball coach Todd Wolfson said his school has received a 7-foot-4 transfer in Cherif Millogo from Burkina Faso. Mater Dei has transfers from IMG Academy and the state of Oregon. . . .

Corona del Mar water polo standout Nathan Simoncelli has committed to USC. . . .

Pitcher Colten Rainer of Royal has committed to UCLA. He was throwing in the 90s this summer in a major improvement. He’s the younger brother of former Harvard-Westlake star Bryce Rainer, a first-round pick of the Detroit Tigers last season. Other UCLA commitments include pitchers Garrett Jacobs (Mira Costa) and Robert Zimmerman (Redondo Union) and outfielder Jaden Jackson (St. John Bosco). . . .

Rob Loehle is the new boys basketball coach at Simi Valley. . . .

Nareg Kopooshian, head coach of AGBU, has been appointed as the head coach of the FIBA Armenia U16 National Team by the Armenia Basketball Federation. The Eurobasketball competition is scheduled for the summer of 2026. . . .

Pitcher Jake Chung of Harvard-Westlake has committed to Brown.

From the archives: Lars Nootbaar

St. Louis Cardinals’ Lars Nootbaar celebrates with teammates in 2021.

(ASSOCIATED PRESS)

Former El Segundo and USC standout Lars Nootbaar has been in the major leagues for the St. Louis Cardinals since 2021.

He was a much decorated athlete during his days at El Segundo as the school’s quarterback in football and star baseball player.

Here’s a story from 2014 when El Segundo was 10-0 led by its star two-sport athlete.

Recommendatons

From Texas A&M, a story on how youth sports can create future leaders or future cheaters.

From the Los Angeles Times, a story on how Carson Palmer views coaching high school football.

From the Daily Pilot, a story on two Huntington Beach surfers creating a documentary.

From the Washington Post, a story on premium seating in high school sports.

From the Los Angeles Times, a question and answer with former USC quarterback and Orange County legend Todd Marinovich.

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.

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

Ty Plinski, a 6-foot-3 senior receiver at Corona Centennial Hifh who made one catch all last season, became a media sensation on Friday night when he pulled off a spectacular one-handed touchdown catch in a win over Servite, landing him the No. 1 play on ESPN’s SportsCenter.

“I barely played last year,” he said Saturday.

When he woke up, he said his phone was “blowing up.” He said he received more than 50 text messages from friends, coaches and recruiters.

“I’ve been training a lot, and it’s been part of my training routine,” he said of making one-handed catches. “It was the perfect opportunity, and I just fully extended.”

Quarterback Dominick Catalano dropped the ball, picked it up and found Plinski, who also used his lacrosse skills to make the catch.

“The zip how fast that ball comes in, it’s a lot of hand-eye coordination,” he said of lacrosse.

Plinski finished with four receptions in a 42-14 victory.

Asked why he’s kept playing, Plinski said, “It’s my passion. I love it. All my teammates are amazing.”

This is a daily look at the positive happenings in high school sports. To submit any news, please email [email protected].

For all the warnings, lectures and advice given to high school football players before their first game of the season to hydrate so they can avoid cramping, it still happens. For whatever reason, the pain begins, gets even more painful, then walking off the field becomes a chore.

“Game 1, for some reason in football, they cramp,” said Loyola High athletic trainer Tim Moscicki, in his 37th year. “Whether it’s lactic acid building up, anxiety or excitement, I’ve seen it for years.”

North Hollywood players were cramping repeatedly in their opening game on Thursday night against Granada Hills. Certainly hot weather doesn’t help, but everyone seemingly has a different strategy for dealing with cramps. There are so many supplements people could try a different one each day of the week.

“Once they start to cramp, it’s usually an uphill battle,” Moscicki said. “I don’t think it’s just the weather. I’ve seen cramps in cold weather, hot weather, in rain. Everyone has their own list how to treat — coconut water, bananas, pickle juice, mustard, Gatorade.”

St. John Bosco is using a supplement added to water called Lytening Hydration during its trip to Florida to help with cramping.

“There’s no cure-all for cramps,” Moscicki said.

He advises players prepare two or three days before games with hydration. Just starting on game day won’t work.

What’s certain is players cramping on opening weekend and coaches asking their athletic trainers, “Why are we cramping?”

This is a daily look at the positive happenings in high school sports. To submit any news, please email [email protected].

The high school football season begins this weekend with Week 0 games. Let’s examine storylines and questions to be answered:

What will it take for a team other than Mater Dei or St. John Bosco to reach the Southern Section Division 1 final?

The answer is luck, because it’s not happening. Every season since 2016, the Monarchs or Braves have won the Southern Section Division 1 title and have met in the finals every season except for 2021, when Servite, led by its two future first-round draft picks, Mason Graham and Teteroia McMillan, beat St. John Bosco in the semifinals. Those two schools have offensive and defensive lines too big, too strong and with too much depth for others to take down in the transfer era. They face off at the end of the regular season on Halloween, then will likely play again four weeks later for the section title.

What will life be like in the City Section after the collapse of Narbonne for rules violations?

It’s back to beating Birmingham if you want to win the City Section Open Division title. The Patriots had their 48-game City winning streak end with a loss to Narbonne but that was turned into a forfeit victory, so the streak is at 49. It’s a wide-open City race. Look for Carson, San Pedro and Palisades to join the Patriots for the right to win a missing trophy (yes, put up a reward to find it).

What’s the strongest position in the Southland this season?

It’s the defensive line. There are so many elite linemen and ends capable of making an impact this season, and beyond that quarterbacks better be warned to wear extra equipment to cushion the blows about to be inflicted. From Mater Dei’s Tomuhini Topui to Gardena Serra’s Khary Wilder, from Sierra Canyon’s Richard Wesley to St. John Bosco’s Dutch Horisk, expect lots of sacks and forced fumbles.

Which teams will be surprise success stories?

A new campus and new football stadium has Compton excited and ready for a big turnaround after going 3-7 last season. Former L.A. Jordan coach Derek Benton has taken over at Fremont, so perhaps the Pathfinders can move up. Sherman Oaks Notre Dame has received some big-time transfers, putting the Knights in position to be competitive with Sierra Canyon and Gardena Serra in the Mission League. Agoura quarterback Gavin Gray is back from a knee injury, so the Chargers are ready to roll. Servite has a group of track athletes to be unleashed in football, and speed can be a game-changer. Cathedral is poised to be a title contender as quarterback Jaden Jefferson receives help on the offensive line. Burbank was impressive in seven-on-seven competitions and will try to prove its linemen can help out.

Which teams must find replacements for big-time players from last season?

Newbury Park needs someone to become the No. 1 receiver for quarterback Brady Smigiel after the graduation of Shane Rosenthal. Mater Dei will be trying out a trio of running backs to take on the role previously held by Jordon Davison, who is now at Oregon. Sierra Canyon’s bid to be a Division 1 contender will come down to play at quarterback (senior Chase Everett, junior Demarco Hernandez and senior Laird Finkel are competing for the starting job). Mission Viejo must find someone to duplicate Jaden Williams’ 23 sacks. JSerra is turning to untested quarterback Koa Smith-Mayall to replace Ryan Hopkins, who left for Mater Dei.

Which coaches will be under the microscope?

Heisman Trophy winner Carson Palmer takes over at Santa Margarita, having put together a top staff that includes last season’s interim coach, Steve Fifita. No one has a bigger task ahead than Narbonne first-year coach Doug Bledsoe, whose team is ineligible for the postseason and saw an exodus of players. Former NFL defensive back Troy Hill is a first-year coach at St. Bonaventure with no head coaching experience. Rick Clausen takes over at Westlake, which went 0-10 last season. Former Crespi coach Dameon Porter gets a second chance at Harvard-Westlake, which forfeited a game in 2023 because of a lack of players.

Which freshmen could have an impact?

Quarterback Thaddeus Breaux, Hamilton; quarterback Ezrah Brown, Orange Lutheran; quarterback Ford Green, Westlake; quarterback Marcus Washington Jr., Cajon; linebacker Ethan Harrington, Sierra Canyon; tight end Austin Miller, Bellflower; quarterback CJ Woods, Harvard-Westlake; quarterback Evan McCalister, Valencia; safety Tyrin Jefferson, Cathedral; receiver Mason Fowler, Corona Centennial.

What are games you don’t want to miss?

Mission Viejo vs. Santa Margarita at Trabuco Hills, Friday; Mater Dei at Corona Centennial, Sept. 12; Mater Dei at Bishop Gorman, Sept. 19; Gardena Serra at Sierra Canyon, Oct. 3; St. John Bosco vs. Orange Lutheran, Oct. 10; San Clemente at Mission Viejo, Oct. 17; Roosevelt vs. Garfield, Oct. 24; Carson at San Pedro, Oct. 30; Mater Dei at St. John Bosco, Oct. 31.

Which schools have new stadiums to visit?

Garfield, Roosevelt and Hamilton have new stadiums in the City Section. Long Beach Jordan, Hawthorne, Crescenta Valley and El Rancho open new stadiums in the Southern Section.

Maybe it’s knowing the beach is a short walk from their high school campus, but the special teams trio of punter Jackson Shevin, long snapper Jackson Reach and kicker Nico Talbott are feeling relaxed, comfortable and confident for Mira Costa High‘s football team.

Early in the season, fans sometimes need to close their eyes and pray when there’s a punt or PAT attempt. The special teams play can be that bad.

At Mira Costa, this coming season should be a good one for the special teams. The two Jacksons, Shevin and Reach, did their roles last season. Shevin is also a holder on field goals. Talbott assumes the No. 1 role for kicking. And Reach rarely leaves the field, because he’s also the team’s standout linebacker.

On any football team, it’s always intriguing to see how the special teams players blend in. Many are soccer players trying to learn the football culture.

The Mira Costa trio work well together, and it helps with their versatility. Mira Costa opens its season Aug. 29 against St. Francis. …

This is a daily look at the positive happenings in high school sports. To submit any news, please email [email protected].

With the high school sports season resuming, it can’t be stressed enough about the importance of schools having athletic trainers to help keep athletes safe when emergencies happen.

That was never more evident than last spring during a track and field meet at Culver City High.

At the end of a 400-meters freshman race, a runner dropped to the ground on his chest near the finish line. The initial impression by most observers was just another exhausted athlete from a grueling race.

Culver City first-year athletic trainer Jonathan Rivas, fresh out of graduating from Cal State Northridge, was immediately on the scene to evaluate. That’s when things got serious.

“He didn’t have a pulse,” Rivas said.

He determined the athlete from Inglewood High was in full cardiac arrest.

He instructed one of his assistants to call 911 and the other to retrieve the AED defibrillator. He started compressions. He hooked up the unresponsive athlete to the automatic defibrillator. It advised one shock. Rivas pushed the button. It worked. The shock brought the athlete back.

Paramedics arrived within five minutes to take over and transport him to the hospital. The athlete would learn he needed a pacemaker. The quick action by the athletic trainer helped save him.

Athletic trainer Jonathan Rivas of Culver City.

(George Laase)

“This was my first cardiac arrest,” the 28-year-old Rivas said. “I was super stressful. Honestly, I went on auto pilot. My main goal was to get this kid help as fast as possible.”

The majority of high schools don’t have athletic trainers. In the City Section, there’s only 12 out of 71 that have 11-man football teams.

Adam Cady, an athletic trainer for Kaiser Permanente, has started a nonprofit trying to help athletes gain access to trainers.

“It’s super important,” Rivas said of schools having an athletic trainer.

This is a daily look at the positive happenings in high school sports. To submit any news, please email [email protected].

Hi, and welcome to another edition of Prep Rally. Zero week has arrived for high school football. Let’s examine some of the big games.

Showdown openers

Eagle Rock All-City quarterback Liam Pasten is 6 feet 1 and 145 pounds.

(Eric Sondheimer / Los Angeles Times)

After months of preparation, the high school football season begins this weekend. Here are some attractive games to watch.

North Hollywood at Granada Hills. If you want to see a game that lasts less than 90 minutes, this Thursday game is it. Two double-wing teams running the ball again and again. They played in last year’s City playoffs. You better eat that hot dog quick. The pick: Granada Hills.

Mayfair vs. Yorba Linda at SoFi Stadium, 5 p.m.. You’ll have to pay a hefty fee for parking and to get in on Thursday night, but Yorba Linda is a top 25 team. The pick: Yorba Linda.

Eagle Rock at Kennedy. It’s two All-City quarterbacks going at it on Friday night, with Liam Pasten vs. Diego Montes. Both teams are favored to win their respective leagues, so this is big for playoff seedings. The pick: Eagle Rock.

Leuzinger vs. Long Beach Poly at Veterans Stadium. It’s the senior season for the little running back that will run through a brick wall if needed, Leuzinger’s Journee Tonga. Combined with quarterback Russell Sekona, that’s a formidable duo. Poly returns veteran quarterback Deuce Jefferson for first-year coach Justin Utupo. Look for a close, intense matchup. The pick: Leuzinger.

Mission Viejo vs. Santa Margarita at Trabuco Hills. Carson Palmer debuts as head coach for the Eagles, which have perhaps the toughest schedule in Southern California. It won’t be easy taking down quarterback Luke Fahey & Co., but the return of Trent Mosley at receiver, the arrival of Trace Johnson at quarterback and a strong defensive line makes this the most intriguing game of the night. The pick: Mission Viejo.

Downey at Sherman Oaks Notre Dame. Downey quarterback Oscar Rios is a magician with his arm and legs. Notre Dame won’t have USC commit Luc Weaver at receiver (injured). Quarterback Wyatt Brown debuts for the Knights. This game is certain to go down to the final seconds. The pick: Downey.

JSerra at Sierra Canyon. Keep track of touchdowns allowed by Sierra Canyon this season. There won’t be many. That’s how good defensively the Trailblazers are. Sierra Canyon has aspirations of being a Final Four team in Division 1 and this will be the first big test. The pick: Sierra Canyon.

Newbury Park at Long Beach Millikan. It’s the final season for quarterback Brady Smigiel, and he’ll have to wait until the sit-out period ends to get his full complement of receivers, giving Millikan the opening to try for an upset. The pick: Newbury Park.

Hart at Birmingham. The Patriots begin their annual five-game stretch of playing Southern Section teams. They intend to feature an offensive line filled with 300 pounders. One lineman won the pizza eating contest with 10 slices in seven minutes. Hart returns a veteran quarterback in Jacob Paisano. The pick: Hart.

Orange Lutheran at Miami Northwestern. This was supposed to be a big national game, with Teddy Bridgewater coaching Northwestern. He was suspended, so now Orange Lutheran gets to show off its powerful offensive and defensive lines to help its new quarterbacks. The pick: Orange Lutheran.

St. John Bosco at Bradenton (Fla.) Manatee. The Braves get a nice trip to Florida to show off their many skill-position players. The pick: St. John Bosco.

Mater Dei at Florida St. Aquinas. It’s another national TV game on Saturday in which the No. 1-ranked Monarchs are going to dominate. Who’s going to stop their exceptional receiving group featuring tight end Mark Bowman, a USC commit, and two Ohio State commits? The answer is no one. The pick: Mater Dei.

Here’s the link to the complete zero week schedule of games.

Cousins Diego Montes (left) and James Montes of Kennedy.

(Eric Sondheimer / Los Angeles Times)

The Valley Mission League held a media day. Kennedy and San Fernando are considered the league favorites but don’t forget about Van Nuys and quarterback Carlos Herrera. Here’s a report.

Here’s the top 10 City Section preseason rankings.

Here’s The Times’ top 25 preseason rankings.

Quarterback Jack Thomas (left) and receiver Demare Dezeurn should form one of the best passing duos in the City Section at Palisades.

(Eric Sondheimer / Los Angeles Times)

Here’s a look at scrimmages last week and how Palisades could have the best passing duo.

Here’s the Foothill League media day.

Here’s the West Valley League media day.

Simi Valley’s Micah Hannah makes interception against Spanish Springs.

(Craig Weston)

There were three games played last week with Los Alamitos and Long Beach Millikan picking up wins. Here’s a report.

West Adams, Dymally and Maya Angelou canceled games this week in the City Section because rosters were not ready to play.

Prep series

Defensive tackle Mikhal Johnson of Sierra Canyon makes his first ever reception on tackle eligible play to score go-ahead touchdown in 21-20 win over Gardena Serra last season.

(Craig Weston)

The Times’ nine-part series previewing top high school football players continues this week with top linebackers on Monday.

Here’s the link to the series.

Dos Pueblos came close to pulling off the shocker of the early season in flag football, taking unbeaten Orange Lutheran to triple overtime before falling 23-21 in the championship game of a tournament at Beckman High.

JSerra has three of the best freshmen players in Tessa Russell, Katie Meier and Ava Irwin. Irwin is the sister of former Hart, Stanford and NFL receiver Trent Irwin, so catching passes comes in the family.

Girls volleyball

Redondo Union started the season going 8-1 in Hawaii, including a win over Sierra Canyon, to finish runner-up in the Iolani tournament.

Here’s a preseason girls volleyball preview, with Mater Dei, Santa Margarita and Redondo Union looking like the teams to beat.

Notes . . .

Logan Brooks from El Segundo has committed to San Diego baseball. . . .

Guard Nick Giarrusso has transferred from Oaks Christian to Crean Lutheran. . . .

One of the state’s top basketball players, Brandon McCoy, is not returning to St. John Bosco for his senior season. He was not enrolled when classes began this week. There has been speculation he might transfer to Sierra Canyon. Top Eastvale Roosevelt sophomore guard Cam Anderson has enrolled at St. John Bosco. . . .

Capistrano Valley has added a football game against Crean Lutheran on Sept. 5. Most notable: Capistrano Valley’s head coach, Sean Curtis, is the son of Crean Lutheran coach Rick Curtis. Someone is going to have to pay for dinner after a loss. . . .

Offensive lineman Blake Graham of Leuzinger has committed to Cal Poly. . . .

Eagle Rock is scheduled to get a new football field and new track in 2026. Construction would begin in December. . . .

Erik Zimmerman is the new boys water polo coach at Mater Dei. . . .

Junior outfielder Tyler Vladic of Cypress has committed to Oregon. . . .

St. Francis quarterback Shawn Sanders suffered a broken collarbone in a scrimmage last week and will be sidelined at least a month. . . .

Newport Harbor water polo standout Kai Kaneko has committed to Stanford. . . .

Santa Margarita softball player Camryn Legeny has committed to Utah State. . . .

Defensive back Dillon Booth from Crean Lutheran has committed to Hawaii. . . .

Pierce College has closed its cross-country course for 2025, forcing City Section schools to scramble for a new site. Here’s the report. , , ,

Pete Cassidy, a former basketball coach and teacher at St. Genevieve and later Sherman Oaks Notre Dame, has died. He was always confused with the late former basketball coach with the same name at Cal State Northridge. He became a much-beloved teacher at Notre Dame and lover of sports who’d ride his bike to games.

From the archives: Lorenzo Booker

Lorenzo Booker was once one of the top running backs in California, if not the nation, in 2001 at St. Bonaventure. He ended up playing for Florida State and had four seasons in the NFL after being a third-round draft pick, retiring in 2012. He’s a member of the Ventura County Hall of Fame, He played on three unbeaten St. Bonaventure teams and rushed for nearly 8,500 yards and 137 touchdowns.

Now he’s an assistant coach at Newbury Park with another former St. Bonaventure standout, Whitney Lewis. His son played for the Panthers last season.

Here’s a story from 2006 about his days at Florida State.

Recommendations

From 13wmaz.com, a story on new high school transfer requirements in Georgia.

From the Los Angeles Times, a story on Jaime and Gabriella Jaquez hosting a basketball camp.

From Deseret.com, a story on former Murrieta Valley QB Bear Bachmeier challenging for starting job at BYU.

From SI.com, a story on former Santa Margarita football player Jacob Bower making impact at Nebraska.

From MaxPreps, a story on more than 100 former NFL players being high school coaches this season.

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 X at @latsondheimer.

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