quarterbacks

At midseason in high school football, the Chaminade High passing duo of sophomore quarterback Jeremy Mellalieu and senior receiver Andrew Cordero has surpassed many of the players ranked higher in preseason forecasts. That’s what happens frequently when it’s time for gauging performance over potential.

Mellalieu, who won the starting job with three games left in his freshman season, has led the Eagles to a 5-0 start.

“He’s really letting the ball fly and trusting us, and we’re making good catches,” Cordero said. “He’s definitely running a lot harder when he breaks the pocket. He’s confident and when he has to, he’s tucking the ball and running.”

Mellalieu, who is 6 foot and 180 pounds, has passed for 1,071 yards and 12 touchdowns with three interceptions. Cordero, 6-0 and 175 pounds, has shown excellent speed in breaking away from defenders while catching 20 passes for 455 yards and seven touchdowns.

“I think he’s played on a different level of confidence,” Mellalieu said of Cordero. “I feel he’s really finding himself in being more elusive when he catches the ball and making plays. He’s turning a bubble screen into a 50-yard gain or first down.”

Together, the duo and their teammates have the Eagles ready for a competitive Mission League schedule. Sierra Canyon remains the overwhelming favorite, but the Eagles’ improvement after a 5-6 season in 2026 is noticeable.

Quarterbacks have been the story at midseason, with teams passing a lot more and quarterbacks showing off their ability to run and pass. The performance of JSerra quarterback Hayes Cloutier last week against Bishop Amat perfectly explains the trend. He ran for 124 yards and three touchdowns and passed for 190 yards and two touchdowns.

Calabasas quarterback Dominik Hardy threw four touchdown passes in 27-17 win over Birmingham.

(Craig Weston / For The Times)

Star Thomas of Orange, Chase Curren of Crespi, Chris Fields III of Carson, Ryan Rakowski of Palos Verdes, Jaden Jefferson of Corona Centennial, DJ Mitchell of La Habra, Dominik Hardy of Calabasas and Grady Long of La Serna have been showing off their ability to pass and run. Among the passers with strong five-week efforts have been Matthew Escobedo of Cantwell-Sacred Heart, Jordan Malikin of Warren, Gerald Torres of King/Drew, Seth Solorio of San Pedro and Nicholas Hoang of Culver City.

With quarterbacks throwing often, receivers are putting up impressive statistics. Landon Lattimore of Saugus has 11 touchdown receptions. Owen Martinez of Cantwell-Sacred Heart has 41 receptions. Paul Turner of Birmingham is separating himself from all City Section receivers with his big-play catching ability. Gavin Honore has been keeping the Mater Dei offense afloat. Quentin Hale of Corona Centennial has been close to uncoverable.

For running backs, AJ McBean of Gardena Serra, Jaxsen Stokes of Sierra Canyon, Adrian Petero of Santa Margarita, William Fredericksen of JSerra, Maliq Allen of St. John Bosco, Gatsbee Gumban of Nogales, Salvador Villa of Simi Valley, Arman Papazyan of Glendale, Brandon Hernandez of Panorama, Tru Warrior Casas of Fairfax and Ceasar Reyes of Garfield have been dependable running machines. Gumban has 926 yards rushing in five games.

There’s one blocker who has established himself as the best in Southern California. Lucas Rhoa of Orange Lutheran needs to be observed and copied the way he is using his size, strength and agility. If anyone resembles a future NFL player, it’s him.

It was the battle in the trenches between Orange Lutheran and Sierra Canyon, which won 28-10.

(Craig Weston / For The Times)

When it comes to delivering as expected, Sierra Canyon’s defensive line made up of the trio of Kasi Currie, Stephen Harrison and Marcus Fakatou can’t be stopped. They’re distrupting offenses similar to the lineman group that was at Santa Margarita last season during the Eagles’ successful Division 1 title run. Junior defensive end Kingston Sula of Carson has recorded five sacks.

Sophomore linebacker Eli Zamorano of Sierra Canyon gets tackle against Orange Lutheran.

(Craig Weston / For The Times)

Among linebackers, junior Luke Ulibarri of El Camino Real has been credited with 86 tackles in five games. Sophomore Eli Zamorano of Sierra Canyon and freshman Aydan Steen of Santa Margarita have been the best first-year varsity contributors. Mater Dei’s linebacker group, led by Mike Davis and Dailon Clanton, have led a very good defense.

Jalen Flowers of Palos Verdes takes off on punt return vs. Carson.

(Nick Koza / For The Times)

Special teams players have been coming through, from Tucker Murray of Corona del Mar (one punt return, one kickoff return for touchdowns) to Jalen Flowers of Palos Verdes. Among kickers, Charles Szares of Sherman Oaks Notre Dame is five for five on field goals and 23 for 23 on PATs. Mateo Akerman of Corona del Mar came out from the soccer team and has been booming almost every kickoff into the end zone for a touchback.

The impressive two-way contributors include sophomore Roshaun Brown of Jefferson. He has five interceptions and five touchdowns receiving. Nolan Scott of Corona del Mar continues to make impact as a tight end and defensive end.

There are 46 unbeaten teams left. Among the surprises are Harvard-Westlake, San Marino, St. Bernard, Royal, all of which have struggled to obtain winning records in recent years.

Let’s go back in time to the day when parents sent all their children to the same neighborhood public school, one brother after another, one sister after another. Coaches were thrilled. The youngest couldn’t wait to follow the big brothers, especially in football, to the school where they were once ball boys.

Fast forward to Thursday night at Davidson Field in Newport Beach. The quarterback for La Serna High was Grady Long. He’s the last of the Long brothers playing for La Serna. First was Dylan, a quarterback who went to Cal Poly Pomona to play baseball. Second was Jake, a quarterback who just got drafted by the Angels this year. Third was Owen, a 225-pound linebacker for Arizona State.

On the other team was junior quarterback JD Annett of Corona del Mar. Eldest brother Kaleb is the backup quarterback at Central Florida. Middle brother Brady is playing quarterback at Eastern Washington. JD made his first varsity start last week, then came Thursday night when he and Grady engaged in an entertaining duel that deserved to be on TV. Corona del Mar won 30-24 in a game that had four lead changes in the second half.

Long passed for 347 yards and two touchdowns. Annett passed for a career-high 289 yards and two touchdowns. He also ran for two touchdowns. Each had best friends help them. Landon Armenta had nine catches for 221 yards and one touchdown for La Serna. Nolan Scott caught seven passes for 115 yards and one touchdown for Corona del Mar.

The game ended with drama. Long was driving La Serna to a potential game-winning score when he completed a pass to the 24-yard line on fourth down. The clock showed 0.00 on the scoreboard. Just like the Michigan-Western Michigan college game earlier this season, the officials put one second back on the clock for a final play. The La Serna crowd was getting excited. But then the officials realized La Serna was just short of a first down. Corona del Mar took possession and ran off the one second to win.

“It was a great football game,” La Serna coach Andy George said. “We ran out of time. Both teams played hard. Nothing but growth from here.”

It was a game between two 4-0 teams. One had to lose but it was fun for all, each team answering the other until time ran out.

As Annett was leaving the field with a big smile, he said he was going to FaceTime his brothers. In defeat, the 6-foot-4 Long, who’s also a star pitcher for the baseball team, held his head high speaking to family and friends, showing despite a loss he’s ready for the next game, the next challenge.

Even though the Longs have no more boys arriving at La Serna, there’s a sister who will be freshman next year at La Serna. And the brothers say she’s the best athlete in the family.

Can you say flag football?

This is a daily look at the positive happenings in high school sports. To submit any news, please email eric.sondheimer@latimes.com.

Way back in the 1970s, the City Section ruled in top quarterbacks. In the city of Granada Hills alone, there were two future NFL quarterbacks competing: John Elway at Granada Hills and Tom Ramsey at Kennedy. Add another future NFL quarterback, Jay Schroeder, and the City Section could compare itself to anyone in the nation.

This season, City teams have been going to the air to take advantage of their experienced, athletic quarterbacks.

From Chris Fields III at Carson to super sophomore Thaddeus Breaux at Hamilton, these quarterbacks know what they are doing. Let’s look at others.

South East’s Bryce Johnson has 743 yards passing and five touchdowns in three games. Jered Smith of Verdugo Hills has 462 yards passing and six touchdowns in two games. Noa Tuvalu of Banning has thrown for 837 yards and seven touchdowns with only one interception.

Seth Solorio of San Pedro set a school record with seven touchdown passes last week against Westchester. Freshman Exavier Johnson of Birmingham came through with 171 yards passing and two touchdowns last week in a loss to Moorpark. Robert Holohan of Palisades has five touchdown throws. Danniel Flowers of Crenshaw has led his team to a 3-0 start with his versatility to run and pass.

Gerald Torres of King/Drew has 800 yards passing and seven touchdowns. Nathaniel Cadet of Marshall has passed for nine touchdowns.

It’s a good sign that teams are getting their offensive lines to provide enough protection to let quarterbacks shine.

This is a daily look at the positive happenings in high school sports. To submit any news, please email eric.sondheimer@latimes.com.