Is it too soon for an Orange County football Top 25?
Maybe.
Maybe not.
Teams are currently in the middle of their summer routines, but they are only about a month away from beginning official practices for the 2024 season.
Teams with season openers Aug. 22-24, which the CIF Southern Section calls Week 0, can start practicing July 29. And teams with season openers in Week 1 (Aug. 29-31), can begin practices Aug. 5.
There will be an official Register/OCVarsity Orange County preseason Top 25 published in early August. That Top 25 could very easily look a lot different, but here is a look at how the teams stack up as of now.
Here we go …
1. Mater Dei (13-1 in 2023): The Monarchs, who were the CIF Southern Section and CIF State top-division champions last season, have a ton of talent coming back, including Orange County defensive player of the year Nasir Wyatt (Oregon commit). They also have a new coach, Raul Lara, the former Long Beach Poly coach who was hired in late April to replace Frank McManus, who was jettisoned after one season as the team’s head coach.
2. Mission Viejo (13-3): The Diablos, winners of CIF-SS and state titles last year, have some great players back, including lineman Jaden Williams and receiver Vance Spafford, who were both All-Orange County first team last year. They again will rotate Luke Fahey and Draiden Trudeau at quarterback, a system some don’t like but it sure did work fine in 2023.
3. Orange Lutheran (5-6): Nebraska–committed quarterback TJ Lateef looked great in the Elite 11 camp last week, Sophomore Chris Flores led the Lancers in receptions in ’23 and the Lancers have one of the county’s better defensive linemen, Jireh Moe.
4. Servite (8-6): Friars ultra-quick running back Quaid Carr, who committed to San Diego State, and quarterback Leo Hannan (Michigan State commit) could both have great seasons for the offense, and linebacker Isaiah Leilua was their leading tackler last year as a freshman.
5. Santa Margarita (5-6): Junior receiver Trent Mosley is the most dangerous player in the county. Last season he rushed for 15 touchdowns, caught 11 touchdown passes and averaged 117 yards receiving per game. He was a Trinity League MVP. Also returning is all-league offensive lineman Jacob Maiava, who committed to SMU.
6. San Clemente (9-2): The Tritons will sport a superb defense that will include linebacker Puka Fuimaono, who committed to Arizona State, and defensive backs Max Bollard, Max Kotiranta and Matai Tagoa’i (USC commit).
7. Los Alamitos (9-3): The Griffins lost some good ones via transfer, but among the excellent returnees are senior quarterback Alonzo Esparza, a Cal commit who was the Sunset League MVP last season. Also returning are junior running back Jerod Terry and multi-purpose senior Lenny Ibarra.
8. Yorba Linda (9-4): The Stallions, who have won 33 games over the past three seasons, should be tough again with quarterback Holden Nagin returning from a productive all-league junior season.
9. Tustin (10-1): Senior running back Eimesse Essis was fourth in Orange County rushing last season with 1,592 yards and averaged 10 yards a carry. The addition of senior quarterback Michael Tollefson (Arizona State commit), who is a transfer from JSerra, gives the offense another dimension.
10. Edison (6-5): Senior running back Julius Gillick was Orange County’s third-leading rusher last season with 1,596 yards, and all-league seniors Jacob Martin and Jake Minter lead the defense for the Chargers.
11. San Juan Hills (11-2)
12. JSerra (5-6)
13. Villa Park (10-2)
14. Corona del Mar (8-6)
15. Tesoro (5-5)
16. Trabuco Hills (8-4)
17. Crean Lutheran (8-4)
18. Newport Harbor (5-6)
19. Western (11-2)
20. La Habra (7-5)
21. El Modena (6-5)
22. Cypress (7-5)
23. Huntington Beach (6-7)
24. El Dorado (8-6)
25. Laguna Hills (9-2)
Others considered: Aliso Niguel (7-5); Capistrano Valley (8-4); Dana Hills (8-3); Foothill (7-5); Irvine (7-4).
