MidValleySports.Com

 

 

 

By Lorne Kibbe

 

 

(With the recent realignment to the CIF playoff divisions we thought it would be good to take a look at the Alpha League. While the realignment wasn’t something The MID really wanted to see happen because of geography, it is great to reconnect with some old friends. Lorne Kibbe is one of the connections we will be relying on through this summer and fall. What follows isn’t a preview but a window to see what is coming into the Mid-Valley Division.—Joe T.)

Sierra Canyon

Top Returning Players: Xavier Menifield, RB/S; Kieran Yancy, FL/CB; Preston White, WR/DB; Brian Tucker,TE/LB; Jesse Janes, OL/DL; Jackson Bates, OL/DL

Breakdown: After winning it all last year, Sierra Canyon comes into fall with a couple questions to answer.

Who will step up and fill the big voids left by last year’s senior class? The biggest hole is at quarterback. Head Coach Jon Ellinghouse worked with Andre Nunez, a valley public school transfer from a summer ago, to teach him the system and stuck him behind Stewart for mentoring purposes. Rumors persisted through the winter and spring of potential transfers coming in (former Crespi quarterback Brad Kaaya—transferred to Chaminade and Los Angeles Baptist’s Brad Jaklitsch—transferred to Viewpoint). An underclassmen from Alemany did transfer in and there is a rumor about former Westlake quarterback Justin Moore (who is actually at Royal HS in Simi Valley right now) being somewhere in the mix.

The Trailblazers also have lost size upfront and playmakers on both sides of the ball. The next questions are, will their underclassmen be able to step up with little to no playing experience and can they keep the cohesion together. Seeing how they pride themselves on recruiting, many sources have confirmed they have taken kids coming in from other schools. So with this new influx of talent coming in, how well will they be accepted and what will that create a divide?

The last question is how well they will respond to bigger teams in the postseason? Since joining the 11-man ranks a couple years ago, Sierra Canyon has prided itself in scheduling weak teams. While they have more talent that most coaches could dream of, they take great pride in hammering inferior competition. They have only had one legit game in league the last two years. Now, they beat Paraclete twice in 2011, so it shows what potential they have. This year, the Paraclete match up was moved from week 8 to week 10. So, if they make it to the finals, can they sustain playing 4 out of 5 tough games in such a short stretch?

What Sierra Canyon does have is a legit running back in Xavier Menifield and experience on the offensive line. If the Trailblazers can’t get the quarterback to run their quick strike system, chances are they’ll move to a more pro style offense with a touch of the spread pistol. Veterans will guide an inexperienced defense.

Needless to say, they will reload and be ready to go.

Paraclete

Top Returning Players: Tyler Carvalho, QB; Antoyne Hutcherson, RB/S; James Holland, WR/DB, Damon Thompson, WR/DB; Bryan Rodgers, LB; Will Pretty, DE; Brian Eruaga, DE

Breakdown: Overall, Paraclete handled its odd demotion to the Alpha League and East Valley Division very well. They went a combined 24-4 overall and 12-1 in league play over the last two seasons. They won league and division titles in 2010 and were runners-up last year to Sierra Canyon.

Senior-to-be quarterback Tyler Carvalho returns to lead an offense that is very skilled and very fast. The Spirits have incredible depth in the backfield with five different players who can step in at any point and become a successful component in the offense. They also have solid, speedy receivers to complement on the edges. While Paraclete has an abundance of size upfront, the returners are little less seasoned. Thankfully, the line coaches have always done a great job molding players and getting the best out of them.

Defensively, Paraclete only lost three players and has quality underclassmen itching to get and earn starting roles. Senior-to-be Bryan Rodgers will lead the group that has a good combination of speed, size and tenacity. Defensive ends Will Pretty and Brian Eruaga will highlight the Sprits upfront, while juniors-to-be Damon Thompson and Triston Brown will be players to watch in the secondary.

Overall, the Spirits are poised to finish no farther than second place in the Alpha League and should be in the thick of things in the Mid-Valley come playoffs.

Brentwood

Top Returning Players: Eli Stern, QB/DB; Connor Boggs, QB/DB; Garrett Swanky WR/DB

Breakdown: The Eagles are well coached but they are generally under-sized up the middle. Unless they picked up some lineman out of thin air this off-season, the same will hold true for Brentwood. Connor Boggs should return to run the offense at quarterback. However, if you had a chance to see Eli Stern play last year as a freshman, a smart coach would move Boggs and let him use his athleticism. Stern is bigger, stronger and more of a complete quarterback, who should be ready to step into the role full-time. Receiver Garrett Swanky has size, hands and skills. While he doesn’t have blazing speed, he has great hops and will pay the price to get the ball.

Viewpoint

Top returning Players: Adam Markun, RB/DB; Dakota Williams, RB/DB; Michael Osborn, LB; David Cutler, LB; Spencer Bernstein, LB; Jaklitsch, QB (transfer)

The Patriots have never been a powerhouse for football. While they insist they’re committed to raising their profile, the administration has been a little gun shy. They have been an average team in the Prep League and Northeast Division for quite some time. They brought in proven New England prep league coach Chris Adamson two years ago to turn things around. He has made decent strides changing the culture and picking up reinforcements.

On the field, they’re gaining numbers but they’re not that big. Adamson has been recruiting the area very hard but he’s surrounded by bigger sharks in Crespi, Chaminade, Sierra Canyon and Oaks Christian. He has pulled a handful of kids from smaller private schools, including Los Angeles Baptist transfer Dalton Jaklitsch.

It will be interesting if he can get Jaklitsch legally cleared through CIF, this will be the quarterback’s fourth high school in as many years. After moving out from the Long Island area he landed at St. Bonaventure his sophomore year, he moved to LAB last year and now Viewpoint.

Windward

Top Returning Players: Austin Weber, ATH; Kirt Kirshner, LB/FB; Charles Dawson, RB/DB; Jordan Wilson, ATH;  Drew Bryant, RB/SB

Breakdown: After two consecutive CIF titles in division 8-man, Windward is making the move to 11-man football.  They only lost six seniors, but head coach Scott Napier left to Campbell Hall. Alvin Cowan, who was the OC under Napier was promoted to take over. The good thing is, Cowan has a core group coming back, who are familiar with him and his system. Winning is infectious, let’s see if it can carry.

Calvary Chapel Downey

Top Returning Players: Zach Laidlaw, RB/LB; Caleb Bowman, QB/DB; Quitin Martin, WR/DB

Breakdown: Head coach Tom Laidlaw pulls a decent amount of kids and does what he can. The only problem is that they’re really lacked an identity over the last few seasons. They’ve changed their offensive and defensive systems as well as a couple assistant coaches, which slowed the growth of their program.  What happens this year is anyone’s guess.

Kilpatrick

Top Returning Players: Unknown

Breakdown: Remember the 2006 Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson movie Gridiron Gang about the football from a juvenile detention center? Well, that’s Kilpatrick. They always have a team, but it’s always crapshoot who they will have.

Marshall Fundamental (Pasadena)

Top Returning Players: Unknown

Breakdown: After head coach Jeremy Zall set his sights on rebuilding the Eagles program, it appears he didn’t last a year after going 1-9 in his inaugural campaign. As of Monday, an opening for the head coach position was posted on the CIF website.

Campbell Hall

Top Returning Players: None

Breakdown: The Vikings will not compete in varsity this upcoming season. They lost head coach Russell Gordon to La Salle in Pasadena. The remaining football players transferred out of the school. Former Windward head coach Scott Napier came in this off-season after leaving Windward and getting turned for the job at Harvard Westlake.