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The Register’s Michael Huntley checks the temperature around the local high school football scene, looking for anything that’s hot — from players to games to recruits. If it’s hot, he will find it — if it’s not, he’ll let you know.
Hot Game: Servite vs. St. John Bosco
It’s not often that a team gets another crack at a league foe that beat them just three weeks earlier.
Servite gets that opportunity Friday in the CIF-SS Division 1 semifinals against St. John Bosco. The Braves shut down Servite in their previous matchup like no other team has this season.
Bosco held Servite to just 10 points, 179 yards of total offense and 82 passing yards. The Braves’ secondary, led by Tayvion Beasley and Marcelles Williams, held star receiver Tetairoa McMillan to just 23 yards on two receptions.
Servite bounced back from that game and beat Santa Margarita 34-3 in the first round of the playoffs. McMillan had three interceptions in the fourth quarter of that game, including one he returned 87 yards for a touchdown.
PICK 6 @TMAC96795‼️
Servite leads 19-3 with 7:51 left in the 4th. pic.twitter.com/e4In51qp2n
— Servite Football (@ServiteFootball) November 13, 2021
If you look beyond the final score of that game, Servite’s offense struggled against the Eagles. The Friars only had one offensive touchdown in the first three quarters and tacked on two late touchdowns to inflate the score.
Servite quarterback Noah Fifita played well against Santa Margarita but the Eagles deployed a 3-3-5 stack defense which uses three safeties to prevent the big play. The strategy was successful and the Friars only had two plays over 20 yards in the first three quarters.
The Friars will need to throw the ball down the field better in this matchup against Bosco. Houston Thomas and Hoi Hansen are quality running backs for Servite, but the passing game is how the Friars can match scores with the Braves.
1st down @Houston20Thomas! pic.twitter.com/Wb1yC6qL5s
— Servite Football (@ServiteFootball) November 13, 2021
The good news for Servite is the defense returned to its dominant form against Santa Margarita. Gage Burnett and Kitione Talavou had sacks and the linebacker duo of Aden Eckenwiler and Jacob Manu were outstanding.
Servite had to play Bosco on just six days’ rest after a physically taxing Mater Dei game three weeks ago. The Friars are healthier now and have a full week to rest before this matchup. If Servite can get its passing game going and remain healthy during the game, the Friars have a chance to reach its first championship game since 2009.
Hot Team: Newport Harbor
It turns out that when the Sailors aren’t playing the top three teams in the Sunset League, they are pretty good.
Sophomore two-way standout Josiah Lamarque had five touchdowns for the Sailors in a dominant 49-14 win over Santa Barbara in the Division 6 quarterfinals.
Lamarque had five receptions for 115 yards and four touchdowns on offense and had a pick-six on defense.
AJ Guitron-Moore, who began the season as the team’s third-string quarterback, has been fantastic since his first win against Fountain Valley a month ago. He has thrown eight touchdown passes in the playoffs.
My postgame interview with @Aj_GMoore after he threw 5 touchdowns for @NHTarsFootball in a 49-14 win at Santa Barbara in the CIF-SS Division 6 football quarterfinals. @Sunset_Rewind @mikehuntley63 pic.twitter.com/HgteCMhe1j
— Teran Rodriguez (@TeranRodriguez1) November 13, 2021
The running back duo of Hayden Farley and Henry Slater have played well in the playoffs. Farley ran for 174 yards against Sunny Hills and Slater had a touchdown against Santa Barbara.
Carson de Avila has been leading the defense and had 16 tackles against Sunny Hills. Defensive lineman Jeremy Ost recovered a fumble last week.
Newport Harbor is the favorite again this week against Dominguez in the semifinals and will likely be the favorite in the championship game as well. Whether or not a team that had seven losses should be in the playoffs in the first place is another discussion worth having, but right now the Sailors are one of the hottest teams in the county.
Hot Player: Jack Ruff, St. Margaret’s
South County was loaded with big-name quarterbacks this season but one that plays at a little school of 400 students off Ortega Highway has flown under the radar.
Ruff has thrown for nearly 2,500 yards this season and has 38 touchdowns to lead the Tartans, who have won five consecutive games.
TOUCHDOWN: All Tartans, All Ruff, All Stahl. St. Margaret’s works its 2 minute drill and Ruff throws his 4th TD pass. 3rd to Stahl. @Jack_Ruff4
St. Margaret’s 35, San Dimas 7, 0:05 2Q. @SMESAthletics pic.twitter.com/qSEX9LszUc
— South OC Sports (@SouthOCsports) November 13, 2021
The senior has completed 74 percent of his passes for 494 yards and 11 touchdowns with no interceptions through the first two rounds of the playoffs.
Ruff is a 4.4 GPA student with an offer from Georgetown.
Hot Recruit: Spencer Shannon, Mater Dei
The 6-foot-7 junior tight end received an offer from Rice last week after receiving an offer from Tennessee the week prior.
Shannon has one touchdown reception this season and Mater Dei uses him as a blocking tight end frequently. He is also a pitcher on the baseball team
The coach at Rice who extended the offer to Shannon was Robbie Picazo, a former quarterback at Tesoro who led the Titans to a CIF championship appearance in 2008.
After a great conversation with @CoachJimJackson and @CoachPicazo I am blessed and excited to receive an offer from Rice University. #GoOwls👐🏼 x #RFND #IntellectualBrutality @MDFootball @MDHS_Baseball @MD_Athletics @ocelitefootball @adamgorney @GregBiggins @DemetricDWarren pic.twitter.com/oPtJ0lgPRk
— Spencer Shannon (@Spencer1722) November 11, 2021
Hot Prediction: Anaheim upsets Arlington of Riverside
Anaheim running back Paul Rodriguez has rushed for 276 yards and seven touchdowns through two playoff games.
Colonists quarterback Bryce Manley also had a big game last week against San Bernardino. Manley ran for 95 yards and a touchdown while passing for 156 yards and a touchdown.
#13 Kaiden Robbins TD pass from #12 Bryce Manley
ANAHEIM 41
SAN BERNARDINO 26 pic.twitter.com/1dEREGAcJC— Anaheim Colonists Football (@anoranco) November 13, 2021
Entering the season, Arlington had only won one game since 2017. The Lions got into the playoffs with a 2-8 record because they finished in third place in the River Valley League. They got a close win against Cerritos in round one and beat Heritage Christian last week.
Arlington is led by sophomore running back Christian Bozeman.
With both teams preferring to control the game on the ground, this game may end before 9 p.m.
Calpreps.com predicts Arlington will win 27-26. Anaheim is the better team and will grind out a close win at the swamp known as Glover Stadium.