Hi, and welcome to another edition of Prep Rally. I’m Eric Sondheimer. It’s time to begin a weekly look at players to watch by position in Southern California high school football. First up is quarterback.
QBs to watch
Junior quarterback Chase Curren of Crespi.
(Eric Sondheimer / Los Angeles Times)
The Class of 2029 might be the best class to get excited about for this coming season, though there’s plenty of quarterbacks from every class to single out.
Seniors already committed include Huntington Beach’s Brady Edmunds (Ohio State), Corona Centennial’s Jaden Jefferson (Hawaii), Palos Verdes’ Ryan Rakowski (Nevada), Oxnard Pacifica’s Taylor Lee (Portland State), Chaparral’s Dane Weber (Cal) and Carson’s Chris Fields III (Georgetown). Laguna Beach’s Jack Hurst is coming off a season in which he threw for 45 touchdowns. Matthew Smith transferred from Villa Park to Santa Margarita and is committed to Vanderbilt. Caden Jones of Crean Lutheran is committed to Arizona.
DJ Mitchell from La Habra is a dual threat quarterback. Michael Gonzalez of South Gate passed for 3,842 yards and 41 touchdowns last season.
Among the juniors with great resumes are St. John Bosco’s Koa Malau’ulu, Mater Dei’s Russell Sekona, a transfer from Leuzinger, Crespi’s Chase Curren, St. Bonaventure’s Jaxson Carper, Star Thomas of Orange, Ayden Edwards of Tustin and Vista del Lago’s Josiah Dupree-Boyd. Talon Spencer of Capistrano Valley had 21 touchdown passes and 11 touchdown runs as a sophomore. Treyvone Towns of Rancho Cucamoga gets a restart after leaving Oaks Christian last season. Gino Wang goes from JSerra to Servite trying to boost the Friars.
Quarterback Evan McCalister of Valencia is part of an outstanding class of 2029 quarterbacks.
(Craig Weston / For The Times)
Then there’s the sophomores who made memorable first impressions as freshmen. Let’s see how much they develop. The group is led by Thaddeus Breaux of Hamilton, Ford Green of Westlake, Marcus Washington of Cajon, Ezrah Brown of Orange Lutheran, Steven Moore of La Sierra, Levi Dean of Vista Murrieta, Jonah Tuaniga of Long Beach Millikan, Evan McCalister of Valencia and Jeremy Melialieu of Chaminade.
Edison passing tournament
The Edison Battle at the Beach passing tournament is set for Saturday at Edison High. It’s like a who’s who of top players and teams. Five of the six Trinity League teams are participating, with only Mater Dei not entered.
Also competing is Cathedral Catholic, which might be the best team in San Diego.
Here’s a tournament preview.
MLB Futures Game
The All-Star Futures game is set for Sunday at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia, and Corona High fans will get to see pitcher Seth Hernandez represent the Pirates.
Also selected were Ralphy Velazquez from Huntington Beach, Mason McGwire from Capistrano Valley, Josiah Hartshorn from Orange Lutheran, Anthony Eyanson from Lakewood. Here’s the complete roster.
Pete Crow-Armstrong (Harvard-Westlake), Freddie Freeman (El Modena) and Paul Skenes (El Toro) were chosen for the MLB All-Star game.
Notes . . .
Tim Cunningham, a character actor from the 1980s hit TV series “Cheers,” still makes them laugh coaching baseball at Sherman Oaks Notre Dame.
(Eric Sondheimer / Los Angeles Times)
Tim Cunningham, a much beloved former Sherman Oaks Notre Dame assistant baseball coach who spent 11 years acting as a bar patron on the 1980s hit sitcom “Cheers,” died Friday in South Carolina. He was 80. He had humor, loved to read and loved baseball. His earliest coaching was serving as an assistant for the Northridge Little League team that included son Matt and finished second at the 1994 World Series.
In 2003, as head coach at Harvard-Westlake, he was The Times’ coach of the year, guiding his team to runner-up in Division 3. The Wolverines lost to Crespi 1-0. Future major leaguer Trevor Plouffe pitched for Crespi. Harvad-Westlake had a pitcher, Jason Gluson, who barely hit 80 mph. Glushon went on to become a sports agent.
Notre Dame will hold a celebration of his life at a later date, coach Tom Dill said. He is survived by his wife, Pat, son Matt, daughter Elizabeth and several grandchildren.
Former Dodgers pitcher Joe Kelly has joined the coaching staff at Corona High. Here’s the report.…
Orange Lutheran grad CJ Weinstein, a standout second baseman, has changed his commitment from LSU to UCLA….
Jardiel Ochoa is the new baseball coach at Sun Valley Poly….
Defensive lineman Marcus Fakatou of Sierra Canyon has committed to Ohio State….
Former San Juan Hills linebacker Weston Port has committed to Michigan. He previously was committed to UCLA, went on his two-year Mormon Mission and will return next year to enroll at Michigan….
Receiver Eli Woodard of Chaparral has committed to Miami….
Defensive back Myles Baker of Sierra Canyon has changed his commitment from Cal to UCLA….
DeAnthony Wiley has resigned as girls basketball coach at Buena Park….
The new baseball coach at UC Riverside is Greg Wallis, a Chatsworth High graduate….
Brandon Granger of St. Bernard has committed to UC San Diego for basketball….
Vince Nolasco is returning to Salesian as athletic director. He previously was at St. Anthony….
From the archives: Kurt Stillwell
Kurt Stillwell was the No. 2 player taken in the 1983 MLB amateur draft out of Thousand Oaks High by the Cincinnati Reds as a shortstop. His father, Ron, was Thousand Oaks’ head coach. Kurt had a nine-year MLB career.
Now he works for agent Scott Boras, who was his agent in 1983 when he signed for $135,000, tops in the draft. Roger Clemens was taken No. 4 by the Red Sox and signed for $121,000. After his playing days, Stillwell became a fishing guide before joining the Boras Corporation.
Here’s a story from 1992 explaining Stillwell’s easy-going personality.
Recommendations
From the Los Angeles Times, a story on the return of JuJu Watkins to USC basketball practice.
From Burlinson on basketball, a story on the competition in Nevada and Rocklin.
From Texashsfootball.com, a story on transfers in high school football.
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 eric.sondheimer@latimes.com, and follow me on Twitter at @latsondheimer.
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