CIF South Regional State Championships Preview
The CIF Regional Championships in the southern part of the state of California are coming up, as 13 games will be held on Friday and Saturday.
Here is a preview of some of the top games on the slate headlined by the Division 1AA Clash between Sierra Canyon and Helix.
Friday
DIVISION 1–AA: Sierra Canyon at Helix
The Division 2 champion from the Southern Section and the Open Division champion from the San Diego Section will face off, as Sierra Canyon heads to La Mesa to face Helix.
Sierra Canyon (13-1) rolled to a 35-6 win over Chaminade last week. They have won 11 straight games since their lone loss on September 6th to Oaks Christian. They are led on offense by juniors quarterback Chayden Peery, running back JD Sumlin, and wide out DJ Harvey. The defense, led by senior linebacker JD Hernandez, allows just 13 points per game.
Helix (11-1) has won 10 straight games following a loss to Herriman of Utah on August 30th. They are led by a pair of 1,000 yard rushers in sophomore Christian Washington and senior Elelyon Noa. The duo sets the tone for an offense that averages 39 points per game.
DIVISION 2–AA: Aquinas at San Juan Hills
A pair of Southern Section champions will face off when Aquinas of San Bernardino travels to San Juan Capistrano to play San Juan Hills.
Division 5 winning Aquinas (12-2) is the Ambassador League champion and are rolling following an 0-2 start to the season. They defeated top seeded St. Paul 21-16 last week. They are led by Brigham Young commit Terence Fall at wide receiver.
San Juan Hills (11-3) beat Loyola in the Division 4 game last week 21-15. They are led on offense by Washington State commit Joey Hobert at wide receiver and Utah commit Tyler Wegis at defensive end. Junior Hudson Jones has thrown for 32 touchdowns and just four interceptions. Hobert has 18 of those scores and is second on the team in tackles with 105 and leads the team in interceptions with four.
DIVISION 2–A: Pacifica at Birmingham
A pair of champions from the CIF Southern Section and Los Angeles City Section face off as Pacifica of Oxnard plays at Birmingham.
Pacifica is 13-1 with its lone loss to league rival Oxnard; they have won seven straight games. They advanced to the regional final following a thrilling 42-41 win over La Serna in the Division 6 final last week. The offense is led by the senior duo of quarterback RJ Maria and running back Malik Sherrod. Arizona State commit Caleb McCullough has 200 tackles this season at linebacker. Sherrod has seven interceptions on defense and 23 rushing scores and seven receiving touchdowns on offense.
Birmingham (8-4) advanced to this game by beating Banning 27-20 in the City Open Division final last week. They are led by junior quarterback Jackson Dadich and senior linebacker Christopher Figueroa.
Saturday
DIVISION 1–A: Oceanside vs. Corona Del Mar at Newport Harbor High School
The Division 3 champion from the Southern Section and the Division 1 champion from the San Diego Section will face off when Oceanside plays Corona Del Mar at Newport Harbor.
Oceanside (11-3) rolled to a 28-10 win over Lincoln last week after regrouping and winning four straight playoff games following a 3-3 record in Avocado League play. They are balanced on offense with a pair of talented juniors at quarterback and running back. Jakob Harris has thrown for 2,443 yards and 19 scores, while Kavika Tua has rushed for 2,166 yards and 21 scores. Senior Jalen Ramsey leads the defense with 107 tackles.
Corona Del Mar is 15-0 and rolling following a 56-28 win over Grace Brethren last week. Washington commit Ethan Garbers is in the midst of a record setting senior season with 4,622 yards and 66 touchdowns. Stanford commit John Humphreys has racked up 31 scores. Garbers’ 66 passing touchdowns leads the nation on MaxPreps for the schools that have submitted statistics to the website. His yardage total and Humphreys 1,848 receiving yards are third in the nation in their respective categories.