SoCal Football Weekend Playoff Preview
Week 14 of high school football in the state of California is here and the section championships are upon us. Our four-game slate of previews is headlined by the Division 1 clash between #1 Mater Dei and #2 St. John Bosco.
(Californiapreps.com Top Ten rankings noted where applicable).
Friday
CIF Southern Section Division 2: #10 Sierra Canyon at Chaminade
The game of the week in the Valley features a pair of private schools separated by just seven miles. Sierra Canyon is 12-1 and on a ten game winning streak since its loss on September 6th to Oaks Christian. They have moved up a division after winning the Division 3 title last season.
Junior quarterback Chayden Peery leads the way for Sierra Canyon. He has thrown for 16 touchdowns and just one interception. Senior linebacker JD Hernandez leads the defense with 106 tackles.
Chaminade advanced to the final without playing last week after its opponent San Clemente was removed from the playoffs and had all of their 2019 games forfeited due to the use of an ineligible player. Chaminade is 8-5 and on a five game winning streak that includes a pair of league games and three playoff wins. Junior quarterback Jaylen Henderson has thrown for 2,496 yards and 19 touchdowns. Senior Isaac Gallegos leads the team in tackles with 109.
CIF Southern Section Division 3: Grace Brethren vs. #6 Corona del Mar at Newport Harbor High School
A rematch of the 2018 CIF Southern Section Division 4 Championship game is scheduled for Friday in Orange County in Division 3. Grace Brethren won the D-4 game 26-14 in its backyard at Royal High School in Simi Valley.
Corona Del Mar is the home team this year in what could be a great game between a pair of teams with a total of one loss. Grace Brethren is 12-1 and champions of the Camino League. They are led by the running back duo of Josh Henderson and Julien Stokes. Henderson, a senior, has rushed for 28 touchdowns, while the junior Stokes has rushed for 1,233 yards and 16 scores. Henderson is also second on the team in tackles with 101 and is tied for the team high in sacks with 9.5.
Corona Del Mar is 13-0 and champions of the Sunset League. They are led by the duo of Washington commit Ethan Garbers and Stanford commit John Humphreys. Garbers has thrown for 62 touchdowns and has seven rushing scores. 28 of those passing touchdowns are to Humphreys.
CIF Los Angeles City Section Open Division: Banning vs. Birmingham at El Camino College
The championship game of the top division of the Los Angeles City Section is on Friday when third seeded Banning plays fourth seeded Birmingham. Banning is 7-4 and finished in second place of the Marine League. They have won three straight games including last week’s 35-21 win over Crenshaw. Jakob Galloway led the way in that win with 264 rushing yards and two scores.
Birmingham is 7-4 and undefeated champions of the West Valley League. They have won six straight games and haven't lost since September 20th. Jackson Dadich threw three touchdown passes in last week’s 28-25 win over top seeded San Pedro.
Saturday
CIF Southern Section Division 1: #1 Mater Dei vs. #2 St. John Bosco at Cerritos College
The rematch between the two best teams in the state of California is on tap for Saturday. These are also the top two ranked teams in the country by MaxPreps.com, the Monarchs are first and Bosco is second. The past two season’s final games were won by Mater Dei, who is looking for its third straight CIF Section and State Championships.
Mater Dei won 38-24 in the regular season at St. John Bosco on October 25th. In a game full of Division 1 recruits, all eyes will once again be on the quarterbacks, as two of the best in the nation face off.
12-0 Mater Dei is led by Alabama commit Bryce Young, who has thrown for 53 touchdowns and rushed for 10. Senior Kody Epps has 1,726 receiving yards and 28 scores.
11-1 St. John Bosco is led by Clemson commit DJ Uiagalelei who has thrown for 34 touchdowns. Oregon commit Kris Hutson is his leading receiver with 11 scores. They are led by USC commit Kobe Pepe on defense.