Mater Dei lineman Tomu Topui scores as tight end Mark Bowman (19) reacts in the fourth quarter during the Southern Section Division 1 football championship last season. (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
Hi, and welcome to another edition of Prep Rally. My name is EricSondheimer. The Times' preseason top 25 football rankings are out. Mater Dei starts No. 1. Corona Centennial is No. 2. And the season begins this week with No. 1 hosting No. 2.
Top 25 rankings
New Mater Dei coach Raul Lara will make his debut Thursday against Corona Centennial.
(Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times)
The high school football season begins Thursday night with No. 1 Mater Dei hosting No. 2 Corona Centennial at Santa Ana Stadium. It will be the debut of first-year Mater Dei coach Raul Lara.
Banning safety Steven Perez will play the first month of the football season as a 16-year-old senior.
(Eric Sondheimer / Los Angeles Times)
When you attend a Wilmington Banning High football game, it's hard not to pay attention to Steven Perez. He's 6 feet 1, 190 pounds and plays anywhere and everywhere. He has been a receiver, running back, linebacker, and defensive back. He'll be playing some quarterback.
"I'm willing to do whatever," he said. "We do hitting drills and when no one is stepping up if it's offensive line or defensive line, I'm always, 'Put me in.'"
The fact Perez will play the first month of his senior year as a 16-year-old gives you a hint about his fearlessness and confidence.
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Football
First-year Cleveland coach Mario Guzman with lineman Joshua Reyes (left) and quarterback Domenik Fuentes.
(Eric Sondheimer / Los Angeles Times)
The West Valley League held a media day on Saturday, and there were inspiring stories from players and coaches. Here's the report.
Garfield has a talented sophomore running back in Cesar Reyes. TD vs. Schurr. pic.twitter.com/lZ94xGAd9I
Garfield coach Lorenzo Hernandez has been raving about sophomore running back Cesar Reyes, who was a star last season on the junior varsity team. He had a long touchdown run in the Bulldogs' scrimmage against Schurr.
Richard Dunn, 13, will be the starting tailback for Hamilton when he turns 14 for Week 1. 6-2, 240 pounds. pic.twitter.com/RS1EREBCVb
First-year Hamilton coach Elijah Asante thinks he has a top freshman in 6-foot-2, 240-pound Richard Dunn. The only problem is he's 13 years old and not eligible to play in Friday's opener against St. Monica. He turns 14 the next day, so he'll make his debut the following week against Manual Arts.
Trinity League MVP Trent Mosley of Santa Margarita had a touchdown catch and long reception in the first half of a scrimmage versus Chaminade.
(Craig Weston)
Santa Margarita and Chaminade engaged in an offensive-minded scrimmage. Here's the report.
The next Aaron Donald. Sophomore Richard Wesley of Sierra Canyon. Some highlights from Friday's game vs. Punahou. pic.twitter.com/o1M1en4BIN
Sierra Canyon opened its season in Hawaii with a 30-7 win over Punahou. It was a dominating defensive performance featuring three interceptions from Madden Riordan. Dane Dunn rushed for 135 yards and Wyatt Becker completed 18 of 26 passes for 217 yards and one touchdown. Here's the report.
There will be 79 flag football teams in the City Section this season as compared to 51 last season, the first year of the competition.
Birmingham, the defending City champion, has announced that Malaea Tonga will be the quarterback this season, moving from receiver. Her twin brothers were standout linemen for the 11-man football team.
El Camino Real's new head coach is Rick Hayashida, who is an 11-man assistant with the Royals and former Chatsworth head coach.
One of the top Southern Section quarterbacks from last season, Madi Lam, has transferred from Esperanza to Santa Margarita. She's also a top junior basketball player.
Girls' volleyball
It was Mira Costa versus Redondo Union in the semifinals of the Ann Kang tournament in Hawaii on Saturday. Redondo Union won and ended up runner-up to Byron Nelson of Texas.
What an AWESOME way to start this season at he Ann Kang tournament in Hawaii. Today we defeated LB Poly to win our pool, then beat Mira Costa in the semis before losing in the finals to Byron Nelson from Texas. OUTSTANDING job ladies!! pic.twitter.com/C5axX7eCes
Huntington Beach won the Lakewood tournament championship, defeating Oaks Christian 15-13 in the final. Ellie Esko had more than 30 kills in the final match.
Harvard-Westlake takes set 5 from Campbell Hall 15-9. Comes back to win 3 sets to 2. pic.twitter.com/HZ1xCT8hhC
Former JSerra water polo star Ryder Dodd poses for a photo with JSerra players wearing the bronze medal he earned playing for the U.S. national team at the Olympic Games.
(Eric Sondheimer / Los Angeles Times)
There was a kid in the pool at JSerra on Thursday morning wearing a No. 17 cap and looking as if he could score any time because of a shot that resembles a Nolan Ryan fastball.
When he left the pool and pulled out his bronze medal from the Paris Olympics, it became clear who the water polo celebrity was.
Ryder Dodd, who last season was the No. 1 player in high school water polo, returned for a practice session and to show off the medal he won playing for the U.S. national team in Paris. Players were kidding him about his tanned back from lying at the beach. Everyone realized in their presence was an 18-year-old who could become the face of U.S. water polo in the coming years. They gathered for a photo session.
Friday was the first day of classes at Sherman Oaks Notre Dame, and coach Matt Sargeant couldn't be happier to see his three outstanding transfer students enrolled and attending class.
The #1 ranked rising junior Tyran Stokes just WENT OFF at Peach Jam:
There's junior Tyran Stokes from Prolific Prep, considered among the best players in the nation from the class of 2026. He won a gold medal this summer with the under-16 national team.
There's 6-5 Josiah Nance, a transfer from Heritage Christian who's a member of the class of 2027.
And there's NaVorro Bowman, a guard transfer from Virginia who's a sophomore guard and the son of the new Chargers assistant coach.
When Sept. 9 comes and college coaches can begin attending high school practices again, the Notre Dame gym might be a little crowded. The Knights also return guards Angelino Mark and Zachary White.
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Infielder Jack Laffitte from Harvard-Westlake has committed to Michigan. ...
Junior offensive lineman Kodi Greene of Mater Dei has committed to Oregon. ...
Adam Sorgi has resigned after seven years as baseball coach at Capistrano Valley. He has been battling a rare form of cancer. ...
Junior left-handed pitcher Parker Allman of Saugus has committed to Miami. ...
Infielder/pitcher Trevor Banning of Santa Margarita has committed to Santa Clara. ...
Water polo Hall of Fame coach Rich Corso is back in Southern California helping as an assistant coach at Oaks Christian. He was head coach for the U.S. Olympic team, head coach at Harvard-Westlake and head coach at Cal for women's water polo. ...
Ontario Christian has promoted assistant coach Aundre Cummings to head coach of the girls' basketball program. He's the stepfather to sophomore standout Kaleena Smith. ...
Bosco Tech boys basketball coach Michael Romo has resigned. He guided the team to a Southern Section championship in 2023. ...
Chris Rucker is the new baseball coach at Pasadena. ...
Third baseman Gavin Fien from Great Oak completed a great summer by being named MVP at the MLB High School All-American Game in San Diego. He had two two hits. ...
Campbell Hall guard Isaiah Johnson has committed to Colorado. ...
Junior defensive lineman Dutch Horisk of St. John Bosco has committed to Oregon. ...
The Torrance Babe Ruth 13-16 team has won the World Series. The MVP was Brendan Jarrad from Peninsula High. Top hitters were Nori Mori (Torrance) and Aiden Bui (Torrance). Pitchers included Aidan Anaya (Torrance), Gibson Turner (Torrance) and Sam Cruz (Torrance). Matthew Gonzalez of Banning was Gold Glove. ...
— Dick's Sporting Goods All-American Classic (@PGAllAmerican) August 18, 2024
Josiah Hartshorn of Orange Lutheran won the home run derby at the All-American Classic all-star game. . . .
From the archives: Matayo Uiagalelei
St. John Bosco tight end Matayo Uiagalelei when he was a sophomore in 2021.
(Robert Gauthier/Los Angeles Times)
Oregon defensive lineman Matayo Uiagaleleilooks primed for a breakout sophomore season. The younger brother of former St. John Bosco quarterback DJ Uiagalelei is listed at 6 feet 5, 270 pounds.
He was The Times' player of the year during the spring pandemic season at St. John Bosco in 2021.
High school water polo is the year of the transfer students. Newport Harbor, JSerra and Oaks Christian loaded with top transfers. It's not just happening in basketball and football.
Hamiley Arenas, daughter of Gilbert Arenas, was at SO Notre Dame freshman orientation today. Girls basketball player. Sister of Izela Arenas. Brother is Alijah.
Alijah Arenas is enrolled at Chatsworth for his third year. Standing ovation. Showing you don't have to play the transfer game. A lone figure going against the grain. Good for him and his family.
After a record number of more than 17,000 statewide transfers for high school sports in 2023-24, the Southern Section has started July with 309 transfers reported, up from 249 in same period last year. Hold your breath for August. 1,741 reported last year in August.
It's ridiculous for schools to post they need a football game, then turn it down when a team steps forward because it's not a sure victory. Don't post anything then. Good luck.
I've watched two high school football games streamed today with high school kids doing the play by play. The future is bright. So great to give them the chance to do what adults do and trust them. They can do it. They just need a chance.
St. Francis freshman already proved how good he is. He got knocked to the ground with a 79, came back next day and shot 71 at U.S. Amateur. He gets it. Persevere. Stay calm, cool and collective. Going to be fun to see what he does next four years of high school. https://t.co/GxzkeMg4UN
4 time city Champion. 3 as a player 1 as a head coach. We will honor Coach Martinez on September 27 as we will officially retire #32 against Rosemead pic.twitter.com/qNShQXkwOf
***SAVE THE DATE *** Fairfax Centennial Celebration, September 6,7,8, 2024, this is open to all alums of Fairfax HS.
ALUMNI GAME & MEET N GREET will take place on Saturday @ 11AM for all former player's, looking forward to seeing everyone there. pic.twitter.com/5WfSeLViiC
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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