Tradition and crosstown rivalries make the Foothill League special during the high school football season.
This season the returning talent at West Ranch and a new head coach at Hart are likely to heighten the competition, while Valencia is pushing for a second consecutive league title.
Here’s how all seven teams are looking going into the season — in order of how they finished last season:
VALENCIA
The Vikings are seeking their second straight league title with a surging offense and a steady secondary.
Brian Bonner, a four-star recruit with 18 college offers, will be the centerpiece of the offense. His speed and unpredictability make him difficult to contain — he ran a personal-best 10.48 seconds in the 100 meters during track season and placed eighth in the event at the CIF State championships.
Brady Bretthauer will be handing and passing the ball to him in his first year as the team’s starting quarterback, and Nick Seymour will be his go-to receiver. The combination allows for more variety within Valencia’s offense.
“We have a lot more freedom than we’ve had in the past, just knowing that the athlete on the team and knowing each player and how smart we are and how capable we are,” Bretthauer said.
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Seymour will also play at safety and holds down the secondary alongside corner Ronald Bruner. The Vikings are rebuilding the entire linebacking corps after all four starters graduated. The phrase “win the push” is helping get the defense up to speed.
“Win the push is that last-second, fourth-quarter effort,” center and defensive end Konner Quitevis said. “When we’re all fighting for the ball and it’s that final effort and that final push — that determines who wins the battle.”
WEST RANCH
A strong run game and defense could move the Wildcats toward the top of the Foothill League standings once again.
Running back Luke DePerno rushed for 1,148 yards and 20 touchdowns in his junior year and could have another 1,000-yard season as a senior. Senior lineman Matthew Jizmejian will block for him and be in the trenches on defense as well. Receiver Andrew Hamilton will round out the offense at receiver.
Luke DePerno gains yards for West Ranch as they face Valencia October 6, 2023.(Photo by Andy Holzman, Contributing Photographer)
Defensive end Max Piccolo, safety Kyler Garrity, corner Rocco DeMarco and linebackers Nathan Ezrumly, Nicholas Harden and Nicholas Quesada all return to comprise an experienced defense.
HART
A new generation of Hart football is underway thanks to a new coach, a new mascot and some new talent. Coach Jake Goossen-Brown takes the helm this season.
“These kids, we can keep throwing more at them because they’re able to absorb everything and go out there and execute,” Goossen-Brown said. “So I’m really excited about this season.”
Wade Cobb IV provides a physical presence up front at guard and tackle with his 6-foot-5, 345-pound frame and will be playing in his first games at Hart after transferring from Oaks Christian. He will be protecting first-year starting quarterback Jacob Paisano.
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♬ Work Hard, Play Hard – Wiz Khalifa
Returning two-way player Parker Maxwell will be at receiver and safety. He hauled in 27 passes for 399 yards and four touchdowns last season. Oliver Welch, Ryder Frithsmith and Matix Frithsmith will also be at receiver. Nate Mata is a versatile running back.
“We got a lot of work done (this summer),” Maxwell said. “Learned a lot of new things because of transferring new head coaches. We learned a whole new offense, a whole new defense, everything. So definitely learned a lot.”
CASTAIC
The Coyotes are in their fourth year as a program and are seeking their first playoff appearance, but they made progress last season by finishing fourth in the league standings.
Castaic will have rebuilding to do in the offense since the graduation of receivers Gage Gibson and Paul Lotz.
CANYON
Canyon returns multiple offensive players including quarterback Sebastian Martinez and running backs Keston Banos and Keyshawn Wooten. Andrew Ruiz and Zach Demrest will be back on the offensive line.
Banos rushed for 565 yards and eight touchdowns while averaging 14.5 yards per carry on 39 carries. Wooten is looking to increase his workload after rushing for 192 yards and five touchdowns last season.
Two returners on the defensive line and three returning defensive backs will hold down the defense. Evan Watts and Ruiz will be on the line and Josh Cambaliza, Sebastian Cherry and Banos comprise the secondary.
GOLDEN VALLEY
The Grizzlies can improve on last season’s outcome with three returners on the offensive line: Evan Nye, Movses Panosyan and Dhruvil Prajapati.
Brandon Contreras returns for his senior year at quarterback after passing for 1,340 yards and eight touchdowns as a junior. Tight end Donovan Anson could be a main target for him.
Golden Valley quarterback Brandon Contreras (5) gets a pass off against Hart on Friday, September 22, 2023 at College of the Canyons. (Photo by Kevin Karzin, Contributing Photographer)
There’s speed on the defense in defensive backs Anthony Seragusa and Jamison Torres. Linebackers Donnavan Anson and Rico Lapid will provide support for Nye and Damian Ozuna on the defensive line.
SAUGUS
The Centurions return five starters on offense and six starters on defense to comprise a team that’s battle tested.
“Our players have worked all off-season to write their own story this season,” defensive backs coach Scott Maxwell said. “We have developed a team balanced with seasoned upperclassmen and some young talent from our lower levels into what should be an exciting team on both sides of the ball to watch.”
Quarterback Jake Nuttall passed for over 1,000 yards as a sophomore in his first season as starting quarterback. Junior Deegan Grant and senior Christian Lozano fill out the receiver position while Jake Franano and Andrew Caceres return to start on the offensive line.
Matt Long, David Pineda, Gage Shelow and Grant make up a lockdown secondary and in front of them will be linebackers Ty Hall and Rylan Connelly who had 17 tackles in four games and 32 tackles in seven games last season, respectively.
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