OC Sports Zone Kickoff 2019: Key stories to watch for during high school football season

Western senior Xzayvier Moran celebrated the CIF title last year with his teammates. (File photo Fernando M. Donado, For OC Sports Zone)

Opening kickoffs in Orange County are Thursday and there are some stories to keep an eye on in 2019:

—Western’s football team is shooting for another CIF title, moving up to Division 10 and Coach Dan Davidson’s team has a great opportunity with Caine and Cassius Savage and a talented returning group. Western won the Division 11 crown last year, its first title in school history.

—-Coach Dan OShea leads a talented Corona del Mar squad into action. The Sea Kings, runners-up in Division 4 last year, have been moved up to Division 3 behind last year’s D4 champion Grace Brethren. CdM players, including Ethan Garbers, John Humphreys and Mark Redmon, are dedicated to bringing home a CIF title.

—Paige Nobles, first year coach at Northwood, came out with high hopes, saying he would like to see his team bring home a CIF Division 12 title. Perhaps the Timberwolves can be in the mix with quarterback Jaden Piazza and lineman Xavier Cousar leading the way.

—Sean Curtis, the new coach at Capistrano Valley, knows expectations are high among the Cougar faithful. It will be interesting to see how the Cougars do. It’s the first head coaching assignment for Curtis, who leads Capo Valley into Friday’s opener with Tustin at Tustin.

—It was a year of change in the coaching ranks in Irvine. Long-time Irvine coach Erik Terry resigned and Tom Ricci, the former Savanna coach, is in charge. Nobles is at Northwood replacing Pete Mitchell and Chris Hernandez is the new coach at University, replace Scott Meyer, who took the Lakewood job after just one year with the Trojans.

—Mitch Leigber, only a junior, is one of the best players in Orange County and the wide receiver/defensive back hopes to lead Laguna Hills to a successful season.

—Woodbridge’s football team has only two players returning on offense, but the Warriors pride themselves on defense, which is why they should be favored again to win the Pacific Coast League. Woodbridge has some big players to replace including Kyle Hurry, Jacob Nash and Elyjah Rush.

—It was a memorable season for Santa Ana’s football team and its outstanding running back Patrick McMorris and receiver Drew Ramirez. There are some key players to replace, so it will be interesting to see how Coach Charlie TeGantvoort’s team does this year in the Orange Coast League. Can the Saints repeat as league champion?

—Crean Lutheran’s football team doesn’t have a big roster, but second-year Coach Randall Reynoso is optimistic going into the Saints opener Friday night against Maranatha at Portola. Reynoso believes the future is bright for the Saints.

—Portola’s football team is entering its second varsity season and Coach Peter Abe is hoping that his first group of seniors can help the Bulldogs make some strides.

—Tustin has a new coach, Anthony Lopez, who seems to be organized, enthusiastic and ready to lead the Tillers. Lopez knows he’s replacing a legend, Myron Miller. Let’s see how he does.

–Marc “Bubba” Filia has graduated from Irvine High after setting numerous passing records. The Vaqueros will have a new quarterback Beck Moss. Moss is only a junior and has impressed his coach so far.

—Mater Dei’s football team is again getting plenty of national attention and it’s well deserved. The Monarchs are ranked No. 1 in the CIF Division 1-2 pre-season poll and begin their quest to repeat as CIF Division 1 and open champions Friday night when they host Centennial of Corona. You bet there will be a big crowd at Santa Ana Stadium for that one.

—Dan Selway is the sole offensive coordinator at Northwood. Selway knows a lot about football. In addition to coaching at Northwood, the former T’Wolf quarterback also trains many high school quarterbacks in the county.

—Quarterback Angel Vega had a record-shattering year at Segerstrom last year. Can he top that and lead the Jaguars to the league title? Segerstrom has plenty of offensive threats and a solid defense.

—Beckman’s football team has some talented players coming back including quarterback Jason Cheng. The Patriots are ranked No. 2 in this week’s CIF Division 14 poll.

–San Juan Hills, coached by Robert Frith, had a big season last year, winning the Sea View League title. The Stallions lose Sean Rhyan, Cade Albright and Carson Lewis to graduation but senior wide receiver Joey Hobert is back to lead the team. Also returning are senior defensive end Tyler Wegis, senior running back/defensive back Austin Hogan and senior linebacker Jonah Johnson.

—Coach Doug Case believes this could be a special year for Foothill’s football team. It was really good last year when the Knights won the North Hills League title. One of the players on this year’s team is Case’s son, Chase, a junior linebacker.

—Jimmy Nolan has begun the rebuilding project at Costa Mesa. Nolan’s first goal is to get the Mustangs, winless last year, a victory.

—Who will win the ugliest trophy in Orange County, the Dennis Toohey Fence Post Trophy? It will be one of the teams in the Pacific Coast League.

-Tim Burt, OC Sports Zone; timburt@ocsportszone.com