FALL FOOTBALL 2021: Notes from around the county, including some players to look out for

Segerstrom Coach Joseph Tagaloa talks with his players after a scrimmage this month. (Photo courtesy Mark Bausman, For OC Sports Zone)

Some notes to get you ready for the start of the high school football season this week.

…. Segerstrom’s football team, coached by Joseph Tagaloa, opens the season on the road Friday night against North Torrance. The Jaguars had a reduced spring schedule finishing 2-1, but this year have a full 10-game schedule is set. Segerstrom’s first home game is scheduled for Friday, Sept. 3, against California High School. It will be the first of three home games in a row.

.…Santa Ana High, the defending Orange Coast League champion, lost some key players, but there is talent on Coach Charlie TeGantvoort’s squad, led by running back Jason Costa, who should have another big year. The Saints open play on Friday at Long Beach Millikan.

The Saints begin a string of four consecutive home games starting with the Friday, Aug. 27 contest vs. El Modena at Santa Ana Stadium.

To read more about the Saints click here.

….Portola’s football team has won two league titles in a row. The Bulldogs went 5-0 to win the Pacific Coast League title in 2019 under Coach Peter Abe. Then Portola won a share of the Pacific Hills League title during the five-game spring season. Portola will be led by talented running back Nova Kebeli, who this year will also be used at linebacker.

……CIF officials said it will be up to each school to determine who can attend games. Abe, who is also the Portola athletic director, said there are no limits on crowd size for the Bulldogs opener against Woodbridge Friday night at Portola.

.…Crean Lutheran, coached by Rick Curtis, opens the season Thursday night hosting Ontario Christian, which won all four of its games during the spring season. Crean Lutheran also made progress, winning its first Empire League game and will be out to make more strides this year with talented receiver Jack Fairchild leading the way. Thursday’s game is at Portola. This will be the first full season for Curtis at Crean Lutheran.

….Katella’s football team opens the season Friday night against Laguna Hills at Glover Stadium. The Knights have made steady progress in workouts, according to Coach Juan Viramontes, who will have his first full season with the team.

“We competed in many passing league matchups including Irvine, Fullerton, Garden Grove, El Modena, and Buena Park,” he said earlier this month. “Our team was very young last year starting eight sophomores. Our players have worked hard and competed to be the best players on the field.”

Talented quarterback Daunte Bell is expected to lead the way offensively for the Knights.

“Keep an eye out for Katella starting QB Daunte Bell,” said offensive coordinator Richard Nieto. “Definitely has the tools to be the best of Katella’s recent run of great QBs. Daunte Bell is special.”

The 6-5, 195-pound Bell has a 3.7 GPA, the coach added.

Click here to read more about the Knights.

…..There are three new coaches leading Irvine programs. JC Clarke, long-time assistant coach at Northwood, takes over as head coach. His opening game is Friday, Aug. 27 when Northwood hosts Crean Lutheran. University’s new coach is Vincent Mesa and Woodbridge is being led by Aaron Craver. The Warriors had their spring season cut short because they didn’t have enough players.

…..Servite athletic officials announced on Twitter Wednesday that the Friars will host Edison Friday night at 7 at Santa Ana Stadium. Tickets can be purchased by going to the GoFan app.

.…This will be the first full season of the Pacific Coast Conference, which used to be the Pacific Coast League for football. Portola, Laguna Hills, Dana Hills and Northwood are in the Pacific Hills League and University, Woodbridge, Irvine and Beckman are in the Pacific Valley League. Irvine, led by Tom Ricci, won the Pacific Valley League title in the spring.

.…Tustin High’s football team has some talented transfers including quarterback Tobey Schmidt. The Tillers open the season Friday at Capistrano Valley, which won the Sea View League crown in the spring under Coach Sean Curtis. He was the former MVP of the Pacific League. Running back/receiver and strong safety Patrick Bassily also announced on Twitter that he had transferred to Tustin. Both players are seniors.

….Veteran coach Dick Roche is back to help new coach Vincent Mesa at University. The 80-year-old Roche will begin his 51st year at University. He has 58 total years of coaching, including seven at Pasadena.

…..In an interview this week with OC Sports Zone, assistant CIF commissioner Thom Simmons said that games that are called off will be ruled as “no contests.” To see the whole story, please click here.

For the week zero schedule, please click here.

Send your notes to timburt@ocsportszone.com for publication. OC Sports Zone will once again provide football coverage of some games Thursday nights and Friday nights on our mobile and desktop sites. We encourage team representatives and coaches to send us scores, highlights and photos Saturdays so we can share with our readers since we will be at a limited number of games. We will also publish a scorelist after each night’s games. Our website is free to readers.

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