Preseason FB: All-Orange County

Two returning players from 2013 D3 state champ Corona del Mar who already have All-Orange County honors are Bo St. Geme (left) and Cole Martin. Photo: Ronnie Flores.

Two returning players from 2013 D3 state champ Corona del Mar who already have All-Orange County honors are Bo St. Geme (left) and Cole Martin. Photo: Ronnie Flores.


This is the seventh preseason all-section or all-area football team we have compiled and covers schools from the Orange County region of the CIF Southern Section. The OC is loaded with juicy receivers and quarterbacks, so many we just couldn’t fit all of them onto the first team.

Attention all Orange County football fans: We have just posted the most complete, up-to-date all-time state football team records ever compiled. It is for Gold Club members only. This is the best time of the year to sign up for a one-year subscription so you can check out everything we do. To sign up, CLICK HERE.

Thanks to Paul Muyskens for contributions toward this post.

MORE PRESEASON HONORS SQUADS: CIFSS/Inland Empire | Central Section | L.A. City Section | Central Coast Section | San Diego Section | Northern Section

Preseason Duel: Servite (Anaheim) vs. Mater Dei (Santa Ana)

FIRST TEAM OFFENSE

WR Jake Smeltzer (Tesoro, Las Flores) 6-4, 190, Sr.
We went with two receivers and one tight end for this team and also placed two highly ranked receiver recruits as multi-purpose players. Smeltzer was just named to the NUC Sports All-American Bowl and is getting D1 offers. He also has the academics to go to the Ivy League.

Jake Smeltzer will benefit this season at Tesoro with Devon Modster returning as quarterback. Photo: Courtesy family.

Jake Smeltzer will benefit this season at Tesoro with Devon Modster returning as quarterback. Photo: Courtesy Smeltzer family.

WR Equanimeous St. Brown (Servite, Anaheim) 6-4, 200, Sr.
With more college offers than you can count with your fingers and toes, he was ranked 36th in our preseason Class of 2015 player rankings. Last season, he caught 42 passes for 725 yards and six touchdowns.

TE Kyle Penniston (Mater Dei, Santa Ana) 6-4, 225, Sr.
His numbers last season aren’t overwhelming but after the season he committed to Wisconsin. Penniston is regarded as one of the top tight ends in the West Coast region.

OL Zach Hickman (Tesoro, Las Flores) 6-3, 255, Sr.
A starter on the offensive line since he was a freshman, Hickman will be the main guy up front once again this season as the Titans look to improve on last season’s 9-3 record.

OL Clayton Johnston (Servite, Anaheim) 6-6, 280, Sr.
Before his final season with the Friars, Johnston chose between ASU, Cal, USC and Wake Forest and he decided in July he would commit to playing for the Trojans. Just like many Servite players, his stock has risen quite a bit in the spring and summer.

OL Frank Martin (Mater Dei, Santa Ana) 6-5, 280, Sr.
Another easy pick for this team, Martin is our highest rated offensive lineman in our Class of ’16 player rankings at No. 7 overall. He has has multiple DI offers from schools like Arizona State, Cal and LSU.

OL Jake Nelson (San Juan Hills) 6-4, 260, Sr.
That fifth OL spot for OC after Hickman, Johnston, Martin (above) and Smith (below) was a tough call. Nelson was a solid all-league performer last season and does have one D1 offer.

OL Cole Smith (Mission Viejo) 6-3, 270, Sr.
This is Mission’s No. 1 returnee this season and could be one of the top true center prospects in the nation. Smith recently gained an offer from USC and also has offers from other schools like Cal, UCLA and Yale.

QB Sam Darnold (San Clemente) 6-4, 220, Sr.
Some people hate it when we don’t pick a higher-ranked QB for this spot, utilizing the multi-purpose position, but for Darnold (USC commit) to be listed here and for Travis Waller of Servite to be multi-purpose it makes perfect sense.

RB Humberto Maciel (Westminster) 5-9, 180, Sr.
Choosing the other RB spot opposite Corona del Mar’s Cole Martin (more of a no brainer) for this squad was not easy. Maciel helped Westminster to an 8-4 record last year with 1,510 yards rushing and scored 24 touchdowns.

RB Cole Martin (Corona del Mar, Newport Beach) 5-10, 185, Sr.
With Martin providing a key role, the Sea Kings became the first team in state history to go 16-0 last season after they won the CIF Division III state championship. Martin rushed for 1,870 yards and 21 touchdowns.

PK Malik Miller (Huntington Beach) 6-0, 165, Sr.
He was a strong kicker last season for Huntington’s CIFSS Southwest Division title team. He made 7 of 9 field goals and has range close to 50 yards.

FIRST TEAM DEFENSE

DL Parker Chase (Corona del Mar, Newport Beach) 6-3, 205, Sr.
As the Sea Kings were making history, Chase led the way on defense. He tied for the team lead in tackles with 97 while recording a team-high 16 sacks. He was named second team All-County by the OC Register.

DL Keisean Lucier-South (Lutheran, Orange) 6-5, 220, Sr.
A lot of major D1 schools are after Keisean, who likely will be playing outside linebacker in college. He was all-state underclass last year as a defensive end and that’s where we’re listing him to start this season as well. He has set up trips to Michigan and Oregon during October but can go basically anywhere he wants. He is No. 5 in the Cal-Hi Sports Hot 100 for seniors.

Mater Dei linebacker Ben Humphreys gets ready for a play at The Opening in Beaverton, Ore. Photo: Tom Hauck/StudentSports.

Mater Dei linebacker Ben Humphreys gets ready for a play at The Opening in Beaverton, Ore. Photo: Tom Hauck/StudentSports.


DL Malik McMorris (Mater Dei, Santa Ana) 6-0, 275, Sr.
Besides being named the Trinity League Defensive MVP last season, McMorris was also named to our All-State Underclass second team. He did play some offense last season and rushed for four touchdowns to go with his 50 tackles and 10 sacks and was No. 72 in our Preseason Class of ’15 player rankings.

DL Rasheed Williams (Mater Dei, Santa Ana) 6-2, 255, Sr.
After McMorris, he is the Monarchs’ second highest returning tackler as he had 45 tackles along with five sacks in 10 games. While many believe McMorris should be getting more college attention, Williams does have college offers, including one from Nevada.

LB Ben Humphreys (Mater Dei, Santa Ana) 6-2, 225, Sr.
There is tons of talent on the Monarchs’ defensive side of the football and Humphreys is the highest rated. He checked in at No. 25 in the Cal-Hi Sports Hot 100 for seniors and just last month committed to Duke.

LB Matt Locher (Los Alamitos) 6-4, 250, Sr.
Back for his senior season, he had his junior year cut short as he got to play just one game before tearing a ligament in his foot. As a sophomore, he was second-team all-league.

LB Will Sedgwick (Laguna Hills) 6-2, 220, Sr.
The Hawks struggled to get wins last season but they have a big time talent with this BYU commit. Unlike many, he committed last June and has stuck to his committment to the Cougars.

DB D.J. Bailey (JSerra, San Juan Capistrano) 6-1, 220, Sr.
In an update we saw from our friends at OCSidelines, head coach Jim Hartigan told them that this talented defensive back had eight offers, including ones from UCLA, Cal, Washington and Boise State. Since that update, Bailey has since committed to Yale.

DB Austin Christian (Garden Grove) 5-11, 170, Sr.
Named to the OC Register’s All-County 2nd team last year, Christian set a school record with 10 interceptions. He also rushed for 99 yards and three touchdown s while catching 38 passes for 724 yards and 10 touchdowns on offense.

DB Maurice Davison (Servite, Anaheim) 5-9, 165, Sr.
Named All-Orange County last season, Davison has now received more then a few Division I offers including Idaho and Eastern Washington earlier this summer. He had 56 total tackles and seven interceptions for the Friars as a junior.

DB Bo St. Geme (Corona del Mar, Newport Beach) 6-0, 180, Sr.
Showing he can catch the ball from his own quarterback or the other team’s, he had 60 receptions for 750 yards and eight touchdowns last year. Since St. Geme is one of two top defensive starters coming back at CdM, he fit best for this team on defense.

P Blake Johnson (Los Alamitos) 6-1, 190, Sr.
Before heading back to school, this punter verballed to Arkansas at the end of July. He was listed as the No. 1 punter from the Class of 2015 from Chris Sailer’s kicking group.

Travis Waller and his mother were happy after he received invite to Elite 11 finals. Photo: Willie Eashman.

Travis Waller and his mother were happy after he received invite to Elite 11 finals. Photo: Willie Eashman.


FIRST TEAM MULTI-PURPOSE

WR/TE Jacob Breeland (Trabuco Hills, Mission Viejo) 6-4, 205, Sr.
Committed to Oregon, he led the Mustangs with 36 receptions for 753 yards and 11 touchdowns last season. A knee injury suffered this summer will have him likely to miss the team’s season opener but it is believed he will be back for the Week 2 game.

QB/RB K.J. Costello (Santa Margarita, Rancho SM) 6-4, 205, Jr.
Slotted at No. 4 overall in our Class of 2016 Hot 100 player rankings, Costello passed for 1,478 yards and 13 touchdowns as a sophomore while also rushing for three scores.

WR/DB Jaylinn Hawkins (Buena Park) 6-1, 175, Sr.
He’s No. 38 in our Cal-Hi Sports Class of 2015 Hot 100 player rankings with 54 catches from last season for 777 yards and three touchdowns. Hawkins also was in on 104 total tackles with three interceptions and a fumble recovery. As a sophomore the year before, he had five interceptions.

WR/DB Quinten Pounds (Cypress) 6-0, 170, Sr.
Listed as an athlete by most recruiting services because of his ability to catch the ball on both sides of the ball, he has reportedly received offers from schools including Boise State, Washington and Colorado.

WR/KR Kyle Sweet (Santa Margarita, Rancho SM) 6-0, 190, Sr.
He did it all last season for the Eagles as he passed for 357 yards and two touchdowns, rushed for 235 yards and two scores and caught 51 passes for 909 yards and nine touchdowns.

QB/RB Travis Waller (Servite, Anaheim) 6-3, 190, Sr.
The top preseason OC Player of the Year candidate is only listed last because we put him on multi-purpose and because those are done alphabetically. Simply put, Travis is one of the best QBs in the nation heading to Oregon. As a junior, he passed for 1,669 yards and 12 TDs and rushed for 1,293 yards and 13 other scores.

SECOND TEAM OFFENSE, DEFENSE & MULTI-PURPOSE
(15 Who Just Missed)

DB Ethan Aguayo (JSerra, SJ Capistrano) Sr.

QB/RB Eric Barriere (La Habra) Jr.

LB Brett Bill (Dana Hills, Dana Point) Sr.

OL Keven Dixon (Buena Park) Jr.

LB Trace Hobbs (Canyon, Anaheim) Jr.

LB Tanner Matthews (Santa Margarita, Rancho SM) Jr.

QB/RB Cole Norris (Newport Harbor, Newport Beach) Sr.

RB Jose Olvera (Los Amigos, Fountain Valley) Jr.

LB Scott Patton (Woodbridge, Irvine) Sr.

QB/ATH Nick Robinson (JSerra, SJ Capistrano) Sr.

LB Jack Savage (Servite, Anaheim) Sr.

OL Joey Stukonis (Newport Harbor, Newport Beach) Jr.

QB Trey Tinsley (El Toro, Lake Forest) Sr.

DB Dominic Vaccher (Troy, Fullerton) Sr.

DB Luke Williams (Dana Hills, Dana Point) Sr.

Mark Tennis is the co-founder and publisher of CalHiSports.com. He can be reached at markjtennis@gmail.com. Don’t forget to follow Mark on the Cal-Hi Sports Twitter handle: @CalHiSports


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2 Comments

  1. stevefryer
    Posted August 20, 2014 at 12:54 pm | Permalink

    Looks good

  2. Paul Herber
    Posted August 21, 2014 at 12:21 am | Permalink

    Capistrano valley Christian has a top ranked in the country player and dont be surprized if Daniel Herber is one of the top players in the OC. He is a transfer from serrano High school in the High desert… Ben Suket is ranked 14 in the espn top safeties …All Im saying look to some of the smaller schools.

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