SGV/Whittier Prep Sports Zone: 2023 Football Preview: Los Altos and La Canada
Both teams look to build on playoff appearances in 2022.
Los Altos High School
Coach: Dale Ziola
2022 Record: 4-8 (CIF-SS Quarterfinalists)
Number of Returning Players: 33
Number of All-League Players Returning: 4
OFFENSE
Offensive Coordinator: Anthony Gutierrez
Number of Off. Returning Starters: 5
Number of OL Returning: 8
Number of Off Skill Players Returning: 7
Key Offensive Skills Players Returning
Andrew Silva 12 6' 185 QB a few starts last year.
David Titone-Perez 12 6'1 160 WR 2nd Team All-League
Anthony Rivas 12 5'5 160 RB 1st Team All-League
Isaac Dominguez 12 5'6 155 WR 2nd Team All-League
Key Offensive Lineman Returning
Raul Rubio 12 5'11" 250 LT started most games last year.
Albert Vargas 12 5'11" 310 RG started a couple games last year.
Aidan Rodriguez 12 5'10" 230 C; started every game last year.
Angel Serna 12 6' 315 RT started a couple games last year.
DEFENSE
Defensive Coordinator: Pete Carrion
Number of Def. Returning Starters: 3
Number of DL Returning: 4
Number of Def. Skill Players Returning: 15
Key Defensive Skills Players Returning
Ricardo Trujillo 12 5'10" 165 FS
Bryan Lozano 12 5'9" 170 OLB HM All League
Anthony Rivas 12 5'5 160 CB
Isaac Dominguez 12 5'6 155 CB 2nd Team All League
Key Defensive Lineman Returning
Abram Lugo 12 5'11" 215 DL 1st Team All League
Kevin Guan 11 5'8 185 DL hurt early last year after impactful couple games
TOP NEWCOMING/TRANSFER SKILL PLAYERS
Diego Castillo 10 5'9" 155 WR/DB/QB Frosh MVP
Ruben Seawright 12 6'1" 180 LB starter from JV
Jaidon Servin 12 5'7" 170 LB/RB did not play last year (Health)
TOP NEWCOMING/TRANSFER OFF/DEF LINEMAN
Michael Contreras 12 5'7" 210 LG starter from JV
Brandon Jaso 12 6' 230 NG new from Baseball
Sebastian Ibarra 12 6'4 240 DT injured on JV last year
Christopher Magat 12 5'10" 290 OL/DT starter from JV, monster weight room
COMMENTS FROM COACH ZIOLA: “Much improved in grit, head space, and weight room strength We've had a very productive off-season/fall camp Program numbers hav grown from low 80s to 120+ in a year Lots of new faces from other sports on campus Good vibe, great group of kids to be around They want it!”
2023 Schedule (with 2022 season records)
Week 0: at Wilson (1-9)
Week 1: vs. West Covina (CIF-SS Div. 9 First round)
Week 2: at Walnut (11-4, CIF-SS Div. 11 Champions)
Week 3: BYE
Week 4: vs. Jurupa Hills (7-4, CIF-SS Div. 5 First Round)
Week 5: at California (4-6)
Week 6: vs. Marina (1-9)
Week 7: at Nogales (6-4)
Week 8: vs. Diamond Ranch (2-8) (League)
Week 9: vs. Northview (8-3, CIF-SS Div. 6 First Round) (League) at Covina District Field
Week 10: vs San Dimas (8-5, CIF-SS Div. 13 Semifinals) (League)
CRYSTAL BALL: What a difference a year makes. Last year at this time, Los Altos was one of my mystery teams and I didn’t have too many expectations for them via coach Ziola, who was trying to establish the culture within the program. That didn’t stop them from making the quarterfinals in the CIF-SS playoffs. One year later, it was a much happier Ziola to meet with at the West Covina Lineman competition. The smile was from all the hard work that his players turned in during the offseason and he was seeing the fruits of his labor at work at the event. Ziola is much more excited about this season. He has a returning QB (Silva), several returning wide receivers (Titone-Perez and Dominguez), and first-team AL RB Rivas. Throw in a couple of linemen that are reportedly above 300+ and you can see how this offense is going to be run this year. Defensively, Lugo (1st Team AL - DL) heads up the line with the attention being thrown on Guan. The one player that we are looking forward to seeing is Castillo (Frosh MVP). These types of sophomores are major players when they are seniors. It appears as if Los Altos is back to being one of the major players in the area. The key nonleague game is against Jurupa Valley. I’ve said it before, I have no idea who wins the Valle Vista. So much depth and parity. This is a very scary team to watch in 2023 and don’t be surprised if they win the VVL — just saying.
Projected record: 6-4
La Canada High School
Coach: Dave Avramovich
2022 Record: 6-5 (CIF-SS First Round)
Number of Returning Players: 42
Number of All-League Players Returning: 5
OFFENSE
Offensive Coordinator: Dave Avramovich
Number of Off. Returning Starters: 8
Number of OL Returning: 4
Number of Off Skill Players Returning: 4
Rushing yards: 2,384 yards (216.7 Yards Per game; 7.0 Yards Per Carry)
Passing Yards: 1,557 yards (141.5 Yards Per game; 9.7 Yards Per Completion)
Key Offensive Skills Players Returning
Macky Plocher 12 5'10" 160 QB 4000+ career yards. 2nd team all-RHL
Alan Razo 12 6'0" 160 WR
Tyler Bond 12 5'7" 145 WR
Lorenz Bayug 12 5'8" 165 RB
Key Offensive Lineman Returning
Brandon Goldsby 12 6'0" 260 RG First team RHL in '22
Tyler Breckheimer 11 6'3" 220 LT Starting tackle in '22 coming off knee injury
Evan Craig 12 6'2" 280 RT Started playoff game. Looks the part.
Ben Schafer 12 5'9 240 C
DEFENSE
Defensive Coordinator: Raul Solis
Number of Def. Returning Starters: 9
Number of DL Returning: 3
Number of Def. Skill Players Returning: 6
Key Defensive Skills Players Returning
Josh Carruthers 11 6'2" 180 FS 1st Team All-League; 64 Tackles.
Lorenz Bayug 12 5'7" 150 CB/S HM all-league; 41 tackles; 3 INTs.
Spencer Turner 11 6'2" 170 OLB/DE 22 Tackles, missed 4 games.
Paulos Cucullu 12 5'8" 145 CB 30 tackles; 1 INT.
Key Defensive Lineman Returning
Anthon Cannon 12 6'2" 185 DE/OLB
Cayden Klein 12 5'11" 185 DE/OLB
Alex Quan 12 5'9" 170 NT
TOP NEWCOMING/TRANSFER SKILL PLAYERS
Cole Parisi 11 5'7" 145 WR/CB Broke his collarbone last year. Lights out in 7s.
Warner Ibsen 11 5'9" 165 MLB
Morgan Strauss 11 5'9" 155 SS
Quest Swan 11 6'0" 150 WR JV Offensive MVP; 1st Team Volleyball
TOP NEWCOMING/TRANSFER OFF/DEF LINEMAN
Duke Mora 10 6'3" 250 OL/DL Started at Maranatha. Sit first half of season.
COMMENTS FROM COACH AVRAMOVICH: “We're continuing to get kids to play football and that's been amazing. New AD (Sarah Beattie, former LCHS basketball coach) has been tremendous. She gets HS athletics, football, and La Cañada. School district and admin is increasing support of football as we build it. Fighting off the wacko parents. The kids have been tremendous and they are fighting for a culture that's worth building. Just so much more you can do when you have bodies and kids that care deeply about our football program. Been the best part of the rebuild of the football program. As we come up to year three, we're up to 100 kids playing football at La Canada. There were only 31 kids playing football in 2019 when I got there to be a defensive assistant. And, we have added key pieces to our coaching staff and a robust, year-round, strength & conditioning program that has yielded tremendous results. We're starting to look like a football program!!
The depth is better this year with even more kids understanding the program and working hard to develop. Macky Plocher will again lead the offense at QB. He's just an incredible kid, leader, competitor. Multiple sport kid who produces in every way. Lots of experienced WRs returning from last year's team. Defense was super young last year. Returning the entire secondary and especially safety Josh Carruthers ('25) who was all-league and he definitely looks the part. JV Was 7-2 last year and went undefeated in the RHL. I love the chemistry of our coaching staff and the kids are doing a ton of learning. We should be better, stronger, more physical. Probably better offensively but without the big play threat of Cheung. Better execution with less explosive plays? Defense should be much improved from last year. The JV program and coaching staff has solidified. We're close to adding a freshmen team and, over time, that will put the development of our program ahead of most public-school programs in the area and especially in the RHL. Our biggest weakness offensively is probably explosive plays and RB experience. Our biggest weakness on defense was takeaways. Can we generate takeaways and negative plays/sacks? Last year we were really bad at both.
The expectations are higher than they've been. We're focused on what's most important and the kids are trusting that process. We just keep talking about reaching our individual and team's full potential. It'll be interesting to see how our depth helps with practices & durability throughout the season. How the new defense (under Solis) comes together. It's been improving throughout 7v7. Curious what year two looks like in our offense which has also gotten a lot better this spring/summer. I borrow heavily from my time at San Marino with Hobbie. Coaching staff has become more consistent and has improved and the experience/rhythms continue to build for coaches, kids, and families.
2023 Schedule (with 2022 season records)
Week 0: vs. Rosemead (4-8, CIF-SS Div. 14 Quarterfinalists)
Week 1: vs. Norwalk (10-2, CIF-SS Div. 10 Quarterfinalists)
Week 2: at Cantwell Sacred Heart of Mary (9-2, CIF-SS Div. 11 First Round)
Week 3: vs. Santa Paula (7-5, CIF-SS Div. 13 Quarterfinalists)
Week 4: vs. Crescenta Valley (2-8)
Week 5: BYE
Week 6: vs. Pasadena Poly (1-8) (League) at San Marino HS
Week 7: at San Marino (5-6, CIF-SS Div. 12 First Round) (League)
Week 8: vs Monrovia (8-3, CIF-SS Div. 8 First Round) (League)
Week 9: at South Pasadena (10-3, CIF-SS Div. 11 Semifinalists) (League)
Week 10: vs. Temple City (2-8) (League)
CRYSTAL BALL: First off, we are huge fans of Coach Avramovich. When we asked coaches about their thoughts on their team, his reads like an excerpt from “War and Peace”… in a good way. He gave us a lot of food for thought when it comes to his program and the Rio Hondo League as a whole. He’s even more charismatic in person when you watch him coach. His style is not for everyone (there is nothing soft about Avramovich at all) and he demands that his players play with discipline on the field. The biggest concern for the Spartans this year is to replace star running back Corey Cheung. He was a major player for the Spartans last year and his 2,000+ rushing yards marched on the graduation platform in June. The great news is that Plocher is back at QB and LC is one of a few teams in the area with a returning QB. Goldsby headlines a very good offensive line. The defensive back seven looks just fine, the defensive line appears to be a work in progress. They’ll be watched closely in the nonleague season. The RHL appears to be a three-horse race for the title and LC is one of the legitimate contenders. Love the preseason schedule with only one team that didn’t make the playoffs in 2022. I’m calling for LC to finish second in the RHL and get a nice draw for the playoffs.
Projected record: 6-4
