SGV/WHITTIER PREP SPORTS ZONE: FOOTBALL PREVIEW 2023 - GLENDORA, LA SERNA
Two area heavyweights that appear poised to turning in big seasons.
Glendora High School
2022 Season Record: 4-7
2022 Calpreps Rating: 6.0
Last Six Year Calpreps.com Avg Rating: 24.85
Number of Returning Players: 31
Number of All-League Players Returning: 6
OFFENSE
Offensive Coordinator: Brandon Rohrer
Number of Off. Returning Starters: 6
Number of OL Returning: 3
Number of Off. Skill Players Returning: 3
Rushing Yards: 1,391 Rushing Yards (126.5 Yards Per Game; 4.6 yards Per Carry)
Passing Yards: 1,977 Passing Yards (179.1 Yards Per Game; 16.6 Yards Per Completion)
Key Offensive Skills Players Returning
Decker DeGraaf (Senior) 6'4 230 TE. (University of Washington Commit)
Eric Najarro (Senior) 5'10 180. QB
Zach Ford (Senior). 5'11 190. RB
Key Offensive Lineman Returning
Marko Luera (Junior) 6'4 260 Tackle
Nick Gonzalez (Junior) 6'2 240 Guard
Marko Luera (Junior) 5'9 220. Center
DEFENSE
Defensive Coordinator’s Name: Jashua Robles
Number of Def. Returning Starters: 5
Number of DL Returning: 2
Number of Def. Skill Players Returning: 3
Key Defensive Skills Players Returning
CJ Solis-Lumar (Junior) 6'2 180 (all conference)
Matt Jordan (senior) 6'0 215 LB (all conference)
Key Defensive Lineman Returning
Kareem Esmili (Senior) 6'2 215 DE/TE
TOP NEWCOMING/TRANSFER SKILL PLAYERS
Tim Johnson (Junior) 5'9 160 WR/DB
Caden Smith. (Junior) 6'0 160 WR/DB
Aidan Yamazaki (Soph) 6'1 190 LB/TE
Aspen Suprenaut (Soph) 6'2 190 LB/TE
TOP NEWCOMING/TRANSFER OFF/DEF LINEMAN
Isaac Dominguez (Senior) 6'2 220 Guard (Transfer from Baldwin Park)
COMMENTS FROM COACH ROHRER: First off, we have to coach better than we did last season. I did not do a good enough job to prepare our guy’s last season. Our coaching staff have work extremely hard to get our program to where we expect it to be. Our players have worked extremely hard this off-season in the weight room, classroom, and speed program. Credit that to outstanding leadership we have coming back this season.
Special teams, we need to do a better job putting our offense and defense in good spots. We are a big believer in average field position. We will have a new kicker, (Junior) Hunter Lemos.
Offensively, we return QB Eric Najarro who won the job mid-season last year. Package that with an outstanding group of skills players led by Decker DeGraaf, Zach Ford, and Tim Johnson and we have to potential to be pretty good.
Defensively, we return all-league players at all levels with DL Marko Luera, LB Matt Jordan, and DB CJ Solis-Lumar. The Front 7 should be pretty good with adding a couple Sophomores Aidan Yamazaki and Aspen Suprenaut.
QUESTION: Expectations and challenges for the upcoming season?
I have never had a target number of wins or how many wins defines success. As John Wooden would say, "The Journey is the Destination". Our goal is the "Be The Best" at everything we do. We have won a lot of games during my tenure as head coach because we had players that loved each other and played as a team. Ultimate teammates- Matt Fink, Jacob Gonzalez, Braydon Brus- put their own stats aside for the success of the team. If we can do that, then I think we can be successful.
2023 Schedule (with 2022 season records)
All home games will be at Citrus College
Week 0: at Chino Hills (4-6)
Week 1: at Jurupa Hills (7-4, CIF-SS Div. 5 First Round)
Week 2: vs. Charter Oak (10-1, CIF-SS Div. 3 First Round)
Week 3: (Thurs.) at Garden Grove Pacifica (3-7)
Week 4: vs. Etiwanda (9-6, CIF-SS Div. 5 Champions)
Week 5: at Diamond Ranch (2-8)
Week 6: (Thurs.) vs. Ayala (8-3, CIF-SS Div. 3 First Round)
Week 7: BYE
Week 8: at Los Osos (3-7 ) (League)
Week 9: vs. South Hills (3-7) (League)
Week 10: vs. Colony (8-3, CIF-SS Div. 5 First Round) (League)
CRYSTAL BALL: By any standard, last season was a complete disaster for anyone that was associated with Glendora football. It didn’t feel right and certainly didn’t live up to expectations. If it hadn’t been for a second-half comeback against South Hills (which few saw), this team would have been 3-7. You can understand why Rohrer decided it was time to take a complete look under the hood and fine-tune a lot of things. It appears as if things are on the way back to normal and that the good times are coming back to Tartan Land. Najarro (who played a capable QB1 for more of the season before he was pulled in the SH game for Jake Denerson) is back and looks great physically and appears much more confident at the position. Rohrer has developed a “Move the Chains” philosophy and should be easy to install with a TE like DeGraaf. Most teams would be happy with one TE, Glendora has FOUR legitimate players at the position (DeGraff, Kareem Esmili). With four TEs at his disposal - don’t be surprised if Rohrer uses his imagination when it comes to offensive schemes. Throw is Ford (coming back from an injury) and an offense line that looks to be the real deal led by Luera and you can understand why expectations are high. Defensively, the Tartans’ coaching staff love what they see in their front 7. The back seven will be young but will be comforted by the fact that opposing QBs won’t have as much time to pick apart the secondary. The schedule is not too daunting (Charter Oak, Etiwanda must-see games) and that gives us more hope that this team will turn it around this season. We liked what we saw from the Tartans on our Summer Football Tour and you can be sure that they are a serious team to be inserted into our “Surprise Teams of 2023.
Projected record: 8-2
La Serna High School
Coach: Andy George
2022 Record: 9-2
2022 Calpreps.com Rating: 30.85
Last Six Year Calpreps.com Avg. Rating:
Number of Returning Players: 26
Number of All-League Players Returning: 5
OFFENSE
Offensive Coordinator: John Caballero
Number of Off. Returning Starters: 4
Number of OL Returning: 8 (Zero Starters)
Number of Off Skill Players Returning: 12 (4 starters)
Rushing yards: 2,015 Yards (183.2 Avg Per Game, 6.2 yards per carry).
Passing Yards: 1,691 yards (153.7 Avg, 13.5 Yards Per Completion)
Key Offensive Skills Players Returning
Owen Long 12 6'1" 200 RB
DRL MVP, 1st Team All CIF, SGV Player of The Year, 13 DIV. 1 College Offers, 3 Time Captain
Jayden Northrup 12 6'3" 185; WR 1st Team All-League
Lazlo Haas 12 6'0" 175; WR 2nd team All-League Athlete, Captain
Elijah Blu Flores 11 5'10" 175 RB
Key Offensive Lineman Returning
Ryley Miller 12 6'4" 265 T Captain
Gavin Welling 12 5'11" 200 G Captain
DEFENSE
Defensive Coordinator: Brian Mustain
Number of Def. Returning Starters: 7
Number of DL Returning: 10 (2 starters)
Number of Def. Skill Players Returning: 12 (5 starters)
Key Defensive Skills Players Returning
Owen Long 12 6'1" 200 S/LB; DRL MVP, SGV Player of the Year 13 D 1 Offers
Adrian Castro 12 6'0' 23 0LB; DRL Defensive MVP, SGV Defensive Player of The Year
Jayden Northrup 12 6'3" 185 DB; 1st Team All-League
Key Defensive Lineman Returning
Gavin Welling 12 5'11" 200 DL; 1st team All-League
Isaiah Ramos 12 6'0" 195 DE
TOP NEWCOMING/TRANSFER SKILL PLAYERS
Kaimana Tufaga 11 6'0, 185 DB/WR
Zeb Bontemps 10 6'1"175 WR/DB
Aiden Flores 11 6'1" 175 WR/DB
TOP NEWCOMING/TRANSFER OFF/DEF LINEMAN
Jaden Campos 11 6'2" 240 OT
Emre Law 11 6'1" 180 DE
COMMENTS FROM COACH GEORGE: “Strengths are Wide Receivers and Team Defense, especially DB's like our team speed and our Senior Leadership. Weaknesses are experience on the O line and QB positions. We always expect to get ever teams’ best game during league play. There have been some Coaching changes in our league, who I'm sure are doing great things. should be exciting I am grateful for the opportunity to Coach this team along with an amazing staff. I expect our team to play hard and be tough, fast and physical. I Expect them to live up to the high standard of play that has been set by teams before them. I like the energy this team brings. I can see them starting to really come together and look forward to seeing them play for each other out there. Inexperieince in key offensive positions is always a challenge, but also can be seen as a great opportunity for some of our players to set up and establish themselves. Our schedule is obviously challenging. Our players are excited for this challenge, and I love that about them.”
2023 Schedule (with 2022 season records)
All Home games at California HS
Week 0: vs. Pasadena (9-2, Div. 3 CIF-SS First-Round)
Week 1: vs. Los Alamitos (9-3, CIF-SS Div. 1 Quarterfinals)
Week 2: vs Warren (8-2, CIF-SS Div. 2 First Round)
Week 3: at Tesoro (6-5, CIF-SS Div. 3 First Round)
Week 4: BYE
Week 5: at Damien (3-7)
Week 6: vs. Whittier (4-6) (League)
Week 7: vs. Santa Fe (0-10) (League)
Week 8: at Newbury Park (9-3, CIF-SS Div. 4 Quarterfinals)
Week 9: El Rancho (6-5, CIF-SS Div. 10 First Round) (League)
Week 10: at California (4-6)
CRYSTAL BALL: I’ve said it once and I’ll continue to say it again and again. If you are looking for a program that has great stability, a culture that is second to none, great success, and a great Friday Nights Lights atmosphere - then La Serna is your type of place. Andy George is on the shortlist of outstanding coaches who knows how to enter the soul of a player and get the most out of him. He is as good as it gets. His players play with terrific determination and a love for one another. Last year was another masterpiece turned in by George and Co. as the Lancers won 8 games and lost 2 by an average of 4 points. The loss to Palos Verdes was a CIF First-Round game that felt like a semifinal game. There is no team that is better at turning the page than La Serna. Jake Long and his 1,600 passing yards are not in the equation anymore, but Owen Long (620 rushing yards) are back. The question that looms over this side of the ball is the offensive line. It’s a line that is very athletic (with good size) but short on Friday night experience. Don’t be concerned, they’ll be coached up just fine. Elijah Blu Flores was the big revelation for us when we attended the La Serna spring game. He’s due for a big year. We’d like to see a little more beef to the bone for Northup, but he is an athlete in every sense of the word. The one player on defense that is poised for another huge year is Adrian Castro. He is probably the second-best linebacker in the area - he’s that good. The QB1 position is going to be filled in at the end of training camp. Whoever gets it will be given the keys to a good-looking car. As for the schedule, as usual, it's a testy one. Los Alamitos, Damien, Warren, and Newbury Park are part of the nonleague schedule. Once they hit league - they'll be just fine. Looking for them to be either Div. 5 or 6 in the playoffs and make their usual deep playoff run. Lots to like about this team - again!
Projected record: 7-3
