Support our high school sports coverage by becoming a digital subscriber. Subscribe now
A historic winning streak. An opportunity to generate college recruiting interest. And a farewell to high school football.
Those are among the interesting storylines Saturday for the 64th Orange County All-Star Classic at Orange Coast College. Kickoff is 7 p.m.
The South enters game for seniors riding a record eight-game winning streak in the series. The North last won in 2014 and has been outscored a combined 54-24 the past two years. The game was canceled in 2021 because of the pandemic.
“(We) are very aware of the decade drought,” North coach Ray Fenton of Los Alamitos said. “We’ve had a great two weeks of practice. I’m grateful for these guys.”
“The North squad is made up some really good kids who seem to enjoy practice and each other,” he added.
Fenton believes the North roster features some seniors who have been under-recruited by colleges, a trend that he attributes in part to the rise of the transfer portal.
“We have some great players on our team with elite level skills,” he said. “These players are without college offers and are still looking for a place to play next year. Five years ago, half of this team would have multiple offers. They are truly causalities of the transfer portal.”
Fenton said quarterbacks Anthony Luna of Western and Nicholas Miali of Foothill — both of whom are uncommitted — split time at practice for the North.
South coach Dan O’Shea of St. Margaret’s also has connected well with his players in preparing for Saturday’s game.
“The team has been one of the most enjoyable experiences we could have ever hoped for with a dynamic connection between the kids and coaches,” he said.
O’Shea’s staff features mostly his assistant coaches at St. Margaret’s along with Fred Gambrell, who was recently named the coach at Sunny Hills. Gambrell spent the past four seasons as an assistant at San Clemente.
The South appears especially strong at linebacker. The team could start first-team All-County linebackers Hoi Hansen of Edison, Jack Matranga of Mission Viejo and Jake Javorsky of San Juan Hills and third-team All-County selection Jackson Sievers of Capistrano Valley.
Matranga and Sievers are committed to Air Force and UC Davis, respectively. Hansen and Javorsky are uncommitted as National Signing Day on Wednesday approaches.
O’Shea believes his squad also features some under-recruited players, such as safety Isaiah Bennett of San Juan Hills. The senior was recently offered by Black Hills State in South Dakota.
Max Ruff of St. Margaret’s, a University of Chicago commit, will start at quarterback for the South, O’Shea said.
The South leads the all-time series 34-26-3.
The all-star game, sponsored by Costa Mesa United and the Chargers, will honor late Buena Park coach Anthony White in the game program. White coached the North in 2016.
