Serra football coach Patrick Walsh has always had a tendency to travel outside the Central Coast Section when scheduling pre-season opponents, including schools such as De La Salle of Concord and McQueen of Reno, NV. This year is no different, as Serra has signed a two-year contract with Southern California power Notre Dame High School of Sherman Oaks.
The Padres will travel to Sherman Oaks to play the Knights on September 12 this year and Notre Dame will head to San Mateo in 2015.
Both schools were consistently ranked in the CalHiSports and MaxPreps state Top 25 last year, with the Padres winning the CCS Open Championship and advancing to the NorCal Division I Championship Game against Del Oro. Serra ended up losing that game, whereas Notre Dame beat that same Del Oro team 41-24 earlier in the season. The Knights also had quality wins over traditional Southern Section giants Crespi and Loyola. Their top senior, Koa Farmer, will play for Penn State in the fall.
The Padres will have to contend with top-flight talent on their road trip this year, with four-star recruit C.J. Sanders transferring into Notre Dame for his senior year after his family moved to the LA area from Tennessee. Sanders has offers from Stanford, USC, and Georgia among others, but last month committed to play for the University of Notre Dame. Notre Dame’s 6-foot-7 tight end/ defensive end Aaron Haigler is rising on the recruiting radar and was recently offered by Colorado and Iowa State, according to Rivals.
“Over the years we have played top teams from Fresno to Reno,” said Serra athletic director Dean Ayoob. “The next logical step was to play a strong school from Southern California. Notre Dame was a natural fit, as their defensive coordinator, Joe McNab, is a Serra graduate.
“This will also give us a great opportunity to connect with our alumni living in Southern California,” he added.
Said Walsh: “They remind us a lot of a top-tier WCAL program, which will help us prepare for our league schedule. Playing teams like Notre Dame in our pre-season will enable us to quickly find out where we are strong and where we are deficient.”
OPENING EYES: Texas commit Kirk Johnson is quickly developing into one of the best athletes not only in Northern California, but in the nation. The Valley Christian running back was named SPARQ MVP at the Oakland Nike Football Training Camp held last month. SPARQ is an acronym that stands for speed, power, agility, reaction and quickness. The SPARQ MVP is determined by a series of sport-specific athletic tests.
Johnson ran a 4.57 second 40-yard-dash, posted a 4.00 shuttle time, threw a medicine ball 36 feet, and registered a 35.8-inch vertical leap. With an overall rating of 117.42, the Warrior running back is ranked No. 29 in the nation in SPARQ testing.
Johnson has long been on the radar of NorCal fans after dominating on the freshman level and contributing significantly on varsity as a sophomore. As a junior last year, he rushed for 1,228 (8.65 yards per carry) with 11 touchdowns, despite missing time due to injury. Now at 6-1, 200 pounds, Johnson is expected to be the centerpiece of a talented Valley Christian team that will likely challenge for WCAL and CCS titles.
Receiver Collin Johnson -- Kirk's brother (also committed to Texas) -- also missed significant time last season due to injury, but is healthy now, and that's just the start for a Warrior team oozing with talent.
LOOKING UP: The WCAL is unforgiving, as Riordan saw last season when it won two of its first three non-league games, but dropped six of its seven league games -- though a 24-21 victory against Sacred Heart Cathedral and a gutsy effort against Bellarmine (a 35-22 loss) were encouraging.
Now with second-year coach John Lee getting a running start, spirits are high on Phelan Drive, especially after an enjoyable experience at the recent Cal team camp.
The Crusaders were missing 18 players for various reasons ranging from players attending other camps to work responsibilities. So Riordan took a slew of underclassmen to the three-day camp. Lee said the team played hard and the players loved the experience.
"The Cal camp was fun and the kids did a great job," Lee said. "We were there for two nights and there were no problems with kids trying to sneak out or acting like knuckleheads. And they loved the food."
Standing out for Riordan, Lee said, were running back/linebacker Jamarian Caston, tailback/defensive back Raymone Sanders and cornerback Stanton Thomas. Some Crusader stars didn't even attend, such as senior receiver/defensive back Jake Cochrane, who had previously arranged to attend a college camp.
The main thing is, Riordan has talent -- some of it compliments of a loaded frosh class two years ago
"I haven't had so many good skill guys since 2008 at Sacred Heart when we won the CCS title," Lee said.
