The high school football season is in full swing and we've covered our fair share of games thus far. Over the first four weeks of the year we've watched Serra, Corona Centennial, Crenshaw, Dorsey, Alemany, Long Beach Poly, Oceanside, Notre Dame and many other teams battle it out on the gridiron.
Check out our Top 5 Teams from the Los Angeles area.
*****in no particular order******
Gardena Serra (4-0)
The reigning CIF State Champions picked up steam after going into double overtime last week against Notre Dame (Sherman Oaks). Serra defense has stepped up after giving up 61 points over the first two games of the season. Cavaliers held Notre Dame to 13 points and last week held Dorsey to 12 points until a touchdown late in the fourth quarter.
Olajuwon Tucker has been the spark plug for the Serra defense so far this season and has registered 4 interceptions to lead the team. Tucker also has 6 sacks and averages over 11 tackles per game and recruiting has picked up for the senior.
Adoree' Jackson: 2013 Highlights
2014 All-American LB Dwight Williams led Serra over Dorsey and had two interceptions, nearly taking one the distance.
Jalen Greene is playing extremely well for the Cavaliers offense and has 13 touchdown passes on the season with only one interception. Greene also leads the team in rushing.
As anticipated, Adoree' Jackson is just being his dynamic self. Jackson has made several SC Top 10-caliber plays this season and despite having the flu this week he amassed over 230 yards of total offense.
St. John Bosco (4-0)
The Braves are averaging over 430 yards of total offense per game. After 2015 QB Josh Rosen left the game with a bruised shoulder last week against Chandler (AZ), senior Andrew Katnik stepped up and helped lead the braves to a come-from-behind victory.
Katnik started in Bosco's 24-10 win vs Loyola this week and has now completed 20 of 33 passes in two games with 4 touchdowns and one interception. The Bosco offensive line has been behind the success of the Braves and is led by 5-star 2014 recruit Damien Mama.
St. John Bosco vs Chandler (AZ): 2013 Highlights
2015 RB Manasseh Anesi had 32 carries for 151 yards and five touchdowns over the first three games of the season and then exploded this week against the Cubs for 151 yards on 22 carries. Sophomore speedy running back Sean McGrew has 250 yards rushing over the first four games and is averaging nearly 9 yards per carry.
Jaleel Wadood and Shay Fields have performed like the high-caliber recruits they are. Cal Bears 2014 DB commit Jaleel Wadood is undoubtedly the most explosive player on the field for St. John Bosco and he helps tremendously on the offensive and defensive sides of the ball.
Boise State 2014 WR commit Shay Fields is averaging over 20 yards per reception and had two receiving touchdowns against Loyola this week.
Defensively, Bosco has one of the toughest crop of defensive backs in the nation. Seniors Naijiel Hale (Arizona) and Chandler Hawkins are tackling machines. Despite 31 points given up against Chandler (AZ), the Braves have only allowed 17 points on defense.
Mater Dei (4-0)
Mater Dei got off to a quick start like they normally do. Great quarterback play from senior Chase Forrest and a stout defense has the Monarchs poised for a playoff run. The difficult part of breaking down the Monarchs has to do with the fact that Mater Dei has blown out every opponent and the starters rarely see the field in the second half.
The Monarchs defense has only given up 20 points over the first four games.
Ben Humphreys: 2013 Highlights
Offensively, Forrest leads an efficient passing game with senior wideout Matthew Rockett on the receiving end of several TD passes, along with 6'2" 210 junior Ben Humphreys.
Senior DB Jonathan Lockett (Washington) has played like one of the top recruits on the West coast for Mater Dei and is also a major factor in the return game.
Humphreys and London Iakopo are enforcers on defense. Iakopo has several tackles for loss and flies around the field. Humphreys also finds himself in the backfield often and wreaks havoc on offenses.
Bishop Alemany (4-0)
Quarterback play from senior Alif Grayes has Alemany undefeated going into week five. Desean Holmes continues to play well for the Warriors and the offense is averaging over 40 points per game.
As one of the most explosive 2015 recruits in the nation, Holmes has 15 catches on the season for 382 yards and averages over 25 yards per reception.
Alif Grayes: 2013 Highlights
Alemany's defense is led by great play from Brandon Boyd, Tyree Thompson and Quentin Tartabull, amongst others.
Three more tough games on the schedule for the Warriors include St. Bonaventure (3-1) and Bishop Amat (3-1), along with a tough Loyola team who lost a hard-fought game against Bosco this week, and fell in overtime to Crenshaw the previous week.
Long Beach Poly (3-1)
The only blemish on the Jackrabbits record is 7-point loss to Servite. LB Poly went on to take down Corona Centennial & the Huskies explosive offense.
JuJu Smith was the difference in Poly's win over Centennial and is a play-maker on offense.
Poly found their running game against Bakersfield last week and Jeremy Calhoun ran 11 times for 186 yards, including an 80-yard touchdown run.
JuJu Smith: 2013 Highlights
2015 All-American DB Iman Marshall has been a lockdown defender and has seen very few passes thrown his direction. Marshall is routinely matched up with the opposing team's best wideout, and has proved his worth every game.
Once again, Long Beach Poly relies on a two-quarterback system, with seniors Tai Tiedemann and Josh Love splitting time behind center. This method was successful last season, as Poly made it to the CIF State Championship game and fell short against Granite Bay.
The Jackrabbits should be able to run the table with their remaining schedule will be primed for the playoffs.
