Prep Rally: Looking at the top defensive backs and kickers this season

Hi, and welcome to another edition of Prep Rally. My name is Eric Sondheimer. Football pads come on this week, so let’s take a look at defensive backs and kickers as the summer comes to a close.

Top defensive backs

Mater Dei defensive back Daryus Dixson in 2022.

(Luis Sinco/Los Angeles Times)

Mater Dei’s secondary was impressive during summer seven on seven competitions, and that came as no surprise, because the Monarchs return cornerbacks Chuck McDonald (Alabama commit) and Daryus Dixson (Penn State).

Sierra Canyon has USC commit Madden Riordan and California commit Jae’on Young. Gardena Serra has the duo of sophomore Duvay Williams and senior CJ McBean.

Dijon Lee of Mission Viejo is a 6-foot-4 cornerback committed to Alabama. Legend Lyons of Charter Oak is a Minnesota commit. The versatile Dylan Robinson of Bonita is 6-3 and committed to Washington.

Rodney Sermons of Rancho Cucamonga and Brandon Lockhart of Loyola are top juniors. Trestin Castro of Upland and Adonyss Currie of Quartz Hill are committed to USC and Texas A&M, respectively. Junior Joshua Holland of St. John Bosco is a USC commit.

Banning safety Steven Perez returns as one of the best in the City Section. Jake Minter of Edison had an impressive summer. Kameryn Hurst of Carson has outstanding speed.

Kuron Jabari of Corona Centennial is a UCLA commit. Jayden Gray of Moorpark is a cornerback committed to Air Force.

Top kickers/punters

Kicker Dylan Freebury of Palos Verdes.

(Eric Sondheimer / Los Angeles Times)

There will be no shortage of major contributors in the kicking department this fall.

Dylan Freebury of Palos Verdes and Ashton Zamani of Sierra Canyon were standouts in summer camps.

Jacob Kreinbring of Loyola is a junior who had two game-winning kicks when he was a freshman at South Pasadena.

Noah LaBerge of Oaks Christian was seven of seven on field goals last season. Kyler Peters of Oak Hills has been booming kicks since he was a freshman at Apple Valley. CJ Wallace takes over at St. John Bosco with high expectations.

Mauricio Aguilar of Norco had a 46-yard field goal last season. Andrew Ayon of L.A. Lincoln averaged 39 yards on punts.

Series begins Aug. 12

Quarterback Ryan Rakowski of Palos Verdes completed 70% of his passes last season as a freshman.

(Steve Galluzzo)

A nine-part series previewing top high school football players in Southern California begins Aug. 12 in the Los Angeles Times. Every day for nine straight days there will be a story looking at a top player by position along with a list of 10 players to watch.

The series begins with a profile of Palos Verdes sophomore quarterback Ryan Rakowski.

Here’s the complete schedule

Aug. 12: Quarterback Ryan Rakowski of Palos Verdes

Aug. 13: Running back Karson Cox of Oak Hills.

Aug. 14: Receiver Shane Rosenthal of Newbury Park

Aug. 15: Tight end Mark Bowman of Mater Dei.

Aug. 16: Offensive lineman Jake Flores of JSerra

Aug. 17: Defensive lineman Khary Wilder of Gardena Serra

Aug. 18: Linebacker Samu Moala of Leuzinger

Aug. 19: Defensive back Steven Perez of Banning

Aug. 20: Kicker Jacob Kreinbring of Loyola.

Football

Nathan Santa Cruz of Venice began football practice on Monday as a 16-year-old senior.

(Eric Sondheimer / Los Angeles Times)

Football practice began Monday, and few were as excited as receiver Nathan Santa Cruz of Venice. His life was threatened in 2022 by a head injury suffered in the first game of the season. He’s back again, healthy and ready to go.

Here’s his story.

Defending City champion Birmingham will go with a freshman at quarterback. Here’s the report.

The Conejo Coast League, featuring Thousand Oaks and Newbury Park, held a media gathering. Here’s a report.

Hamilton first-year coach Elijah Asante still doesn’t have all the keys he needs to open locked gates and locked doors, but he’s getting his team organized after not coaching since 2015.

He’s already identified an outstanding freshman slated to start at left offensive tackle in 6-foot-2, 240-pound Richard Dunn. Dunn, however, won’t be able to play in the Yankees’ season opener against St. Monica on Aug. 23 because he doesn’t turn 14 until the next day. Players under 14 years old aren’t allowed to play. Birmingham had to deal with the same issue when Mason White was a 13-year-old freshman for the Patriots.

Los Angeles High linebackers Arturo Arguello (left) and Jeshua Alcantara.

(Los Angeles High)

Los Angeles has a pair of senior linebackers ready to make an impact. Here’s the report.

Joshua Holland from St. John Bosco became the latest defensive back from the class of 2026 to commit to USC, joining Brandon Lockhart from Loyola and Madden Riordan of Sierra Canyon.

Offensive lineman Nehemiah Johnson from Orange Lutheran has committed to UCLA.

Brian Hildebrand of Rancho Cucamonga has stepped down as football coach after having a health issue.

Loyola has 131 freshmen going out to play football.

Santa Margarita has switched its home games from Saddleback College to Trabuco Hills High.

Notes . . .

Catcher Trent Grindlinger of Huntington Beach.

(Nick Koza)

Five Southern California products are playing for the USA 18U national baseball team in Panama. They are Trent Grindlinger of Huntington Beach, Ethin Bingaman of Corona, Gavin Fien of Great Oak, Quentin Young of Oaks Christian and Brady Murrietta of Orange Lutheran. Here’s the report. . . .

Rick Hirtensteiner, the former Pepperdine baseball coach, is the new head coach at Oaks Christian. Here’s the report.

Eric Yang, who was the 2015 West Valley League player of the year as a catcher at El Camino Real, was called up by the Reds in his first major-league appearance. . . .

Paul Edwards has resigned after six years as girls’ basketball coach at San Juan Hills. . . .

Palisades High grad Nick Itkin (class of 2017) won a bronze medal at the Olympic Games in men’s individual foil. . . .

Former Newbury Park distance running standout Nico Young finished 12th in the 10,000 meters. It puts him in position to go for a medal at the Olympic Games in Los Angeles in 2028. . . .

Soloman Williams is the new baseball coach at Long Beach Poly. He has been head coach at Paramount and Westminster. . . .

Eddie Alcantar is the new baseball coach at Monroe. He previously was head coach at Grant for six years. . . .

Continuing a trend of basketball players transferring to top teams, 6-8 junior Christian Collins is headed to St. John Bosco, Frank Burlison reported. He played for St. Bernard last season and was at Westchester in the spring. Another player on the move is Windward All-CIF guard Gavin Hightower, who is transferring to Sierra Canyon. . . .

Dylan Fenton of Mira Costa has committed to McGill lacrosse. . . .

Former Simi Valley football coach Ron Veres has died. He was a longtime coach in Ventura County . . .

Pitcher Tyler Bellerose of Huntington Beach has committed to Oregon State. . . .

Distance running standout Maya DeBrouwer of La Cañada has committed to Stanford. . . .

Standout senior guard Bryce Goldman of Chaminade has committed to UC Irvine. . . .

The USTA Foundation has awarded a $5,000 grant to Dahmaria Clark, a 14-year-old from LACES who is part of the Pete Brown Junior Tennis Program. . . .

From the archives: Thompson brothers

In 2015, the Thompson brothers, Ethan (5) and Stephen Jr. (left) helped Bishop Montgomery win a state title.

(Eric Sondheimer / Los Angeles Times)

Brothers Stephen and Ethan Thompson continue to play basketball long after their days walking around the campus of Bishop Montgomery.

Stephen is playing for Puerto Rico at the Olympic Games. Ethan had a terrific summer playing for the Golden State Warriors’ summer league team.

Both starred at Oregon State, then went overseas to continue playing. Their father, Stephen Sr., was a legendary guard at Crenshaw High and assistant at Oregon State.

Here’s a story from 2017 on Ethan Thompson’s growth.

Here’s a story from 2013 about the sons of famous fathers playing basketball.

Recommendations

From the Los Angeles Times, a story on Inglewood’s band program.

From 247sports.com, a story on scholarship changes coming in the NCAA.

From the Los Angeles Times, a story on former Oaks Christian tight end Colby Parkinson of the Rams.

From the Washington Post, a story on an all-girls high school that has produced more Olympic medals than many countries.

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