Edison, Corona del Mar football come up golden in Battle at the Beach (2024)

The Orange County high school football landscape will have a different look this season, familiar leagues and rivalries torn apart in the hope of producing more competitive games.

A dramatic shift took place following last season. County teams were placed among a dozen new leagues based on rankings from calpreps.com over the last two seasons.

Area football had been headlined by the gauntlet that was the Sunset League, several of the top teams from the former grouping showing up to the Battle at the Beach passing tournament at Edison High on Saturday.

The host Chargers and Corona del Mar advanced out of pool play into the gold bracket, providing strong showings in an offseason tune-up ahead of their openers next month.

Edison sophom*ore quarterback Sam Thomson competes in the Battle at the Beach passing tournament on Saturday.

(Courtesy of JP Westerbeck)

Edison fell by one score to Bellflower St. John Bosco, 27-21, in the semifinals, giving looks to returning starter Savelio Niumata, a senior, and sophom*ore Sam Thomson at the quarterback position in reaching the late stages.

Mission Viejo took the crown, edging the Braves 26-25 in the championship game.

The Chargers and Diablos will have to wait until Oct. 25 to face off, when Edison travels to Mission Viejo for its penultimate game of the regular season. Edison and Mission Viejo, along with Los Alamitos and San Clemente, were placed in the Alpha League.

“I think we know exactly what we’re getting into,” said Edison senior running back Julius Gillick, a recent commit to Montana. “Los Alamitos was easily one of our toughest games last year, [along with] San Clemente. Nobody in our locker room is thinking, ‘Oh, it’s going to be a breeze.’

“Everybody knows exactly what we signed up for joining this league. Everybody knows the competition we’re going to face, and I think everybody knows that we’re up for it. Everybody sleeps on Edison, but I’ve been in California long enough to know where we stand.”

Edison senior running back Julius Gillick runs up the right sideline in the Battle at the Beach passing tournament on Saturday.

(Courtesy of JP Westerbeck)

Edison went unbeaten in a pool that included Bakersfield Liberty, Centennial, Clovis North and Ventura St. Bonaventure. The Chargers notched another win against JSerra in the quarterfinals.

A combination of the Greek and NATO phonetic alphabets were utilized to name the new football-only leagues, with the Alpha League representing the top-ranked division. The Trinity League remains as previously structured.

Corona del Mar was placed in the Bravo League, where one of the county’s premier rivalries will be preserved, for now. Newport Harbor also landed in the league, allowing for the continuation of the Battle of the Bay in league competition.

The Bravo League also consists of San Juan Hills, Tesoro, Villa Park and Yorba Linda.

Corona del Mar junior quarterback Brady Annett drops back to pass in the Battle at the Beach at Edison High on Saturday.

(Courtesy of JP Westerbeck)

“The way last year worked for us is it was never easy,” CdM coach Kevin Hettig said. “Not one of the wins [was] easy. It wasn’t easy at all, but we only find out about ourselves when we go through hard stuff. I think our kids, there’s a belief going through that they’ll be successful this year. It’s not going to be easy this year. There’s some tough games we play.”

Corona del Mar went 3-2 on Saturday, notching wins over Harbor City Narbonne, Palos Verdes and Los Alamitos, before falling to Santa Margarita in the quarterfinals. Senior Max Nashed and junior Brady Annett shared the snaps. They are vying for the opportunity to replace Kaleb Annett, who is heading into his first season with the Boise State football program.

The Sea Kings bring back five of their top six receivers from a year ago, including junior wide receiver Dorsett Stecker, senior tight ends Zach Giuliano, Sebastien Boydell and Breck Clemmer, and senior running back Wyatt Lucas.

Other former Sunset League competitors showed up to the tournament. Huntington Beach sophom*ore quarterback Brady Edmunds and junior wide receiver Troy Foster were among them. The Oilers will be hosting the Surf City Passing and Lineman Tournament on July 20.

Corona del Mar junior wide receiver Dorsett Stecker attempts to evade defenders in the Battle at the Beach on Saturday.

(Courtesy of JP Westerbeck)

“We lost in the last second in the semi[finals] against Simi [Valley], and that was obviously heartbreaking,” Foster said. “The goal is … every year to win it all, but me and Brady have definitely been working hard.

“We were up at 6 or 7 a.m. before school, working out, throwing together. I feel the chemistry we’ve built over these past months is different than anyone else. This year, we obviously come in with a chip on our shoulder, and I think we’re coming for it all this year, for sure.”

Former Newport Harbor quarterback Jaden O’Neal has transferred to Narbonne, which went 1-3 in a pool that included St. John Bosco, CdM, Los Alamitos and Palos Verdes. O’Neal has committed to Oklahoma.