High School All County 2016-2017 OC All County Teams 1st Team Name School Year Trey Smith Saddleback Valley Christian Senior Spencer Freedman Mater Dei Junior Kezie Okpala Esperanza Senior Justice Sueing Mater Dei Senior Sebastian Much JSerra Senior 2nd Team Name School Year Myles Franklin Villa Park Senior Dawson Baker Capistrano Valley Junior Randall Walker Edison Senior Jake Kyman Santa Margarita Sophomore Adrease Jackson Santa Margarita Senior 3rd Team Name School Year Kaden Rasheed Santa Margarita Senior Kevin Marlow Sonora Senior Julien Franklin Villa Park Sophomore Michael Bagatourian Crean Lutheran Senior Jacob Eyman Los Alamitos Junior 4th Team Name School Year Paulo Araujo Foothill Senior Ramon Lopez-Felix Godinez Senior Chris Williams Orange Lutheran Senior Joel Mensah JSerra Junior DJ Rodman Corona del Mar Sophomore Honorable Mention Name School Year Austin Carter Sonora Senior Blake Birmingham San Clemente Senior Blake Burzell Laguna Beach Junior Brendan Harrick Esperanza Junior Cameron Dashiell Buena Park Sophomore Dominick Harris Pacifica Christian Freshman Harminder Dhaliwal Aliso Niguel Junior Harrison Butler Mater Dei Junior Name School Year Jacob Huynh Northwood Junior Joe Riley Los Alamitos Senior Kevin Kobrine Corona del Mar Junior Mehkel Harvey Ocean View Junior Michael Wang Mater Dei Junior Romulo Howard Savanna Senior Tim Ghita Crean Lutheran Senior Final Team Rankings Rank Previous Record School Comment 1 1 28-1 Mater Dei Mater Dei was the wire-to-wire No. 1-ranked team in Orange County this season. The Monarchs capped it off with yet another Trinity League championship, earning the 3-seed in the CIF-SS Open Division playoffs. Mater Dei opens its playoff slate against Crossroads led by Ira Lee and Shareef O’Neal. 2 2 25-1 Esperanza The Aztecs beat Yorba Linda and Canyon last week to secure the Crestview League championship. Esperanza carries a 22-game winning streak into a first round match-up with Santa Margarita in the Open Division playoffs. 3 3 20-6 Santa Margarita The Eagles were a tip-in away from upsetting Mater Dei at home, but still secured a second-place finish in the Trinity League. Santa Margarita begins Open Division play against Esperanza. 4 5 24-3 Saddleback Valley Christian The Warriors locked up a San Joaquin League championship and the top-seed in the Division 3AA playoffs. 5 6 25-3 Sonora The Raiders wrapped up a Freeway League championship and an overall impressive season. Sonora earned a first round bye in the Division 1AA playoffs. 6 4 22-4 Edison The Chargers fell to Los Alamitos Tuesday, ending their quest for an outright Sunset League title and their chances to be selected for the Open Division playoffs. Edison instead will face Inglewood in the first round of the Division 1AA playoffs. 7 7 17-9 J Serra The Lions haven’t been at full-strength much this season, but that didn’t save them from a first round date with Chino Hills in the Open. 8 10 21-6 Los Alamitos The Griffins had things come together toward the end of the season, scoring an upset of Edison to secure a share of the Sunset League championship. Los Al was given first round bye in Division 1AA and will play Gahr on Friday. 9 8 20-5 Villa Park The Spartans won the North Hills League title, earning a first round bye in the Division 2AA playoffs 10 9 21-6 Capistrano Valley The Cougars went unbeaten en route to a Sea View League title and were awarded with a first round bye in the Division 2A playoffs. 11 12 22-6 Crean Lutheran 12 11 21-5 Buena Park 13 13 20-7 Corona Del Mar 14 16 19-8 San Clemente 15 14 11-17 Orange Lutheran 16 18 19-8 Northwood 17 17 10-16 Servite 18 19 16-11 Canyon 19 15 17-10 Foothill 20 20 17-11 Aliso Niguel 21 22 18-9 El Toro 22 23 13-14 Trabuco Hills 23 21 16-10 Tesoro 24 24 25-3 Godinez 25 25 17-12 Sunny Hills Orange County CIF Championship Previews Out of the 48 Orange County boys basketball teams to make earn a postseason berth, only four were able to navigate the rigors of their respective playoff divisions to reach CIF Southern Section championship games. Mater Dei (Open), Villa Park (2AA), Capistrano Valley (2A) and Pacifica Christian (6) will all compete on “Championship Saturday” in hopes of bringing home a ring, while also keeping the good mojo flowing heading into the state playoffs. Mater Dei is no stranger to section championship games as the Monarchs have won 22 section titles under the tutelage of Gary McKnight. Mater Dei advanced to the Open Division title game, where it will face Bishop Montgomery, with wins over Crossroads, Eastvale Roosevelt, and a thrilling 83-80 overtime victory over Chino Hills last Friday in the semifinals at Galen Center. Villa Park has made amends for an early playoff exit from a year ago, beating Westlake, Mission College Prep and Highland, 71-55, in the semifinals en route to a showdown with Colony of Ontario. Capistrano Valley, which has won 14 of its last 15 games behind superb junior shooting guard Dawson Baker, ran through Sunny Hills and Dos Pueblos before dispatching a youth-laden and talented Rancho Christian squad, 68-61, in the Division 2A semis. And finally, on the opposite end of the spectrum from the corner of Bristol and Edinger, Pacifica Christian cruised its way to a Division 6 championship appearance in its first season of varsity competition. The gifted freshman duo of Dominick Harris and Cal Whitney paced the Tritons to playoff wins over Bethel Baptist, Valley Christian of Santa Maria, Cate and Foothill Technology to set up a date with a formidable Carnegie of Riverside squad in the title game. Playoff Capsules Open Division: Mater Dei (31-1) vs. Bishop Montgomery (26-2) When: Saturday, 7:00 p.m. Where: Honda Center Outlook: This is an intriguing matchup of a new-age small ball team in Bishop Montgomery, led by the “Big Three” of Ethan Thompson, Jordan Schakel and David Singleton, against the more traditional attack of Mater Dei, paced by high IQ junior signal caller Spencer Freedman, athletic wing Justice Sueing and the gravity defying game of Bol Bol. Both the Monarchs and Knights are extremely well-coached by two of the more respected figureheads that Southern California hoops has to offer in Gary McKnight and Doug Mitchell, meaning this contest will not be without in-depth game plans and high-level offensive and defensive adjustments throughout. Matchup to Watch: Senior Matt Weyand and junior Harrison Butler were crucial for Mater Dei defensively in the semifinals against Chino Hills’ LaMelo and LiAngelo Ball, holding the electric combination to just 17 of 65 shooting on the night. Weyand and Butler have some more difficult defensive assignments Saturday with Oregon State-bound Ethan Thompson and dynamic scoring junior David Singelton on the horizon. Bol Bol’s presence in the painted area as a rim protector was also a major factor in the Monarchs win and his 7-foot-2 frame will certainly come in handy Saturday. Division 2AA: Villa Park (23-5) vs. Colony (26-5) When: Saturday, 11:15 a.m. Where: Honda Center Outlook: The Franklin brothers – Myles and Julien – will certainly be the focal point of Colony’s defensive scheme, but many of the Spartans unsung heroes have contributed big performances throughout the playoffs. Matt Lanzone scored 19 points in the win over Westlake, Caleb Banuelos had 20 against Mission Prep and Daelyn Bams scored 12 against Highland. Colony has an athletic and active team, led by senior wings Jozelle Carter and Rodrick McCobb, who will look to do anything possible to lockdown the Franklin’s. Matchup to Watch: Colony’s full-court pressure defense against Villa Park’s guards. The Titans defend 94 feet for 32 minutes and the Spartans guards must be on high alert and take care of the basketball to limit turnovers and easy buckets. Division 2A: Capistrano Valley (24-6) vs. Oxnard (27-3) When: Saturday, 2:45 p.m. Where: Honda Center Outlook: Capo, led by four juniors, has had its fair share of growing pains early in the season, but have been on a roll as of late, winning 14 of its last 15 games. Dawson Baker is one of the most potent wing scorers in the county, but the Cougars can’t rely on Baker to carry them in the non-shooter friendly Honda Center. Grayson Beeman stepped up with 14 points in quarterfinals against Dos Pueblos and Nic Lipovic poured in a team-high 22 points, including six 3-pointers, in the semifinal win over Rancho Christian. Capo coach Brian Mulligan will be pleased if Baker is joined by a teammate or two, or three, or four in double figure scoring. Matchup to Watch: The Supporting Casts. Baker (20 ppg), Lipovic (13 ppg), and Beeman (12 ppg) have been the three most consistent offensive threats for the Capo this season, while Oxnard has a senior scoring duo in Mason Johnson (20.1 ppg) and Brycen Wight (18.6 ppg). The question is can role players like Michael Callaghan and Tanner Gray step up for the Cougars and Yellowjackets? Division 6: Pacifica Christian (23-3) vs. Carnegie of Riverside (17-6) When: Saturday, 4:00 p.m. Where: Godinez High School Outlook: None of Pacifica Christian’s players have ever played in a game of this magnitude, but the Tritons will surely be prepared behind the leadership of head coach Jeff Berokoff and assistants A.J. Gasporra and Richard Vargas who have seen their fair share of big games. Freshmen guards Dominick Harris and Cal Whitney are averaging 25.6 points and 18.8 points respectively, while the supporting cast of Timmy Bahador, Josh Sims, Josh Griffith and Primo Belfiore are all capable of putting up solid numbers. The Tritons are going to need a complete team effort to top a Carnegie team loaded with skill, height and depth. Matchup to Watch: Pacifica Christian’s team defensive effort against Carnegie 7-foot senior Luka Filipovic. Filipovic is averaging 18.2 points and 7.8 rebounds per game, and while the Tritons have some size with 6-foot-9 forward Josh Griffith, look for them to double hard on the Carnegie big man to force him into being a playmaker rather than a shotmaker.
