Locals prepare for one more battle

The 2010 prep football season reaches closure Friday with the 52nd annual Brea Lions Orange County North-South All-Star Game at Orange Coast College. Courtland Drummond (tight end) and Brandon Moss (offensive line), Zane Hudak (offensive line) of Huntington Beach and Roland Blackiston (defensive back) of Edison will suit up for the South.

All were seniors during the 2010 football season. Drummond and Hudak were selected to the 2010 Sunset League first team and Moss was a second-team pick.

The South is coached by Myron Miller of Tustin, the north by Mike Cobleigh of Cypress.

Hudak said the South, which has held practices at Tustin High’s Northrup Field, will have a walk-through Thursday as final preparation for the game. The 6-foot-5, 260-pound 18-year-old said he will start at right guard and also rotate at defensive tackle.

He said he played goal-line defense at Huntington Beach when needed.

“I love it,� he said of playing on both sides of the ball Friday. “The coaches put me in on defense during practice and must have liked what they saw. Playing both sides makes me feel like a versatile player and I get to have perspectives from both sides of the ball.�

Hudak will continue his playing career at the University of New Hampshire. He heads east Aug. 3 He said he will play offensive line but redshirt his first year.

The NCAA Division 1-AA Wildcats start preseason camp Aug. 4.

“I’m extremely excited about this opportunity,� said Hudak, who will study mechanical engineering and administrative business as a double-major. “I really like their coaching staff and I think it’s going to be a really good fit.

“I think I’m prepared for college ball. My high school coach (Eric Lo) did a great job of showing us what a college practice looks like by the way he ran our practices. I feel like I’ll be ready for the practice schedules next month.�

For now, Hudak is ready for his final prep outing Friday. He’s confident, too, of the South’s chances in the game.

“We’re looking really good,� he said. “We’ve got some great players and a really cool coaching staff. This is a great way to close out my high school career, to play with and against all these great players from Orange County who get to showcase their talents one last time, in front of 6,000 people. I think it’s going to be an awesome game.�

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Beach City Challenge to feature exciting action

The third edition of the Beach City Challenge prep football event will be held over two days at Marina High beginning Friday. . Junior varsity action will run between 1 and 6 p.m. Friday and a varsity lineman and seven-on-seven passing tournament will be held from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday.

Eight teams will compete at the junior varsity level: Marina, Brethren Christian, Godinez, Los Amigos, Garden Grove, Pacifica, Redondo Union and Culver City.

Teams vying for the varsity title are: local schools Marina, Brethren Christian, Ocean View, Corona del Mar, Garden Grove, Los Amigos, Pacifica, Godinez, La Serna, Serra, Valley View, Redondo Union, Culver City, Arcadia, Sweetwater (San Diego) and Temescal Canyon.

Pool play begins at 9 a.m. Saturday. Marina is in Pool A, along with Corona del mar, La Serna and Sweetwater. The Vikings open with La Serna at 9 a.m. Brethren Christian is in Pool C with Arcadia, Pacifica and Valley View. The Warriors open with Valley View at 9 a.m. Ocean View is in Pool D with Garden Grove, Godinez and Temescal Canyon. The Seahawks open at 9 a.m. against Temescal Canyon.

Teams will each play three pool games. They will be seeded at noon for afternoon competition. The championship game is scheduled for 3 p.m., Marina Coach George Pascoe said.

Serra won last year’s tournament.

“It should be good competition, but I’d say that Serra and Culver City are the class of the tournament,� Pascoe said.

Pascoe said that junior DeShon Marlin will start at quarterback for Marina on Saturday.

The tournament will be played on eight fields located in the rear of the Marina campus.

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Long Beach Poly wins prestigious tournament at Edison High

A day of close competition ended Saturday with Long Beach Poly emerging as the winner of the 13th annual Battle at the Beach passing tournament that drew huge crowds at Edison High. The Jackrabbits defeated Mater Dei, 20-19, after the Monarchs missed on a two-point conversion on the final play of the tournament final.

Earlier, Edison reached the semifinal round of the seven-on-seven event. The Chargers dropped two passes in the end zone and missed an extra point in a 13-12 loss to Mater Dei. Long Beach Poly defeated Centennial of Corona in the other semifinal.

San Clemente beat JSerra in the consolation final.

Long Beach Poly has won all three passing tournaments it has entered this summer. The Jackrabbits also defeated Edison in the semifinals and Mater Dei in the final of the Dana Hills Air Strike tournament to kick off the summer tournament in June. The Jackrabbits also won the Saugus Under the Lights Passing Tournament last month.

Teams competing for this year’s title were Edison, Long Beach Poly, Mater Dei, Centennial/Corona, 2010 champion La Habra, Carlsbad, Foothill, JSerra, Los Alamitos, Notre Dame/Sherman Oaks, Oaks Christian, South Hills, St. John Bosco, Tesoro, Valencia/Valencia and Westlake.

“There were some great teams and great competition for this year’s event,� Edison Coach Dave White said. “Poly has done very well this summer and we are right there. We’re having a good summer.�

White said that Edison will conclude summer camp Friday and open preseason camp Aug. 8.