Pow! Bam! Whack!
Sierra Canyon has a defense in high school football that needs comic book treatment.
Call them “The Kaboom Squad.”
At any moment, whether it’s a lineman, linebacker or defensive back delivering the blow, be prepared to be wowed.
With size, quickness and depth, the Trailblazers have shut out opponents for 12 consecutive quarters. The opponents haven’t been bad: JSerra, Oaks Christian and Honolulu Punahou.
Will they go through their 10-game regular-season schedule unscored upon? Absolutely not. But the reason they have three shutouts in lopsided victories is that the second stringers are performing as well as first stringers when coach Jon Ellinghouse clears the bench.
Their 63-0 win over Oaks Christian broadcast on Spectrum only added to the Trailblazers’ reputation.
It’s kaboom time as Sam Amuti of Sierra Canyon High prepares to level a Punahou ballcarrier.
(Craig Weston)
A combination of returnees and transfers gives the Trailblazers a defense with few weaknesses.
Nobody is perfect, and perhaps Downey and star quarterback Oscar Rios will be the first to end the shutout streak on Friday, but this is Sierra Canyon’s best defense since the spring of the 2021 COVID season when the Trailblazers put together 18 consecutive quarters of allowing zero points and gave a scare to St. John Bosco.
All the Trailblazers’ positions are filled with talented starters and quality backups. The defensive line starts with Texas commit Richard Wesley, wearing No. 99, the number of Rams great Aaron Donald. The linebackers have a smart, fearless tackler in Ronen Zamorano. The secondary has so many college-bound players that the players’ NIL deals could pay for a trip to Hawaii. Madden Riordan (USC), Havon Finney Jr. (Louisiana State) and Brandon Lockhart (USC) lead the way. And coming soon when the sit-out period ends on Sept. 29 is kicker Carter Sobel, who was a standout at Chaminade and will add to bad field position for opposing offenses.
Sierra Canyon’s Spencer Parham gets emotional for a defense that hasn’t allowed any points in 12 quarters.
(Craig Weston)
Having seen the physicality of St. John Bosco’s offensive and defensive lines last week in a 21-14 win over Baltimore St. Frances, Sierra Canyon (3-0) still needs to keep progressing to be on the same level of the Trinity League powers needed to win a Southern Section Division 1 championship.
The Trailblazers are definitely closing the gap with the Braves and No. 1 Mater Dei. They get a good tune-up for the Division 1 playoffs with a matchup against Orange Lutheran on Sept. 18, a team they lost to last season 33-26.
Chris Rizzo, a former Taft head coach, is the Trailblazers’ defensive coordinator. He wears his baseball cap backward on the sideline with sunglasses and has many options for defensive packages.
Asked if the defense has any weaknesses, Rizzo said, “We have some weaknesses. We’re not perfect by any means. We’ve got some things we have to fix and keep getting better.”
The defense is also helping Sierra Canyon’s offense improve because it’s so difficult to move the ball during practices.
“It makes our guys better,” Ellinghouse said.
Rizzo declined to reveal which unit he thinks is best. “The secondary is pretty star-studded,” he said. “The defensive line is deep. They embrace the grind and play for each other.”
Only time will tell whether this defense is as good as some think. There’s plenty of games ahead to prove if the Trailblazers are truly The Kaboom Squad.
