SAN JUAN HILLS LOOKS TO FLEX PLAYMAKING, VETERAN MUSCLE

BY C. JAYDEN SMITH

On the heels of a 4-8 season that saw San Juan Hills take home the Sea View League Championship after losing every non-league game, Stallions head coach Rob Frith foresees a big year ahead.

While fond of each team he’s coached in the Badlands over the past five years, Frith is particularly excited to hit that time in the cycle when a formerly green group of players comes of age.

“I’ve got a group where we have a lot of kids with a lot of experience now,” he said. “This should be the breakout year, if we work hard (and) do the right things.”

The return of the reigning Sea View League offensive and defensive MVPs in senior running back Sullivan Land and senior linebacker Jake Javorsky should help immeasurably. Land, Javorsky, and coveted junior linebacker prospect Weston Port all earned All CIF-SS Division 6 distinctions during the 2022 season.

Combine that with the talented receiving duo of Colton Chase and Chris Williams and the mammoth-sized, 6-foot-7, 310-pound offensive lineman Trevor Newkirk, and the Stallions seem poised to improve upon just three regular-season wins in each of their past two campaigns.

Frith described all of the aforementioned players as good leaders and people overall.

“I list all those guys, because they’re all impact players,” he said. “They’ve played enough, they’ve had enough reps. Some of these kids (have played) over 20 games of varsity football.”

The stability of San Juan Hills’ coaching staff should serve as another boost, as the only major offseason change was freshman offensive coordinator Brad Curtis’ promotion to the varsity level.

Fundamentally, the offensive system remains the same. However, there may be some growing pains as sophomore quarterbacks Timmy Herr and Tristan Zale battle for the starting spot in the wake of Michael “Butter” Tollefson’s transfer to JSerra.

Frith said the competition is wide open, and the coaching staff is “open for anything,” including operating with two quarterbacks into the season.

“Sometimes, guys say, ‘If you have two (quarterbacks), you don’t have one,’ ” he said. “I don’t believe that.”

While both players have a solid understanding of the offense, Herr, who transferred from Mater Dei in January, brings a physical running element to the system and Zale a big arm. In the meantime, the offense will go through Sullivan Land, according to Frith, as the head coach trusts the senior’s experience, as well as the returning offensive linemen.

Land said he put his efforts into building muscle before the season, as running backs have less to do during the 7-on-7 tournament cycle than other skill players. His goal is for the team to achieve more than a second-round CIF playoff appearance.

“It’s my last season; I want to end on a win,” Land said, adding that he desires to win the Sea View League again for the second straight year.

For Jake Javorsky, the junior linebacker spoke of competing and dominating with a team that he felt figured it out toward the end of 2022. Personally, he looks to track the ball and know better where to go based on his assignments.

Frith spoke glowingly of Javorsky’s ability to run and his physicality, which led the head coach to designate his linebackers as his favorite position group between Javorsky and Weston Port.

“(Other Sea View League coaches) said they really had no way to know where No. 44 was all the time, because he’s always around the football,” said Frith. “He’s got a great football IQ, which allows him to find the football.”

Port is a “brute” who is hard to block, Frith added. The junior already has 33 Division 1 college offers from schools including Oklahoma, Ohio State, Michigan and BYU, among others.

With eight returning starters on defense and six on offense, the Stallions should have the experience to weather a non-league schedule that features recurring 2022 foes El Modena of Orange and archrival Tesoro.

Oceanside comes to the Badlands for the first game of the year on Aug. 18. San Juan Hills also hosts Newport Harbor and Tesoro before

San Juan Hills High School Schedule

AUGUST 18

OCEANSIDE

SJHHS, 7 p.m.

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AUGUST 26

CALIFORNIA (SAN RAMON)

Moorpark HS, 2 p.m.

•••

SEPTEMBER 1

SANTIAGO (CORONA)

Santiago HS, 7 p.m.

•••

SEPTEMBER 8

NEWPORT HARBOR

SJHHS, 7 p.m.

•••

SEPTEMBER 15

MIRA COSTA

Mira Costa HS, 7 p.m.

•••

SEPTEMBER 21

EL MODENA

El Modena HS, 7 p.m.

•••

SEPTEMBER 29 league play begins.

Frith expressed the need to start the season on the right foot against Oceanside, which was winless in 2022, and to beat Tesoro. Newport Harbor presents a different test, however, as a “well-coached” team that went 8-5 last year and lost by three points in the CIF-SS Division 4 semifinal.

“I feel that’s a program that’s on the rise,” said Frith. “I know they picked up a couple of players in the offseason that are very good. For me, that’s a game you have (circled) on your calendar.”

Despite the Stallions’ non-league struggles in 2022, they blew away their Sea View League competition, defeating El Toro, Trabuco Hills, and Aliso Viejo by an average of 26 points. San Juan Hills looks to compete well into November.

TESORO

SJHHS, 7 p.m.

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OCTOBER 13

EL TORO*

SJHHS, 7 p.m.

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OCTOBER 20

TRABUCO HILLS*

SJHHS, 7 p.m.

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OCTOBER 27

ALISO NIGUEL*

Aliso Niguel HS, 7 p.m.

*Sea View League game