33rd annual Alex Spanos High School Football All-Star Game
When: Saturday, 4 p.m.
Where: Mira Mesa High School
Format: North vs. South senior players
Tickets: $10 adults, $5 seniors and students. Children under 6 are free with a paying adult. Tickets are available on gofan.co. Tickets will also be available at the site, but will be cash only.
Preview: The South will be quarterbacked by Hudson Herber (Grossmont), Jackson Diehl (La Jolla) and Shawn Pomatto (Otay Ranch), so the ball figues to be in the air. The top receivers are Jackson Daniels (Helix), Mahki Gray (Lincoln) and Paris Dixon (El Cajon Valley). The offensive line is anchored by Tyler Boynton (Bishop’s) and Rowdy Williams (Granite Hills). Joseph Minchello (Crawford) and Khalif Bloom (Morse) are the running backs. On defense, the South has Jeremiah Savaiinaea (Helix), Sawyer Moseley (La Jolla), Makhai Viavia (Madison), Mike Mohr (Montgomery) and Nathan Terzoli (Point Loma) across the front. LB is a strength with Jerome Roberts (Lincoln) the headliner. He’s joined by Jaden Mangini (La Jolla Country Day), James Tivao (Madison), Jirah Savaiinaea (Helix), Micah Valenzuela (Lincoln) and CeeJay Clavier (Olympian). In the secondary, Titus Toilolo (Madison), Josiel Rodriguez (Central Union) and Jayden Peterson (Bonita Vista) are the headliners.
Carson Howard (El Camino) will quarterback the North team. Jalen St. Paul (Carlsbad) and Jayden Williams (Mission Hills) figure to be the main targets. Andrew Maes (La Costa Canyon) and Georgie Nua are the top running backs. On the offensive line, David Portesano (Oceanside) and Landon Talo (Ramona) are the anchors. Kade Wilkins (Torrey Pines) and Geordan Beamon (Oceanside) are the keys on the defensive line. At linebacker, Mason Shane (Mission Hills), Khalid Farah (Del Norte) and Dawson Washington (Torrey Pines) are the anchors. In the secondary, Bode Estabrook (La Costa Canyon), Jalen Veasey (Torrey Pines) and Kaeden Miller (La Costa Canyon) are the standouts. Del Norte’s Trey Coleman, considered the best kicker in the county, will handle all the kicking duties.
Coaches: Tyler Roach and the La Jolla staff are coaching the South. Michael Hobbs and the El Camino staff are leading the North.
Game history: The Alex Spanos All-Star Game is the longest-running high school all-star football game in California. Since the game went to a North-South format in 1995, the North leads the series 16-11. The North has won 6 in a row, including 29-13 last season, after the South won 5 in a row. “We moved the game back a week so we wouldn’t conflict with the state championships, and I think these are the strongest teams we’ve fielded in a while,” said former Oceanside coach John Carroll, a member of the game committee.”
Tough break: La Jolla Country Day’s Jaden Mangini will play linebacker (but not quarterback) after breaking a finger in the Torreys’ win over Grossmont in the Southern California regional title game. Mangini played both offense and defense for LJCD; as the Torreys’ QB, he accounted for 10 touchdowns in their CIF San Diego Section Division 3 championship win over Grossmont. Magnini, who will play football at Navy, said he wouldn’t miss Saturday’s all-star game for anything. “It’s an honor to be chosen, and I appreciate the committee putting on this game for us,” he said. “I can’t play quarterback, but they’ll club this up and I’ll play defense.”