The Vikings come into the 2023 season with much to prove, coming off a 2-8 (0-5 in League) season in 2022. However, SAMO do have a key senior cast returning head fronted by 3 year starter and First Team all bay league recipient Jayden Montanez (Class of 2024, Lineman). In addition to him, the Vikings return Griffin Seals (Class of 2024, Wide Receiver) who scored touchdowns in three league contests, while also leading the league in receiving yards in league contests with an average of 89 yards a game. It will be Wyatt Brown's (Class of 2026 Quarterback) first season taking the reins as the full time starter at QB, and he will be looking to have a breakout year. Some other notable players for the Vikings include second team all-bay league members Caden McCallum (Class of 2024, Linebacker) and Mason Oliva (Class of 2024 Offensive Linemen). The Vikings are favored in four of their ten season games going into the season based on the CalPreps ratings, although none in league. For this season, the Vikings out of league games are Calabasas and El Segundo at home the first two weeks, followed by road trips to West, Sylmar, and eventually Hueneme up in Oxnard. The key to the Vikings upsetting some opponents this season is to find a true identity on defense, while controlling the trenches upfront led by their Senior linemen. Time will tell for this new look Viking team, as they are trying to replace two key seniors in Joaquin Nava (Class of 2023) and Gus Reyman (Class of 2023) in hopes to finally shake things up in the Bay League.
The Panthers roll into the 2023 season off of a 4-6 (1-4 in League) year in 2022. Led by Seniors Aj Maes (Class of 2023) and Mason Gonzalez (Class of 2023), the boys in black and yellow were ever so close to knocking off Redondo and West, which probably would've netted them a playoff spot. Coming into the 2023 season however, head coach David Young's team is very fresh. The junior, Mario Ruggiero (Class of 2025, Quarterback) is looking to be the new starter for Peninsula, and he is looking to obtain the Panthers a playoff spot this season. He will have Senior Caden Correll (Class of 2024, Wide Receiver/Tight End) to throw to, who averaged 45 yards a game last year. Additionally up front Andrew Russell (Class of 2024, Linemen) is ready to protect his Junior quarterback with everything he's got. The Panthers travel to powerhouse mission league side Notre Dame Sherman Oaks to start the season, and then wrap up their out of league contests with South and West Torrance, two games last year that went down to the wire. For the Panthers, their keys to success will be implementing a strong run game after losing their two leading rushers from last season while also trying to shore up their secondary problems from last season.
The Redondo Union Seahawks are looking at a very new reality in the 2023 season. In 2022 the Seahawks went 7-3 (2-3 in League) making the playoffs for the first time since 2019 led by Senior quarterback and Arkansas State player Carson Hunt (Class of 2023). This year is the first time in two seasons that Redondo won't be led by their former 6 '5 Gun slinger, and junior Nick London (Class of 2025, Quarterback) is looking to take the reins. In spite of having big shoes to fill, the aforementioned London will have a array of different options to throw to as Redondo's leading receiver, Stanford baseball commit Nate Stiveson (Class of 2024, Wide Receiver) is returning. Although Redondo did lose their second leading receiver Bobby Shaw (Class of 2024, Wide Receiver) to Northern California powerhouse Pittsburg. Redondo's out of league is identical to last season other than their game against Sunset league member Huntington Beach. A rematch with West in Week 5 will be a tell on how the rest of Redondo’s season will go, after their intense affair from last year ending in Redondo just ousting their Del Amo Boulevard foe. For Redondo to gain an auto-bid to the playoffs this season, they will need to recapture the fiery pass heavy offensive they ran in 2022 which led to tons of success, while also winning in the trenches at a higher level.
The Centaurs of Culver City ride into 2023 on a very high note. Losing only a couple significant linebackers and linemen including the leading tackler in the bay league Nick Badour (Class of 2023), the boys in blue and white will look to avenge their crushing loss in the playoffs last season. The Centaurs went 6-6 last year (3-2 in league), and will look to Sammy Silvia (Class of 2024 Quarterback) to lead them again in his second year at Culver after transferring from the Palisades two years ago. City got bounced out of the Division six playoffs during 2022 in the second round to Loyola. The Cubs didn’t only beat them in the playoffs though, defeating them earlier in the season too, so in 2023 when Culver travels to Downtown in week 2, bad blood and revenge will headline the contest. Additionally, the Centaurs have an interesting first week affair as they ascent Mount Jacinto to play the state runners up Tigers. San Jacinto have 4 star Dillion Gresham (Class of 2024 Wide Receiver), who led the Nation in receiving yards in 2022. For Culver, the keys to success in this season will be giving their playmaking twins, Braylon and Myles Singleton (Class of 2025 Wide Receivers/Defensive Backs) the ball. Both are ranked around 50 according to On3.com in the California 2025 class, and their overwhelming involvement on offense and defense last year shows it is of the utmost importance to the Centaurs to feed them in their well-known spread offense. Culver will also look at Pierce Reynoso (Class of 2024 Linebacker) and J.R. Kirkwood (Class of 2024 Linebacker) to lead their refreshed front 7 into the 2023 season in hopes to recapture a Bay League title for the first time since 2020.
Mira Costa came into the 2023 season after a 8-3 season (4-1 in League) in 2022 losing to a Newbury Park team with Freshman phenom Brady Smigel (Class of 2026 Quarterback) in the Division 4 playoffs. The Mustangs will look to replace Cole Crotty (Class of 2023) who alongside Reese Leonard (Class of 2024 Wide Receiver/Corner Back) lit up defenses last year. As they torched defenses, their first year varsity quarterback as well shined, Nico De La Cruz (Class of 2025 Quarterback). This led him to top the bay league in passing yards which earned him a spot on the Bay League's first team. The Mustangs don't only have to replace Crotty though as the 'Stangs had 37 seniors! Some of these seniors include two future PAC-12 linemen, Murphy Glasgow (Class of 2023) who is headed to Berkeley, and Jack Clarke (Class of 2023) who is going to be Bruin at UCLA. Costa will look to avenge their one out of league loss last year vs. St. Francis in La Cañada this season as the Knights beat them in a thriller last season 52-48 during the season opener in Manhattan Beach. For Costa, the turnover is so great that new leadership will be important for this group of Mustangs, and to get rolling early and often through the air will be vital for them to win a bay league title for the first time since 2011.
The Boys on top of the hill come into the 2023 season after another Bay League Championship in 2022. Last season, the Sea Kings went 8-4 (5-0 League) and lost in a heartbreaker to Yorba Linda in the Division three playoffs. Palos Verdes swept the Bay League top awards in 2022 including having the league MVP in Steven Nagy (Class of 2023). In addition to losing 19 seniors, the Kings also had two key transfers as Michael Beresford (Class of 2024 Defensive Back) and Cameron Gherardi (Class of 2024 Safety) are both headed south to play for the perennial powerhouse Long Beach Poly JackRabbits. The Sea Kings have some very interesting out of league opponents including playing Sunrise Mountain of Arizona and two sunset league giants in Corona Del Mar and Edison. For the Sea Kings this season, we might be seeing a Freshman Quarterback starting in Ryan Rakowski (Class of 2027 Quarterback), which is not something we've seen in head coach Guy Gardner's lengthy tenure at the helm of the South Bay powerhouse. Rakowski, if starting at Quarterback will have plenty of throwing options, including two time all bay league team member Luke Gayton (Class of 2024 Wide Receiver). For the Sea Kings, it'll be vital to get the new look offense up in running early for out of league success this season, and defensively the excellent linebacker core will need to lead from the jump to have P.V take home their twelfth title in the last thirteen years in the Bay League.
Article written by Theo Dowling, President of The Samo Sports Blog.
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