Quarterback with the golden touch
Tristan Gebbia accounts for four scores as Calabasas remains unbeaten.
With his blond hair and affinity for passing the football, Tristan Gebbia of Calabasas fits the California look. He has only a couple of months left in his high school career, and, based on his performance on Friday night, he might go out with another championship ring before heading to Nebraska. Gebbia passed for 512 yards and three touchdowns and also ran for a score to help Calabasas (6-0) rally for a 37-21 win over Valencia. The Coyotes trailed, 21-16, at halftime and didn’t have injured defensive back Darnay Holmes (shoulder) in the second half.
That didn’t stop Gebbia or a Calabasas defense that recorded eight sacks.
“The second half, he was really, really good,” Calabasas Coach Casey Clausen said of Gebbia.
“I was real proud of his leadership.”
A year ago, Gebbia passed for 4,435 yards and 45 touchdowns. Calabasas went 14-2 and won the Western Division title.
This season, the Coyotes are in Division V and could be headed to an unbeaten regular season.
They added Brendan Radley-Hiles, a transfer from Las Vegas Bishop Gorman, to the receiving corps, and all Gebbia does is get the ball to his playmakers and let them do the rest.
Reseda rolling
Alonso Arreola of Reseda is a coach who shows up for work and does his best with whomever lives in his district and decides to play football.
It’s a neighborhood school, and this season the Regents are 5-0 after a 51-30 victory over Canoga Park in the Valley Mission League.
It’s the best start since 2010, when Reseda went 10-0 in the regular season.
The Regents are on a collision course to face Franklin (6-0) for the City Section Division III championship.
Carlos Hernandez led a powerful Reseda rushing attack, gaining close to 130 yards and scoring three touchdowns.
“It was a complete team effort,” Arreola said.
No. 1 gets a scare
Narbonne (5-0) is everyone’s favorite to win City Section Division I, but the Gauchos got a real scare from a Division II team, Los Angeles (4-1), before pulling out a 13-6 victory when Jalen Chatman found Tyrone Marshall for a 26-yard touchdown pass in the fourth quarter.
The Romans intercepted four Chatman passes, including three inside the 20yard line.
Their defensive line, led by Martin Andrus, was excellent, Los Angeles Coach Eric Scott said.
“We went out with 29 kids and they battled,” Scott said. “Narbonne is a giant. That’s the best team in the City. Everyone was proud at the way we played.”
As for Narbonne, Coach Manuel Douglas said the game was a wake-up message for his players.
“Raul Lara told me a long time ago, ‘You’re never as bad as they say you are but never as good as you think you are.’ That’s us,” he said. “It was a dose of reality for us. If we’re going to be what we think we can be, we have a lot of work.”