By Joe Snyder
The 2025-26 high school sports year ended with the CIF-Regional baseball and softball championships on June 6 with the seniors graduated on to college or the real world.
Football, along with other fall sports, and athletics of the winter and next spring, are already having their spring-summer league and tournament games to prepare for the 2026-27 school year. That includes the Serra High football team, which hopes to return to the playoffs after the injury-marred Cavaliers missed it for the first time in 21 seasons.
That includes passing football leagues and tournaments that started in April and going into the early summer. Last month, Serra competed in the St. John Bosco Passing Tournament making the playoff rounds in Bellflower. The Cavaliers defeated Norco before falling in the quarterfinals to the host and powerful Braves.
Last Saturday, the Cavaliers participated in the Fellowship of Christian Athletes Classic at Palos Verdes High School.
Serra also has its own league that includes Palos Verdes, led by preseason all-American quarterback Ryan Rawkowski, Wilmington Banning and Downey St. Pius X-St. Matthias Academy. On June 17, the Cavaliers recorded wins over the Pilots and SPXSMA and lost to the Sea Kings, that will be among the favorites in the newly revamped Bay League that also includes defending league champion Lawndale Leuzinger, Inglewood, Manhattan Beach Mira Costa and Redondo from the Pioneer League. Last season, the Sea Hawks made their first appearance in the CIF-Southern Section finals for the first time in more than 80 years, falling in the Division V championship game to Arcadia Rio Hondo Prep 29-7.
Serra’s strength appears to be with its defensive secondary, led by junior safety Derrick Coleman and senior cornerback Wesley Ace, who is coming off a stellar track and field season where he ran as fast as 10.51 in the 100-meter dash last fall. Ace started at cornerback last season that saw the Cavaliers finish at 4-6 overall and 1-4 in Mission League play. Malik Tunai, who started a few games but saw a lot of other action last year, is expected to start at quarterback.
Serra’s fundamental league also includes line competitions.
“We’re trying to get things back together,” Serra head coach Scott Altenberg said. “We’re young and in a learning process. We need to learn.”
The Cavaliers continue to be in the same Mission League with powerful Chatsworth Sierra Canyon, La Puente Bishop Amat, Los Angeles Loyola, West Hills Chaminade and Sherman Oaks Notre Dame. Serra opens the 2026 season against Palos Verdes at El Camino College on Aug. 21 beginning at 7 p.m. It’s other non-league games include L.A.-Palms District Hamilton (Aug. 28 at home), Los Alamitos (Sept. 4, away), Orange Lutheran (Sept. 11, home), and Westlake Village Oaks Christian (Sept. 18, home).
After a week break, the Cavaliers begin Mission play at home against Bishop Amat on Oct. 2. A week later (Oct. 9) will be the brutal home game against Sierra Canyon, which will be Serra’s last regular season home game. The Cavaliers final three league games are on the road against Loyola (Oct. 16), Chaminade (Oct. 23) and Notre Dame (Oct. 30). All games start at 7 p.m.
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Blackwood, Alarcon top Division VII honors
Shortstop Lucas Blackwood, who keyed North Torrance High’s baseball team to the CIF-Southern Section Division VII and Southern California Regional Division IV championships was selected Player of the Year.
Blackwood batted .400 (38-for-95) to help the Saxons win their first Southern Section title in 52 years, as well as capturing their first Southern California Regional Division IV championship with a 9-3 win over host Francis Parker on June 6 in San Diego. Blackwood did not hit any home runs but had five doubles and two triples. He drove in 24 runs and scored 21. Blackwood also had several outstanding defensive plays at shortstop.
Coach of the Year was Diego Alarcon, who guided North to the championships. North ended its season at 18-16 overall after finishing third, behind champion South Torrance and runner-up El Segundo, in the Pioneer League. After going just 4-8 in league that included three of the Saxons’ four opponents being in higher divisions than them, North chose the playoffs to play its best baseball winning all eight games. The Saxons won the Southern Section Division VII crown with a 7-1 win over South El Monte on May 30 at Cal State Fullerton. North also played Culver City, a team it lost to 6-3 in non-league, which won the Southern Section Division V crown over Fontana Summit in Rancho Cucamonga.
North had three other players make all-CIF in senior outfielder Josiah Reed, junior pitcher Mason Matsumoto and junior utility Andrew Bello.
Blackwood, Matsumoto and Reed were also selected on the Daily Breeze all-South Bay second-team. Senior outfielder Sei Nagashima made third-team.
Matsumoto had several outstanding pitching performances that included throwing a no-hitter through five innings in the Saxons’ Southern Section championship win over South El Monte.
Despite finishing last in the Del Rey League, Serra had one player in freshman sensation infielder Amir Linton make third-team.
Three local players landed on first-team in junior Skylar Vinson (Carson), junior pitcher Michael Flick (Torrance Bishop Montgomery) and junior utility Aiden Anaya (Torrance).
Other local players on second-team were senior first baseman Jonovan Talavera (South Torrance), junior outfielder Trevor Fortuna (Torrance), senior outfielder Jack Hall (Bishop Montgomery), and sophomore utility Leland Ingraham (South Torrance).
On third-team included sophomore pitcher Patrick Volaski (Carson), senior first baseman Derek Petus (Bishop Montgomery), senior infielder Owen Rhodes (South Torrance), junior infielder Dominic Robley (Bishop Montgomery), senior utility Fernando Barajas (Carson), junior utility Raul Izquirdo (Harbor City Narbonne), and junior utility Brandon Jarnard (Torrance).
Player of the Year was El Segundo senior Logan Brooks. Brooks hit .487, 11 home runs and drove in 50 runs. According to sources, Brooks has capability of being selected in the Major League Baseball draft, which is expected to be during the week following Independence Day.
Pitcher of the Year was University of Southern California-bound Kai Van Scoyoc from Bay League champion Palos Verdes. Van Scoyoc had a 6-2 record with an 0.99 earned run average.
Coach of the Year was Manhattan Beach Mira Costa’s Andy Diver, who guided the Mustangs to their second ever CIF-Southern Section title (the first being back in 1953 when Mira Costa had its first senior class) winning the Division III crown with a come-from-behind 9-7 win over Agoura on May 30 at Cal State Fullerton. The championship came after the Mustangs finished in third place, behind champion Palos Verdes and runner-up Redondo, in the Bay League with a 6-6 record. Mira Costa, which opened in 1950, finished 20-11 overall and opened the playoffs as the top-seed despite the finish behind the Sea Kings and Sea Hawks, who were in the same division. After being swept by Redondo in league, the Mustangs topped the Sea Hawks 6-3 in the second round. Palos Verdes was eliminated in the second round by Downey Warren 11-1.
