St. Anthony coach Mario Morales’ 2016 team gave Saints fans their best memories since the immediate aftermath of World War II, winning the school’s first CIF-SS football championship since 1948.
Under the CIF-SS’ competitive equity format, teams move up and down in divisions each year based on a record of recent success. St. Anthony’s CIF title came in Division 10, but as they’ve continued to win games (21-7 the last two seasons) they’ve been moving up. Last year they were in Division 9, this year they’re up in Division 7.
To put that jump in perspective, St. Anthony is now below only Poly and Wilson in division in Long Beach. They’d be tied with Millikan as the third highest-placed team in the Moore League were they to make a switch into the league. That’s a mark of high respect for a rising small school program, but also a lot of pressure to put on a team that’s lost some major talent to graduation the last few years as well.
“We’re playing much tougher competition, you can look at that in a negative way,” said Morales. “Or you can say it’s a tribute to the guys that came before that established it. Our guys have pride about maintaining the growth that we’ve had. We’ve had success and we’ve been blessed, so we anticipate being moved up. Our guys like the challenge.”
The Saints are short on experience this year and the program’s numbers have dipped as well, a problem seen all over California but heightened for a coach whose team has moved up three divisions. St. Anthony had 92 players in the program when they made their title run and are at 70 players this year, something Morales said he’s noticed but not worried too much about.
“The players we do have are a little more athletic, we like the guys we’ve got,” he said.”
A lot of the season’s direction will depend on the learning curve of quarterback Nick Billoups, who will start this year as a junior. Billoups is a good-looking six-foot quarterback with a strong arm, and the Saints have Donovan Castillo back in the backfield as a security blanket. If Billoups can work the offense, he’ll be able to put stress on defenses in a number of ways. Receivers like Eamon Pool-Harris and Champ Rodriguez will make his life easier as well
Up front there’s some big guys for the Saints ready to clear the way, including St. Anthony legacy Jake Buksa, who’s excited to continue his family’s tradition in purple and white; Buksa will be one of the top linemen in the Del Rey League, whether he’s at center or defensive tackle. Adrian Magana is another big body for the Saints and is entering his senior year as a four-year starter. Andres Kulju is another key lineman.
“We’re young and inexperienced, it’s all about the first two or three games to see where we’re going,” said Morales.
Harvard-Westlake and St. Genevieve figure to be the top league competition, but local fans will get to see the Saints play big public schools in their nonleague schedule as they travel to Warren and Wilson.
Projected Starting Lineup
Offense
QB: Nick Billoups
RB: Donovan Castillo
WR: Champ Rodriguez
WR: Blake Banks
WR: Eamon Pool-Harris
WR: Myles Aguero
OL: Jake Buksa
OL: Andres Kulju
OL: Adrian Magana
OL: Hoi Tua
OL: Turtle Tua
OL: Keali’i Tuufuli
Defense
DL: Adrian Magana
DL: Andres Kulju
DL: Devante’ Pollard
DL: Jake Buksa
LB: Jaden Cabs
LB: Justin Wilson
LB: Aude Williams
LB: Cade Ignacio
DB: Myles Aguero
DB: Champ Rodriguez
DB: Jesse DeLeon
DB: Blake Banks
DB: Nick Billoups
St. Anthony Schedule
8/17 @ Valencia
8/24 @ Warren
8/31 vs. Palm Springs
9/7 @ Wilson
9/14 vs. Gahr
9/21 vs. Agoura
9/29 @ Harvard-Westlake*
10/5 @ La Salle*
10/12 vs. St. Genevieve*
10/19 vs. St. Paul
10/26 BYE
*(League Game)
All home games at Clark Field
St. Anthony Football Season Preview 2018
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