High school football: Players sweat, bond at summer passing tournaments

Admittedly, Scott Longerbone hates 7-on-7 passing tournaments.

Still, the Steele Canyon High School football coach recognizes the benefits of the summer events.

“We had a helluva summer,” Longerbone said after his Cougars won the 16th annual Semper Fi Tournament last week at La Costa Canyon High School.

“We entered four tournaments, made it to the finals of all four and won three. I really do hate these things, but they allow for some really good teaching situations. They teach camaraderie, team bonding, team chemistry.

“As coaches, we learn who will compete, who takes charge, who will lead. We can see who is willing to play hard in the fifth or sixth game of the day.

“We have Gavin Caha, who I consider the best quarterback in the county. That helps a lot, but we have a lot of new receivers, so he gets to work on timing routes, gets to see who will make the tough catch, who he can depend on to make a clutch catch.”

Steele Canyon beat Valley Center, lost to Point Loma and beat Imperial in pool play at the Semper Fi Tournament.

The Cougars then upset host La Costa Canyon 21-14 in the Gold Division semifinals before edging Christian 14-7 in the championship game on a last-minute bomb from Caha to Malcholm Ballard.

The defense then broke up a Christian pass in the end zone on the last play of the game to win it.

“These summer tournaments are about bonding,” said Caha, who threw for 2,426 yards and 25 touchdowns last season in leading Steele Canyon to a 9-4 record.

"We have a lot of new receivers, so we need to put in the work in the summer if we want to be a championship team. I need to trust my receivers … and that starts in the summer.”

Caha said the team bonding started on a cruise to Catalina.

"We were out on the water and didn’t have much else to do but get to know each other,” Caha said.

Elsewhere on the summer circuit:

• QB Koa Smith-Mayall, who is at his fourth school - starting at Santa Margarita, then playing at JSerra and moving to Oceanside - led Cathedral Catholic to the Silver Division playoffs at the prestigious Battle at the Beach in Huntington Beach last weekend. In pool play, the Dons beat Tustin and Long Beach Millikan but lost to Bellflower St. John Bosco and Huntington Beach Edison. The Dons beat Long Beach Poly in the playoffs before losing to JSerra, 14-13.

• Also at the Battle at the Beach, Lincoln beat Anaheim Servite and first-year coach Rick Garretson, a former San Diego State receiver. The Hornets also beat Long Beach Poly, but lost to Santa Margarita and Capistrano Valley. The Hornets then lost to Tustin in the Silver Division playoffs. Bellflower St. John Bosco, behind QB Koa Malau’ulu, won the Battle of the Beach, beating Corona Centennial in the championship game,

• USC commit Honor Fa’alave-Johnson of Cathedral Catholic was one of the most impressive players at the Battle at the Beach,

• La Costa Canyon alternated QBs all summer. Senior Jackson Miller, who served as the backup last season to Quinn Roth, is a senior. Luke Labrum, who stands 6-foot-6, is a sophomore. The Mavericks lost in the championship game at the Cal Poly Tournament.

• Christian is led by QB Kaleb Runkle, who threw for 2,870 yards and 28 TDs last season, and receiver Kai Rosier, who had 77 catches for 1,146 yards.

• Point Loma was a winner at the 28-team USD Tournament, which was held at Westview High School and Del Norte because of construction at USD.

• At the San Diego State tournament, Mission Hills beat La Costa Canyon for the C Bracket title. University City won the B Bracket.

Notable

There are no San Diego teams in MaxPreps.com's Preseason National Top 25. Bellflower St. John Bosco is ranked No. 1, with Santa Margarita No. 6, Corona Centennial No. 8, Santa Ana Mater Dei No. 9 and Chatsworth Sierra Canyon No. 17.

• Fa’alave-Johnson and Lincoln's Prince Tavizon were the only San Diego players named to MaxPreps’ 2025 All-American Team. Fa’alave-Johnson is a senior running back/defensive back. Tavizon is a defensive lineman who has signed with Oregon.

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