{"id":465095,"date":"2026-09-16T02:08:23","date_gmt":"2026-09-16T02:08:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/465095\/"},"modified":"2026-09-16T02:08:23","modified_gmt":"2026-09-16T02:08:23","slug":"extra-practice-paying-dividends-for-yorba-linda-football-orange-county-register","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/465095\/","title":{"rendered":"Extra practice paying dividends for Yorba Linda football \u2013 Orange County Register"},"content":{"rendered":"

Support our high school sports coverage by becoming a digital subscriber.\u00a0Subscribe now<\/a><\/p>\n

First-year Yorba Linda football coach John Domen arrived at a crossroads early in his tenure.<\/p>\n

He felt the Mustangs needed more practice as the calendar seemed to race toward the start of fall camp.<\/p>\n

Domen acted.<\/p>\n

\u201cI canceled like four of our passing leagues and the Battle at the Beach (passing tournament),\u201d he recalled Monday. \u201cWe just weren\u2019t ready as a team yet and we couldn\u2019t waste any time not getting better at practice.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe 7-on-7 stuff and one-on-one is all fun. It\u2019s a break for the kids and you go out there and work on the timing,\u201d he added. \u201c(But) there isn\u2019t a pass rush and a lot of teams will run an offense or defense that they don\u2019t necessarily use in the season.\u201d<\/p>\n

Domen\u2019s foresight and understanding of his team looks superb.<\/p>\n

Yorba Linda (4-0) is ranked No. 11 in Orange County<\/a> and is ranked No. 38 in the state by hsratings.com entering a marquee clash at Huntington Beach (4-0) on Friday.<\/p>\n

The Oilers are No. 12 in the county and No. 42 in the state.<\/p>\n

Yorba Linda\u2019s resume is highlighted by victories against Laguna Beach and Long Beach Poly.<\/p>\n

The Mustangs notched the wins while starting 14 underclassmen, including several sophomores.<\/p>\n

With another strong performance Friday, they\u2019ll appear well-prepared for their promotion to the Alpha League next month.<\/p>\n

For a squad that lost longtime coach Jeff Bailey and wide receiver Troy Roberts (transfer to Crean Lutheran) in the offseason, Yorba Linda has made impressive strides by keeping its head down and grinding.<\/p>\n

\u201cBumping up (a league), (we\u2019ve) got to be a lot tighter at practice,\u201d Domen said. \u201cThe Alpha League is loaded with incredible talent and some really good coaching. \u2026 but (our previous) Bravo League is pretty competitive as well. Some of those teams in the Bravo League have a lot of Power 4 talent.\u201d<\/p>\n

Domen, 36, learned how to guide Yorba Linda while coaching and playing under Bailey, now the coach at Beverly Hills High.<\/p>\n

Domen played for Bailey as a lineman at El Dorado and joined Bailey\u2019s staff at Yorba Linda in 2013.<\/p>\n

Domen\u2019s coaching staff includes key Bailey assistants such as Gary Bowers, Steve DiTolla and Rich Burrell. Tommy Storing is the defensive coordinator.<\/p>\n

Several of Yorba Linda\u2019s sophomores have flourished with the extra practice.<\/p>\n

Insider linebacker Taj Lagraffe (6-0, 205) ranks second to senior Andrew Maldonado in tackles with 28. He also plays running back and fullback.<\/p>\n

\u201cBoy is he special,\u201d Domen said of Lagraffe.<\/p>\n

Other sophomores who have emerged are defensive end Logan Seib, right tackle Colt Pace, wide receivers Connor Mackay and Kolt Holcomb and quarterback Andrew Churney.<\/p>\n

Churney started for the first time last week to fill in for Noah Trujillo (shoulder). He passed for 317 yards and three touchdowns in a 42-7 victory against Esperanza.<\/p>\n

Domen said Trujillo will be a \u201cgame-time decision\u201d to play against the Oilers.<\/p>\n

Trujillo\u2019s brother Isaiah leads the junior class.<\/p>\n

The running back\/linebacker has rushed for 238 yards and six TDs, and has 18 tackles.<\/p>\n

Defensive tackle Landon Pearson, left guard Carter Uvalle and wide receiver Maddex Schroeder are other top juniors.<\/p>\n

Maldonado has emerged as a standout at safety. The senior leads the team in tackles (33) and interceptions (three).<\/p>\n

Maldonado anchors a revamped secondary that will be tested by Huntington Beach quarterback Brady Edmunds, who is committed to Ohio State.<\/p>\n

The Mustangs\u2019 secondary includes cornerbacks Tanner Melvin and Dylan Newsom, and safety Braden Walker. The group has been working especially hard with DiTolla, Domen said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019re good,\u201d Domen said of Huntington Beach. \u201cThey have a great quarterback. Four receivers who can all make plays. They\u2019re big up front. \u2026 It\u2019s going to take a lot of discipline (to win).\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI try to steer away from having (our players) focus on who we\u2019re playing and have the focus be on preparation and what we can do each day to get better,\u201d the coach added.<\/p>\n

\"MaterMater Dei\u2019s Paytyn Guess (13) escapes the grasp of Centennial\u2019s Chase Wallner (11) during a high school football game between Centennial of Corona and Mater Dei in a non-league contest at Santa Ana Stadium.
\nSeptember 11, 2026.(Photo by Michael Goulding, Contributing Photographer)<\/p>\n

MATER DEI\u2019S PAYTYN GUESS RISING<\/p>\n

Mater Dei freshman quarterback Paytyn Guess continued to flash his potential in a 10-9 win against Centennial<\/a> last week.<\/p>\n

Guess helped seal the victory with an 18-yard completion to Gavin Honore with about 1:30 left in the fourth quarter.<\/p>\n

In the first half, Guess scrambled on fourth down before launching a 28-yard pass to Honore that moved the Monarchs to the Huskies 1. Centennial\u2019s defense answered by forcing a turnover but Guess\u2019 ability remained clear.<\/p>\n

\u201cI prepare for moments like this,\u201d he said. \u201cI may not get it all the time but I got to make the most of my opportunities.\u201d<\/p>\n

Guess shared time at quarterback with senior Cameron Pooley and junior Russell Sekona.<\/p>\n

The day before the Centennial game, Guess starred for Mater Dei\u2019s freshman team. He has played for the varsity and freshman teams throughout the season.<\/p>\n

\u201cThursday is the preparation, make sure my mind is right and just perfect my craft,\u201d Guess said. \u201cFriday is when the big stage comes up.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mater Dei coach Raul Lara said the quarterback position remains a work in progress for the Monarchs.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m really looking a guy to take control in getting the other 10 guys together and doing (well),\u201d Lara said. \u201cThey got to stay positive, rally the guys and not make the simple mistakes.\u201d<\/p>\n

SHORT ROUTES<\/p>\n

Brea Olinda (4-1) will receive a forfeit win for this week\u2019s game against Victor Valley, Wildcats coach Justin Villasenor confirmed. Victor Valley\u2019s players and coaches were reportedly suspended for this week\u2019s game for conduct during a 20-7 win against Apple Valley last week. \u2026<\/p>\n

The Orange County all-star football game is scheduled for Feb. 6 at Newport Harbor High, organizer Frank Albers of Costa Mesa United said. \u2026<\/p>\n

Irvine running back Seamus Hoffman enters this week\u2019s game with 641 rushing yards. He ran for 202 yards in a victory over Laguna Hills last week.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Support our high school sports coverage by becoming a digital subscriber.\u00a0Subscribe now First-year Yorba Linda football coach John…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":465096,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[33],"tags":[7,6916,2043,2044,588,131,133,132,611,338,127,7537],"class_list":["post-465095","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-long-beach","tag-california","tag-dan-albano","tag-high-school-football","tag-high-school-sports","tag-huntington-beach","tag-long-beach","tag-long-beach-headlines","tag-long-beach-news","tag-orange-county","tag-santa-ana","tag-sports","tag-yorba-linda"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/465095","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=465095"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/465095\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/465096"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=465095"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=465095"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=465095"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}