Though the heat is still on in Santa Monica, the transition to the fall season is already underway in school athletics, as the city’s football teams took to the field for their first Friday contests.
The Vikings started hot last season, winning their first five non-league contests before a 1-4 slide once hitting Bay League play. Still taking a slot in the CIF Southern Section Division 9 playoff field, the squad made the most of the opportunity, knocking off Santa Ana, Troy and Kaiser en route to the championship tilt. Though the Vikings fell to Rio Hondo Prep in the 2023 finals, the team hopes the momentum carries over to 2024.
After this coming Friday’s contest against Laguna Beach, the Vikings’ home opener, the team will face three opponents it toppled in 2023: West, Sylmar and Hueneme. League play will be a different tale, however, as the Vikings transitioned from the Bay League to the Pioneer League in the off-season.
The Pioneer League features opponents old (Peninsula, Redondo Union) and new, with three foes from Torrance (Torrance, North and South) now on the 2024 slate. North finished 7-4 (5-0 in the league) last season before losing its first playoff tilt, while South (4-6) was unable to secure a postseason spot. The Torrance Tartars, however, were able to run through the CIF-SS Division 10 tournament, securing the division title before losing in the Division 5-AA region finals.
Along with the fresh opponents, fresh faces will have to carry the load on both ends for the Vikings. The team’s 2023 leading rusher (Caden McCallum) and receiver (Griffin Seals) both graduated, as did defensive standouts Jayden Montanez and Paco Vandenbrook. In his second season behind center, quarterback Wyatt Brown will look to follow up his efficient sophomore campaign, where he completed 67.4% of his passes en route to a 2,955-yard, 21 touchdown effort.
Vikings sports don’t just stop on Friday nights, as this fall marks the second season of the successful girls flag football unit. The defending Ocean League champions went undefeated in league play last year, and began the 2024 campaign defeating Woodrow Wilson 19-0 on August 16. Four days later, the team fell 14-12 to Aliso Niguel, but will have a chance to rebound this week in games against Redondo Union and Mira Costa.
Fall sports also include girls golf, girls tennis, girls volleyball, boys water polo and cross country. This cross country season will mark the final go-around for senior phenom Phoebe Benun, who finished 20th in the 5,000-meter CIF State meet last November.
After winning a CIF-SS championship for the first time since 1998, the Saint Monica Mariners also returned to the football field last Friday, (insert game recap). The Mariners brought back the majority of its young core for 2024, including quarterback Bradley Cassier, running back Elijah Wilson and defensive standout Dequan Carter.
Two other local teams had some national press in the leadup to the season, as Sports Illustrated’s high school section listed Palisades High as the sixth-best team in the Los Angeles City section, headlined by Loyola transfer quarterback Jack Thomas. Venice High was also praised in the article’s honorable mentions, with particular attention given to sophomore quarterback Jaiden Noel.
thomas@smdp.com
