Usually when a team wins 10 games, plays in one of the most competitive leagues in the county and wins a CIF-SS Division 2 playoff game, they are well-respected and highly regarded the following season.

But this season Tesoro is ranked outside of the Orange County top 10, and behind a team it beat by 17 points last season. The lowered expectations from the media and other teams might give Tesoro the chip on its shoulder that it needs when it plays Aliso Niguel on Friday in its season opener.

“Internally we’ve talked about that a little bit,” Tesoro coach Matt Poston said about being overlooked by others. “It’s not completely unjustified, we lost a lot of kids from last year’s team. But we’re a good program and we have kids ready to step up.”

I’m out here at Tesoro talking to Coach @MAPoston about the Titan’s matchup against Aliso Niguel this Friday. Not a lot of returners but Tesoro always has a good team. Check with @ocvarsity tomorrow for the story. @TesoroFootball @SteveFryer @latsondheimer pic.twitter.com/8itzf8COEK

— Michael Huntley (@mikehuntley63) March 16, 2021

Tesoro did lose its quarterback, leading rusher and receiver, its best offensive lineman and its two best defensive players from the 2019 team. But the Titans have players who have paid their dues who will be taking those spots this season.

Cooper Galloway and Ethan Hurst, who each had 16 sacks last season, have graduated. Replacing them is Jason Baum and Chris McCarty. Baum, who is 6-foot-4 and 230 pounds, had 14 tackles and 2.5 sacks last season.

The starting running back will be Lucas Pesak who was a playmaker on the JV team last season. Cole Yoshida and Brandon Brown will be the two primary receivers. Yoshida had nearly 400 yards receiving last season with four touchdowns and has offers from multiple Division III schools like Redlands and Pacific University.

Senior Reubin Kim will be the starting quarterback. The lefty has only attempted three passes at the varsity level, but he waited for his turn and it has finally paid off for him.

“He does everything well,” Poston said of Kim. “He’s really smart and is a good manager of what we are trying to do offensively. He’s bought his time in the program and finally gets his opportunity.”

Aliso Niguel is led by first-year head coach Mike Calahan, who was previously the defensive coordinator for the Wolverines for seven seasons. He has had a stressful month considering he and his wife bought their first house, his wife is due to give birth to their second baby this week and football unexpectedly came back.

“I give credit to the kids,” he said. “They’ve stayed with me the whole COVID offseason and our attendance was through the roof. And my staff has been flexible with changing practice times through this whole strange offseason.”

The Wolverines feature two big tight ends in Quentin Biebel (6-foot-4, 220 pounds) and Sky Ellis (6-foot-6, 235 pounds). Ellis has an offer from Benedictine College and was named a “breakout prospect” at the National Preps Showcase in San Diego last month.

Stopped by Aliso Niguel and talked to new coach ⁦@coachcalahan⁩. They have tight ends Quentin Biebel (6’4” 220 lbs) and Sky Ellis (right, 6’6” 235 lbs). Previewing them and Tesoro for the Register. ⁦@ocvarsity⁩ ⁦@SteveFryer⁩ ⁦@SkyEllis9⁩ ⁦⁦ pic.twitter.com/QW45Xjx5Yb

— Michael Huntley (@mikehuntley63) March 17, 2021

“They blew up over this offseason and really took advantage of the long COVID offseason,” Calahan said.

The quarterback will be Trevor Romaldo who was an All-Sea View League safety last season. He threw for 113 yards and a touchdown on just four completions as a quarterback.

“When he got in, he made all the right reads and the smart plays,” Calahan said of Romaldo. “He’s a gamer who loves to play the game.”

Other returners to keep an eye on for the Wolverines are all-league defensive lineman and MIT commit Evan Comiskey, running back Chase Christner and Kurt Chesney, a starting linebacker who is also the number one ranked long snapper in the nation by the Rubio Long Snapping school.

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