WEST HILLS — Chaminade football hosted Valencia, St. Francis and St. Bonaventure for a spring showcase on Wednesday evening, which served as a preview of what could come this fall season.
Scouts from UC Davis, Cal Lutheran, Sacramento State, Cal Poly, San Jose State and Oregon State and more were on hand for the event.
One of the Eagles’ most promising additions hasn’t even played in pads yet. Joachim Paul, who moved to Southern California from New Zealand, will be a defensive lineman in his first year of American football after playing rugby for his entire sports career.
“This is my first football experience going up against other schools,” Paul said. “Coming from a rugby background, the transition is easy in some ways, but still quite challenging right now. I’ve watched football my entire life and have never been able to play it.”
Chaminade has three returners on the offensive line and will also return dual-threat quarterback Seth Shigg, who also competed in track and field this spring. Shigg passed for 1,813 yard and 10 touchdowns and rushed for 948 yards and 11 touchdowns last season.
“We have nine returning offensive starters,” Chaminade coach David Machuca said. “So he’s got a lot of continuity with those guys and it’s exciting and intriguing.”
Valencia quarterback Brady Bretthauer shined in 7-on-7 competition and the Vikings, who were without running back Brian Bonner due to track and field obligations, rattled off six touchdowns in the 7-on-7 period against Chaminade.
Bretthauer favored Nick Seymour throughout the evening for deep throws and two-way player Symeon Wilkins was on hand for a few catches and provided pressure in the secondary on defense.
“Today we were just killing it,” said Bretthauer, who holds offers from Old Dominion, San Jose State and UNLV. “We got into a groove and we kept it going all day, so I think we’ll be extremely good come fall.”
Bretthauer served as a backup quarterback last season as a sophomore and completed 22 of 40 passes for 208 yards and four touchdowns while rushing for another 203 yards and six touchdowns on 47 carries.
Seymour hauled in 12 passes for 173 yards and two touchdowns in his junior season.
St. Francis is building up its receiving corps and young offensive line around returning starting quarterback John Sanders. Many receivers are playing on defense as well, including Tim Murphy.
Sanders threw for 21 touchdowns and just over 2,000 yards on 155 passes as a sophomore last season.
“Our quarterback is great,” St. Francis coach Dean Herrington said. “Especially when his first-team guys are in there. One of the best I’ve coached.”
Chaminade will begin the fall season against Oaks Christian on Aug. 23 and Valencia will begin on the same day at Simi Valley. St. Francis and St. Bonaventure will play Aug. 22 at St. Bonaventure.