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California’s Top 50 high school football teams: Bryan Wilson & No. 50 Ayala Bulldogs hungry to take the next step

Led by a 3-star QB and formidable O-line, Ayala is poised for another great season

SBLive is previewing the Top 50 high school football teams in California ahead of the 2022 season. Here’s an inside look at the Ayala Bulldogs of the CIF Southern Section, the No. 50 team in our countdown.

AYALA TEAM PAGE | 2022 FALL FOOTBALL SCHEDULE

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HEAD COACH

A.J. Gracia:

Ayala-Tustin-football44
  • 7th season as Ayala's head coach
  • Overall record at Ayala: 34-16
  • Is also co-offensive coordinator

2021-22 AT A GLANCE

  • Overall record: 9-2
  • League record: 3-0 (1st in Mountain West League)
  • Made CIF Southern Section Division 3 playoffs

2022 SCHEDULE

(All games are at 7 p.m. unless noted otherwise)

  • Aug. 11 @ West Covina (SCRIMMAGE) – 6:30 p.m.
  • Aug. 19 @ Torrey Pines – 7:15 p.m.
  • Aug. 26 vs. Etiwanda
  • Sep. 1 vs. Leuzinger
  • Sep. 9 vs. Monrovia
  • Sep. 16 @ Chino Hills
  • Sep. 23 vs. Citrus Valley
  • Sep. 29 vs. Glendora
  • Oct. 14 vs. Charter Oak
  • Oct. 21 @ Alta Loma
  • Oct. 27 @ Bonita

ALL-MOUNTAIN WEST LEAGUE PLAYERS DEPARTED

  • TE/LB Chandler Carthan – Most Valuable Player
  • OL/DL Jayden Colvin – 1st Team
  • DB/WR Drew Merrill – 1st Team
  • DL Joseph Rodriguez – 2nd Team
  • DL Jaden Brown – 2nd Team
  • DB Boston Wilson – 2nd Team

PLAYERS TO WATCH

QB Bryan Wilson – JR.

Ayala football

One of the top 2024 dual-threat QBs in California, Wilson is the reigning league OPOY and a 3-star prospect with two SEC offers. In 10 games as a sophomore, he threw for 1,264 yards and 16 touchdowns, and ran for 160 yards and four more scores.

OL Joseph Lopez – SR.

Lopez anchors an outstanding offensive line at center. He's 6-2, 305, and a reigning First Team All-League honoree.

OL Niko Partida – JR.

Partida is another returning First Team All-League offensive lineman.

OL Merrick Becerra – SR.

After missing his entire junior season to a knee injury following a standout sophomore campaign, Becerra is one of the top OL breakout candidates in the section. He's 6-6, 325, and will play right tackle.

WR Dominic Alloway – SR.

Alloway caught for 358 yards and a team-high six touchdowns last season. He was named First Team All-League.

RB/DB Marquis Monroe – JR.

Monroe is the Bulldogs' top two-way player entering the fall as a pass-catching RB and CB. He led the team with three interceptions and totaled over 500 yards of offense on his way to making First Team All-League.

WR Lytallion Payne II – SR.

With three touchdown catches and a team-high 477 receiving yards, Payne made Second Team All-League as a junior.

WR Drew Amico – JR.

Amico was a Second Team All-Big VIII League receiver as a sophomore for CIFSS Division 3 semifinalist Roosevelt (Eastvale). Expect him to quickly become one of the Bulldogs' top targets.

OL Blake Harmon – SR.

Harmon makes yet another returning all-league O-lineman for Ayala at 6-5, 300.

DB/LB Tommy Tucay – SR.

Tucay was an all-league second teamer as an OLB/S hybrid last season, registering 52 tackles and an interception.

LB Enrique Ybanez – SR.

Ybanez is Ayala's other returning leading tackler, having also racked up 52 tackles last fall.

RB/DB Jacob Munoz – JR.

Munoz impressed at both RB and safety last season in eight games, and could emerge as one of the team's best players as a junior.

RB Eddie Huerta – SR.

Huerta was third on the team in running yards last season despite playing in only seven games.

WR Vincent Garcia – SR.

Garcia got a starting job late in the season as a junior transfer, and has a chance to be a key contributor on offense.

IT STARTS UP FRONT

#66: Lopez; #69: Slater; #70: Partida; #77: Harmon

#66: Lopez; #69: Slater; #70: Partida; #77: Harmon

One defining characteristic of Ayala football under Coach Gracia and co-offensive coordinator/O-line coach Ryan Parks has been dominance in the trenches. The Bulldogs consistently establish an effective running game year after year, even against defenses geared up to stop them on the ground. And much of that success has started up front.

So, Ayala fans will be happy to know that the offensive line will again be a force to be reckoned with this fall. Joseph Chavez (6-2, 305) and Niko Partida (6-2, 245) are returning all-league first teamers, Blake Harmon (6-5, 300) is a reigning second teamer, and the Bulldogs are also getting Merrick Becerra (6-6, 325) back from an injury. Together with Andrew Slater (6-1, 285), who got some starting experience late last season, that group makes one of the better OL units in the Southern Section.

"I'm blessed to have an O-line like that," said Wilson. "I'm really excited. They're great."

"When we saw the O-linemen tipping in over 300 on the scales, we were very excited. They've really dedicated themselves to the weight room and put on some big boy muscle," said Gracia.

"We're excited to have Merrick back, and with Andrew Slater at left guard, you could argue that we have five returning starters on O-line because he started three games for us. You can't ask for anything better as an offensive coordinator. The installs have gone much faster. We could've been running our full offensive playbook in the spring. Now it's some fine-tuning, adding, throwing in some wrinkles here and there, and having some fun."

BEST-CASE SCENARIO

The Bulldogs went 14-2 in the calendar year 2021 and are now 25-3 in their last three seasons. And this could be their best team yet of the current era. Ayala has talent all across the field, and with roughly 15 starters returning, there will be some serious continuity.

The offense is likely to be the most dynamic one yet under Gracia. In addition to its excellent offensive line, Ayala is set at the skill positions. 

Starting with the blue chip signal caller, Bryan Wilson is now in his third season under center for the Bulldogs. And as good as he was throughout 2021, look for him to reach another gear as a junior. Wilson's season ended with a neck/shoulder injury right before the playoffs, but he quickly made a full recovery and even made some beneficial adjustments to his form via the recovery process. He then went on to impress scouts all offseason long, and has now had a full offseason of team activities for the first time.

Additionally, his top targets are back, and this might be Ayala's most talented receiving corps in recent years. Last year's leading receivers Dominic Alloway and Lytallion Payne II return as seniors. The team is expecting big things from junior Drew Amico, who transferred in after a strong sophomore season at Roosevelt (Eastvale). And Vincent Garcia is expected to emerge as another top option.

While we are likely to see more of an aerial attack from the Bulldogs than in recent years, don't expect them to get away from running the ball a lot. After senior CJ Sento went down midseason, Marquis Monroe, Eddie Huerta, and Joseph Munoz all stepped up, and Gracia is confident in that returning triumvirate. Ayala has long found success in running the ball to open up the passing game, and it wouldn't be surprising to see Wilson do more damage on the ground as a junior.

If the Bulldogs didn't get banged up late in the season, they would've had a serious chance to go deep in the CIFSS Division 3 playoffs. Their defense was just as good as their offense last year, and there are some key cogs returning on that end.

If a lot of returning starters make individual leaps, Ayala could very well go undefeated through the regular season and make a playoff run in Division 2. If they were to go 9-1 or 8-2, they'd project as a Division 3 contender.

MOST REALISTIC SCENARIO

Another key to the Bulldogs' recent success has been their consistent well-roundedness. Season after season, there's just no glaring weakness for opponents to exploit, and they're consistent week to week. Those traits aren't givens even for many of the top teams in the section. 

Will 2022 be the same for Ayala? The answer is probably yes. 

The offense is quite complete. Ayala's defense was outstanding last season, but it will miss some key figures. Gone is LB and League MVP Chandler Carthan, in addition to their next leading tackler and next two leaders in both sacks and tackles for loss. The Bulldogs also lost a couple impact players in the secondary as well. 

They're still promising in the back four with the likes of Monroe, Munoz, and Tucay (who's more of a safety/LB hybrid). The front seven will be dependent on some less experienced players stepping up, but Ayala has a track record of successfully filling roster holes internally. Look for Enrique Ybanez to have a big year, and Wyatt Summerford is another LB who could become a big factor.

Put it all together, and a healthy Ayala team is one of the safest bets around to remain one of the better teams in the section. Since 2019, they've gone 24-1 in regular season games. A 10-0 season is not unrealistic, but even if they drop more regular season games than expected, they could still be ready for playoff success in a high division.

COACH SAID

"As an offense it's always great to be balanced. We have been a little more run-heavy in the years that I've been here. But with Bryan coming back and hitting his stride – the game is slowing down for him in his third year – with all the receivers coming back, and even our running backs who have not only the ability to take the ball to the house but also to catch it in the backfield... it's going to put a lot of stress on defenses. They'll either have to take chances and come after the quarterback and maybe bring some blitzes, or they'll have to play us soft. In that case, I trust Bryan to make all the right reads and get the ball into our athletes' hands."

"We can't worry about what division we're in, because that's out of our control. But with our schedule [being tougher than ever], every week is going to be a test. Every week we will have the opportunity to see where we're at and how we stack up with [another good team]. Hopefully this year we're healthy heading into the playoffs, and if we are, then we should be ready to play our best football every week and potentially go on a run."

--A.J. Gracia

Ayala

Wilson & Gracia in 2022

2021 Ayala Bulldogs

2021 Ayala Bulldogs