Damien, fresh off its win in the Ayalal Tournament last weekend, had another strong showing on Saturday at the Under Armor Tournament in El Toro.

The Spartans picked up wins over Servite, Carlsbad and Cathedral Catholic and reached the semifinals before falling to Serra.

“We competed,” Spartans coach Greg Gano said. “We’re competing against good people. There were a lot of athletes out there today. We’ve got some kids, they compete.”

Gano praised his defense, especially defensive back Jonathan Lyles. He also pointed out good offensive performances from Andy Sherwood, receiver Josh Savage and QB Gage Pucci.

Aram’s take: This team is getting scarier by the day. The loss of Alex Hernadnez hurts bad, but the gain of Ray Oseguera helps big. As I said in the first all-encompassing Top 25, I have a inkling to make the Spartans the No. 1 team in the area heading into fall.