Camp Cantwell

I recently attended a Cantwell Sacred Heart passing league and walked away with a few impressions.

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WATCH OUT FOR ADAM AGUIRRE

I’ve heard a lot about soon-to-be junior receiver Adam Aguirre and saw him in action against Bosco Tech and Cathedral last season.

Even in the summer passing league, Aguirre hasn’t failed to impress.

Aguirre is listed at 6-1, although he looks a little taller and he recently hit a high jump of 6 feet, 4 inches during the track season.

He hauled in an impressive 25-yard touchdown slant in Cantwell’s recent four-way passing scrimmage against the City Section’s Lincoln High.

He was most impressive against Pac-5 power Compton, however.

Aguirre dropped a perfectly placed lob from quarterback Christian Espinoza in the end zone after beating his receiver on a post-corner route.

Even though Aguirre was chewed out by coach Kim Taylor, he was undeterred.

He scored a touchdown versus Compton on Cantwell’s second drive and even got into a little healthy trash-talking with his defenders.

I anticipate he’ll learn to let his game do his talking.

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ESPINOZA ADDS BULK

Taylor speculated Espinoza added around 15-20 pounds of muscle during the offseason.

The 6-1 senior quarterback looks his fittest ever in a Cardinals uniform and it showed in his improved arm strength and distance.

“He put the work in during the summer,” Taylor said. “He’s improved a lot mentally and with his game understanding. It’s nice to see he complemented that knowledge with additional size and strength.”

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THE D MIGHT LEAD

While Cantwell has had decent to below-average defenses for a while, this unit easily looks to be the strongest under Taylor this season.

At the passing scrimmage, the Cardinals forced nine interceptions while allowing only five scores on seven drives.

The defense looked most stout when it kept Division 1 Compton out of the end zone in its opening 10-play drive.

Jonathan Mesa had two interceptions while Jacob Alaniz had back-to-back interceptions. James Becerra had three deflections while flying all over the field.

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TAYLOR TRUSTS DUNCAN

Taylor, who once was an assistant at Bassett under Pete Smolin, said he was pleased with Basett’s hire of Aubrey Duncan last month as head coach.

Taylor admitted that inquiries were made by sources close to the school about his availability before the bizarre hiring and resignation of Craig Cieslik, who was at Basset this summer for about a month before leaving.

“They have some talent over there, it’s just a matter of coaching,” Taylor said. “For years, the school has lost kids to other area programs like Bishop Amat. But I like Aubrey; I think he can certainly get it done.”

Editor’s Note: It’s on to Santa Fe for the next football camp article.

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