By Aram Tolegian
This time, the La Mirada High School football program outdid itself.
Known for always sending a solid group of college football prospect on to the next level, this year the Matadores are sending a bumper crop.
Nine La Mirada players made their college choices official on Wednesday during Signing Day ceremonies at the school. The tenth La Mirada standout to sign, Elijah Hicks, is already enrolled at Cal.

“It’s special,” said La Mirada quarterback Tristan Meyer, who signed with Sacramento St. “It’s awesome because I grew up with all these kids. We’ve been waiting and we’ve always been together since we were little kids. Just to have the opportunity to sign with all these guys and know all these guys are going to be successful, it’s special. It’s awesome.”
For Meyer, finding a place to play in college was not easy given the complexities of being a quarterback recruit. Sacramento St. wanted somewhat early on in the process and Meyer gave a verbal commit that he honored on Wednesday.
“It’s a dream come true,” Meyer said. “That’s the best words I can say. I’ve been working my ass off for four years for this moment.”
The fun didn’t stop at Meyer. Linebacker Chase Newman was always set on Colorado and never wavered, making things official on Wednesday with the Buffaloes. Receiver Jeremy Clark saw his stock rise late and signed with UNLV.
Then came the brainiacs. Defensive end Sire Woods signed with Penn while fellow defensive lineman Trevor Hallock made things official with Army. Offensive lineman Kobe Toa is headed to Southern Utah.
Tight end/defensive lineman Andrew Anderson will stay somewhat local by signing with Azusa Pacific. Jonah Uiagaleilei Aumua (OL/DL) and Jake Bale (FB/LB) are headed to College of Idaho.
Hicks was the headliner of the group. The defensive back was committed to Notre Dame for a while but opened things up somewhat late in the process and switched to Cal where he’s already attending classes and taking part in preparations for next season.
Down the road from La Mirada, La Habra linebacker Marcus Carrasco signed with Northern Arizona. Carrasco also had offers from Hawaii and UTEP.
Whittier Christian’s Nico Albertini signed to play football at Colorado State University Puebla.