Palos Verdes’ Jalen Flowers begins football season with big performance
Daily Breeze · Damian Calhoun · 2026-08-25T18:21:04+00:00 · nguồn gốc
Palos Verdes’ junior Jalen Flowers wants to separate himself from a crowded and extremely talented defensive back field, not only in the South Bay, but in the state, as well.
More performances like Friday night just might do the trick.
Flowers scored Palos Verdes’ two touchdowns (receiving and kickoff return) and had a busy game on defense. Playing safety, he recorded 16 tackles in a 17-14 win against Serra. He also added a 36-yard reception on what was the game-winning drive.
“It was time to make a play and I feel like I’m the guy,” he said Friday of his fourth-quarter catch. “He (Ryan Rakowski) threw it and he trusted me with it. So I appreciate him for trusting me and I caught it and set us up for a field goal (to win the game).”
Flowers has the attention of major college football programs. He has a long list of college visits set.
Flowers was a first-team All-Area selection at defensive back last season.
“I’m just going through the process,” he said of the recruiting. “It’s really just a blessing. Seeing all these coaches, and all these teams that I used to grow up watching, try and get me on their team. So it’s really just the biggest blessing I could ask for.”
His list of college visits include USC, Notre Dame, Miami, Texas …
“A lot more,” he added. “I can’t think of them all right now.”
Flowers has put in the work to be one of the top-ranked players in the Class of 2028. 247Sports has him rated as the No. 5 recruit in the state.
“Every offseason, I try and get out to every competition that I can do,” he said. “Camps, 7-on-7s, workouts, anything I can go out there and work on my technique. I want to go out there, be seen and I just want to go play against the best guys. That will get you better and then people will see me.”
Flowers feels like there is one aspect of his play that will help him stand out.
“I feel like I play good (against) the run,” he said. “I show up against the run for team a lot, and in this game.”
Palos Verdes will be home Thursday afternoon against Bishop Moore of from Orlando, Fla.
Serra offense on the right track
A lot was made about Serra’s offensive troubles last season. In Friday’s opener, the Cavaliers appeared to be on the right track.
Junior quarterback Malik Tunai completed 13 of 22 passes for 148 yards and rushed for 117 yards. A.J. McBean rushed for 111 yards on 23 carries and two touchdowns.
“We did everything we wanted, except on the scoreboard,” Serra coach Scott Altenberg said Friday. “We’re young in parts … We didn’t throw it well enough, we didn’t take advantage of things. The defense had a game plan, made one mistake … We should have scored a lot more points with the way we were moving the ball.”
Serra will be home Friday night against Hamilton of the L.A. City Section.
South Torrance schedule update
South’s game at Arroyo will be played Thursday. The Spartans (1-0) opened the season last week with a 45-29 win over Burroughs of Burbank. Chris Noubi had three rushing touchdowns and a receiving score, and on defense he intercepted a pass.
Inglewood hits the road
Inglewood will play its next two games out of state. On Friday, they are at Westlake in Austin, Texas. The following week, Inglewood heads to Arizona to face Highland.
“It’s an experience,” Inglewood coach Mil’von James said after Friday’s win. “A lot of our kids have never left the state. Their aspirations are always to play beyond high school, so if you want to be seen by bigger schools and be a national recruit you have to take the trip.”
Torrance’s Mathieu Silverman following brother’s footsteps
Opponents likely still remember Jake Silverman, who used to wreck opponents’ offensive plans while he was at Torrance. He is now at Nevada.
His younger brother, Mathieu, opened the season Friday with a 13-tackle performance in the Tartars’ 41-28 win over Mira Costa. He also had two sacks and forced a fumble.
El Camino College season opener is Saturday
El Camino College begins its 2026 season Saturday with a game at Santa Barbara at 6 p.m. The Warriors went 8-3 last year and advanced to the Southern California Football Association Regional quarterfinals. They open this season Sept. 5 at the College of Canyons. The Warriors’ first home game is Sept. 12 against Mt. San Antonio College.