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Football: A father-son passing duel

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And so it begins, the long summer of seven-on-seven passing competitions. On Saturday morning, first-year Coach Larry Muno brought St. Bernard to Sherman Oaks to face Notre Dame, which happens to be the school his son, J.J., plays for. The two were talking smack before the competition.

More importantly, Notre Dame was 2-8 last season, and it was last summer that I first saw that the Knights might have their weakest team in the Kevin Rooney era. After watching about an hour Saturday, I have to say Notre Dame should be much improved.

Junior-to-be quarterback Kelly Hilinski has grown to 6 feet 6. He’s stronger, has begun to fill into his body and there’s real velocity behind his passes. He wasn’t ready to contribute on varsity last season. The receivers are catching the ball much better. Derick Turner, a 6-4 senior, could be a late-blooming prospect. Brandon Jett also showed potential.

Whether the Knights will be able to break into the top three in the powerful Serra League this fall remains to be seen, but they have a lot more potential. As for St. Bernard, Muno is going to turn things around fast. It would help if his son could join him, but that’s not going to happen. J.J. is also a top junior-to-be baseball player.

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Here’s video from Saturday’s competition, with some funny remarks from the Munos.

-- Eric Sondheimer

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