Inland football preview: Rancho Cucamonga’s secondary loaded with talent and versatility

Aug 06, 2023

RANCHO CUCAMONGA — If you’re looking for a weakness this season in the talented Rancho Cucamonga football team it won’t be easy to find one, and it’s safe to say you won’t find it in the secondary.

The Cougars are loaded in that area with returning talent, have added a key transfer and they have versatility, all of which gives them plenty of confidence as they enter a 2023 season where they will be tested early and often.

Rancho Cucamonga High School football players Stacy Bey, left, and Amaurey Brooks, two of the top defensive backs in the Inland area, are featured in a portrait at Rancho Cucamonga on Thursday, July 27, 2023. (Photo by Watchara Phomicinda, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG)

Rancho Cucamonga High School football players Stacy Bey, left, and Amaurey Brooks, two of the top defensive backs in the Inland area, are featured in a portrait at Rancho Cucamonga on Thursday, July 27, 2023. (Photo by Watchara Phomicinda, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG)

Rancho Cucamonga High School football players Stacy Bey, left, and Amaurey Brooks, both standout defensive backs, pose for a portrait in Rancho Cucamonga on Thursday, July 27, 2023. (Photo by Watchara Phomicinda, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG)

Rancho Cucamonga High School football player Stacy Bey, a top defensive back in the Inland area, is captured in a portrait at Rancho Cucamonga on Thursday, July 27, 2023. (Photo by Watchara Phomicinda, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG)

Rancho Cucamonga High School football player Amaurey Brooks, a top defensive back in the Inland area, is captured in a portrait at Rancho Cucamonga on Thursday, July 27, 2023. (Photo by Watchara Phomicinda, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG)

Rancho Cucamonga High School football player Stacy Bey, a top defensive back in the Inland area, is captured in a portrait at Rancho Cucamonga on Thursday, July 27, 2023. (Photo by Watchara Phomicinda, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG)

Rancho Cucamonga High School football player Amaurey Brooks, a top defensive back in the Inland area, is captured in a portrait at Rancho Cucamonga on Thursday, July 27, 2023. (Photo by Watchara Phomicinda, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG)

“I really feel like we’re going to have a better secondary than last year,” senior Amaurey Brooks said. “It’s experience. Now that we’re seniors, we’ve got a whole season (of starting) behind us. It’s made a big difference.”

Returning senior starters in the secondary include Brooks, Kyren Condoll, Rahim Wright II and Elyjah Gordon.

All four have Division I offers from colleges. Brooks has received offers from San Diego State, San Jose State, Portland State and Fordham. Condoll has committed to Duke, Wright is committed to San Diego State and Gordon has offers from USC, Oregon and Auburn. Condoll, Wright and Gordon are all listed as three-star recruits by Rivals.com.

The Cougars’ secondary did lose Christian Pierce, the 2022 IE Varsity defensive player of the year who graduated from last year’s team and is now a freshman safety at USC. Pierce was no standard safety, lining up at a variety of positions.

This year, that role will be filled by Stacy Bey, a senior transfer from Bishop Amat who is not being required to sit out any games. Bey is a three-star linebacker recruit committed to San Diego State.

“We (Rancho Cucamonga and Bishop Amat) scrimmaged each other last year,” said Bey, who has known Brooks since before high school. “They (Cougars) were really all over the field, and DBs were blitzing. I felt like it was a good fit for me.”

Rancho Cucamonga coach Brian Hildebrand said that during seven-on-seven passing competitions during the summer that Brooks, Condoll, Wright and Gordon all played both cornerback and safety.

“A lot of us got accustomed to playing two different positions, so we’re not just really set on one position. I got way more comfortable playing safety,” Brooks said. “He (Bey) is playing safety and linebacker, and he’s going to get more comfortable playing safety compared to linebacker.”

Some of the versatility is prompted by what the Cougars coaches see, but sometimes they come from an outside source.

“It’s interesting because you look at a guy like Rahim Wright, who had a tremendous season last year and has only played safety. We’ve had Pac-12 coaches in here saying we love him at corner,” Hildebrand said. “I’ve had coaches who have seen Amaurey at corner, that say we like the way he plays in a zone, when he has things in front of him. We’d like him at safety. We give guys the opportunity to showcase the various skills they have.”

Bey feels like it’s been a seamless transfer since he came to Rancho Cucamonga last spring.

“Everybody treats me like family here, it’s been a great transition,” Bey said. “I got here in the spring to get better chemistry with the team.”

And that chemistry and success of the secondary is going to be aided by the versatility.

“Versatility helps them understand the responsibility of their counterparts … so they have a deeper understanding of the entire scheme,” Hildebrand said. “These guys are all so football intelligent that when they can understand their teammates’ responsibilities on a given play, there’s a connectivity to that.”

— PETE MARSHALL

Anthony Bernal, Kaiser, Sr.

Tayten Beyer. Centennial. Sr.

A.J. Boone, Rancho Verde, Sr.

Trestin Castro, Upland, Jr.

Ahamad Chapman, Cajon, Sr.

Asaad Chapman, Cajon, Sr.

Kanyee Childress, Chino Hills, Sr.

David Davila, Garey, Sr.

Jaden Eddy, Temecula Valley, Sr.

Tanner Fye, Hemet, Sr.

Yaqiym Haliburton, Aquinas, Sr.

Marvin Hungerford, Yucaipa, Sr.

Cameron Jamerson, Etiwanda, Sr.

Andre Johnson, Colony, So.

Derrick Johnson, Murrieta Valley, So.

Blake Lowe, Chaparral, Sr.

Calvin Moore, Orange Vista, Sr.

Nimeone Neal, Indian Springs, Sr.

Damien Ortiz, Jurupa Hills, St.

LaRue Zamorano, Centennial, Jr.

— ERIC-PAUL JOHNSON

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