WOODLAND HILLS – Standing near midfield before the game, Heritage Christian head coach Ben McEnroe watched his senior quarterback James Thompson go through warmups and offered a simple assessment. “That’s a D1 quarterback right there.”

Thompson looked the part before kickoff and played it once the lights came on, throwing four touchdown passes in one half of work as Heritage Christian built a 35-point halftime lead, en route to a 35-9 victory over El Camino.

From the opening drive, Thompson operated with the kind of composure coaches covet in a quarterback. He maneuvered inside the pocket, kept his eyes downfield and delivered the football on time. “We wanted him to work forward in the pocket, and it showed,” McEnroe said. “He extended plays instead of bailing and running.” 

And when Heritage found itself in trouble, Thompson got better. Facing fourth-and-5 deep in El Camino territory on the game’s opening drive, he stood in and delivered a 15-yard strike to big tight end Dylan Cho to keep the drive alive. Moments later, he found Logan Coleman for an eight-yard touchdown and a 7-0 Heritage lead.

The Royals were coming off a difficult trip to Hawaii and they didn’t return at full strength. El Camino coach Rick Hayashida surveyed a defense missing starters at nearly every level. “We’re missing both our corners, one of our safeties, two linebackers and two linemen,” Hayashida said.

Against Thompson it sounded like a recipe for disaster. But anyone familiar with Hayashida knew he wasn’t going to make it easy.

After watching El Camino quarterback Gabriel Varga throw 40 times in Hawaii, including three first-half touchdown passes, Heritage had every reason to prepare for another night of Air Hayashida. Instead, the Royals opened with four consecutive running plays. The last, on fourth-and-2, was stuffed.

Heritage took over, but El Camino’s depleted defense held. The Warriors couldn’t establish any kind of running game all-night long and were forced to punt.

Thompson then showed he could affect the game without throwing it. His pooch punt hit the turf and kept rolling, pinning El Camino inside its own 10.

That’s when Hayashida’s plan began to reveal itself. Junior captain Luke Ullbarri ripped off an eight-yard power run, dragging defenders with him. He followed with another six yards and a first down. Only then did Varga drop back to pass. With Heritage suddenly looking run, Varga scrambled and found Ullbarri for a six-yard gain. He followed with a pass to sophomore Elijah Tolbert, who made a juggling fingertip catch for a 22-yard gain and the Royals were in Heritage territory.

Ullbarri hammered out another five yards. For a moment, the Warriors were on their heels. A year ago, El Camino’s senior-heavy Royals would impose themselves physically. But this young 2026 squad hasn’t figured out their identity yet. Varga dropped back again and Heritage’s Crosby Hirtensteiner was waiting for the interception. Thompson made them pay three plays later when he found Brynnen Looney in the end zone for a 14-0 Warriors lead.

On El Camino’s next possession, Varga went right back to the air. Donovan Kelley jumped the throw and raced the other way for a pick-six and a 21-0 lead. The rout was on.

Still, for Hayashida, the larger question isn’t what this El Camino team is in August. It’s what it can become. “Can we keep improving before we get to S.O.P.?”Hayashida said, referring to the sit-out period, after which players who transferred become eligible to play. “I think that’s going to be the key to this team. We get some pretty good guys. But can we get there? It’s just a matter of how mentally tough can these guys be? And we’ll find out pretty soon.”

The Royals won’t have much time to sort it out. They face another high octane passing offense with Riley Williams and unbeaten Grace come to Woodland Hills Friday.

Heritage has a different set of questions. Namely, just how high its ceiling might be with Thompson behind center. Because, as a Thompson-less 2nd half goose egg proved, the Warriors need him to be at the helm.

Thompson finished 12 of 19 for 168 yards and four touchdowns, all in one half of play. Perhaps most telling, each touchdown went to a different Warrior. Heritage Christian faces a tough 0-1 Carpinteria squad this Friday. 

all photos by Benjamin Becher