Mario Luna “Torta Power” Featured by the LA Times During Freshman Season at Orange Lutheran

From Ensenada to Orange Lutheran Varsity Football

The part of the LA Times story that means the most to me is where the journey started.

I did not grow up playing football my entire life in Orange County.

My football foundation was built in Baja California, Mexico. I played for teams in Ensenada, Rosarito and Tijuana before football started opening opportunities for me in Southern California.

I played with programs including the Rosarito Rangers, COBACH Tigres, Osos de Ensenada and later continued developing through teams in the United States.

Eventually, that journey brought me to Orange Lutheran High School.

When I announced that I would attend Orange Lutheran, I knew the competition was going to be different. I was entering high school as a freshman and preparing to compete at the varsity level.

Read my original announcement about going from football in Mexico to Orange Lutheran .

Who Is Mario Luna “Torta Power”?

I’m Mario Luna, Class of 2029 offensive lineman.

During the 2025 season, Orange Lutheran’s official roster listed me at 6'2", 290 pounds as a freshman offensive lineman. The Los Angeles Times later described me at approximately 6'2" and 295 pounds when they covered my story during the season.

But Torta Power has never been only about height and weight.

The nickname connects offensive line football with my Mexican culture.

Offensive linemen call it a pancake when we put a defender on the ground.

For me, it is a torta.

That became Torta Power.

Read the complete story behind the Torta Power name .

The LA Times Tells the Torta Power Story

Having the Los Angeles Times tell my story was special because the article went beyond football highlights.

The feature talked about where I came from, the teams I played for in Mexico, my move into Southern California football and what it was like competing against players who were older and more experienced than me.

It also talked about the goals behind everything I am doing.

I want to continue developing as an offensive lineman, earn opportunities to play college football and keep pushing myself academically and athletically.

The long-term dream is to see how far football can take me.

But I also want younger players from Mexico and Latino families to see that there can be a path into high-level American football.

Freshman Varsity Football at Orange Lutheran in 2025

The LA Times feature came during my first high school football season.

As a freshman, I was already getting varsity experience on the offensive line.

That meant preparing every week for older players and different defensive fronts while I was still learning what varsity football required.

Our 2025 schedule included programs such as Basha, Junipero Serra, Sierra Canyon, Mater Dei, St. John Bosco, JSerra, Santa Margarita and Servite.

There were wins, losses and a lot of lessons.

I learned quickly that varsity offensive line is not just about being big or strong. I had to understand assignments, communicate, use leverage, improve my hand placement, maintain my base and continue moving my feet after contact.

Every game gave me something different to work on.

The Competition I Faced as a Freshman

One of the reasons I keep my freshman film available is because it gives context to where my development started.

We have gone back through that 2025 film and identified direct blocking reps against defenders who later developed into major college football recruits and commits.

Those identified matchups include players such as Khary Wilder from Junipero Serra, Anitoni Tahi and Caleb Jordan from Basha, and Montana Toilolo from Mater Dei.

Those players later developed into recruits connected with programs including Ohio State, Kansas State, Nevada and UCLA.

I do not include those names because their recruiting ranking somehow becomes my ranking.

I include them because competition matters when evaluating offensive line film.

College coaches can watch the actual reps and decide for themselves what they see.

Watch my 2025 freshman varsity highlights and see the identified defensive matchups .

Orange Lutheran vs St. John Bosco: 20–19

The timing of the LA Times feature made the moment even more memorable.

On November 14, 2025, Orange Lutheran defeated St. John Bosco 20–19 in the CIF Southern Section Division 1 playoffs.

It was a rematch from earlier in the season.

During the regular season, St. John Bosco had beaten us 48–0.

Then we saw them again in the playoffs.

This time the final score was:

That is one of the things football teaches you.

A previous score does not decide the next game.

Our team had another opportunity and made the most of it.

The following day, November 15, the LA Times published my feature.

What the St. John Bosco Win Meant to My Freshman Season

That playoff win became one of the moments I will always remember from my freshman year.

We had already experienced what it felt like to lose badly to the same opponent.

Instead of that being the end of the story, we had another opportunity.

For me as a freshman, being part of a varsity team that went through both sides of that experience taught me a lot about football.

You have to keep preparing after a bad game.

You have to keep practicing.

You have to keep believing in the players next to you.

Then, if another opportunity comes, you have to be ready for it.

Freshman Film Against Varsity Competition

The media attention was exciting, but the football film is still what matters most for my development.

My freshman tape gives coaches a starting point.

They can evaluate my footwork, leverage, hand placement, balance, ability to stay attached after contact, movement in space and how I handled different types of defensive linemen.

There are good reps.

There are also reps where I can see exactly what I needed to improve.

I think both matter.

I was a freshman playing varsity football. I was not supposed to be a finished offensive lineman.

I was supposed to learn.

Watch my freshman varsity film on Hudl .

Student Athlete During My Freshman Season

Football was only one part of my first year at Orange Lutheran.

I also had to learn how to balance practices, games, film, lifting and recovery with school.

That work later resulted in recognition as a Trinity League Scholar Athlete.

I also received Orange Lutheran’s Core Value Award for LOVE, an award that meant a lot to me because it focused on character and how a student contributes to the people around him.

Read about my Trinity League Scholar Athlete and Orange Lutheran LOVE awards .

Representing Mexican Football and Culture

Seeing my story published by the Los Angeles Times en Español was especially meaningful because of my Mexican roots.

I am grateful for the opportunities football has given me in the United States, but I also want people to know where my journey started.

Ensenada.

Baja California.

Football in Mexico.

The long drives.

The practices.

The teams that gave me opportunities before anybody knew the name Torta Power.

I want younger offensive linemen in Mexico to know that where you start does not have to determine where you finish.

Representing Baja California Before Orange Lutheran

Before beginning high school football, I also had the opportunity to represent Baja California at the U17 level.

That experience gave me another opportunity to compete with older players and represent where I came from.

Read about my Baja California U17 football experience .

My Recruiting Journey Started Before High School

Before I ever played my first varsity game at Orange Lutheran, I had already been fortunate to receive early college football opportunities.

My first Division I offer came from Sacramento State.

Read about my first Division I offer from Sacramento State .

Then came an opportunity from Georgia State.

Read about my Georgia State football offer .

My next early Division I opportunity came from Texas State.

Read about my Texas State football offer .

I was grateful for those opportunities, but once high school started I knew I needed to build varsity film.

Potential might open a door.

Film has to show the development.

Why the Los Angeles Times Feature Matters to Me

The biggest thing I took from the LA Times article was not simply seeing my name in a newspaper.

It was seeing the entire journey put together.

Mexico.

My family.

Football.

Orange Lutheran.

The Trinity League.

My freshman season.

Torta Power.

Those pieces are all connected.

I want to become the best offensive lineman I can become, but I also want to represent the culture and the people who helped me get here.

Torta Power Is Bigger Than a Nickname

When my dad and I first started using the name Torta Power, we did not know where it would go.

It was fun and it represented me.

But over time it became connected to something bigger.

It became a way to represent Mexican culture in American football and show bigger kids that being a lineman can be something to be proud of.

I am an offensive lineman.

I am Mexican American.

I started playing football in Mexico.

Those things are part of my story, not things I need to hide.

That is Torta Power.

My Freshman Season Was Only the Beginning

The LA Times feature is something I will always remember from my freshman year.

So is the win against St. John Bosco.

So are the difficult games.

So are the practices and the reps nobody saw.

My freshman season gave me a foundation and a lot of film to study.

I know there is still a lot to improve.

Better feet.

Better hands.

Better leverage.

Better balance.

Better understanding of the game.

The goal is not to live off what happened during freshman year.

The goal is to keep building from it.

Puro Torta Power. 🇲🇽🏈