PREP FOOTBALL will lick off in August this year for nearly all local teams.

July still has more than a week to go, but the calendar tells us that football is just a month away. And that includes high school football. The schedules are out, and just about all the teams in the Garden Grove-Huntington Beach-Westminster area will be starting early with at least one game in August.

In addition to the moved-up schedule – in order to avoid much conflict with basketball season – the 2017 season will hold the debut of a new stadium. Michael Monsoor Memorial Stadium will have its official dedication on Friday, Sept. 8 at Garden Grove High School.

The new 3,500-seat capacity is named after Argo graduate and Navy SEAL Monsoor who was awarded the Medal of Honor posthumously for his heroism in Iraq in 2006. It replaces the 5,000-seat “Jason Field” which was built 60 years ago. Garden Grove will host Woodbridge High of Irvine in that game.

Monsoor Stadium will also be the home field for Santiago and Los Amigo high schools.

Here’s a look at the 2017 football openers for local teams.

• Bolsa Grande: Aug. 25 at Laguna Beach
• Garden Grove: Aug. 25 at Santa Ana Valley
• Edison: Aug. 25 at Tesoro
• Fountain Valley: Aug. 25 at Troy
• Huntington Beach: Aug. 26 vs. Canyon
• La Quinta: Aug 31 vs. Laguna Beach (at Bolsa Grande)
• Los Amigos: Aug. 24 at Fairmont Prep (at Yorba Linda High)
• Marina: Aug 25 vs. Dana Hills (at Westminster High).
• Ocean View: Aug. 25 vs. Brethren Christian
• Orange: Aug. 31 at Anaheim (at Glover Stadium)
• Pacifica: Aug. 25 at Trabuco Hills
• Rancho Alamitos: Sept 1 vs. Savanna
• Santiago: Sept. 1 vs. Costa Mesa (at Garden Grove High)
• Westminster: Sept 1 vs. Garden Grove.

KAYLEE CARLSON, who attended Pacifica High in Garden Grove, was a star this spring for Auburn University (Auburn athletics photo).

Carlson led the Tigers to glory

After looking ahead to the fall football season, we need to look back to the spring college softball season to note the accomplishments of a local woman. Kaylee Carlson, who was an ace pitcher for the Pacifica High School softball team, had a stellar year for the Auburn Tigers.

Carlson posted a 27-5 record with an ERA of 1.36. She was named third team All-American and first team South Eastern Conference. The Tigers won the SEC title and made it all the way to the NCAA Super Regionals before being knocked out by Oklahoma, the eventual winners of the Women’s College World Series.

After winning All-American honors in high school, Carlson went first to North Carolina, where she posted an 18-10 record, then transferred to Auburn. She’ll be a senior for the 2018 season, but that might not be the end of her softball glory. Baseball and softball are back in the Summer Olympics as of 2020 and no one would be surprised to see her turn up in Tokyo.

Pete Zarustica writes Monday Morning Coach.