HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL will wrap up this week until it restarts in August (Shutterstock).
The final week of high school football in this strange spring season will unfold in the next few days. A typical fall gridiron campaign is 10 games, but some of the teams heading into to the finale have played just twice, and although there are still league championships to be won, the CIF-SS playoffs for football will have to skip a season.
Here’s a look at how the league races shape up, coming down to the wire.
- Empire: There’s a three-way traffic jam at the top and it will probably stay that way. Tustin, Cypress and Pacifica have 3-1 league marks, and each of them will play teams with 1-3 EL marks. If those three on top win, we’ll have tri-champs.
- Garden Grove: Rancho Alamitos (3-0 in league, 4-0 overall) has clinched the GGL title when Bolsa Grande had to cancel the rest of its season. Instead, the Vaqueros will play Beckman in a non-league game Friday.
- Orange: Western (4-0) has clinched no worse than a tie for the league crown. If the Pioneers lose to Century (1-3) and Anaheim (3-1) defeats Santa Ana Valley (0-4), then there will be a two-way tie.
- Orange Coast: The OCL title will be settled Friday in a renewal of one of oldest matchups in county history: Orange (5-0 overall, 1-0 in league) will face Santa Ana (5-0, 1-0) at Santa Ana Stadium. The two teams first met in 1916. The Panthers won 3-0.
- Pac-4: This conference was reduced to three: Ocean View, Westminster and Laguna Beach. The Seahawks (2-0 in league) edged Westminster (0-1) by the score of 14-13 last week, so are the apparent league champ. They will close out the season with a non-league game against Montclair.
- Sunset League: Unless Newport Harbor (2-3 overall, 1-3 in league) can upset Los Alamitos (5-0, 4-0) on Friday night, the Griffins will be the undisputed champ and the Edison Chargers (4-1, 3-1) finish a strong second.
The last football week … until August
Here’s the schedule for this Thursday and Friday. As always –and especially now with the coronavirus not complete eradicated – matchups, times, places, etc. are subject to change without notice. All games are at 7 p.m. unless otherwise noted.
THURSDAY
- Crean Lutheran at Pacifica (at Bolsa Stadium)
- Savanna at Magnolia (at Glover Stadium)
FRIDAY
- Orange at Santa Ana (at Santa Ana Stadium)
- Marina at Segerstrom
- Western at Century
- Rancho Alamitos at Beckman (at Tustin High)
- Edison at Huntington Beach
- Laguna Beach at Westminster
- Katella at Garden Grove
- Ocean View at Montclair
Top prep performances
The La Quinta High softball team’s 15-2 win over University High of Irvine on Friday produced several outstanding performances. Shanna Nguyen had two hits, Xochitl Esparza was 5-for-5 including a triple, Melissa Rodriguez had four hits, Ryann Nadeau had four hits including a triple and Ally Guzman gave up one hit and struck out 12 batters. The Aztecs are 3-1.
In football, for Marina High, Jack Miller passed for 175 yards and three touchdowns as the Vikings defeated Katella 21-6. Grant Brenton caught seven passes for 147 yards and a TD.
For Edison High, Braeden Boyles passed for 233 yards and ran for four scores as the Chargers edged Corona del Mar 44-41 in a five-overtime game.
Hoops are happening here
Football is getting much of the attention, but basketball is underway. Among the top local boys teams are Marina (3-1), Edison (3-1), Orange (4-2). On the girls’ side, look out for Huntington Beach (4-0), Santiago (4-0) and Ocean View (3-1).
Play (base) and (soft) ball!
Similarly, our local diamond stars are in action too. Keep on eye on baseball teams at Huntington Beach (6-2), Garden Grove (7-0), Pacifica (4-5), Ocean View (5-3) and Edison (5-3).
For softball, the early standouts are Pacifica (7-1), Huntington Beach (8-0), Marina (7-1), La Quinta (3-1) and Garden Grove (4-2).
“Prep Sport Spotlight” appears in The Tribune each Tuesday during the high school athletic year. Coaches, fans, players, parents etc. are encouraged to send results, photos, etc. to us at orangecountytribune@gmail.com .
