RANCHO COACH Mike Enright (center) and the Vaquero football team will face off Friday night against the Santiago Cavaliers in a battle for the Garden Grove League title (Orange County Tribune photo).
The last two weeks of the regular local high school football season are upon us. Some young athletes will be playing their final games of organized football, while others will be on to further glory at a higher level.
In any case, lots of memories will be made as the schedule winds down to either a long rest or the excitement of the CIF-SS playoffs.
- Garden Grove League: Two evenly-matched teams – Santiago and Rancho Alamitos, each 7-1 overall and 3-0 in league – will meet on Friday at Monsoor Stadium to decide the GGL title. Also, Saturday’s game between Loara and Bolsa Grande will be played for pride as the winner gets to escape the basement in the GGL.
- Sunset League: The annual “Big Game” between Edison and Fountain Valley has lost some of its luster as the Chargers have risen and the Barons, well, haven’t. But it’s still a big deal game between these historic rivals Friday at LeBard Stadium on the Orange Coast College campus. Get there early for a good seat.
- Big 4 League: A good matchup between Garden Grove and Marina. The Argonauts can clinch no worse than a tie for the league crown with a win, and the Vikings can do the same with a victory
Here’s the lineup of high school football games scheduled this week for The Tribune’s coverage area. As always, games, opponents, locations, times, etc. are subject to change without notice. Unless otherwise noted, all games are slated to begin at 7 p.m.
THURSDAY
Pac 4 League
- Westminster (6-2, 0-1) at Godinez (0-8, 0-1) at Santa Ana Valley HS
FRIDAY
Big 4 League
- Garden Grove (6-2, 1-0) at Marina (3-5, 1-0) at Boswell Field (Westminster HS)
Empire League
- Pacifica (6-2, 1-2) at Crean Lutheran (1-7, 0-3) at Irvine HS
Garden Grove League
- Rancho Alamitos (7-1, 3-0) at Santiago (7-1, 3-0) at Monsoor Stadium (GGHS)
- Los Amigos (4-4, 2-1) at La Quinta (2-6, 1-2) at Bolsa Stadium
Orange League
- Century (0-7, 0-3) at Western (5-2, 3-0)
- Magnolia (4-4, 2-1) vs. Savanna (2-6, 1-2) at Glover Field
Orange Coast League
- Orange (5-3, 3-0) at Saddleback (3-5, 0-3) at Segerstrom HS
Sunset League
- Edison (5-3, 2-1) vs. Fountain Valley (1-7, 0-3) at LeBard Stadium (Orange Coast College)
- Los Alamitos (7-1, 3-0) at Huntington Beach (4-4, 1-2)
SATURDAY
Garden Grove League
- Bolsa Grande (3-5, 0-3) at Loara (2-6, 0-3) at Handel Field (Western HS).
You might note that the top two teams (Edison and Orange) in this week’s High Five each have three losses, which technically gives them the worst records in the rankings. But the quality of their opponents is what elevates them. The same is true of the next two (Pacifica and Garden Grove).
And for the first time all year, we have a tie for fifth between Westminster and Western. All of the teams in our High Five Plus are in different leagues and haven’t played any of the others. That’s a shame, because it would make things easier on the pollmaker.
Stars under the lights
Some of the standouts from the weekend’s high school football contests:
- Jordan Ross of Pacifica intercepted three passes and caught one for a touchdown against Cypress.
- Darius Cowens of Pacifica passed for 114 yards and one TD.
- Ed Ramos of Pacifica rushed for 113 yards
- Vany Rodriguez of Garden Grove passed for 159 yards and a touchdown against Katella.
- Malachi Bey of Garden Grove rushed for 106 yards and a TD.
- Isaac Garcia of Garden Grove made 11 solo tackles for Garden Grove against Katella.
- Parker Awad of Edison passed for 296 yards and three TDs against Corona del Mar.
- Troy Fletcher of Edison rushed for 76 yards and a TD, and caught five passes for 108 yards.
- Jacob Garcia of Orange passed for 204 yards and four touchdowns against Calvary Chapel/Santa Ana.
- Kobe Boykin of Orange rushed for 103 yards and a TD.
- Blaze Iglesias of Orange had 11 tackles for the Panthers.
- Art Martinez of Santiago rushed for 234 yards and two touchdowns against Los Amigos
- Anthony Luna of Western passed for 347 yards and five touchdowns against Santa Ana Valley,
- Johnny Martinez of Western rushed for 101 yards and one score.
Checking the polls
Here are the local teams named in the polls for boys’ water polo, girls’ tennis and boys’ and girls’ cross country from the CIF-SS as announced on Monday.
- Girls’ tennis: In Division 4, La Quinta is eighth and Garden Grove is 10th. In Division 5, Loara is unranked but received some votes.
- Boys’ water polo: In Division 1, Huntington Beach is tied for first with Mater Dei. In Division 4, Marina is sixth. In Division 5, Los Amigos is unranked but received some votes. In Division 6, Ocean View is sixth and La Quinta is 10th.
- Boys’ cross country: In Division 4, Ocean View is 11th.
- Girls’ cross country: In Division 1, Huntington Beach is 12th.
“Prep Sport Spotlight” is posted on Tuesdays during the high school athletic season.
