HIGH SCHOOL football weekend preview (Shutterstock).
It’s probably no surprise, and maybe too early but the Empire League football race is starting to shape up as a two-team struggle between Edison and Huntington Beach.
Both teams won big that last week. The Chargers defeated a strong Orange Lutheran team 34-13 and the Oilers beat Wilson High of Long Beach 43-17.
The two will meet at Sheue Field on Friday, Sept. 23.
Edison and Huntington are rated first and second in this week’s High Five rankings for area teams. The rest of the Five are Garden Grove, Westminster and Western.
Among the noteworthy gridiron performances last week were:
- Parker Awad of Edison threw for a TD pass against Orange Lutheran and Carter Hogue had two rushing touchdowns for the Chargers. Hogue finished with 138 yards rushing. In two games, Awad has thrown for 886 yards.
- Malachi Bey of Garden Grove rushed for two touchdowns and 307 yards (the latter being close to the school record) against Santa Ana High.
- Ezekiel Hernandez of Westminster had 15 tackles against Los Amigos and is averaging 11.5 per game.
Here’s the schedule for area teams this week. As always, matchups, game times, locations and dates are subject to change without notice, so check with the schools if you’re planning on attending. Most games are set for a 7 p.m. start except as noted.
Thursday
- Garden Grove (2-0) at Gahr (0-2) at Artesia High
- Palos Verdes (1-2) at Edison (3-0) at Westminster High
- El Toro (0-3) at Edison (3-0) at Huntington Beach High
- Westminster (2-0) at Anaheim (0-2) at La Palma Park
- Loara (1-2) at Sonora (2-1)
- Savanna (0-2) at Rancho Alamitos (2-0) at Bolsa Grande High, 6:30 p.m.
- Estancia (1-1) at Santiago (1-1) at Garden Grove High
- Pacifica (1-1) at Canyon (3-0) at El Modena High
- Western (2-1) at Esperanza (1-2).
Friday
- Mendez (0-3) at Bolsa Grande (1-1)
- Marina (0-2) at Fountain Valley (2-1) at HBHS
- Cerritos (0-3) at Ocean View (1-2)
- Costa Mesa (1-2) at La Quinta (0-2) at GGHS
- Los Amigos (1-1) at Saddleback (2-0)
- Orange (1-2) at La Habra (1-2).
