High School football previews: Week 0

Friday evening marks the kickoff of the high school sports season and Long Beach football teams will be in action across Southe Califoia. All game times at 7 p.m. unless otherwise noted.

Long Beach Poly vs. Los Alamitos at Cerritos College, 7 p.m.: The game of the week is a rematch of the Jackrabbits’ 2004 CIF Southe Section championship win over the Griffins. The game is called the Battle of the Vet because both teams call Veterans Memorial Stadium home. Unfortunately, because Long Beach City College’s renovations at the stadium won’t be complete until next week, the game will be played at Cerritos. College,

“It should be a fun game though,” Poly coach Antonio Pierce said. “We’re trying to revive a local rivalry.”

Poly is a more talented team with more overall speed, but nobody is quite sure what to expect from Los Alamitos’ Ray Fenton, coaching his first game after taking over for legendary coach John Baes. The Griffins will rely on their discipline and execution to try and surprise the Jackrabbits, who are ranked No. 5 in the first CIF-SS Division 1 poll.

St. John Bosco vs. St. Xavier University of Cincinnati, Saturday, 2 p.m. PDT: For the fifth consecutive season, St. John Bosco will play an out-of-state team. St. Xavier has the toughest schedule in the nation, according to USA Today computer rankings, and the Bombers start it against a Bosco team that is ranked No. 9 nationally, according to MaxPreps. In contrast to the Trinity League spread style, St. Xavier will give Bosco the type of challenge it might not see again until a possible CIF State playoff game against teams such as De La Salle.

Long Beach Wilson vs. Mayfair at Bellflower High School: The Bruins and Monsoons have never had a rivalry of any kind, but this game could end up being an annual tradition because of the relationship between Wilson coach Mark Ziegenhagen and Derek Bedell at Mayfair. They have been friends since their children played Los Altos youth baseball. The two longtime assistants promised each other that whoever got a head coaching job first, the other would serve as a coordinator. Sure enough, when Ziegenhagen got the Wilson job, he hired Bedell to be his offensive coordinator. But Mayfair hired Bedell as its coach a few short months later. This game is the result of that relationship and their friendship. It should serve as a good test for a pair of programs trying to grow after tuing things around last year.

Lynwood at Millikan: It’s the Rams’ young talent against a more experienced Lynwood team that went 0-5 in league play last year. Millikan’s young guns have a good shot to start the year on the right foot, but the Knights do feature USC commit Wayland Free.

Aliso Niguel at Jordan: The Panthers have two of wins against Aliso Niguel the last three years.

La Mirada vs. Orange Lutheran at Orange Coast College: The Matadores, reigning CIF-SS and CIF State champions, start their season with three consecutive games against Trinity League opponents.

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Bellflower at Cabrillo: The Jaguars and Buccaneers have both had struggles with keeping their program numbers up, but both teams have game-breakers on offense.

Gahr at Valley Christian: The Crusaders are trying to beat a San Gabriel Valley League or Suburban League opponent for the fourth consecutive season after winning the Olympic League last year.

Lakewood at Leuzinger: It’s the first game of the Mike Christensen era and the Lancers, who will take a big, talented squad to Leuzinger.

Warren at Don Lugo: After bursting back onto the San Gabriel Valley League scene and grabbing a share of the league title, the Bears and coach Raul Lara are starting this season with four nonleague games against 2015 playoff teams.

Downey at San Pedro: The Vikings need a positive start to the season and coach Jack Williams has scheduled with that in mind. However, the opener will be tough against a program that has won at least one CIF L.A. City Section playoff game in each of the last six seasons.

Other games:

Compton at Muir

Pioneer at Artesia

Magnolia vs. Glenn at Excelsior Adult School

Dominguez at Tustin

Norwalk at El Rancho

Firebaugh at Liberty

Downey Calvary Chapel at Sage Hill

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