It all comes down to this.
Twenty-six teams and 13 Games over two days that can all be seen on FOX Sports West, Prime Ticket or FOXSportsWest.com's PREP ZONE.
When this weekend has concluded, 13 schools will be able to stand at the top of the mountain and declare they are sectional champions.
The storylines during this championship weekend are limitless.
History
There are few programs that carry the pedigree of Long Beach Poly (10-3) and Mater Dei (11-2), which will battle in the Pac-5 final on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. on FOX Sports West. The two programs have combined for 28 CIF titles.
Long Beach Poly head coach Raul Lara and Mater Dei head coach Bruce Rollinson each have a tremendous amount of respect for each other.
It’s been 13 years since they last met in a sectional final, playing to a 21-21 tie in the 1999 final. That concluded a run of three-consecutive meetings in the finals between the two schools - Poly won in 1997 and Mater Dei won in 1998.
For the high school football purists, Christmas will come early on the first Saturday in December and there will be plenty of red and green on the field.
Both teams are expected to wear their home uniforms when they take the field at Angel Stadium on Saturday night.
When Rollinson held the microphone at the CIF Football Press Conference & Luncheon on Monday, he concluded his speech by looking over to Lara and saying, “Let’s go Poly!”
Lara later responded, “We’ll be ready.”
Taking a page out of the Poly/Mater Dei book, Vista Murrieta (13-0) and Corona Centennial (12-1) are meeting in the Inland Division final for the third consecutive year.
They’ve each won one with the Broncos taking the championship last year in an epic 35-28 win at Vista Murrieta.
They’ll have the honors of hosting again on Friday at 7 p.m. on FOX Sports West.
League Foes
West Torrance (10-3) and Palos Verdes High School (10-3) are separated by seven miles, but they’re practically neighbors. Palos Verdes doesn’t have lights on their football field, but during the playoffs all games have to be played at night. So, the Sea Kings used West Torrance as a home field for their playoff run.
As the two Bay League rivals get set to collide for the Northern Division championship on Saturday night, PV has a decision to make. As the home team, they get to decide where the game is going to be played and chances are West Torrance won’t be their home on Saturday night.
The Sea Kings defeated the Warriors, 47-14, during league action in a day game in October.
Earlier this season Serra (11-2) had their 27-game league winning streak snapped by Chaminade (12-1). A streak that extended back to their days in the Del Rey League. On that night, the Cavaliers led 20-7 in the third quarter before allowing Ed Croson’s team to score 21 straight to win, 28-20.
With the Western Divison title on the line, they’ll meet at Serra on Friday at 8 p.m. on Prime Ticket.
Chaminade is back in the final for the first time in 25 years and for the first time in a large division.
This is the fourth finals appearance in five years for the Cavaliers. They were the underdogs last week in the semifinals when they snapped Lompoc’s state best 32-game winning streak.
“It was refreshing,” said Serra head coach Scott Altenberg of his team's underdog role.
They’ll be in the same shoes this week.
Welcome to the Show
Mission College Prep (11-1) is in the finals for the first time ever. The Royals will take on Rio Hondo Prep (11-1) in the Northeast Division final on Friday.
The Kares are making their 20th sectional finals appearance.
It’s Been a Long Time
Villa Park (12-1) is back in the finals for the first time in 35 years. The Spartans will take on Edison on Friday at 7:30 p.m. in the Southwest Division final played at Angel Stadium. The Chargers (12-1), meanwhile, are making their eighth appearance and first since 2009 but haven’t won a title since 1985.
Downey (10-3) and La Serna (12-1) will battle for the Southeast Division on Saturday at 7 p.m. Downey is back in the finals for the first time since 1957.
Palos Verdes’ last appearance was in 1990. They haven’t won a sectional title since 1965. West Torrance’s drought without a championship dates back to 1982.
Chaminade is making its first appearance since 1987.
Rim of the World (11-2) will host Ontario Christian (13-0) in the East Valley Division on Friday at 7 p.m. The Fighting Scots have not reached a final since 1976. They are 3-0 in sectional finals. Ontario Christian head coach Chris Stevens knows he not only has history going against him but altitude as well.
“Supply some oxygen tanks for us,” Stevens said. “That’ll be great.”
We may all need to catch our breath after this weekend is complete.
