By Joe Snyder
All the local high school football teams are currently at practice gearing for the 2024 season and all start on Aug. 23.
Serra’s passing football team enjoyed a very good summer that included winning two of three tournaments but the highlight was on June 29 when the Cavaliers stunned host St. John Bosco 22-7 in Bellflower to capture that classic. The Cavaliers return third-year starter Jimmy Butler and will be seeking a possible playoff spot in the prestigious CIF-Southern Section Division I and, possibly, the CIF-State Open Division.
In the regular season, though, Serra’s offensive and defensive lines will face the challenge as they need to give Butler and Co. the support. The Cavaliers appear to have a good line and running backs. St. John Bosco enters this season ranked No. 5 in the United States by MaxPreps and second in California. Serra is currently 16th in the state, while Mission League rival Chatsworth Sierra Canyon is sixth. Those two teams will meet at Serra in the regular season finale on Nov. 1. Santa Ana Mater Dei is top ranked in the United States and California.
The Cavaliers will be heavily tested from the start as they are at home against Orange Lutheran from the prestigious Trinity League, which has all six squads ranked in the California State top 15, on Aug. 23 at 7 p.m. All games begin at 7 p.m. for Serra, which will host Downey Warren High on Aug. 30. On Sept. 7, the Cavaliers will travel to Cathedral Catholic High in San Diego to face non-league rival Long Beach Poly in the Honor Bowl. Last season, due to a riot outside and inside Serra’s stadium, the game was stopped at halftime with the Jackrabbits ahead 28-14. After a bye week, the Cavaliers have a Thursday night non-league game at Oaks Christian High in Westlake Village Sept. 19 before closing non-league with a big game at Los Alamitos High on Sept. 27.
Serra begins Mission League action at Loyola High in Los Angeles on Oct. 4 and continue away league games for the next three weeks. The Cavaliers play at Chaminade in West Hills on Oct. 11, at Sherman Oaks Notre Dame on Oct. 18 and at Bishop Amat in La Puente on Oct. 25 before the possible showdown at home against the Trailblazers.
Like the Amazin New York Mets in 1969 that came off miserable years in their first seven Major League Baseball seasons before winning the World Series over the heavily favored Baltimore Orioles, one could call the 2023 Gardena squad, “The Amazin Panthers” after winning their first Marine League title since 1974 and, prior to last season, struggled in the highly regarded Marine. Gardena returns most of its top players that includes seniors, running back Xavier Grant and quarterback Isaiah Kim and will be looking possibly even at winning its first major Los Angeles City Section crown since 1973. The Panthers begin their season on Aug. 23 at 7 p.m. against Crespi High in Encino. Gardena has its first home game on Aug. 29 at home against Crenshaw. The Panthers following preseason contests, then, include at Compton Centennial on Sept. 6, Mervyn Dymally at home on Sept. 13, Compton Dominguez at home on Sept. 27 and hosting Jurupa Hills from Fontana on Oct. 4.
Gardena will host last year’s CIF-L.A. City Section Division I champion Wilmington Banning on Oct. 11, visit Carson in what should be another league showdown on Oct. 18, host a much-improved Narbonne team from Harbor City on Oct. 25 before closing the regular season at San Pedro on Nov. 1. All games start at 7 p.m. except for 7:30 at Carson.
North Torrance is coming off the Pioneer League championship last season and the Saxons hope to repeat that this year behind the return of the sophomore passing combination of Boogie and Kingston Anetema. North begins its season at home on Aug. 23 against Long Beach Jordan. The Saxons, though, will have a very challenging non-league contest against now Bay League team Inglewood at Coleman Stadium on Aug. 30. North, then, travels to Linfield Christian High in Temecula on Sept. 6 before returning home against West Torrance, now in the Ocean League, on Sept. 13. The Saxons host Carson on Sept. 20.
After a bye week, North will begin the newly revamped Pioneer against Santa Monica High at Santa Monica City College on Oct. 4 before visiting Redondo on Oct. 11. The Saxons, in fact, have their first three league games against ex-Bay League squads as they host Rolling Hills Estates Peninsula on Oct. 18. North gets its final two Pioneer League games against crosstown rivals South Torrance (away on Oct. 25) and last year’s CIF-Southern Section Division X champion Torrance at home on Nov. 1. All games start at 7 p.m.
The Pioneer appears to be quite even from top to bottom as each squad has a shot at winning league crowns.
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Rams, Chargers start preseason this week
About two-and-a-half years ago, the Los Angeles Rams National Football League team captured their first Super Bowl title since playing in St. Louis in the 1999-2000 season and their first in L.A. ever for the Super Bowl, but winning the NFL crown in 1951.
The L.A. Chargers are under new head coach Jim Harbaugh, who, this past season, guided University of Michigan to the NCAA championship. Many feel that Harbaugh, who once played for the San Diego Chargers in the 1990’s, will help the dismal Chargers turn things around and suddenly contend for their first ever Super Bowl crown, possibly this season or the near future. The Chargers never won a Super Bowl title but made the Super Bowl in the 1994-95 season losing to the San Francisco 49ers. They won the American Football League crown in San Diego in 1963 and won what could be called “the Mythical Super Bowl” by stunning the NFL champion Chicago Bears 30-27. No Super Bowl was held until the 1966-67 season and the Green Bay Packers won the first two championships in Super Bowl I in 1967 and Super Bowl II in 1968.
After winning Super Bowl LVI in the 2021-22 season, the Rams were plagued with a rash of injuries in the following two seasons, especially in 2022-23 where they fell to 5-12 that included the loss of the passing combination of quarterback Matt Stafford and wide receiver Cooper Kupp. They improved last season, finishing 10-7 and making the playoffs before falling by one point at 17-16 to the host Detroit Lions, led by former Ram quarterback Jared Goff, in the first round of the NFC playoffs.
Stafford and Kupp are both aging and gone from the Rams is premiere defensive tackle Aaron Donald. L.A. still has a slim chance to get the Super Bowl crown back, though,
Both teams have new training facilities, especially the Chargers who are practicing at their new “Bolt” in El Segundo. The Rams left Cal Lutheran University in Thousand Oaks and now train at Loyola-Marymount University in Westchester. Last Sunday, the Rams and Chargers had a combined practice at the Bolt. It was the Kansas City Chiefs, led by quarterback Patrick Mahomes and tight end Travis Kelsey (famous boyfriend of famous pop star Taylor Swift), that won it in overtime over the San Francisco 49ers 25-22. We hope that the Rams or Chargers will knock them off. The Chargers and Chiefs are both in the American Football Conference Western Division as they face each other at So Fi Stadium on Sept. 29 at 1:25 p.m. and at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City on Dec. 8 at 5:20 p.m.
The Rams begin preseason at home against the Dallas Cowboys, who are still training in Oxnard, Sunday at 4:05 p.m. L.A. begins regular season play against the Lions in Detroit on Sept. 8 at 5:20 p.m. Their first regular season home game is against their rival San Francisco 49ers on Sept. 22 at 1:25 p.m.
The Chargers start preseason at SoFi against the Seattle Seahawks Saturday at 4:05 p.m. L.A. begins regular season at home against their prime rivals, the Las Vegas Raiders, on Sept. 8 at 1:05 p.m.
Meanwhile, the Chargers and Rams play an exhibition game at So Fi Stadium on Aug. 17 at 4:05 p.m. Unfortunately, it will be predominantly rookies and reserves playing, so it will be more like a junior varsity contest.
In Paris, Sunday’s men’s 100-meter dash was a barnburner at the XXXIIIrd Olympiad. The United States’ Noah Lyles was finally able to come from behind to pull it out over Jamaica’s Kashane Thompson by .005 of a second, 9.784 to 9.789. It was the first American gold medal in the 100 since 2004. The U.S. also received a bronze from Fred Kerley at 9.81. Lyles hopes to win the 200 meters, which will be the first double sprint gold by an American since Carl Lewis did it in 1984.
The Americans also had a good final day of the swimming events that included two world records; Bobby Finke in the 1,500-meter freestyle clocking 14:30.67 and their women’s 4×100-meter medley relay team of Gretchen Walsh, Lilly King, Regan Smith and Torri Hauk, in 3:45.63. The previous world record in the 1,500 free was by China’s Sina Yang (14:31.02 in the 2012 Olympics in London) and the 4×100 medley being at 3:50.4 by the U.S. in the 2019 World Championships.
Scottie Scheffler rallied to win the gold in men’s golf, shooting a nine-under-par 62.
In women’s gymnastics, Simone Biles finished with three golds and one silver.
