Sierra Canyon’s Terrell Cooks Jr., left, runs the ball in for a touchdown past Bishop Amat cornerback Brandyn Wetherspoon during fist half of an CIF-SS Mission League prep varsity football game at Bishop Amat High School in La Puente, Calif. on Friday, Oct. 6, 2023. (Photo by Raul Romero Jr., Contributing Photographer)
Previews of some of the area’s top CIF-SS and City Section football playoff games Friday.
FRIDAY’S GAMES
CIF-SS SEMIFINALS
DIVISION 1
Sierra Canyon (11-0) vs. Mater Dei (10-1)
Where, when: Santa Ana Stadium, 7 p.m.
Analysis: The last time Sierra Canyon was undefeated entering the semifinals was in 2016 when it won the Division 4 championship. Sierra Canyon ran for 301 yards and four touchdowns in its quarterfinal win over Santa Margarita with dominant performances from Dane Dunn and Terrell Cooks Jr. USC commits Marquis Gallegos and Madden Riordan each had interceptions. Mater Dei blanked JSerra 38-0 in the quarterfinals as Ajon Bryant scored three rushing touchdowns. Elijah Brown completed 74 percent of his passes for 236 yards with two touchdowns. Mater Dei has reached the Division 1 championship game for six consecutive seasons.
DIVISION 6
Huntington Beach (6-6) vs. Simi Valley (7-5)
Where, when: Simi Valley High, 7 p.m.
Analysis: After escaping with an overtime win in the first round of the playoffs, Simi Valley cruised to a 27-7 win over Crean Lutheran in the second round. Carlos Ferreiro blocked a punt and a field goal, both of which were returned for touchdowns. The Pioneers defense had five sacks and held Crean Lutheran to just 143 yards of total offense. Huntington Beach upset top-seeded Ontario Christian in the quarterfinals. Tyler Young ran for 169 yards and four touchdowns in the win. Freshman Brady Edmunds is the quarterback for Huntington Beach and receiver Hunter Gray has set the school record for receiving yards in a single season.
L.A. CITY SEMIFINALS
OPEN DIVISION
Carson (10-1) vs. Birmingham (9-2)
Where, when: Birmingham High, 7 p.m.
Analysis: Birmingham has won three consecutive City Section Open Division championships and dominated Narbonne in the first round 57-19. Ronnell Hewitt ran for 158 yards with two touchdowns in the win. Washington commit Peyton Waters had 103 yards receiving with a touchdown and Kingston Tisdell threw two touchdown passes. Bo Tonga had 2.5 sacks for Birmingham’s defense and Maynor Morales had two sacks. Carson beat defending Division 1 champion Granada Hills in the first round. Jerry Misaalefua ran for 241 yards and had a team-high 16 tackles on defense. The two teams have not played each other since 2012 when Carson won 33-14.
DIVISION II
San Fernando (11-1) vs. Chatsworth (6-6)
Where, when: Chatsworth High, 7 p.m.
Analysis: San Fernando narrowly beat Roosevelt 28-26 last week in the second round of the City Section playoffs. Sophomore Melvin Peneda ran for 101 yards to lead the offense. Samuel Pena had three hurries with a forced fumble to lead the defense along with Ryder Garcia who had seven tackles. Chatsworth dominated Lincoln 42-7 in the second round. Isaiah Rameau leads Chatsworth and is fourth in the City Section in rushing yards with 1,622. The senior has 21 of the team’s 34 offensive touchdowns this season. Both teams have convincing wins over Pasadena Poly and Reseda this season. The two schools most recently played in the Division 2 semifinals in 2013 when San Fernando won 24-14.
