With heavy rain expected this weekend, the chance for Los Angeles high school football players to run, wrestle and enjoy playing in the mud is more than possible. On Friday night, the eight City Section teams will play playoff games on grass fields that have little grass remaining.
This means fun times ahead.
“It's not going to be very nice,” Venice coach Angelo Gasca said of the state of his field before the game against Franklin.
The coaches may not like the mud, but Gasca said his players are excited.
“Everyone is looking forward to it,” Gasca said.
San Pedro, Venice, Eagle Rock, Cleveland, San Fernando, Santee, Jefferson and Wilson either did not convert their fields to all-weather turf or chose to leave grass. Eagle Rock will go all-weather next season, so coach Andy Moran may play his final home game in the dirt against Dorsey.
San Pedro lost to Eagle Rock in the rain in 2022. Pirates coach Corey Walsh hasn't forgotten. This week he prepared for Friday's game against Crenshaw using wet footballs.
“We're very excited,” he said.
The people who are not happy are the bus drivers who will have to wash their buses; fans who will break out umbrellas, plastic hats and boots; parents who will have to clean their uniforms; sportswriters try to keep statistics without hiding them.
Yes, it's not common to play high school football in the rain in Southern California. One of the most famous games was Servite beat Edison 16-6 in the 2009 Pac-5 championship game. at Angel Stadium. The main sentence of the Los Angeles Times article was: “Play in conditions better suited to seagulls and ducks.”
Look for ducks and dirt on Friday evenings.
