Long Beach-area teams expected to play through weekend

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Football games involving schools in the Long Beach Unified School District are expected to go on as scheduled Friday night.

Coaches say their teams’ practices this week have been slowed, but not stopped, by the fires and poor air quality that have affected much of the Southland the past few days.

In the Moore League, Compton will play at Millikan, Long Beach Cabrillo will face Long Beach Poly at Veterans Stadium and Long Beach Wilson plays at Long Beach Jordan in 7 p.m. games.

‘We haven’t really gone full-speed this week,’ Long Beach Jordan Coach Scott Meyer said. ‘But both teams are in the same boat. It’s Week 8, we’ve played enough football that we should be in pretty good shape. It’s just a matter of timing and we should be able to pick that up once the game starts.’

Jordan held scaled-back outdoor practices Monday and Tuesday, and did a walk-through in the gym on Wednesday.

Lower-level games in the district have been given the go-ahead to be played today.

‘Yesterday, it was pretty bad,’ Meyer said. ‘It looked bad, and you could feel it a little bit when you were breathing,too. But things seem to be much better today.’

The improved air quality means that the Panthers’ previously planned Senior Night will go on as scheduled. Jordan has four seniors starting on defense, five on offense.

‘Our guys are excited, because there was a concern they might not have a game,’ Meyer said.

Check out more in this Long Beach Press-Telegram story.

- Lauren Peterson