PREP FOOTBALL PLAYOFFS : DESERT-MOUNTAIN : Harvard vs. Leuzinger : Their Familiarity Only Breeds Respect

It’s an old story, acted out by coaches in many different sports in many different places. It involves league rivals battling in the I-know-you-far-too-well Bowl, usually to a close finish.

This time it’s high school football and the Southern Section’s Desert-Mountain Conference title will be on the line when Pioneer League rivals North Hollywood Harvard and Lawndale Leuzinger play Saturday at Valley College at 7:30 p.m.

Yes, Harvard and Leuzinger played earlier this season, Leuzinger taking away a 22-10 win and the league title, leaving Harvard to second place. And yes, Harvard was missing a key element, quarterback Corey Thabit.

“Oh we’re real used to Harvard,” Leuzinger Coach Steve Carnes said. “They’re a good team as far as I’m concerned. The first game between us means nothing.”

That might be stretching things a bit, but Harvard is a different team with Thabit, according to Coach Gary Thran. With him, the Saracens have won five games in a row, one of them a 16-12 verdict over top-seeded Santa Clara in the second round of the playoffs.

Then again Mike Brown, 6-4 inches and 230 pounds; Peter Andersons, 6-2 and 220, and David Reiner, 6-6 and 240, might have something to do with Carnes’ thinking. Brown, Andersons and Reiner are the core of the big line that lets Thabit and backs Andy Bell and Dominic Sanifer perform.

Leuzinger cannot match Harvard’s line on either side, but quarterback Mike Reddington may make up for that. He looms as an important factor in a game that could be decided by improvisation.

Reddington has thrown for 1,700 yards and rushed for another 900, despite Leuzinger’s “not being big up front,” according to Carnes. Reddington’s favorite receiver is 185-pound senior Sean Smith, who has caught passes for more than 700 yards this season.

“(The first game) was a strong game for both teams,” Thran said. “They popped a couple of good holes and scored on a couple of big plays. Their quarterback can run or pass, so we had to adjust to that.”

Carnes said: “We’ve played each other for years. We know them, and they know us.”

Pregame knowledge aside, these are nearly even teams and the battle between the big defensive line of Harvard and the speedy Reddington should prove interesting. Leuzinger (11-1-1) spent much of the season atop the conference poll but is playing in its first final in the 54-year history of the school.

So what of these late-season intraleague battles? “We have a very good relationship,” Thran said. “It gives us a chance for a reprieve. You don’t get that chance very often.”