HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL : FRIDAY’S TOP GAMES

LEUZINGER VS. BISHOP MONTGOMERY

Friday at Leuzinger, 7:30 p.m.

Leuzinger High had an easy time with Bishop Montgomery in last season’s opening game, winning, 27-0, on the road. “But I expect a much tougher game,” Olympian Coach Steve Carnes said. “I know they’re greatly improved. And I think we kind of caught them by surprise last year.” Leuzinger, led by fullback-linebacker Manny Gonzalez, needs to fill several holes to equal last season’s 8-3-1 record. “We’re going to rely on our defense, and hopefully our offense will come along,” Carnes said. Steve Carroll, whose coaching debut at Bishop Montgomery was ruined last season by Leuzinger, said the Knights have “a fresh perspective” because of their move from the elite Angelus League to the Mission League. But he has a big gap on the defensive line with the graduation of 6-foot-4, 330-pound Christian Maumalanga. Senior nose guard Marvin Negrete (5-9, 190) will do his best to hold the line together. On offense, Bishop Montgomery features quarterback John Zimmerman and third-year tight end Mike Hall, who is also the Knights’ top linebacker.

VERBUM DEI VS. WEST TORRANCE

Friday at West Torrance, 7:30 p.m.

A looser-than-expected West team, at least in the judgment of Warrior Co-Coach Mark Knox, will try to end a five-game losing streak against Verbum Dei. The burden of ending the streak might weigh heavily on some teams. “But we haven’t even talked about it,” Knox said. And then there’s the pressure of replacing quarterback John Walsh, who transferred to Carson after leading the Warriors to a 10-2 record and the CIF-Southern Section Division VII quarterfinals last season. “We’re very fortunate because in some years that would have been devastating,” Knox said. “But we have a guy (junior Steve Sarkisian) who can step in.” As confident as the Warrior coaching staff is in the new quarterback, the plan is to use a basic offense. “We don’t have a specific game plan per se against Verbum Dei,” Knox said. “We just want to try to be consistent and work on the basics. In the early games, it’s usually the team that lays the ball on the ground or makes stupid mistakes that has the trouble.” Verbum Dei was 6-5 last season.

ANTELOPE VALLEY VS. HAWTHORNE

Friday at Hawthorne, 7:30 p.m.

Speedy tailback Chris Alexander is now at UCLA, but Hawthorne Coach Goy Casillas and the defending Bay League co-champion Cougars expect to have a strong running game. Talented junior Morrell Ollis moves up from the sophomore team to replace Alexander, and all-league fullback Armando Fernandez returns. “(Ollis) has been out of practice a little bit with an ankle injury,” Casillas said. “But he played in a scrimmage Saturday and looked good. He’s ready to go.” On defense, senior David Tuvai is moving to inside linebacker after earning all-league honors at tackle. “We’ve had to move some people because we had no inside linebackers returning,” Casillas said. Casillas, who is 0-2 against Antelope Valley, said he expects a fierce challenge in the Cougars’ opener. Antelope Valley won a section title as recently as two years ago and generally has a deep roster. “They had a real successful program throughout the ‘80s,” Casillas said. “They have one of the better programs in Southern California.”