High School Football

* GAME OF THE WEEK: Garfield, 4-2, vs. Roosevelt, 3-3.

* WHEN: Tonight at 8.

* WHERE: East Los Angeles College.

* COACHES: John Aguirre, Garfield, third season; David Endow, Roosevelt, 11th season.

* SERIES: The East L.A. Classic began in 1926 and Roosevelt leads the series, 32-20-7. Garfield has won the last four games, however, including a 20-6 victory last season.

* AT STAKE: This friendly neighborhood rivalry is for bragging rights in East Los Angeles. The game annually attracts a capacity crowd of 20,000, making it one of the most popular prep football contests in the nation. The game is also homecoming for each school.

* STRENGTHS: Garfield’s running attack features a one-two punch of juniors Latarrin Sheppard and Juan Marez. Sheppard has rushed for 645 yards and four touchdowns and Marez 368 yards and six touchdowns. The Bulldogs also have a tough defense, which has two shutouts. The leader is middle linebacker Tony Zamorano, who has 64 tackles and two sacks. Roosevelt’s offense is led by junior quarterback Fernando Delgadillo, who has passed for 887 yards and eight touchdowns. Four of those touchdown passes went to Ralph Dominguez, who has 22 receptions for 336 yards.

* WEAKNESSES: Lack of a passing game has hurt Garfield in close losses to Locke and Fremont. Carlos Garcia has completed only 15 of 37 passes for 239 yards in six games. Roosevelt has been up and down and injuries are a major reason. The Roughriders’ biggest player, Jason Garcia, has sat out the last three games because of a shoulder injury and is questionable.

* THE EDGE: Records don’t mean a thing in this game because of the emotion involved. Both teams are coming off disappointing losses last week. Garfield has a slight advantage because of a more solid defense.

* OTHER GAMES OF NOTE: Hawthorne (5-1) at No. 7 Palos Verdes Peninsula (6-0), 3 p.m.; Locke (5-1) at Bell (3-2-1), 7 p.m.; Dorsey (5-1) at Wilmington Banning (3-3), 6:30 p.m.; No. 3 Long Beach Poly (6-0) at Long Beach Wilson (3-3), 7 p.m.; No. 1 Los Alamitos (6-0) vs. Anaheim Esperanza (4-2) at Placentia Valencia High, 7 p.m.; Downey (5-1) at Compton Dominguez (5-1), 7 p.m.