Football: Mission Viejo Classic kicks off this afternoon

The Kickoff Classic begins half an hour from now at Mission Viejo High and today’s first game will be an intersectional battle of Los Angeles between Crenshaw and Loyola.

Crenshaw, ranked 17th in the Southland by The Times, has had an extra week to prepare since losing its opener to Long Beach Poly, 28-15, at Veterans Stadium. The Cougars are led by dual-threat quarterback Ajene Harris and running back Jacob Knight, who had 58 yards and a touchdown against Poly. Crenshaw reached the City Section Division I championship game last season.

Loyola rebounded from its season-opening loss to Studio City Harvard-Westlake with a 38-6 victory over Lakewood last Friday, thanks to 153 yards rushing by Nico Evans. The Cubs were winless in Serra League play and missed the Southern Section Pac-5 Division playoffs last year.

The second game, scheduled for 8 p.m., imatches two reigning section champions against each other in Corona Centennial (ranked #2 by The Times) and #11 Poly, which will try to slow down a Husky offense that scored 129 points in its first two games.

Stay logged on to see scoring updates for all of today’s gridiron action.