With heavy rain expected this weekend, the chance for high school football players in Los Angeles to run, tackle and enjoy playing in the mud is more than possible. There’s eight City Section teams hosting playoff games Friday night with grass fields that have little grass left.
That means fun times ahead.
“It’s not going to be pretty,” Venice coach Angelo Gasca said of his field’s condition for a game against Franklin.
The coaches might not like mud, but Gasca said his players are excited.
“Everyone is looking forward to it,” Gasca said.
San Pedro, Venice, Eagle Rock, Cleveland, San Fernando, Santee, Jefferson and Wilson have either not changed their fields into all-weather turf or chose to keep grass. Eagle Rock next season is switching to all-weather, so coach Andy Moran might have a final home game in the mud against Dorsey.
San Pedro lost to Eagle Rock in the rain in 2022. Pirates coach Corey Walsh has not forgotten. He prepared with wet footballs in practice this week for Friday’s game against Crenshaw.
“We’re super excited,” he said.
The people who aren’t excited are the bus drivers who will have to clean their buses; fans who will break out umbrellas, plastic hats and boots; parents who will have to clean uniforms; sportswriters trying to keep stats with no covering.
Yes, Southern California is not used to playing high school football in the rain. One of the most famous games was Servite beating Edison 16-6 in the 2009 Pac-5 championship game at Angels Stadium. The lead sentence in the Los Angeles Times story was, “Playing in conditions more suitable for sea gulls and ducks.”
Look for ducks and mud on Friday night.