High

HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL

(Games at 7 p.m. unless noted)

THURSDAY’S SCHEDULE

CITY SECTION

Nonleague

Granada Hills Kennedy at Eagle Rock

SOUTHERN SECTION

Nonleague

Arroyo Valley at Colton

Banning at Santa Ana Calvary Chapel, 7:30 p.m.

Bellflower at Santa Ana

Buena at Castaic

Carter at Kaiser

Cerritos at Cypress

Colony at Alta Loma

Compton at Long Beach Jordan

Corona Centennial vs. Servite at Orange Coast College

Desert Mirage at Duarte

Diamond Bar at Grand Terrace

Etiwanda at Cajon

Garden Grove Pacifica at Beckman

Glendora at San Dimas

Godinez at Irvine University

Great Oak at Vista Murrieta

Huntington Beach at Millikan

Katella at Loara, 6:30 p.m.

La Salle at Cantwell-Sacred Heart

Los Altos at Diamond Ranch

Murrieta Valley at Rancho Cucamonga

Palm Springs at Hemet

Paraclete at St. Bonaventure

Pomona at Lakeside

Ramona at Riverside King

Rancho Christian at Ganesha

Redlands at Fontana

Redlands East Valley at Rancho Verde

Riverside North at Los Osos

Saddleback at Garden Grove Santiago

St. Margaret’s at Arlington

Victor Valley at West Covina

INTERSECTIONAL

Garfield at Montebello

Magnolia at Orlando University (Florida), 4 p.m.

FRIDAY’S SCHEDULE

CITY SECTION

Nonleague

Bernstein at Hawkins

Canoga Park at Arleta, 3:30 p.m.

Carson at Lincoln

Crenshaw at Palisades

Dymally at Dorsey

Fairfax at Hollywood

Fremont at Van Nuys

Granada Hills at North Hollywood

Grant at Los Angeles Wilson

Legacy at Maywood CES

Los Ángeles Marshall at Contreras

Los Ángeles University at Lincoln

Marquez at Verdugo Hills

Narbonne at Cleveland

Panorama at Arroyo

Reseda at Fulton, 3:30 p.m.

Roybal at Jefferson

San Pedro at King/Drew

South East at Wilmington Banning

Sun Valley Poly at Taft

Torres at Manual Arts

SOUTHERN SECTION

Nonleague

Adelanto at Littlerock

Alhambra at Hacienda Heights Wilson

Anaheim Canyon at La Palma Kennedy

Apple Valley at Moorpark

Aquinas at Damien

Arroyo at Azusa

Beaumont at San Jacinto

Beverly Hills at Placentia Valencia

Bishop Amat at St. Paul

Bishop Montgomery at Segerstrom

Bloomington at Corona

Bolsa Grande at Garden Grove

Brea Olinda at Marina

Buena Park at Don Lugo

Calabasas at Alemany

California at Nogales

California Military at Santa Ana Valley

Camarillo at Santa Barbara

Canyon Springs at St. Anthony

Cerritos Valley Christian at Gahr

Channel Islands at Santa Paula

Chaparral at Mission Viejo

Chino at Ontario Christian

Chino Hills at Quartz Hill

Citrus Hill at Jurupa Hills

Claremont at Valley View

Corona del Mar at Lakewood

Covina at La Puente

Dana Hills at San Marcos

Del Sol at Oxnard Pacifica

Desert Hot Springs at Tahquitz

Dominguez at Maranatha

Dos Pueblos at Santa Ynez

Eastvale Roosevelt at Norco

El Monte at Arcadia

Elsinore at Patriot

El Toro at Tesoro

Esperanza at Shadow Hills

Fillmore at La Canada

Fountain Valley at Ocean View

Fullerton at Anaheim

Gabrielino at Artesia

Gardena Serra vs. Palos Verdes at El Camino College

Glendale at San Gabriel

Golden Valley at Pasadena

Grace at Arrowhead Christian

Granite Hills at Sultana

Harvard-Westlake vs. West Ranch at Valencia

Heritage at Garey

Hesperia at Palmdale

Hillcrest at Riverside Poly

Hoover at Nordhoff

Indian Springs at Montclair

Inglewood at Los Alamitos

Irvine at Northwood

Jurupa Valley at Chaffey

Keppel at Compton Centennial

Knight at Canyon Country Canyon

La Habra at Upland

Laguna Hills at Santa Ana Foothill

La Serna at Baldwin Park

Lawndale at Norwalk

Liberty at Temecula Valley

Linfield Christian at Orange Vista

Lompoc Cabrillo at Burbank

Long Beach Cabrillo at Sonora

Long Beach Poly at Downey

Long Beach Wilson at Mayfair

Loyola at Crean Lutheran

Miller at San Gorgonio

Mira Costa at Torrance

Monrovia at Brentwood

Moreno Valley at Eisenhower

Mountain View at Glenn

Muir at Bonita

Murrieta Mesa at Newport Harbor

North Torrance at Orange

Northview at Thousand Oaks

Nuview Bridge at Pacific

Oak Hills at Highland

Oaks Christian at Chaminade

Paloma Valley at Temescal Canyon

Portola at Woodbridge

Rancho Mirage at Yucca Valley

Redondo Union at El Segundo

Rio Hondo Prep at Schurr

Rio Mesa at Hueneme

Riverside Notre Dame at Costa Mesa

Riverside Prep at Century

San Marino at Vasquez

Santa Clara at Firebaugh

Santa Fe at Pioneer

Santa Rosa Academy at Cathedral City

Saugus ar Agoura

Serrano at Warren

Sherman Oaks Notre Dame at Crespi

Sierra Canyon at JSerra

Sierra Vista at Walnut

Silverado at Vista del Lago

South Hills at El Rancho

South Pasadena at Peninsula, 4:30 p.m.

South Torrance at Burbank Burroughs

St. Bernard vs. Los Amigos at Bolsa Grande

Summit at Ayala

Temple City at Whittier

Trabuco Hills at Norte Vista

Trinity Classical Academy at Sage Hill

Tustin at San Clemente

Twentynine Palms at Desert Christian Academy

Valencia at Simi Valley

Western at Salesian

Western Christian at Workman

Westlake at Newbury Park

Westminster at Sunny Hills

West Valley at Capistrano Valley Christian

Xavier Prep at Rim of the World

Yorba Linda at Laguna Beach

Yucaipa at Corona Santiago

INTERSECTIONAL

American Fork (Utah) vs. Mater Dei at Santa Ana Stadium

Angelou at Oak Park

Antelope Valley at Kern Valley

Anza Hamilton at Mountain Empire

Bassett at Mendez

Bell Gardens at Bell

Birmingham vs. Hart at College of the Canyons

Bishop Diego at Paso Robles

Boron at Big Bear

Bosco Tech at Los Angeles Jordan

California City at Eastside

El Camino Real at Lihue Kauai (Hawaii), 4 p.m.

Gardena at Hawthorne

Heritage Christian at San Fernando

La Mirada at South Gate

Lancaster at Henderson Coronado (Nevada)

Las Vegas Centennial (Nevada) at Cathedral

Las Vegas Somerset Academy Losee (Nevada) at Barstow

Lynwood at Franklin

Miami Central (Florida) at Orange Lutheran

Mission College Prep at Oxnard

Monroe at Royal

Orlando Jones (Florida) at Santa Margarita

Palm Desert at Brawley

Paramount at Los Angeles Roosevelt

Perris at Kearny

Rancho Dominguez at Rosemead

River Springs at San Marcos St. Joseph Academy

San Diego Clairemont at Viewpoint

San Jacinto Valley Academy at Valhalla

San Marcos at Aliso Niguel

Santee at South El Monte

St. John Bosco at Las Vegas Bishop Gorman (Nevada)

Tehachapi at Ridgecrest Burroughs

Tri-City Christian at St. Jeanne de Lestonnac, 3:30 p.m.

Venice at St. Monica

Village Christian at Huntington Park

Vincent Memorial at Temecula Prep

Westchester at Santa Monica

8-MAN

CITY SECTION

Nonleague

New Designs University Park at Sherman Oaks CES

SOUTHERN SECTION

Coast Valley League

San Luis Obispo Classical at Coast Union

Majestic League

Entrepreneur at United Christian Academy

Nonleague

Calvary Baptist at Southlands Christian

Lancaster Desert Christian at Maricopa

INTERSECTIONAL

Alpaugh at Cuyama Valley

East Valley at PAL Academy, 3 p.m.

Valley Oaks CES at Frazier Mountain, 5 p.m.

SATURDAY’S SCHEDULE

SOUTHERN SECTION

Nonleague

Compton Early College at Savanna, 1 p.m.

Whittier Christian at La Sierra

INTERSECTIONAL

Viewpoint at Clairemont, 6 p.m.

8-MAN

SOUTHERN SECTION

Nonleague

Coastal Christian at Laguna Blanca, 1 p.m.

Cornerstone Christian at California Lutheran, 10 a.m.

GILLIAN Anderson has opened up about a ‘secret’ early relationship with ‘an older girl in high school.’

The Sex Education and X-Files actress, 58, has been open in the past about her relationships with women.

In a new interview, Gillian discussed her youthful romance and the sensitivity around it.

She told The Sunday Times: “One of my first relationships was with an older girl in high school.

“It felt secretive and illicit and wrong and we had to hide.

“Later on I had a boyfriend who found out and broke up with me.”

Continuing, Gillian said she’d had “a couple of boyfriends”, so didn’t think of herself as gay.

She added: “But I definitely felt I didn’t have the language for it.

“Even later on when I had other relationships with women I’m not sure I ever thought of them as being potentially for ever.”

She concluded: “The person I consider my life partner happens to be male.”

Gillian has reportedly been in a relationship with screenwriter Peter Morgan, 63, on and off since 2016.

Peter is perhaps best known as the creator and showrunner of Netflix smash-hit The Crown.

THURSDAY’S RESULTS

Southern Section

Agoura 38, Buena 0

Canyon Country Canyon 75, PACS 0

Castaic 19, Burbank Burroughs 0

Channel Islands 26, Rio Mesa 13

Corona Centennial 6, El Dorado 0

Corona Santiago 35, Great Oak 14

Crean Lutheran 7, Capistrano Valley 6

Dos Pueblos 28, Santa Ynez 6

El Toro 26, Dana Hills 0

Fillmore 45, Del Sol 0

Gahr 54, Dominguez 6

Hacienda Heights Wilson 7, Garey 0

Hart 12, Royal 6

Hemet 18, Murrieta Valley 7

Indio 21, Canyon Springs 0

Katella 19, Norwalk 0

Lancaster 32, Rosamond 6

Newport Beach Pacifica Christian 51, Loara 7

Nogales 26, Mountain View 12

Oxnard Pacifica 19, Newbury Park 18

Paramount 14, Fairmont Prep 7

Redondo Union 27, Santa Monica 7

Saddleback 8, Century 6

Santa Barbara 38, Hueneme 12

Saugus 26, St. Bonaventure 0

Sherman Oaks Notre Dame 22, Oaks Christian 0

Sonora 14, Portola 12

Thousand Oaks 27, Long Beach Wilson 20

Ventura 27, Santa Paula 0

Westlake 61, Simi Valley 12

Intersectional

Bakersfield Christian 19, Highland 6

FRIDAY’S RESULTS

City Section

Franklin 33, Garfield 13

Hollywood 39, West Adams 0

Los Ángeles Marshall 29, Monroe 0

Los Ángeles Marshall 7, Sotomayor 0

Sotomayor 19, Monroe 0

Southern Section

Agoura 12, Cypress 7

Azusa 20, Northview 19

Beckman 32, Mira Costa 13

Bonita 13, La Serna 6

Cantwell-Sacred Heart 26, Whitney 7

Compton 32, Huntington Park 0

Cypress 13, Warren 12

Dos Pueblos 28, Classical Academy 12

Dos Pueblos 13, Redondo Union 7

Edison 13, Long Beach Poly 0

El Rancho 45, El Monte 0

Fountain Valley 26, Capistrano Valley 6

Highland 50, Rosamond 0

Huntington Beach 7, Classical Academy 0

Huntington Beach 18, Redondo Union 0

JSerra 24, Camarillo 0

JSerra 19, Westlake 6

Lakewood St. Joseph 40, Corona 6

Long Beach Wilson 7, Santa Ana Valley 0

Los Altos 13, San Gabriel 0

Montebello 18, Bell Gardens 0

Newport Harbor 25, Aliso Niguel 0

Newport Harbor 7, Oxnard 0

Northwood 6, Rosary 0

Orange Lutheran 16, Oxnard 6

Orange Lutheran 27, Aliso Niguel 0

Palos Verdes 43, Desert Hot Springs 0

Shadow Hills 25. Cathedral City 0

Sierra Canyon 25, Long Beach Poly 13

St. Margaret’s 13, Agoura 6

St. Margaret’s 21, Warren 20

Ventura 28, Fullerton 0

Villa Park 13, Anaheim Canyon 0

Western Christian 20, Tesoro 6

Woodbridge 40, Wiseburn-Da Vinci 0

Woodbridge 36, Ventura 0

Intersectional

Beckman 21, Narbonne 0

Bonita Vista 20, Sierra Canyon 12

Compton 32, Huntington Park 0

Edison 13, Bonita Vista 0

Esperanza 18, Panorama 13

Mira Costa 13, Mira Mesa 12

Mira Mesa 6, Narbonne 0

Tesoro 13, Panorama 6

Torrey Pines 12, Westlake 7

Torrey Pines 7, Camarillo 6

SATURDAY’S RESULTS

Southern Section

Anaheim Canyon 39, Los Osos 0

Anaheim Canyon 35, South El Monte 7

Baldwin Park 21, Gabrielino 13

Beaumont 38, Long Beach Wilson 0

Beckman 26, Tesoro 24

Bishop Amat 7, La Serna 6

Bonita 34, Don Lugo 0

Bonita 47, Covina 6

Bonita 25, Chino Hills 0

Cerritos 52, Keppel 0

Chaminade 7, San Marcos 0

Chaminade 20, West Ranch 0

Chaparral 20, Newport Beach Pacifica Christian 0

Chino Hills 26, Covina 6

Colony 19, Corona 13

Corona Centennial 40, Kaiser 6

Corona del Mar 13, Trabuco Hills 12

Corona del Mar 19, Bishop Amat 6

Covina 35, Don Lugo 6

Don Lugo 6, Chino Hills 6

Glendora 61, Arroyo 0

Great Oak 26, Newport Beach Pacifica Christian 0

Irvine University 18, Crean Lutheran 0

JSerra 27, Orange Lutheran 6

JSerra 28, Dos Pueblos 0

JSerra 23, Newport Harbor 6

Linfield Christian 32, Temecula Valley 6

La Serna 20, Cajon 6

Los Osos 24, Colton 2

Mira Costa 13, Western Christian 9

Newport Harbor 13, Edison 0

Newport Harbor 14, Huntington Beach 0

Norco 21, Patriot 6

Norco 19, Murrieta Mesa 12

Oxnard 20, Long Beach Poly 7

Oxnard Pacifica 19, West Ranch 6

Oxnard Pacifica 6, Chaminade 0

Quartz Hill 0, Valencia 0

Redlands 31, Banning 0

Riverside King 41, San Jacinto 0

Riverside King 49, Canyon Springs 0

Riverside King 29, Patriot 7

San Marcos 21, Oxnard Pacifica 7

San Marcos 32, West Ranch 0

St. Lucy’s 16, Alhambra 6

Temecula Valley 21, Temecula Prep 0

Tesoro 20, St. Margaret’s 6

Upland 19, El Dorado 12

Upland 12, Hart 0

Ventura 25, St. Margaret’s 15

VIsta Murrieta 62, San Jacinto 0

Vista Murrieta 32, Canyon Springs 0

Warren 19, Esperanza 6

Warren 32, Fullerton 6

Western Christian 12, Agoura 6

Westlake 20, Oxnard 13

Westlake 20, Redondo Union 14

Woodbridge 18, Agoura 8

Intersectional

Bonita Vista 13, Dos Pueblos 6

Downey 44, San Pedro 0

Edison 19, Torrey Pines 0

Esperanza 14, Narbonne 6

Huntington Beach 25, Torrey Pines 7

Mira Mesa 14, Panorama 7

Mira Mesa 20, Cypress 14

Narbonne 12, Fullerton 0

Orange Lutheran 6, Bonita Vista 0

Panorama 27, Wiseburn-Da Vinci 0

Warren 20, Mira Mesa 0

HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL

THURSDAY’S RESULTS

INTERSECTIONAL

Beaumont 49, Hilo (Hawaii) 6
Chaminade 38, Wahiawa Leilehua (Hawaii) 9
San Clemente 23, Kapa’a (Hawaii) 8

FRIDAY’S SCHEDULE

INTERSECTIONAL

Capistrano Valley vs. Honolulu (HI) Damien at Radford, 9:30 p.m.
Newport Harbor at Waianae (HI) Nanakuli, 10 p.m.
San Juan Hills at Kaneohe (HI) Castle, 10:30 p.m.
Villa Park at Honolulu (HI) Farrington, 10:30 p.m.

SATURDAY’S SCHEDULE

INTERSECTIONAL

Edison at Honolulu (HI) Iolani, 6:15 p.m.
Viewpoint at Lake Mead Christian Academy (NV), 7 p.m.

Fourth in a series of stories profiling top high school football players by position. Today, Luke Gazzaniga, Santa Margarita tight end.

You’re unlikely to feel sympathy for 6-foot-4, 235-pound tight end Luke Gazzaniga, a senior at Santa Margarita High who enjoys the idea of running over tacklers after catching a pass or sending an opponent crashing to the ground with a bone-crushing block.

Except understand that he’s the smallest brother in his family. The others are 6-7 and 6-5, so imagine the little brother in the front yard doing the Oklahoma drill, a legendary one-on-one football drill from years ago that tested toughness via collisions.

“We’d literally just run at each other,” he said.

Some brothers play video games or collect baseball cards. The Gazzanigas were into seeing who would be the last one standing.

“It was fun,” Luke said. “I was quick when I was a little kid. I wouldn’t go down. I’ve had to fight for myself. I had to find my way to win.”

Their father, David, who played football at Dartmouth and became an orthopedic surgeon, welcomed the competition. If any of the boys came into the house before a game was over, Dad’s response was, “Suck it up and go back.”

“He taught us how to be tough,” Luke said.

You can sense the enjoyment Luke has on a football field. After he catches a pass, he looks up and gets excited if there’s a defender nearby.

“I love seeing people there,” he said. “I’m letting them know if you’re going to try to tackle me, it’s going to hurt you more than me. I’m glad someone thinks they can tackle me.”

Future Hall of Fame tight end Rob Gronkowski has been the player he’s most admired, and Gazzaniga has been able to see pro players up close because his father worked as a physician with the Chargers. Luke got to hang out in the training room and on the field.

“They’re impressively big and impressively fast,” he said. “People were huge.”

During Santa Margarita’s run to the Southern Section Division 1 and Open Division state titles last season, Gazzaniga became an important offensive weapon over the middle, even though he suffered an ankle injury and missed six weeks. He caught 20 passes for 332 yards and four touchdowns.

“God gave me the blessing to catch anything,” he said.

Santa Margarita coach Carson Palmer used to take advantage of throwing to the tight end when playing at USC and in the NFL, and there’s no doubt Gazzaniga feels comfortable in the Eagles’ offensive schemes. Tight ends continue to gain attention at the highest levels.

“It’s a super important position,” Gazzaniga said. “People love looking at receivers and forget the tight end is almost the glue between passing and running. The Rams use three tight ends and there’s a bunch of big personnel types all over the league. I can envision myself being there one day and making an impact.”

Gazzaniga is committed to Kansas. He comes from a family of athletes. Two older sisters played water polo at USC, with Rachel now a candidate to play for the U.S. Olympic team in 2028. Brother John is a quarterback at Alabama. His mother is an avid mountain climber. John used to throw bullet passes to Luke growing up, which helped prepare him for any and all quarterbacks.

Thanksgiving always has produced an interesting dynamic with five tall, energetic kids circling for a turkey leg.

“It’s hard to know how much we eat,” Luke said.

Saturday: Vincent Shields, Murrieta Valley offensive lineman.

Tight ends to watch

Luke Gazzaniga, Santa Margarita, 6-4, 235, Sr.: Kansas commit makes big catches in traffic

JJ Haley, Corona del Mar, 6-3, 200, Jr.: The next top tight end from the tight end school

Max Markofski, Mission Viejo, 6-4, 230, Sr.: Arizona commit is known for his receiving skills

Hudson Ploog, Orange Lutheran, 6-5, 235, Sr. Nevada Las Vegas commit is like a sixth offensive lineman to clear defenders

Jaylin Smalls, Rancho Cucamonga, 6-4, 230, Jr.: This is the season he begins to show his talents

Let’s hear it for author David Winder for putting together a list of the top 50 most interesting high school nicknames.

Of course, a school in California gets the No. 1 ranking. Life Academy of Health and Biosciences in Oakland has the Biohazards as their nickname.

Here’s his selections:

50. Poets (Dunbar HS – Baltimore)

49. Burrs (West Catholic Preparatory HS – Philadelphia)

48. Flying Flucos (Fluvanna County HS – Palmyra, Va.)

47. Shiretowners (Houlton HS – Houlton, Maine)

46. Amaguqs (Nunamiut School – Anaktuvuk Pass, Ark.)

45. Syrupmakers (Cairo HS – Cairo, Ga.)

44. Achaeans (Herron HS – Indianapolis, Ind.)

43. Vulcans (Vassar HS – Vassar, Miss.)

42. Spongers (Tarpon Springs HS – Tarpon Springs, Fla.)

41. Fourteeners (Lake City Community School – Lake City, Colo.)

40. Lava Bears (Bend HS – Bend, Ore.)

39. Ceramics (Crooksville HS – Crooksville, Ohio)

38. Mean Moose (Alamosa HS – Alamosa, Colo.)

37. Blizzards (Winters HS – Winters, Texas)

36. Dots (Poca HS – Poca, W.V.)

35. Earwigs (Dunn School – Los Olivos, Calif.)

34. Goblins (Harrison HS – Harrison, Ark.)

33. Cutthroats (Community HS – Sun Valley, Idaho)

32. Hoboes (Laurel Hill School – Laurel Hill, Fla.)

31. Cornjerkers (Hoopeston HS – Hoopeston, Ill.)

30. Lab Rats (Roanoke Valley Governor’s School – Roanoke, Va.)

29. Conchs (Key West HS – Key West, Fla.)

28. Pugs (Paoli HS – Paoli, Okla.)

27. Vineyarders (Martha’s Vineyard Regional HS – Oak Bluffs, Mass.)

26. Awesome Blossoms (Blooming Prairie HS – Blooming Prairie, Minn.)

25. Alices (Lincoln HS – Vincennes, Ind.): A popular theory for how the Lincoln Alices got their name is that it comes from the novel Alice of Old Vincennes, which features an orphan in the French outpost of Vincennes, Indiana (yes, the same town) during the Revolutionary War. Fun Fact: Alice of Old Vincennes was a bestseller in 1900 and 1901.

24. Sir Bills (Johnstown HS – Johnstown, N.Y.): They are named after the city’s founder, Sir William Johnson.

23. Barbs (DeKalb HS – DeKalb, Ill.):
Illinois farmer Joseph Glidden received a patent in 1874 for creating the first commercially successful barbed wire, which the local high school eventually adopted.

22. Amazons (Madeira HS – Cincinnati, Ohio): The Madeira Amazons materialized after a group of boys started calling the girls’ basketball team derogatory names and trashed their locker room. A coach liked what one of the words represented (powerful women warriors in Greek mythology) and had the sobriquet of the girls’ teams changed from the Mustangs.

21. Battling Bathers (Mount Clemens HS – Mount Clemens, Miss.): The Battling Bathers were named after the nearby mineral baths.

20: Boundaries, Curious, and Odd Animals (Borderites Blaine HS – Blaine, Wash.): The Borderites are located next to the Canadian border at the most westernmost point of the contiguous U.S.

19. Zizzers (West Plains HS – West Plains, Mo.): The West Plains Zizzers got their name in 1908 when a faculty member was so impressed with a class booklet that they exclaimed, “Oh, what a Zizzer!”

18. Winged Beavers (Avon Old Farms School – Avon, Conn.): The founder of Avon Old Farms adored beavers. But she wanted the school’s nickname to pop and something like Silver Beavers or Fighting Beavers apparently wasn’t good enough. In the end she gave her favorite rodents some feathers.

17. Spoofhounds (Maryville HS – Maryville, Mo.): The Maryville Spoofhounds are the result of a motivational insult. The Maryville coach chose “spoofhounds” after the ugly, plaster of Paris dog from a recent carnival. The players took a liking to the name, and the rest is history.

16. Ugly Eagles (Clayton Valley Charter – Concord, Calif.):
A football coach grew tired of his players’ long hair and unkempt look and gave the team a new nickname.

15. Kewpies (Hickman HS – Columbia, Mo.): The Hickman Kewpies are named after a naked, smiling baby who was a favorite in a comic strip and later dolls and figurines. The name caught on in 1969 when an announcer said that even though the Hickman football team was losing, they were “smiling like a bunch of Kewpies.”

14. Noises (Hale-Ray HS – Moodus, Conn.): The Hale-Ray Noises get their name from the nearby area, which the Algonquians called Machimoodus, meaning “the place of bad noises.” Geologists have determined the sounds are from shifting tectonic plates, creating underground rumblings that are amplified by the topography.

13. Obezags (Key School – Annapolis, Md.): Key School students in the late 1960s looked around their campus, saw three gazebos, and thought the reverse – Obezags – was a perfect nickname.

12. Peglegs (Stuyvesant HS – New York, N.Y.) The Peglegs are named after Peter Stuyvesant, the last Dutch Director-General of New Netherland before the English seized the colony and renamed it New York in 1664. Stuyvesant was known as “Peg Leg Pete,” after losing his leg below the knee during a battle on St. Martin in 1644.

11. Dateliners Diomede School – Diomede, Ark.): The Dateliners are located about a mile from the International Date Line in the middle of the Bering Strait.

10. Bubblers (Boiling Springs HS – Boiling Springs, Penn.): Boiling Springs, Pennsylvania, sits on a network of springs that due to a hydrogeological phenomenon, causes water to bubble to the surface, making it look like it is boiling. The Bubblers are named after The Bubble, the largest spring.

9. Buff ’n Blue (Punahou School – Honolulu, Hawaii): The colors of Waikiki Beach.

8. Cutters (Fair Lawn HS – Fair Lawn, N.J.): The Cutters are a result of a few star football players cutting class to see a double feature in 1943. The players were caught, resulting in the coach benching them for an upcoming game. But at halftime the opposition held a 12-0 lead, so the coach changed his mind. With the movie aficionados apparently learning their lesson after two quarters, Fair Lawn rallied for a 13-12 win – one of the cutters scored two touchdowns and the extra point. Afterward, students demanded the school adopt the Cutters nickname because those players had won the game. The administration agreed.

7. Hodags (Rhinelander HS – Rhinelander, Wisc.): In 1896, a local lumberjack near a small town in northeastern Wisconsin told of a bizarre green monster roaming the nearby woods. It was called a hodag, and he even had a picture of it. He would later admit it was all a hoax, but not before the area became Hodag Country.

6. Hippos (Hutto HS – Hutto, Texas): Local legends abound about how the Hippos got their name. The most popular involves a hippo escaping from a traveling circus and finding its way to a nearby creek. The hippo liked it there, so it took a while to extract the animal from the muddy waters to the delight of the locals.

5. Jug Rox (Shoals HS – Shoals, Ind.): The Jug Rox are named after Jug Rock, a 60-foot-high, free-standing rock formation that resembles a jug. Jug Rock is the largest free-standing table rock east of the Mississippi River.

4. Feet (The Webb School – Bell Buckle, Tenn.): The Feet became the official nickname in 1974. There is no consensus as to why it was chosen.

3. Caxys (Lake Forest Academy – Lake Forest, Ill.): Ancient Greek playwright Aristophanes’ comedy The Frogs inspired the Caxys nickname. The political satire was a big hit at the school, which led students to use the call of the Frog chorus, “Caxys, co-ax, co-ax, co-ax,” to cheer on their classmates. The school says that caxys is ancient Greek for ribbit, or the sound a frog makes.

2. Criminals (Yuma HS – Yuma, Ariz.): A fire forced Yuma High School to hold classes in an abandoned prison (1910-1912). This led to rival Phoenix Union players calling them criminals and making accusations of cheating during a 1913 football game. Eventually, Yuma students leaned into the Criminals moniker, and it became the school’s official nickname in 1917.

1. Biohazards (Life Academy of Health and Biosciences – Oakland, Calif.): The Biohazards are named after biological substances that threaten to human health – the only nickname that includes medical waste, viruses, and micro-organisms.

On hearing that new Prime Minister Andy Burnham will be embarking on a monthlong “cost of living” tour across the United Kingdom, one user of the social media chat platform Reddit commented: “Housing is too expensive, energy is too expensive, food is too expensive etc. There you go, Andy, I’ve saved you some fuel (very expensive).”

Like much of the world, the UK is grappling with the rising cost of living. The Bank of England expects inflation to climb further in the second half of the year as the fallout from the United States-Israel war on Iran pushes up energy prices and household bills.

How high is inflation in the UK? Who is hardest hit? And how does it compare with other countries?

How high is inflation in the UK?

The annual rate of inflation in June was 2.8 percent, down from 3 percent in May. That means prices are still rising, but they are going up a bit more slowly than they were earlier in the year. In practical terms, if something cost 100 pounds (about $135) in June last year, that same item now costs 102.80 pounds ($138.65).

 

Before the US and Israel attacked Iran on February 28, the Bank of England had forecast that inflation as measured by the Consumer Prices Index (CPI) would fall from 3.4 percent in 2025 to 2.3 percent in 2026. Instead, inflation was again 3.4 percent in March this year, largely driven by higher fuel and heating costs.

Petrol and diesel up more than 20 percent

The closure of the Strait of Hormuz, a route for about one-fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas (LNG) supplies, has pushed up the cost of petrol, transport, food and other goods.

Petrol prices in the UK have hit a three-and-a-half- year high. According to data from the RAC Foundation, the price of petrol and diesel rose by 22 percent and 27 percent, respectively, between February 25 and August 11.

The average price of a litre (about a quarter of a gallon) of petrol increased from 1.32 pounds ($1.78) to 1.61 pounds ($2.17) while diesel rose from 1.42 pounds ($1.92) to 1.81 pounds ($2.44) per litre.

Who is being hardest hit?

Not every household feels inflation in the same way. For the average UK household, about 677 pounds ($914) is spent each week on goods and services with some of the biggest costs being housing, fuel and power, transport, food and recreation.

The impact is much greater for households on lower incomes. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) found that the poorest 20 percent of households spent an average of 407 pounds ($549) a week compared with 1,084 pounds ($1,462) for the richest 20 percent of households. Proportionally, the poorer households will feel the rise in prices more keenly.

That’s because the difference is particularly important when prices are rising. Someone spending a larger portion of their income on rent, energy, food and transport has far less of a cushion to absorb any increase in those costs.

According to the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, a charity that conducts and funds research aimed at fighting poverty in the UK, the cost of living crisis is widespread with 7.4 million low-income families unable to afford essential items this year – the highest since 2021 when its cost-of-living tracker began.

Is the UK worse off than other Western countries?

The UK’s 2.8 percent inflation rate in June puts it in the middle of the other Group of Seven  advanced-industrial democracies: Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the US.

The US has the highest inflation rate at 3.5 percent, followed by Italy (3 percent), Canada (2.8 percent), the UK (2.8 percent), Germany (2.3 percent), France (1.8 percent) and Japan (1.7 percent).

Countries have different exposures to inflation through energy prices, wage pressures and government policies. For the UK, inflation is primarily being driven by the energy triggered by conflict in the Middle East; services inflation, which in June was 3.6 percent, driven by higher costs at restaurants and hotels; and slowing wage growth.

Wages barely keeping up

For Britons, the weekly food shop is still more expensive than it was a year ago, but the latest figures show that food price inflation has slowed. This doesn’t mean prices are falling, of course – just not rising so quickly.

According to the ONS, food and nonalcoholic drink prices were 1.7 percent higher in June than a year earlier, down from 2.2 percent higher in May.

There could be more pressure ahead as the Bank of England says food prices are likely to be affected by higher energy costs affecting the production and transport costs of food. It predicts that food inflation will rise to nearly 3.5 percent by December while supermarkets have said they expect food inflation of 4 to 5 percent by the end of the year.

Weekly regular real earnings, which measure workers’ standard pay adjusted for inflation, have also dipped in recent months, from about 0.4 percent at the start of the year to 0.1 percent after the Iran war began, again making it harder for people to afford price rises.