Hi, and welcome to another edition of Prep Rally. I’m Eric Sondheimer. The opening weekend of high school football provided some thrills and surprises. Let’s offer some observations.
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Corona Centennial’s Quentin Hale makes one-handed catch against Servite on Aug. 20, 2026.
(Craig Weston)
In Las Vegas, St. John Bosco came out against Bishop Gorman looking overwhelmed on offense. The Braves suffered sacks, an interception, a fumble, erratic blocking, no ground game. They fell behind 21-0 and most thought the game was over. Then St. John Bosco came out of the locker room playing like a different team, rallying to tie the score 28-28 before losing 38-28. Here’s the report.
A couple of concerns for the Braves. They have a veteran secondary that surprisingly had communication issues, leaving running backs going out for passes uncovered. Also veteran quarterback Koa Malau’ulu rallied the team in the second half after struggling to throw the ball on the run. The defensive line produced little pressure, requiring lots of blitzing. Coach Jason Negro said everything is “fixable” but clearly the Braves have a lot more to prove.
Corona Centennial took care of its first of three games against Trinity League opponents, beating Servite 41-21. Quarterback Jaden Jefferson and receiver Quentin Hale picked up where they left off during their previous three years at Cathedral. Here’s the report. Next up is a home game Friday against Santa Margarita that’s a rematch of last year’s Division 1 final.
The Times’ nine-part series previewing top high school football players has been completed. If you missed anything, you can fine it here. https://t.co/wP6R7eaUe5
Crenshaw showed off a lot more offense than usual in winning its opener against a Palisades team that enjoyed its first home football game since the Palisades Fire in 2025. Here’s the report.
Santa Margarita coach Carson Palmer chose his son, Fletcher, to start at quarterback and he delivered in a 27-0 win over Orlando (Fla.) Jones. He threw two touchdowns. The Eagles showed off some promising freshmen, including linebacker Aydan Steen and receiver Kiyan Collins.
Sierra Canyon’s defensive line was as good as advertised in a win over JSerra.
Granada Hills Kennedy opened with a 42-14 win over Eagle Rock. That’s surprising since the Golden Cougars lost to graduation their do-everything quarterback Diego Fuentes. Matthew Quintanilla scored three touchdowns and blocked a punt that was returned for a touchdown.
Chaminade blanked Oaks Christian behind four sacks by Hudson Manning. But the Eagles didn’t have standout offensive tackle Jackson Hill, who has been lost for the season after knee surgery. He’s a Notre Dame commit.
Rancho Cucamonga demonstrated it’s another Inland Empire team to watch, grinding out a 28-14 win over Murrieta Valley.
Carson picked up one of the City Section’s best nonleague wins in several years by beating San Diego power Lincoln 35-31. Chris Fields III accounted for four touchdowns.
Jazmin Gamble, the only female head football coach in California, won her debut when Hawthorne defeated Gardena 26-20.
The San Pedro vs. King/Drew game was halted in the third quarter when fans and others thought there was a gunshot, leading to a scramble out of the stadium. Here’s the report.
Former Garfield coach Lorenzo Hernandez won his debut coaching Whittier, 49-6 over Temple City.
Eric Sondheimer interviewing Donovan Dent at end of state championship in Sacramento March 2022.
(Nick Koza)
It’s my 50th year covering high school sports in Southern California, so I thought long and hard to present 50 moments in 50 years when I could have done 200.
Columnist Bill Plaschke took time out of his busy schedule and unleashed his beautiful writing skills, humbling me with a column that I never expected honoring high school sportswriters everywhere. Here’s the report.
Standout JSerra receiver Tessa Russell.
(Steve Galluzzo / For The Times)
Panorama pulled off the biggest upset of the week, defeating Eagle Rock in four overtimes.
No. 1 JSerra continues to win and win. Here’s the report.
There’s still no resolution involving multiple El Camino Real coaches escorted off campus while the school conducts an investigation as to why their CPR and first-aid cards weren’t showing up in the Red Cross database.
Brad Wright, president of the school’s governing board, said, “At this time, I believe it is important to allow the investigation to proceed and respect the process and the privacy of everyone involved.”
3rd HR of the game! 13th HR in last 14 games! 27th HR of the season!
Cleveland #Guardians 21yr old (1B) prospect Ralphy Velazquez hits his 3rd HR of the game for Columbus a solo blast in the 8th inning 102.4 mph off the bat in vs St. Paul. #GuardsBallpic.twitter.com/aKraNMiXaj
Former Huntington Beach star Ralphy Velazquez had a three-home run game in the minors for the Guardians.
Standout receiver Gavin Honore has returned to Mater Dei after transferring to Bishop Gorman….
Baseball coach Michael Gonzales of South El Monte has resigned….
Brody Brooks (Loyola) and Mattias Di Maggio (Dos Pueblos) are part of a final group of 32 baseball players trying to make the USA 15U national team….
Elijah Menzies is the new girls basketball coach at Villa Park. Brad Willis has taken over the boys program….
Addison Archer, who averaged 26.6 points as a freshman at Rancho Christian, has transferred to Mater Dei. The Monarchs also have freshman Janai Turner, the daughter of former Beverly Hills boys coach Jarvis Turner. She is highly regarded….
First and foremost, all glory to God! Blessed and honored to announce my commitment to UCLA.Thank you to my fam. Grateful to Coach Alberto, Coach Simpson & @cen10 staff, & every coach, & teammate. Thank you Coach Savage, Coach Barnes & the @UCLABaseball staff for the opportunity. pic.twitter.com/VDDzowQwkK
Junior pitcher Christian De La O of Corona Centennial has committed to UCLA….
Royal football coach Adam Brubaker is no longer coaching the team after a video surfaced that showed him kicking a football into the groin area of a player during practice. Here’s the report. Royal defeated Monroe 62-0 with an interim coaching staff on Friday…
A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit for a second time filed against the CIF seeking to change transfer and NIL rules. Here’s the report.
From the archives: Jeff Engilman
Former Sylmar High footbal coach Jeff Engilman in 2000.
(George Wilhelm/ Los Angeles Times)
Jeff Engilman is long retired but never forgotten. He was old school, his face turning bright red when chewing out players. He was head coach at Sylmar, Arleta, Grant and Manual Arts. He won two upper division City Section titles at Sylmar. He won two City titles at Manual Arts. Golden Valley coach Dan Kelley was his assistant for 15 years at Sylmar.
From the Los Angeles Times, an appreciation of Russell Westbrook after his retirement.
From the San Diego Union-Tribune, a look at the top 25 high school football players in San Diego.
From the Los Angeles Times, a story on the demolition and plans for a new Veterans Stadium in Long Beach.
From the Los Angeles Times, a look at former NFL players taking to coaching high school football.
Tweets you might have missed
One former high school football player from the Southland is at an SEC school in his final year of college. One of his classes is golf. Matt Leinart got lots of pub for taking ballroom dancing at USC. No word if you get extra credit for a hole-in-one.
If you’re a double hold back in HS with your chest out because you’re dominating kids 2-3 years younger than you, I feel embarrassed for you. Actually let me rephrase, your parents are responsible for this. I’m embarrassed of them. Justify this toxic culture all you’d like. “I’m…
Sofia Wroblewski makes her anticipated high school debut on the Southern California cross country scene as the @YorbaLindaXc freshman wins her two-mile race at the Mountie Xpress at Mt. SAC by 59 seconds! pic.twitter.com/kkmmT45eLq
🚨RANKINGS TEASER! 🚨 Here are the official CIF-SS Preseason Rankings for Boys Division 1 and 2. More coming this weekend. All divisions for both State and for CIF-SS drop by Tuesday! pic.twitter.com/VcHLt1QvXf
Have a question, comment or something you’d like to see in a future Prep Rally newsletter? Email me at eric.sondheimer@latimes.com, and follow me on Twitter at @latsondheimer.
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This is my 50th year covering high school sports in Southern California. Here are my most memorable moments since 1976.
Former Crespi quarterback Captain Randy Redell (left) and sportswriter Eric Sondheimer (right) prepare to board an F–16 fighter jet for their 82-minute flight at Shaw Air Force Base in Sumter, S.C., in 1998.
(Freelance)
1: It’s 1998. I’m in Sumter, S.C., invited to fly in an F-16 with former Crespi quarterback Randy Redell, an Air Force graduate, captain and pilot. To get cleared, I have to pass a pre-flight instruction class how to use a parachute and an explanation what to do with the barf bag. Randy, apparently at the egging on by his father, Bill, the football coach at St. Francis, takes the F-16 straight up. The G force is like a roller-coaster ride on steroids. Later he tells me to take control of the plane with the stick as I wear my helmet and oxygen mask and hear his instructions on the radio. Yes, it’s like riding a magic carpet. How can anything top an F-16 ride?
I’m going to have some fun this summer looking back on some memorable moments over nearly 50 years of covering high school sports in Southern California. Here is my most unique experience _ flying in an F-16 flown by former Crespi QB Randy Redell. pic.twitter.com/KZLPZtSSgr
Bret Saberhagen pitched a no-hitter for Cleveland High School during a 13-0 win over Palisades for the City Section championship at Dodger Stadium in 1982.
(Courtesy of Linda Saberhagen)
2: It’s June 14,1982. The City Section championship baseball game is at Dodger Stadium, where Bret Saberhagen of Cleveland High pitches the first and only no-hitter in championship game history. He retired 21 of 22 batters in a 13-0 win over a Palisades team that included an infielder named Steve Kerr. Saberhagen would go on to win two Cy Young Awards.
Associated Press Sports Editors award in 1988 for Eric Sondheimer story on Kentucky basketball recruit.
(Eric Sondheimer / Los Angeles Times)
3.: The lead story on ESPN’s 11:30 p.m. SportsCenter on April 13, 1988, was a report from the Los Angeles Daily News detailing a package that accidentally opened at an air freight service containing 20 $50 bills addressed to a high school basketball star at Fairfax and sent from the University of Kentucky. It led to NCAA sanctions against Kentucky and lots of resignations. My work gave me a lesson on the impact dedicated local journalism can have with a single story.
In 2001, Marcedes Lewis tries to get past De La Salle defenders.
(David Kawashima)
4: The game of the century that changed high school football forever was Long Beach Poly vs. Concord De La Salle in 2001 before 17,321 fans at Veterans Stadium and a national TV audience. It was 11 days after the 9/11 terrorist attack. It was No. 1 De La Salle, coached by Bob Ladouceur, with a 116-game winning streak and running back Maurice Drew. No. 2 Poly had coach Raul Lara, tight end Marcedes Lewis and many other future college players. De La Salle won 29-15. From that game on, TV games featuring high school football multiplied and schools began to travel around the country for marquee matchups.
Dorsey coach Paul Knox celebrates miracle win in 2001 City championship game at Coliseum.
(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
5: Never has there been an ending quite like the 2001 City Section football final at the Coliseum. Taft leads Dorsey 14-13 with seven seconds left. A fourth-down punt from the 32-yard line will run out the clock. But Dorsey’s Jesus Jimenez blocks the punt and Henry Badge picks up the bouncing ball in the end zone with no time left for a 19-14 win. “The ending was the craziest I’ve ever had,” Dorsey Hall of Fame coach Paul Knox said.
.The Northridge Little League All-Star team from 1994 was honored with a ticker-tape parade down Disneyland’s Main Street.
(Kari Rene Hall/The Los Angeles Times)
6.: The Earthquake Kids from Northridge Little League made it to the championship game of the Little League World Series in Williamsport, Pa., after the destructive 1994 Northridge Earthquake. Some of these 11- and 12-year-olds had unbelievable personalities, like a player named Matt Cassel. I got to see what a Northeast thunderstorm was like and see the big hill that kids slide down.
Former Granada Hills quarterback John Elway from the 1979 yearbook.
(Los Angeles Times)
7: It’s a 1977 City Section football playoff game that has gone into overtime. John Elway is the quarterback for Granada Hills. Jay Schroeder is the quarterback for Palisades. Both would become Super Bowl quarterbacks. But on this day, they had to try to deliver victory in a California tiebreaker, with the ball placed on the 50-yard and the team that advanced the ball farthest after alternating plays wins. On the seventh of eight plays, Elway completed a 28-yard pass to Scott Marshall to clinch victory.
Crespi’s Russell White carries the ball during a game against St. John Bosco on Nov. 7, 1986.
(John McCoy / Los Angeles Times)
8: In 1986, a sophomore running back with stunning skills, Russell White, leads Crespi to the San Fernando Valley’s first and only Southern Section Division 1 football championship with a 49-14 win over St. John Bosco. He goes on to star at Cal and gets drafted by the Rams. He becomes the commissioner of the Oakland Section, then football coach at Flintridge Prep. Forty years later, his son, Zachary, was a star basketball player at Sherman Oaks Notre Dame.
Five years ago I shot this video of Roybal coach Danny O’Fallon collapsing after his team won City title. He would die of cancer. Beloved coach. pic.twitter.com/JO8eLhUo8j
9: I rarely go to City Section Division III championship basketball games — unless my alma mater, Sun Valley Poly, is involved. It was 2019, and right before the start, I learned that Roybal coach Danny O’Fallon was dying of cancer. As the buzzer sounded and Roybal won, 51-47, O’Fallon collasped onto the gym floor in tears. Players came back to form a huddle around him and comfort him. It’s the most emotional, gut-wrenching scene. I get tears each and every time I watch video of the moment. He’d die a year later in 2020 at the age of 49. Bill Plaschke wrote a heart-warming column.
Anaheim Canyon players celebrate after winning the 2015 Division 2AA championship with a 28-point comeback win over Lawndale.
(Eric Sondheimer / Los Angeles Times)
10: The 2015 Southern Section Division 2AA championship basketball game at Honda Center produced the greatest comeback I’ve witnessed, with Anaheim Canyon rallying from a 28-point deficit in the third quarter and 22-point deficit in the fourth quarter to defeat Lawndale 103-98 in double overtime. Nick Anderson scored 37 points. Canyon coach Nate Harrison was exhausted and exhilarated afterward.
Harry Welch, the only football coach to win three state titles at three different schools _ Canyon Country Canyon, Santa Margarita and St. Margaret’s.
(Eric Sondheimer / Los Angeles Times)
11: When it comes to upsets, few were bigger than Canyon Country Canyon beating the nation’s No. 1-ranked football team, De La Salle, 27-13, in the inaugural CIF Division I state championship bowl game in Carson in 2006. Coach Harry Welch, on his way to a Hall of Fame career, orchestrated everything with a little help and belief from his players.
Brisket, ribs and mac and cheese at Pecan Lodge in Dallas.
(Eric Sondheimer / Los Angeles Times)
12: I always wanted to see what Texas high school football was like after reading the book, “Friday Night Lights,” and experience Texas barbecue. It happened in 2021 when Mater Dei played Duncanville. I spent two days traveling around, seeing Allen High’s $62-million stadium, watching a game at AT&T Stadium and tasting BBQ. All the reports were true _ Texas is one of a kind.
You know what keeps me coming back year after year: Talking to high school athletes who show resilience and determination and don’t care what people think. It’s inspiring. They plug ahead and keep getting back up off the floor. Never doubt what a teenager can accomplish.
Harvard-Westlake’s twin towers Jarron (left) and Jason Collins in 1994.
(For the Times)
14: In the 1990s, the Collins twins, 7-foot Jason and 6-11 Jarron, arrived at Harvard-Westlake, and the rest is history. They’d win state championships, star at Stanford and play in the NBA. In 1999, while they were at Stanford, I wrote a story about their special bond. Former UCLA coach John Wooden said of their progress, “I think they’ve improved. I’m sorry [UCLA] didn’t get them. It’s nice to get twins who are talented and good students.” Jarron’s two daughters are playing for Harvard-Westlake and a son is in eighth grade. Jason died May 12, 2026, of brain cancer. He was 47.
Masaki Matsumoto coaching at Bernstein High in 2013.
(Cheryl A. Guerrero / Los Angeles Times)
15: People were telling me in 2013 about an innovative, creative football coach named Masaki Matsumoto at Bernstein High in Hollywood. I found out the coach sent home letters to parents asking them to write a letter to their son and say something positive while expressing their love. Reading the letters myself and seeing players read out loud with tears in their eyes provided a powerful example what can happen when parents express their true feelings. It led to a story that became an ESPN documentary. Matsumoto now coaches at Lincoln High in Tacoma, Wash.
In 2014, Caleb Wilson of Gardena Serra tries to make a catch in a playoff game won by Corona Centennial 68-64.
(Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times)
16: Trying to keep statistics when Corona Centennial is using its no-huddle offense is challenging, but doing it in a wild 2014 playoff game against another no-huddle offense run by Gardena Serra was mind-boggling. Centennial won 68-64 in a game that had 15 lead changes and 12 touchdown passes.
Birmingham’s Peyton Waters, center, tries to outjump Del Norte defenders for a Hail Mary pass in the final seconds of the Division 3-AA regional bowl game. It went off his hands and was caught by teammate Devyn Taylor with no time left for the win.
(Craig Weston)
17: It’s not every night you get to see a miracle play work. In a 2023 regional playoff game in San Diego, Birmingham trailed Del Norte 28-24. Birmingham had one final play from its 48-yard line. Quarterback Kingston Tisdell avoided the rush and threw the ball down the middle. It went off the hands of Peyton Waters and landed in the hands of Devyn Jackson for a game-winning touchdown.
18: The pandemic was about to shut down high school sports in 2020. The final high school basketball game turned out to be a memorable Open Division regional final between Sierra Canyon and Etiwanda at Cal State Northridge. Sierra Canyon rallied from 11 points down in the fourth quarter to win 63-61 on a shot at the buzzer by future NBA player Ziaire Williams. The state championships were canceled.
Former Akron St. Vincent-St. Mary High School basketball teammates, from left, LeBron James, Dru Joyce III, and Willie McGee, appear in their high school gym on Friday, Aug. 21, 2009.
(Amy Sancetta / Associated Press)
19: On Jan. 4, 2003, Los Angeles got its first look at a teenage basketball player everyone said was destined for greatness. The hype was so big he sold out Pauley Pavilion. LeBron James scored 21 points to help St. Vincent-St. Mary’s defeat Mater Dei 64-58. I was not impressed with his three-point shooting, but his work ethic changed that. He’d be drafted No. 1 overall by the Cleveland Cavaliers. He’s entering his 24th NBA season and is the all-time NBA scoring leader. But my biggest memory was the family sending someone to get him food from Burger King instead of Lawry’s at a media event that week.
Chino Hills guard LaMelo Ball pulls up for a shot over Mater Dei’s Michael Wang and Matthew Weyand (21).
(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
20: In 2017, a sold-out crowd of more than 10,000 showed up at USC’s Galen Center to witness an astounding basketball doubleheader featuring a playoff semifinal matching Chino Hills against Mater Dei and Bishop Montgomery against Sierra Canyon. It was an electric atmosphere and the games lived up to expectations. Mater Dei, led by future NBA player Bol Bol, beat Chino Hills and LaMelo Ball in overtime. Bishop Montgomery upset No. 1-seeded Sierra Canyon and future NBA first-round draft pick Marvin Bagley Jr. Anyone who attended will say it was the best two games of high school playoff basketball they’ve seen.
Los Angeles Angels starting pitcher Jered Weaver throws to the plate during the second inning of his no-hitter against the Twins in 2012.
(Uncredited/ASSOCIATED PRESS)
21: Major League Baseball beat writers need occasional breaks during the season, so on May 2, 2012, I was recruited to fill in for Mike DiGiovanna to report on the Angels-Twins game from Angel Stadium. I was excited to get to see former Simi Valley pitcher Jered Weaver on the mound. I’m also the good-luck writer. Whenever I cover a pro game, strange things happen. Sure enough, Weaver threw a no-hitter in my only Angel game of the year. Maybe Shohei Ohtani should invite me to his next start for the Dodgers.
: Right–hand pitcher Lucas Giolito (right) and left–hander Max Fried (left) of Harvard–Westlake in 2012.
(Los Angeles Times)
22: I’m sitting in the Harvard-Westlake dugout in January 2012 interviewing Max Fried and Lucas Giolito, two future first-round draft picks. Fried arrived after Montclair Prep canceled its sports program. They’d go on to be major league pitchers after each endured arm surgeries. Somehow, they got placed in the same classes, starting a friendship that will last a lifetime. Here’s video of that moment.
Sherman Oaks Notre Dame baseball coach Tom Dill with his former pupil, Giancarlo Stanton.
(Eric Sondheimer / Los Angeles Times)
25: I never thought I’d run into a better all-around athlete than John Elway. Then Mike Stanton, now known as Giancarlo Stanton, showed up at Sherman Oaks Notre Dame and by his senior year in 2007, he was All-CIF in football, basketball and baseball. As baseball coach Tom Dill said, “He’s a highlight reel every three or four games.” The only thing he couldn’t do was make free throws. He would lose a contest to Shaquille O’Neal.
Jon Garland pitching for Kennedy High.
(Los Angeles Times)
26: The reason I like baseball best among all the sports in Southern California is because it produces the most pro prospects every year, and it’s not even close. There’s so many top pitchers I’ve seen before they were household names. Paul Skenes. Gerrit Cole. Jack McDowell. Bret Saberhagen. Max Fried. It goes on and on. Here’s a story from 2024 looking at the best pitchers through the years.
Hall of Fame basketball player Gail Goodrich returned to Sun Valley Poly High for a ceremony to name the gym after him in 2025.
(Eric Sondheimer / Los Anges Times)
Gail Goodrich scored 29 points in 1961 City final for Poly High. He scored 42 points for UCLA in 1965 NCAA final. He led the Lakers in scoring during the NBA championship year of 1971-72. Los Angeles sports legend. 82 years old and humble as ever. pic.twitter.com/zr8ddI3O9e
Nine months after brain surgery for a football injury, Nathan Santa Cruz of Venice ran the anchor leg in the 4×400 relay and helped the Gondoliers finish second at the City Section championships and earn spot in state championships.
(Craig Weston)
29: On the opening night of the 2022 high school football season, 15-year-old sophomore Nathan Santa Cruz of Venice suffered a head injury that resulted in emergency brain surgery to save his life. Thanks to the fast action of medical personnel at the game and at the hospital, he was back running track nine months later. It took months of being patient waiting for people to be willing to talk about the emotional scene to explain how his life was saved. He returned to play football in 2023 and 2024.
Long Beach Poly coach Sharrief Metoyer throws his hands up in an act of exasperation along the sidline.
(Los Angeles Times)
30: The frustration with CIF transfer rules reached an unprecedented moment in a 2013 state basketball playoff game between Long Beach Poly and Mater Dei. Poly coach Sharrief Metoyer chose to put into the game an ineligible player in protest. I watched in horror knowing the consequences. He’d never coach another game for Poly. It was sad that a young, promising coach had made a terrible mistake. He was suspended for a year and then resigned.
End of 3, Sierra Canyon 35, San Marino 14. This game is pretty much done. Start warming up the bus to Sacramento for Sierra Canyon.
31: In 2015, I learned a valuable lesson: Don’t tweet that a game is over until it’s really over. With San Marino down 21 points in the fourth quarter to Sierra Canyon in a state football playoff game I tweeted, “Start warming up the bus to Sacramento for Sierra Canyon.” Well, San Marino rallied for a 36-35 victory. I don’t think Sierra Canyon coach Jon Ellinghouse will ever forgive me for the jinx.
Servite coach Troy Thomas, in 2009, is congratulated by assistant coach Ken Foersch, now the president of Crespi.
(Christine Cotter/Los Angeles Times)
32: I still think Edison had the best football team in 2009. Unfortunately, it rained and rained and Angel Stadium became a soggy field more suitable for ducks. The surfer team couldn’t handle it, with Servite beating the Chargers 16-6 in the Pac-5 championship game. It was Edison’s only loss of the season and the Chargers had beaten Servite in the regular season. I remember walking on the field afterward and ruining my shoes and seeing Servite players love every moment of playing in the rain.
With downtown Los Angeles in the background, Contreras football coach Manuel Guevara prepares for another obstacle this season — ICE raids that strike fear among his players and their parents.
(Eric Sondheimer / Los Angeles Times)
33: In the summer of 2025, immigration agents, dressed in tactical gear and riding on horses and in armored vehicles, made a show of force through MacArthur Park trying to strike fear into the immigrant community. And they did. More than 20 players skipped football practice at Contreras in downtown Los Angeles. I went there and saw the fear on the faces of players wondering if their parents would even show up to games in the fall. It resulted in an important story how teenagers were being affected by ICE.
34: The Wolf brothers, Jim and Randy, from El Camino Real, were destined to do what they loved best — umpire and pitch, respectively, in the major leagues. Their dreams came true. In 1997, as each was doing the hard preparation work to fulfill their goals, I wrote a story, “Brothers of Summer.” “It’s like trying to get on the Supreme Court,” Randy said of his brother’s umpire journey. “It’s just sticking it out and not giving up,” Jimmy said.
Quarterback Josh Rosen, in a 2013 photo, celebrating St. John Bosco going 16-0.
(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
35: St. John Bosco finished 16-0 in 2013 with a 20-14 win over De La Salle before a record crowd of 16,791 in Carson to win the Open Division state championship bowl game. The game had drama and excitement but what really stayed in my memory was quarterback Josh Rosen jumping into the stands and getting his photo taken with St. John Bosco fans and students.
In 1992, Eric Sondheimer presents Taft High grad Quincy Watts a gift from winning the 400 meters at the Olympic Games.
(Eric Sondheimer / Los Angeles Times)
36: It’s 1992, and Taft High graduate Quincy Watts won the 400 meters at the Olympic Games in Barcelona. He came home with two gold medals and his alma mater honored him. I got to present him a framed newspaper copy of his achievement. Twenty years later, I wrote a story with the headline: Quincy Watts is a role model for what is possible.
Former Taft standout Steve Smith had his No. 2 jersey number retired in 2023 and brought his three sons, Jordan (left), Theo and Carter.
(Craig Weston)
37: Steve Smith was a prodigy at Taft High in football and basketball. He made amazing receptions and dunked against anybody. He had his football jersey retired in 2023. He joined the City Section Hall of Fame in 2025. He became a standout receiver for USC and a Super Bowl champion with the New York Giants. He and his brother, Malcolm, a linebacker and another Super Bowl winner, were examples of all the good that can happen when raised by parents to be respectful and humble.
Serra High School receiver Robert Woods in 2008.
(Los Angeles Times)
38: In 2008, I met a promising receiver at Gardena Serra, Robert Woods, and learned what his motivation would be for years — make his older sister, Olivia, proud after she had died of cancer in the spring at the age 17. He’d become an All-American at USC and Super Bowl winner with the Rams.
39: Rodrick Pleasant of Gardena Serra was fast. He was so fast that in 2022, I was there at Moorpark High to see him run the fastest wind-legal 100 meters time in state history, 10.14 seconds, as he let out a primal scream.
Windward freshman Juju Watkins could be a trendsetter in women’s basketball. She’s averaging 21 points as a 14-year-old.
(Eric Sondheimer / Los Angeles Times)
40: First there was Cheryl Miller, then Lisa Leslie. They were the faces of high school girls’ basketball in Southern California. Along came JuJu Watkins, a 14-year-old freshman at Windward who her coach, Vanessa Nygaard, told me in 2020, “Her potential is unknown.” She became The Times’ player of the year as a freshman. Her skills were off the charts, as was her personality. Her great-grandfather, Ted Watkins, was a revered leader in Watts in the 1960s. In the era of NIL, she got an agent, signed a shoe deal, transferred to Sierra Canyon and became the No. 1 player in the country before signing with USC and becoming a national figure.
Jim Toring, then a Harvard-Westlake High School senior, is photographed in the campus pool in Studio City on May 25, 1993.
(Brian Vander Brug/For The Times)
41: It’s May 3, 1998, and I have tears at the celebration of life for Jim Toring, one of America’s greatest athletes in the sport of water polo. I met him when he was a freshman at Harvard-Westlake. His coach, Rich Corso, told me how great he’d become. He led UCLA to two NCAA titles and was destined to be a star for the U.S. Olympic water polo team in 2000. He was killed at the age of 23 in a bus accident in Paris. `
Former Campbell Hall and Northridge Little Leaguer Michael Frost.
(Los Angeles Times)
42: In 2000, Michael Frost was a senior at Campbell Hall and asked to look back at what happened to him as a 12-year-old. He struck out to end Northridge Little League’s 4-3 loss to Venezuela in the 1994 Little League World Series. I wrote: “He was only 12, too young to think his life was ruined but old enough to understand he had gone through a life-changing experience.” Six years later: “It was very hard to get over that. I learned how to deal with it and it became one of the best life experiences I’ve ever had, to come back from a failure and strive to be better.” The power of moving forward. He ended up pitching in college.
Carson coach Elijah Asante addressing players in the locker room in 2010 before 14-10 upset of Mater Dei.
(Eric Sondheimer / Los Angeles Times)
43: It was the first football game of the 2010 season, and Carson coach Elijah Asante invited me to be a passenger on the bus to and from Santa Ana Stadium for a game against Mater Dei. He wore a microphone in the locker room and allowed me to give readers a behind-the-scenes look. Incredibly, Carson defeated Mater Dei 14-10 and it was my favorite video ever shot.
Riding in a jeep on a muddy road in Kenya, sportswriter Eric Sondheimer and former North Hollywood basketball coach Steve Miller do a podcast in 2018.
(Eric Sondheimer / Los Angeles Times)
44: Before Zoom, before podcasts became big, I was taping a weekly show for YouTube with former North Hollywood basketball coach Steve Miller entitled, “Sondy and the Coach.” In 2018, one episode was taped in a jeep while driving on a muddy road in Kenya and shaking back and forth. It was safari time.
Brothers, Jrue and Justin Holiday of the Campbell Hall basketball team in 2005.
(Robert Lachman / Los Angeles Times)
45: In 2014, Jrue Holiday of Campbell Hall acted like he was a most normal high school student even though everyone predicted NBA stardom was ahead. The lead of a column was: “Standing at the entrance to the gymnasium at North Hollywood Campbell Hall and wearing a Disneyland hat with the name ‘Grumpy’ emblazoned on its front, a smiling and playful Jrue Holiday hardly fit the profile of an All-American high school basketball player who, in a couple of years, could be playing with or against Kobe Bryant.” He was the manager for the girls’ tennis team and did the dishes at home.
Jack McDowell sent a signed plaque of his 1993 Cy Young Award to Eric Sondheimer, who covered him in 1984 at Sherman Oaks Notre Dame.
(Eric Sondheimer / Los Angeles Times)
46: Jack McDowell was one of the best and most competitive high school athletes ever. In 1984, he helped pitch Sherman Oaks Notre Dame to a 27-1 record. He became an All-American at Stanford and Cy Young Award winner with the Chicago White Sox. His battle with umpires was legendary. “There were umpires in the Valley who trembled at the thought of being behind home plate with McDowell on the mound,” I wrote. “He might have been only a teenager, but he wasn’t afraid to bark out an expletive if he didn’t like a pitch call.” He sent me a framed and autographed plaque of his 1993 Cy Young Award. It showed me that a journalist can be fair and critical at the same time and earn an athlete’s respect.
This is still one of my favorite moments. Neil Diamond showing up to sing “Sweet Caroline” for the opening of Notre Dame High’s $3 million baseball field in 2014. https://t.co/f658Y0tsw9
47: Sherman Oaks Notre Dame opened its new $3-million baseball field in 2014, and the highlight besides unveiling the field was Neil Diamond showing up to sing, “Sweet Caroline,” with Larry King and Pete Rose watching.
Pablo Suarez, a former Chaminade athlete, owned 30 thoroughbreds in 2006.
(Myung J Chun / Los Angeles Times)
48: It was one of the strangest stories told in 1986. Chaminade student Pablo Suarez pulled off the charade of the year. His mother refused to sign a permission slip for him to play football. His father agreed to sign, and for nine months they kept the secret he was playing quarterback. One time his mother went to clean his closet. “We had a long hallway, and I sprinted down the hallway and opened the window,” he said. “I think I busted the screen to throw the [football] stuff out.” The secret was discovered when a courtesy phone call was made telling his mom about an injury. “My dad spent a couple days sleeping on the couch,” Suarez said.
Pete Crow-Armstrong, formerly of Harvard-Westlake, is now a star player for the Chicago Cubs.
(Eric Sondheimer / Los Angeles Times)
49: It’s the spring of 2020. The pandemic has shut down all high school sports. I’m sitting at home frustrated and bored. Then-sports editor Chris Stone suggests doing a video series using the new Zoom technology to interview seniors about how they are dealing with the pandemic. It was entitled, “Season Interrupted.” Suddenly, I’m fired up and interviewing athletes every day. The first was future major leaguer Pete Crow-Armstong. It helped save my sanity and re-charge my enthusiasm while keeping high school sports going at a time of uncertainty.
50: It’s late into the night at Dodger Stadium in the 1985 City Section final. Neither Kennedy nor Banning is budging. It’s the bottom of the seventh inning with the score tied at 9-9. Up comes sophomore Kevin Farlow of Kennedy with two outs. He hits a game-winning home run down the left-field line. It’s bedlam for the fans who stayed. It’s stunning to see a high school kid hit a walk-off home run in a major league park.
Eric Sondheimer interviews Dominic Dent during his days at Corona Centennial.
(/Nick Koza)
It’s been a great run. Thank you to the many photographers, some of them freelancers who worked for no pay, just wanting to be part of the high school sports experience. And thank you to those who still read newspapers. They may one day go away unless community members, young and old, provide support. There’s many more stories to tell. And I’m not retiring anytime soon.
Eric Sondheimer plays golf in the 1990s with Simi Valley and UCLA star Don MacLean and legendary sportswriter Pete Kokon, who gave Eric his first job at $15 a story for the San Fernando Sun.
People leave flowers and candles at a makeshift memorial outside a school, one day after an attack carried out by a teen with a sword in Fagersta, Sweden, Saturday. A 17-year-old girl was killed and three others were injured at the school after the attack Friday. Photo by Magnus Lejhall/EPA
Aug. 22 (UPI) — A 17-year-old girl is dead after a sword attack at a Swedish high school on Friday.
The alleged attacker is an 18-year-old, male student of the school who carried out the attack while classes were in session Friday. He was arrested and the police are investigating the case as murder and attempted murder. They said they have no reason to believe there were more attackers involved.
The Brinelskolan School principal told local news Saturday that the attacker was a student there.
Vastmanland County said the two injured boys are ages 12 and 17, ABC News reported. The third person is also younger than 18 and was slightly injured. That person has been discharged from the hospital, Swedish News agency TT reported.
The teen girl’s body was found when police entered the school to secure the premises, authorities said.
Police said they fired shots at the attacker, but didn’t hit him. Sweden’s national police said they have carried out two searches of homes connected to the suspect and that they expect to interview many witnesses.
“That’s why we can’t give out too much information, because we don’t want to influence witnesses,” Police Chief Tommy Alriksson said.
No official information on the attacker’s motive has been released.
On Saturday morning, people gathered at a memorial site that the town created, carrying flowers and lighting candles, CBS News reported.
Fagersta city government said it created a crisis center in a sports hall near the school. Fagersta is a town of about 12,000 about 105 miles northwest of Stockholm.
Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson and opposition party leader Magdalena Andersson visited the memorial site to lay flowers.
“What must never happen has happened again,” Kristersson said.
Sweden’s parliamentary elections are scheduled for September, so the Swedish political parties suspended their campaigning Saturday.
School attacks have happened in Sweden several times in recent history.
In February 2025, 11 people, including the gunman, were killed in an attack on an adult education center in Orebro. It was Sweden’s worst-ever mass shooting. After the attack, the government tightened gun laws because the suspect had legally owned four rifles. He had brought three of them to the attack.
Two teachers were killed with a knife at a high school in Malmo in 2022, and an 18-year-old later confessed to the killings.
The Israel separation wall stands near the E1 area, between the Arab neighborhood of Al-Eizariya and the Israeli settlement of Ma’ale Adumim, in the eastern edge of the Judean Desert, West Bank, on August 20, 2026. The Israeli government plans to build Jewish housing units in the E1 area. Photo by Debbie Hill/UPI | License Photo
Police and rescue services on site at Brinellskolan high school after a man with a sword injured several people in Fagersta, Sweden, Friday. Photo by Fredrik Sandberg/EPA
Aug. 21 (UPI) — A man wielding a sword entered a Swedish high school and injured three people Friday before being shot and arrested by police.
Police were called at 2 p.m. local time at Brinelskolan School in Fagersta, Sweden. The students had just returned from summer break this week.
Two of the three people were seriously injured. Local media reported that the attacker was shot in the leg by police, the BBC reported.
Eight other area schools were put on lockdown, but that has since been lifted. A state of high alert was declared for the Vastmanland region. Fagersta, a town of about 12,000 residents, is about 105 miles northwest of Stockholm.
Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson posted on X that a “serious incident” happened in Fagersta.
“There are reports of injured people. We do not yet know what lies behind the act, but we know that the police are working very intensively. I want to ask everyone to let the police and emergency services work undisturbed. Our thoughts are with all those affected,” the post said.
School attacks have happened in Sweden several times in recent years.
In February 2025, 11 people, including the gunman, were killed in an attack on an adult education center in Orebro. It was Sweden’s worst-ever mass shooting. After the attack, the government tightened gun laws because the suspect had legally owned four rifles. He had brought three of them to the attack.
Two teachers were killed with a knife at a high school in Malmo in 2022, and an 18-year-old later confessed to the killings.
NTT IndyCar Series Drivers Scott Dixon (R) and Graham Rahal (L) pose with first lady Melania Trump during an event in the Rose Garden of the White House on Thursday. The first lady announced that a $2 million donation from IndyCar and Fox Corporation will fund Fostering the Future scholarships at Indiana University and Purdue University to expand academic opportunities for individuals transitioning from foster care. Photo by Bonnie Cash/UPI | License Photo
Court cuts Infowars founder’s penalty for false claims that school shooting was a ‘hoax’ from $50m to $1.5m.
Published On 21 Aug 202621 Aug 2026
A court in the US state of Texas has slashed a fine that conspiracy theorist Alex Jones was ordered to pay for capitalising on false claims that the deadly 2012 Sandy Hook elementary school mass shooting was a “hoax”.
The unanimous opinion by the Texas Third Court of Appeals on Friday reduced the $50m judgment to $1.5m. The court found that parents Neil Heslin and Scarlett Lewis, whose six-year-old son was one of 20 children and six staff killed in the shooting, did not provide enough evidence of harassment to pass the state’s $750,000 cap on damages.
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“The families care not at all about this irrelevant ruling which affects only two of the 19 claims they all share. Jones still faces over a billion dollars of liability, so this changes absolutely nothing. All it does is highlight the absurdity of Texas law,” said Mark Bankston, an attorney for Heslin and Lewis in Texas.
The decision does not affect a separate ruling against Jones in Connecticut that ordered him to pay $1.25bn for his claims that the shooting was a hoax perpetrated by the government to justify gun regulations.
The case centred on the allegation that Jones knowingly pushed false claims about the victims and their families – including that the children who were killed were actors – to capitalise on attention around the shooting for his Infowars platform, even as his claims led to a torrent of abuse for the families of victims. Many said they faced death threats and were forced to relocate as a result.
Jones and his company have filed for bankruptcy, and he gave up the Infowars brand in April. He has continued to broadcast online and share his shows on the social media platform X.
Jones called the Friday ruling a “gigantic victory for the First Amendment”, which protects freedom of expression in the US Constitution, adding that he will continue to appeal the case to the Texas state Supreme Court in a bid to have the remaining charges dismissed.
“I got lawyers who are good constitutional lawyers and they are not backing down,” Jones said.
Two teenagers have been seriously injured after a sword attack on a high school in Sweden, authorities have said.
Police were called to the Brinell School in Fagersta shortly after 14:00 local time (13:00 BST) on Friday, where officers arrested one man.
A third person was wounded in the attack but the extent of their injuries has not been confirmed, while reports in local media say the suspect was shot in the leg by police.
Eight other schools in the area were placed under lockdown measures – which have now been lifted – while a state of high alert was declared in the Vastmanland region following the attack.
Police have said there is currently no danger to the public.
In a post on X, Sweden’s Prime Minsiter Ulf Kristersson described the attack as a “serious incident,” and said “we do not know what lies behind the act, but we know that police are working very intensively”.
Students at Brinell School had only just returned to the classroom following the summer break, with the new term beginning either on Monday or Wednesday this week, depending on the academic year.
The school has just under 500 students on its roster, according to Sweden’s public broadcaster SVT, and is located 170km (105 miles) north-west of the capital, Stockholm.
Sweden has experienced a number of attacks on educational institutions in recent years.
This led to the government tightening the country’s gun laws after it was found that the suspect legally owned four rifles, three of which were found in the school where attack took place.
I spent my 10-year-old niece’s last week of summer freedom with her, jumping into and swimming in our family’s lake and overall being feral in nature.
She told me after our trip that she was dreading her return to school, communicating her Gen Alpha feelings via a simple broken heart emoji. It felt too soon for me too.
That energy is what inspired this week’s edition of The Wild, our weekly outdoors newsletter. Below I outline three great hikes around Los Angeles that are kid-friendly and great options to decompress after your family’s first week back to school (including if you’re a kid-free household with a tired educator). I hope you find these trails as rejuvenating as I did!
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Before we dive in, a few quick reminders:
You will not have cellphone reception for at least two of these hikes. Download trail maps ahead of time on your hiking navigation app, and also download an offline map of your driving route on your phone’s GPS navigation app.
Pack extra water, especially if traveling to the San Gabriel Mountains, as mountain weather can be hard to predict, and it can be hotter than you anticipate.
Take your time on twisting mountain roads; use paved vehicle turnouts to let faster traffic pass you, and watch out for cyclists; turn on your headlights when entering Angeles National Forest, regardless of the time of day.
Let someone know where you’re going, including what time you’ll be back. Place a completed version of this form (or something like it) on your vehicle’s dashboard — just in case!
And practice Leave No Trace principles, including not feeding any wildlife, picking up after yourself (including toilet paper) and not playing any loud music, as it bothers grumpy hikers like me and also the wildlife (the latter being more important than the former).
OK, now that you’re prepared to be safe and good to nature, let’s talk about those hikes!
The view of the L.A. area and our local mountains from Bee Rock in Griffith Park.
(Jaclyn Cosgrove / Los Angeles Times)
1. Old Zoo — Bee Rock Loop (Griffith Park Explorer Segment 7)
Distance: 5 miles Elevation gained: 930 feet Difficulty: Moderate Dogs allowed: Yes Nearest to: Atwater Village Accessible alternative: Rio de Los Angeles Park loop
The Old Zoo — Bee Rock Loop is a 5-mile hike that takes you up to Bee Rock, an epic lookout point in Griffith Park. The route is part of Friends of Griffith Park’s Griffith Park Explorer, which organizes official trails into 15 hikeable segments (rather than you getting lost or ending your hike far from where you parked — not that I’ve ever experienced that).
I have passed Bee Rock at least a dozen times and each time told my hiking companion, “I really need to hike up there sometime!” I finally did last week, and I am already itching to return.
After leaving, I wanted to know how this local monolith got its name. I went to The Times’ archives, where I couldn’t find a precise answer.
Bee Rock as seen from the Bill Eckert Trail in Griffith Park.
(Jaclyn Cosgrove / Los Angeles Times)
“Bee Rock acquired its name from the millions of bees which store their honey in its tiny caves which honeycomb it,” a March 1940 Times story read. Seems reasonable.
Retired ranger Bill Eckert told hikers per a 1985 story that Bee Rock got its name “because bees were attracted to the sweets at the old zoo’s refreshment stands and made their homes in the rock’s crevices.”
Eckert has a trail named after him, so I did feel inclined to believe his story.
As I searched for a clear answer, I felt better when I discovered that even experts like Gerry Hans, president of nonprofit Friends of Griffith Park, aren’t sure.
“There are theories and legends,” Hans wrote in a blog post in 2022. “The first is that the outcrop simply looks like a beehive. Another tale describes maintenance workers at the Old Zoo dumping spoiled soda syrup off the cliff, which lured swarms of bees. A third theory suggests that bees naturally take up residence in the holes and pocks on the cliff side overlooking Spring Canyon.”
Hans wrote that he had seen bees in the rock’s small caverns, but to do so, you must have good binoculars.
Armed with those facts and maybe some binocs, you can head out on the trail.
To begin your hike, you’ll park at Merry Go Round Lot One and head to the Lower Beacon Trail just past the southeast corner of the parking lot. Take good care in selecting where to start, as there are about five different paths you could take here.
You will head west on the Lower Beacon Trail, briefly walk southwest along the Fern Canyon Trail before taking the Upper Zoo Trail for much of the way. You’ll reach the Bee Rock Trail at 1 mile into your hike.
Views from the Bee Rock Trail around golden hour in Griffith Park.
(Jaclyn Cosgrove / Los Angeles Times)
You will follow the Bee Rock trail northwest for a short jag before you come to what might feel like a dead end.
The Bee Rock Trail narrows and heads south. You will take a few switchbacks up, wondering how you suddenly became surrounded in tree canopy. Hopefully the sky is helicopter-free and you can hear the local chatter of acorn woodpeckers and California scrub jays.
You’ll arrive at a chain-link fence where you can take a narrow dirt path to the rocky outcropping atop Bee Rock. If hiking with children, it’d be good for the adults to go first, as there are a few spots where the fence has been cut, and the allure of venturing farther than one should out onto boulders is high.
The view is stunning, and on a Thursday evening, I had it all to myself as the sun lowered near the horizon. It was a clear day, and I could see a large swath of Glendale and nearby Mt. Thom and Tongva Peak in the Verdugos and farther away Josephine Peak, Strawberry Peak and several other summits in the San Gabriel Mountains.
From here, you can turn around and head back to your car, especially if the smaller hikers among you are tired, or continue onward to complete the loop. The rest of the trail is not challenging, as you’re either walking on a flat trail or headed downhill. And it’s generally not crowded. If you’re hiking with a teenager, the rest of the trail offers a quiet few miles to talk together about the school day.
One of the pools along Soldier Creek.
(Jaclyn Cosgrove / Los Angeles Times)
2. Lewis Falls
Distance: About a mile out and back Elevation gained: About 300 feet Difficulty: Easy, but requires proper footwear Dogs allowed: Yes Nearest to: North of Azusa Accessible alternative: West Fork National Scenic Bikeway
The 1-mile out-and-back trek to Lewis Falls offers hikers a gorgeous journey along Soldier Creek, lined with California bay laurels, oak trees and hulking old conifers. The trail runs mostly parallel to the creek until you reach its end, where you must cross the creek, rocks and logs to reach Lewis Falls.
You will start by finding parking, its own adventure, as there is no lot. Rather, you will need to find a spot along Highway 39 near the trailhead. I didn’t have any trouble on a weekday, but on a weekend, it might be more challenging. That is essentially the only real downside of this trail.
A large old conifer provides shade along Soldier Creek.
(Jaclyn Cosgrove / Los Angeles Times)
You will hike slightly northeast for about half a mile before reaching the falls. Along the way, you’ll have ample opportunity to take a dip in Soldier Creek, as multiple pools remain, even this late in our summer.
If you find yourself saying, “Wow, this trail is really steep,” you are likely on the wrong path. You will spot multiple spur trails, likely created by either an impatient human or dexterous deer. You can identify them mostly by looking them over and realizing they offer a quicker, more dangerous option than the trail before you.
Soldier Creek features several shorter waterfalls as well as nearby Lewis Falls.
(Jaclyn Cosgrove / Los Angeles Times)
Although it is generally called Lewis Falls by hikers, the cascade historically had a different name.
“Longtime San Gabriel Mountains visitors and old maps refer to Soldier Creek Falls as ‘Lewis Falls,’ in honor of forest ranger Anselmo Lewis, who once patrolled these parts,” former Times outdoors writer John McKinney wrote in a 1998 article.
Although this trail is short, it does require a bit of technical expertise but nothing too tricky. You will find yourself navigating boulders and, at one point, using a root to step down onto the rest of the trail. It requires just a little patience and looking ahead of yourself to determine the safest route.
I was greeted by small blue dragonflies as I hiked along the creek. Instead of racing back to my car, I lay down on a log and listened to the sounds of rushing water and chirping birds. Soldier Creek provides any hiker willing to slow down with an opportunity to reset, regardless of whether you have homework waiting for you at home.
And if you aren’t ready to go home, consider heading five miles north on Highway 39 to the Crystal Lake Recreation Area, where further adventure — and a snack at the Crystal Lake Cafe — awaits.
Once you reach Mt. Hillyer, you’ll be greeted by large rocks that are fun to scramble along.
(Jaclyn Cosgrove / Los Angeles Times)
3. Mt. Hillyer via Silver Moccasin Trail
Distance: 5.8-mile lollipop loop Elevation gained: About 1,100 feet Difficulty: Moderate Dogs allowed: Yes Nearest to: About 45 minutes northeast of La Cañada Flintridge Accessible alternative: Paved paths through Chilao Campground
This 6-mile jaunt along the Silver Moccasin Trail, which is just over 50 miles when fully open, takes you through high desert and pine trees.
Shaped like a lollipop, the trailhead sits about half a mile northwest of the Chilao Visitor Center, which is typically open on the weekend. You will head north for a mile before turning left (or west) off the Silver Moccasin Trail.
You will follow Horse Flats Road to the Rosenita Saddle trailhead, where you’ll take the trail southwest to Mt. Hillyer.
Views of the San Gabriel Mountains from the trail to Mt. Hillyer.
(Jaclyn Cosgrove / Los Angeles Times)
Keep an eye out for Jeffrey pines, which will have deeply furrowed bark and round prickly cones. Their bark smells like butterscotch or vanilla, which I always love pausing to sniff.
The trail also features Coulter pines that produce massive cones nicknamed widowmakers because of their size. The Coulter pine cones can weigh up to 11 pounds. If you’re in the area when it’s windy, please watch your head.
To reach Mt. Hillyer, you’ll follow a short spur trail about half a mile southwest from the Rosenita Saddle trailhead. Mt. Hillyer features several large boulders, perfect for kids to scramble and play on. It’ll also offer you sweeping views of the San Gabriel Mountains.
A hiker takes the path to Mt. Hillyer in the winter in Angeles National Forest.
(Jaclyn Cosgrove / Los Angeles Times)
You can make the trail a loop by continuing south until it jags back east, meeting back up with the paved road you previously took.
And for the ultimate weekend adventure, grab a first-come, first-served campsite at Chilao Campground, and then you can hike and check out the Chilao Visitor Center, which is open from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday through November. As a bonus, there’s a short, flat nature trail at the east end of the nature center parking lot where you can typically find massive Coulter pine cones to inspect. A seasonal creek flows through this area too.
Regardless of which option you choose, I hope you make great memories in our local public lands.
3 things to do
The Milky Way is seen in the western night sky near Mt. Pinos in the Los Padres National Forest.
(Raul Roa / Los Angeles Times)
1. Ponder astrophysics in Pasadena Caltech will host a stargazing lecture from 8 to 10 p.m. Friday at the Cahill Center for Astronomy and Astrophysics (1216 E. California Blvd. in Pasadena). Philosophy professor Charles “Chip” T. Sebens will lecture about basic questions that remain regarding atoms. A Q&A and then guided stargazing will follow. The event is free, and no registration is required. Learn more at events.caltech.edu.
2. Improve insect habitat near Altadena The Invertebrate Club of Southern California needs volunteers from 8 to 11:30 a.m. Saturday at Eaton Canyon. Participants will yank invasive plants to help restore the canyon. Volunteers must be 14 years or older. Registration is required. Sign up at signupgenius.com.
3. Peek at sandpipers in Pacoima The San Fernando Valley Audubon Society will host a bird walk from 8 to 10 a.m. Saturday. Guests will meet at the ranger station (10965 Dronfield Ave. in Pacoima) before heading out on a 1- to 3-mile walk through riparian areas, grassy lawns and unique rock formations. Birders can expect to see 30 to 50 species. Learn more at the group’s Instagram page.
The must-read
Johnson’s Beach, along the Russian River, is one of the most popular spots along the lower Russian River.
(Christopher Reynolds / Los Angeles Times)
The lower Russian River and the small communities along the watercourse in Sonoma County offer visitors every kind of adventure, whether you want to stay in a tent and simply float or you want a high-end outdoors experience. That’s what I gleaned from reading Times staff writer Christopher Reynolds’ article about how to get the most out of a visit to the Northern California sylvan paradise. “On summer weekends, thousands show up in Guerneville with kayaks, canoes, inner tubes — just about anything that will float, preferably with a cooler attached,” Reynolds writes. “Then they spend hours gliding downstream past scenery that might as well be a Northern California highlight reel: vineyards, redwood forests and eventually a beach scene full of driftwood and sea stacks.”
After finishing the piece, I immediately searched online for how far away L.A. is from Guerneville. It’s a long drive, but my colleague makes it sure feel worth it.
Happy adventuring,
P.S.
Everyone should feel safe to recreate and work in outdoor spaces. To better ensure Deaf and Hard of Hearing folks feel supported wherever you recreate or volunteer, consider taking CorpsTHAT‘s upcoming “ASL for the Outdoors” virtual classes. Classes run from September to November and range from beginner to advanced. The fee is $250 per student. You can learn more, including how to register, at the organization’s website.
For more insider tips on Southern California’s beaches, trails and parks, check out past editions of The Wild. And to view this newsletter in your browser, click here.
The sunset of his NFL playing career came almost 30 years ago.
So what is Bucky Brooks doing before sunrise, unlocking the gate outside the Granada Hills High football field?
He’s getting in touch with his roots the way dozens of former NFL players are from coast to coast, teaching the game he loves to the latest generation.
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Granada Hills football coach Bucky Brooks, a former NFL player, talks about why he coaches high school football and why it attracts many former NFL players. (Sam Farmer / Los Angeles Times)
“There’s nothing like it,” said Brooks, 55, of coaching high school football. “The athletic part of you dies when we retire. There’s nothing that gives you that same feel of being the gladiator in the ring. But this is the closest thing. Even though you’re not playing, you live vicariously through their experiences.”
“I’m where I need to be,” said Palmer, whose son, Fletch, is a quarterback and junior on this season’s team. “I missed so much when I was playing because I was so involved in so much.”
After retiring in 2018, he contemplated going the route of a lot of former players and working NFL games as a color analyst.
“I almost signed a contract doing TV stuff,” said Palmer, whose daughter, Bries, is a freshman at the school. “I wouldn’t be around when my kids come by my office at lunchtime, or when somebody has a stomachache and needs to take a class period to take a nap on my couch. I love that.”
Santa Margarita will open the season Friday by playing host to Jones High of Orlando, Fla. — a team coached by former Atlanta Falcons defensive back Elijah Williams.
“The standard’s been set, the culture’s been built, and now you’ve just got to carry it on,” Palmer said.
“This class that we have right now has done a phenomenal job. We’re running more stuff than we were last year, just because it’s these kids’ second year in the program.” He added the receivers, in particular, are playing with confidence because of their detailed route work — precise depths, footwork, releases that are “NFL routes” as opposed to “seven-on-seven stuff.”
If you’re an up-and-coming quarterback, there has to be an extra layer of pressure and expectation if your father played the position at an elite level. Philip Rivers understands that. His son, Gunner, a four-star quarterback in the class of 2027 who plays for his dad at St. Michael Catholic High in Fairhope, Ala. The younger Rivers will be headed to North Carolina State, following in the sizable footsteps of his father.
Likewise, Philip Rivers followed his own dad, Steve, a legendary Alabama high school coach.
Granada Hills coach Bucky Brooks watches his players run drills during a recent practice.
(Kayla Bartkowski / Los Angeles Times)
“I grew up wanting to be my dad’s quarterback, and now I’m getting to coach my son and relive it all again 30 years later,” said Philip Rivers, who also has a younger son, Pete, on the team. “Everything goes too dang fast. There’s some long days throughout the years, but it all goes too fast. You wish you could slow it all down.”
All of this gives Philip a better understanding of his own father.
“My dad’s in the state Hall of Fame,” he said, “but he never won a state championship. His championship trophies were in his desk drawer, the letters players had written him over the years. We want them to be better men for having been in our football program. That’s the mission.”
Almost three years ago, former NFL quarterback Tim Hasselbeck was hired as varsity football coach at Ensworth High in Nashville. He gave up his job as primary game analyst for “ACC Primetime Football” in part to coach his son, Taylor, now a quarterback at Wyoming.
Granada Hills coach Bucky Brooks huddles with defensive players during a recent practice in preparation for the 2026 high school football season.
(Kayla Bartkowski / Los Angeles Times)
Coaching high school football became a family affair, with parents Don and Mary Beth selling their Boston house of 50 years and moving to Tennessee, and Don — the former NFL tight end who died last year — joining his son’s staff. Matt Hasselbeck, Tim’s brother and a former Super Bowl quarterback, came on board as well as Ensworth’s offensive coordinator.
“We all had coaches who made an incredible impact on our lives,” Matt said. “And we probably had coaches who had a negative impact as well. … I didn’t seek out coaching. I said I’d do a three-day clinic. I just don’t remember stopping.”
By Archie Manning’s count, about 30,000 high school players have been enrolled in the 30 years of the Manning Passing Academy in Thibodeaux, La. The weeklong camp focuses on quarterbacks and receivers, and college players from around the country serve as counselors, as do brothers Peyton, Eli and Cooper Manning.
“I tell Peyton and Eli, ‘Listen, when these kids get home, their granddaddy is going to ask them, ‘Did you meet Peyton and Eli?’” said Archie of his two NFL quarterback sons. “And I want them to say, ‘Yes.’ OK, so get your butt around to everyone. They try to get in front of every kid.
“The kids we deal with are just so eager and excited, and that’s what makes it so fun.”
Back at Granada Hills, where he has coached since 2019, Brooks is looking to instill in his players some of the lessons he learned from the all-star cast of NFL coaches he played for as a defensive back — among them Marv Levy, Mike Holmgren, Tony Dungy, Marty Schottenheimer and Jon Gruden.
“We all feel an obligation to give back,” Brooks said. “Your Pop Warner coach, your high school coach, your college coach. … I want to take those same lessons people gave me and give it to the next people.”
Granada Hills coach Bucky Brooks talks to his players before practice.
(Kayla Bartkowski / Los Angeles Times)
That requires sacrifice. Brooks has worked as a sportswriter for Sports Illustrated and analyst for NFL Network. Now, he’s a commentator for the Jacksonville Jaguars’ TV Network, meaning he finishes a high school game and flies to where the Jaguars are playing.
Sometimes, that means hopping on a plane to London after coaching a Friday night game. His assistant coaches, mostly a group of his former Granada Hills players, have to pick up the slack sometimes with the subsequent practices early in the following week.
“It’s been a great leadership lesson for me,” Brooks said. “I’ve learned to delegate and let other people take over.”
The high school football season begins this weekend with Week 0 games. Let’s examine storylines and questions to be answered:
Will a lineman be the player of the year?
The last time a lineman was The Times’ player of the year was St. John Bosco offensive tackle Wyatt Davis in 2016. The Braves now have Elisha Mueller, a 6-foot-4, 295-pound junior transfer from Servite, as one of their blockers, so don’t be surprised if he emerges as an MVP candidate on a team that can go unbeaten. Sierra Canyon defensive lineman Marcus Fakatou is also an MVP-like lineman.
Can any City Section team beat defending champion Carson?
Call it unlikely. The Colts return versatile quarterback Chris Fields III, who does magical things when you least expect it. There’s linemen to protect him and a nonleague schedule that should have the Colts prepared to run over Marine League teams.
Can Santa Margarita show its 2025 championship in the first year of Carson Palmer as coach was no fluke?
The Eagles don’t have the defensive front from last season that was so dominating and gone to USC is Mr. Big Play, Trent Mosley. Expect the Eagles to put up a good challenge to St. John Bosco in the Trinity League. There’s speed and talent and Steven Fifita is about as good a defensive coordinator as there is. Wait for the young players, led by freshman linebacker Aydan Steen, to come on strong late in season.
Former Heisman Trophy winner Carson Palmer raises the 2025 Southern Section Division 1 championship plaque in his first year as head coach at Santa Margarita.
(Craig Weston)
Is Long Beach Poly ready for a resurgence?
First-year coach Travon Patterson made one of the best hires for his offensive coordinator, former Cathedral and Warren coach Kevin Pearson. He has two cornerbacks second to none in JuJu Johnson and Donte Wright. The key to the Jackrabbits returning to the top in the Moore League will be whether they can develop their offensive line to be effective.
Who will be the most successful first-year coach?
This is going to be debated all season because so many well-known football programs changed coaches. Servite’s Rick Garretson, Orange Lutheran’s Ray Fenton and JSerra’s Hardy Nickerson have high expectations from their rabid fan base. St. Bernard’s Dean Herrington takes on a rebuilding job. Bishop Alemany’s Dennis Keyes takes over a program that hit rock bottom. Jeff Bailey left Yorba Linda for Beverly Hills, which can go nowhere but up. You’ve heard of Storm Watch. This season will be called Rookie Coach Watch.
How many teams will make the Southern Section Division 1 playoffs?
Don’t look for more than eight. The Southern Section wants competitive equity, and the leading candidates at the end of the season can already be predicted: St. John Bosco, Santa Margarita, Orange Lutheran, Mater Dei, Servite, Corona Centennial, Sierra Canyon and Mission Viejo. Remember last season, with the help of rain, the No. 8 seed, Orange Lutheran, stunned the No. 1 seed, St. John Bosco.
Quarterback Chris Fields III of Carson is a dual threat quarterback who led the Colts to the City Section Open Division title last season.
(Craig Weston)
Does the City Section still have talent?
Absolutely. The recruiters have already discovered defensive end Elyjah Staples from Marquez, linebacker De’Andre Kirkpatrick from Crenshaw, Fieldsand his heavily recruited Carson teammate and defensive back Bennie Saulter. There are others waiting for their chance. Beware of receiver Paul Turner of Birmingham.
Will there be another eligibility scandal?
Count on it if athletic directors and principals don’t take their jobs seriously to give scrutiny to transfer paperwork and make home visits. There were rumors throughout the summer of 2025 about Bishop Montgomery turning the other cheek, and sure enough, they were correct. The school ended up canceling its season after too many players were declared ineligible.
What are the great games to mark on your calendar?
On Thursday, it’s Corona Centennial vs. Servite at Orange Coast College. On Friday, it’s St. John Bosco at Las Vegas Bishop Gorman.
Aug. 28: Inglewood at Westlake, Santa Margarita at Corona Centennial. Sept. 4: Murrieta Valley at Cajon, San Clemente at Chaparral. Sept. 10: Corona del Mar at Newport Harbor. Sept. 11: Corona Centennial vs. Mater Dei at Santa Ana Stadium, Cathedral at King/Drew. Sept. 18: Orange Lutheran at Sierra Canyon. Sept. 25: Oxnard Pacifica at Sierra Canyon, Servite at Damien.
Coach Jason Negro and St. John Bosco open the season as the No. 1 team in California.
(Craig Weston)
Oct. 1: Murrieta Valley at Chaparral. Oct. 2: San Pedro at Banning, Crean Lutheran at Tustin, Bishop Amat at Gardena Serra. Oct. 9: Sierra Canyon at Gardena Serra, Orange Lutheran at St. John Bosco. Oct. 15: Norco at Corona Centennial. Oct. 16: King/Drew at Crenshaw, Mission Viejo at San Clemente, Santa Margarita at St. John Bosco.
Oct. 23: San Pedro at Carson, Corona Centennial at Chaparral, St. Bonaventure at Oxnard Pacifica, Long Beach Poly at Long Beach Millikan. Oct. 29: Garfield vs. Roosevelt at East L.A. College, Edison at San Clemente, Valencia vs. Hart at College of the Canyons, St. John Bosco vs. Mater Dei at Santa Ana Stadium.
Which coaches might be under the microscope?
First-year coaches at private schools will start feeling pressure if their players don’t deliver results. There’s little patience these days from boosters, parents and fans. Watch the Corona Centennial staff, because someone there is going to one day succeed future Hall of Famer Matt Logan.
What will be the new trend in 2026?
Watching to see how well PlayOn Sports handles its control of high school sports in California. It owns MaxPreps, the NFHS Network, GoFan.co and just won state playoff TV rights from the CIF, replacing Spectrum, who’s 15-year contract ended in June. People are waiting to see if prices increase or quality decreases. And who will hold them accountable? They are the definition of monopoly for high school sports. Competition always brings out the best in businesses, so the lack of that has to be something to monitor.
What are five predictions that will come true?
St. John Bosco will win the Division 1 title (barring rain). Carson will win the City Section Open Division title (barring injury to Fields). Jack Hurst of Laguna Beach will lead Southern California with the most touchdown passes (barring his receivers doing too much surfing). Corona Centennial will exceed 70 points in a single game (barring a running clock in the first half). Lots of teams will forfeit games because of an ineligible player (barring athletic directors being skeptical of every transfer).
Legal challenges flared this week over an Inland Empire school district’s alleged removal of library books and, separately, on its efforts to require parental notification on student gender identity — policies strongly supported by the school board president, Sonja Shaw, a leading contender to become the next state schools superintendent.
One policy of Chino Valley Unified allows parents and others to force the removal of school library books to which they object, resulting in books with sexual content or with LGBTQ+ themes being pulled off shelves, according to a complaint filed this week by a leading public-interest law firm and local parents.
The complaint, filed with the California Department of Education, asks the state agency to investigate whether education codes have been violated. The complaint also seeks to invalidate the policy and have books returned to shelves.
The other Chino Valley Unified policy under legal scrutiny would require school employees to notify parents when students express gender-identity issues at school — even if the students want to keep this information secret from their parents. The Chino Valley school board passed its notification policy in July 2023, but a state judge put the policy on hold and subsequently ruled it illegal.
However, the Chino Valley school board is seeking to reinstate the policy in light of recent U.S. Supreme Court decisions. A court hearing on the matter had been scheduled for Wednesday, but has been moved to Sept. 15.
The San Bernardino County school system of 26,000 students adopted both policies under the leadership of school board President Shaw, a conservative Republican running for the office of state superintendent of public instruction. Shaw finished first in the June primary among 10 candidates, seven of them Democrats who appeared to split the Democratic vote among them.
On Wednesday, Shaw had not yet had an opportunity to review the book-policy complaint, but said both policies ultimately look out for children by safeguarding the rights of parents.
“I believe the larger issue is whether parents are going to remain the primary decision-makers for their children or whether Sacramento continues to chip away at that role,” Shaw said. “I will always stand on the side of parents.”
The book policy “is about ensuring that sexually explicit material is not placed in the hands of children in our schools,” Shaw said. “That is a reasonable responsibility for a school board, and I believe parents overwhelmingly expect us to exercise that responsibility.”
The challenge to the policies comes in the context of the November election, which pits Shaw against second-place finisher Richard Barrera, a Democrat.
Barrera said that some parents may agree with some of Shaw’s positions on culture war issues, but not with her entire agenda.
“I would say that the overwhelming majority of parents of students in our public schools find the agenda that Sonja Shaw is promoting to be terrifying,” Barrera said. “The idea that we’re going to restrict access to books for students, the idea that we are going to pick on and bully LGBTQ students, and particularly transgender students, is not a reflection of the values of parents in California.”
Barrera, the president of the San Diego Unified school board, also works as a senior state Education Department staffer, but has no involvement in handing complaints such as the one just filed, the department said.
Books removed from shelves
The Chino Valley school board adopted the book restriction policy in October 2023.
The district policy permits any community member to call for removing a library book. Such a demand, according to the policy, must be acted on immediately, with the book’s removal occurring within three days. A subsequent hearing within 45 days allows for public testimony, board discussion and a board vote, which would be the final decision.
Before the policy was adopted, community members had complained in public hearings about specific books and dramatically read aloud sexually explicit passages at board meetings to make their point. Defenders of the books said the passages were taken out of context in works that needed to be considered in their entirety.
The district began acting on its new book-removal policy before receiving any formal complaints, according to the filing submitted to state officials by Los Angeles-based Public Counsel.
In the fall of 2023, district officials asked schools for an inventory of specific titles public speakers had complained about at board meetings. Also included in the inventory were some books perceived as likely to be challenged.
Shortly after, parents and employees were no longer able to find copies of some of these books on the public-facing, book-search system, these critics told The Times in early 2024.
During this early period, only one formal complaint about a specific book was immediately received, a November 2023 request to remove the Bible “in all its forms” based on the Bible’s sexual content. This request was not carried out, the Public Counsel complaint states.
Other requests were submitted in October 2024 and covered 14 books, including: “Looking for Alaska” by John Green; “A Court of Mist and Fury” by Sarah J. Maas; “Beloved” by Toni Morrison; “Juliet Takes a Breath” by Gabby Rivera; and “More Happy Than Not” by Adam Silvera.
The complaint to the Education Department also alleges the removal this year from at least one library of an unnamed book by Maya Angelou and an unnamed middle school book that touched on sexual identity.
The complaint alleges that the Chino Valley policy is unlawful under state law and unconstitutional under state and federal law. It also alleges that, even if the policy were to survive the legal test, Chino Valley did not follow its own rules. The complaint states there is no evidence of any public hearings or board votes on a challenged or removed book.
The state Education Department had no immediate response to the filing of the complaint.
A consistent theme in the removed books was LGBTQ+ content, according to the complaint. Targeting that content would amount to unlawful discrimination against LGBTQ+ individuals, who are explicitly protected against discrimination in California, said Elizabeth Graves, senior staff attorney in the educational equity unit of Public Counsel.
Ultimately, books were removed “not because they contain sexually obscene material, but because they contain content protected by law,” Graves said. “The school district appears to be targeting books that are featuring LGBTQ people, or written by LGBTQ authors.”
The state education code, Graves said, “really calls out how important accurate and inclusive education is for students, especially LGBTQ people, Black, Indigenous, and other peoples of color.”
Graves said that Public Counsel filed its complaint with the California Education Department because it can carry out an expedited complaint process in as little as 60 days.
Shaw said that if anyone questioned the district’s management of its policy, the matter could have been brought directly to district officials. Her issue, she said, is simply sexually explicit, graphic description — not references to sex. Parents can find that explicit material for their children in a public library if they choose, she added.
Parent notification on gender issues
Chino Valley became the first school district in California to adopt a parental notification policy in July 2023. It required that a school administrator, counselor or teacher notify parents if a student requests to be treated as a gender different from the student’s biological sex in any facet of school or in school records.
California Atty. Gen. Rob Bonta quickly sued to stop the policy and San Bernardino County Superior Court Judge Michael Sachs barred nearly all its elements. But he did allow parents to be notified of any student requests to change school records; for example, if a student requested to be known by a different name on a class roster.
In March, however, in a California case, a U.S. Supreme Court majority ruled that parents had a right to be told — if they asked — about their child’s sexual orientation issues at school. A lower court in the same case — Mirabelli vs. Bonta — had already ruled that school staff could not be barred from informing parents if they wanted to.
Since then, California Justice Center and Advocates for Faith & Freedom have filed a motion asking the state court to dissolve the injunction blocking Chino Valley’s original parent notification policy.
“Chino Valley is now in the impossible position of being subject to two conflicting permanent injunctions,” said attorney Emily Rae.
“The original policy was important because parents have a fundamental right to know what is happening with their own children,” Shaw said. “The U.S. Supreme Court has recognized the fundamental role parents play in raising and directing the upbringing of their children. Schools should not replace parents.”
Bonta’s office asserted in court papers that the original ruling should stand because the other recent rulings did not directly apply and because the Chino policy “discriminated against transgender and gender nonconforming students by forcing school personnel to ‘out’ those students to their parents, even if their parents have not asked for such notification; even when disclosure would result in physical, emotional, or psychological abuse; and even when less harmful alternatives … were available.”
The Times’ top 10 high school flag football rankings:
1. JSerra (6-0) Won the Gold Division at the Chargers Invitational. MVP quarterback Kate Meier has accounted for 11 scores in the last three games. Next: Tuesday vs. Woodbridge.
2. Newport Harbor (5-1) The Sailors outscored their first five opponents 97-0 before falling to JSerra 23-6 in the Chargers Invitational championship game. Next: August 24 vs. Woodbridge.
3. Edison (5-1) All five of the Chargers’ wins so far have been shutouts. Their biggest test comes Thursday night in a nonleague game at JSerra. Next: Thursday at JSerra.
4, Orange Lutheran (3-1) Lost to JSerra at the Chargers Invitational but will have two chances to avenge it in Trinity League matchups Sept 22 and Oct. 13. Next: Thursday at La Serna.
5. Beckman (5-0) Won the Division 2 Navy bracket at the Chargers Invitational, beating Mira Costa in the final on Hayden Freedman’s clutch catch. Next: Wednesday vs. San Juan Hills.
6. Westlake (3-2) The Warriors gave JSerra its toughest game at the Chargers Invitational, losing by only 13 points. They also nearly beat Torrey Pines. Next: Tuesday vs. Oak Park.
7. Huntington Beach (3-1) Fast start behind quarterback and captain Roxie Shaia, highlighted by 18-point victory over Torrey Pines at Chargers Invitational. Next: Aug. 24 vs. Los Alamitos.
8. Corona del Mar (4-1) Convincing victories over Ocean View, La Serna and Bishop Amat. Will host a showdown against Huntington Beach on Aug. 26. Next: Tuesday vs. Santa Margarita.
9. Lakewood St. Joseph (3-0) Senior quarterback Lexi Loya has already thrown for 679 yards and 13 touchdowns, including five in a 40-6 victory over Corona. Next: Monday at Cypress.
10. Eagle Rock (0-0) Quarterback Nylah Moore and the Eagles open the season Monday versus Panorama in a rematch of last fall’s City Open semifinals. Next: Monday vs. Panorama.
Gillian Anderson discussed her early relationship with ‘an older girl from high school’Credit: GettyGillian – who rose to fame as Dana Scully on The X-Files – has previously talked about her past relationships with womenCredit: Getty
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.
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“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.”
Among Gillian’s most recent high profile roles was as Jean Milburn in Netflix hit Sex EducationCredit: AlamyGillian has reportedly had an on and off relationship with screenwriter Peter Morgan since 2016Credit: Getty
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.”
