Prep football season opens Friday

The 2000 prep football season officially opens tonight, but for the

five local high school teams, the season kicks off with a full slate on

Friday.

Three of the five games will begin at 7 p.m., with the other two

scheduled for 7:30 p.m. starts.

What’s more, just one of the five local teams, Marina, opens the

season at home.

The Vikings will make their debut at Huntington Beach High’s Scheue

Field against Paramount in a matchup between two playoff teams from a

year ago. The game also marks the debut of Mike Dodd, who will coach his

first game at Marina. The Vikings went 5-5-1 during the 1999 season, and the Division II Pirates finished 8-3 overall.

Downey High, a San Gabriel Valley rival of Paramount, will host the

Huntington Beach Oilers Friday at 7 p.m. The Vikings finished 6-4 overall

and third in the SGVL, while the Oilers ended the ’99 season 4-6.

Huntington Beach nipped Downey in last year’s opener, 25-21.

Friday night’s longest journey belongs to Ocean View, which must

travel to Twentynine Palms High. The 7 p.m. game marks the second

consecutive year that the Seahawks (7-4 last year) and Wildcats (1-9)

have opened the season. Last year, Ocean View scored a 48-22 victory.

Edison High launches it campaign Friday against El Toro at Trabuco

Hills High (7:30 p.m.). This battle of the Chargers pits an Edison unit

that went 7-3 last year, against an El Toro squad that went 6-4, finished

second in the South Coast League, and reached the Division I playoffs.

Another 7:30 p.m. game on Friday has Fountain Valley at Dana Hills.

The two also met in last year’s opener, and the Barons (6-5 overall,

Division I playoffs) escaped with a 7-6 win over the South Coast League

Dolphins.