Long Beach Poly (5-5) vs. Los Alamitos (8-2)
Friday, 7 p.m. at Veterans Stadium

Outlook: There is always that one first-round matchup that can pretty much write itself.

Last year, it was the Father and Son meeting between John Barnes (Los Alamitos) and Brian Barnes (Tesoro). This year’s winner is this one:  The Jackrabbits against the Griffins … otherwise known as the Dylan Lagarde Bowl.

Lagarde started the season at Long Beach Poly as the No. 1 quarterback. Lagarde was eventually replaced as the starting quarterback and then transferred to Los Alamitos.

The Griffins started the season with Dylan Cook running the offense. However, Cook quit the team and that moved Lagarde into the starting position.

Did you get all of that?

Long Beach Poly started the season 1-3 and at one point was 2-5. The Jackrabbits closed the regular season with consecutive victories over LB Wilson, Cabrillo and Compton.

Lagarde went 3-1 in the Sunset League as the Griffins eventually finished second.

Nick Richardson has been the key to offense. He has rushed for 1,733 yards and has scored 15 touchdowns.

If the Los Alamitos offensive line gets rolling, then it will be a big night for Richardson and a long one for the Jackrabbits.

Click on the links below to check out the rest of The Calhoun Six:

Dana Hills vs. Orange Lutheran

Mater Dei vs. Bishop Amat

Servite vs. San Clemente

Fullerton vs. Pacifica

El Toro vs. Villa Park

Slide show: Calhoun's Players to Watch in the first-round playoff games.

The best games on the Week 6 schedule:

No. 4 Los Alamitos (5-0) vs. No. 13 Newport Harbor (3-2)
Friday, at Newport Harbor High, 7 p.m.

Outlook: So you want to win the Sunset League title? Here are the Sailors' first three league opponents: Los Alamitos, Edison and Fountain Valley, who are a combined 15-0!

Amazing.

Newport Harbor needs a victory desperately. The Sailors opened the season 3-0, but has lost its past two games (to Dana Hills and Mira Costa of Manhattan Beach) by a combined score of 65-17.

The losses have kept  Coach Jeff Brinkley stuck on No. 199 in his quest to become the eighth county coach to win 200 victories. Is this the week? Will it happen anytime soon?

The Griffins, led by the county’s winningest coach, John Barnes, possess one of the county’s top defenses and ground attacks.

Los Alamitos is averaging 231 rushing yards a game, led by Nick Richardson (900 yards).

On the other side of the ball, the Griffins have only allowed 19 points … this season. That’s an average of 3.8 a game.

Will the Sailors be able to score?

Links to the rest of The Calhoun Six:  

No. 20 Corona del Mar vs. No. 22 Laguna Hills

No. 11 Tustin vs. No. 25 Canyon         

No. 15 Esperanza vs. No. 1 Edison

No. 9 Orange Lutheran vs. No. 6 Mater Dei

No. 7 Dana Hills vs. No. 12 Tesoro

Check out highlights from the game postgame interviews in this video by OCVarsity.com's Jonathan Khamis.

Check out the interviews with La Habra coach Frank Mazzotta, Los Alamitos coach  John Barnes and Nick Richardson in a video by OCVarsity.com's Jonathan Khamis. Click here to read the game story.

No. 4 Los Alamitos (3-0) vs. No. 8 La Habra (3-0)
Thursday, 7 p.m., at Gahr High

Outlook: The competition level goes up a level for both of these teams.

The Griffins haven’t allowed a point through their first three games, outscoring their opponents by a combined 124-0. (Yes, you read that right - 124 to zero.) However, those opponents are a combined 2-10.

La Habra’s opponents so far are a combined 5-5, and they have outscored them, 136-38.

The Griffins have pummeled their opponents on the ground. Running back Nick Richardson has rushed for 420 yards and seven touchdowns.

First-year starting quarterback Dylan Cook has completed 20 of 29 passes for 320 yards.

Everybody knows about the work of La Habra running back Josh Quezada. There also seems to be a good connection developing between quarterback Cody Clements and Brett Bartolone. Clements, a junior, has completed 26 of 38 passes for 557 yards.

Bartolone, a sophomore, has 12 catches for 320 yards and four touchdowns.

This is La Habra’s third opportunity to beat a Pac-5 opponent. They lost to both Los Alamitos and San Clemente last season. Is the third time a charm?

Links to all of the Calhoun Six for Week 4:

No. 7 Mater Dei vs. No. 1 Edison

No. 10 Newport Harbor vs. No. 15 Dana Hills

No. 19 El Toro vs. No. 9 San Clemente

No. 17 El Dorado vs. No. 12 Tesoro

No. 6 Orange Lutheran vs. Narbonne of Harbor City

BONUS GAME: No. 3 Servite vs. Chaparral of Temecula

EDISON VS. LOS ALAMITOS
AT VETERANS STADIUM

This game will have all sorts of impact – the Sunset League championship, playoff positioning and seeding, and county and CIF rankings. Los Alamitos beat Edison, 13-9, for Edison's only league loss of 2007. Edison would like to limit Los Alamitos to 13 points again, as Edison's offensive strength could be its running game and the Chargers again have a quick, hard-hitting defense. Los Alamitos could be one of the more talented offensive teams in the county. Quarterback Clark Evans has a great arm and might be the best runner among county quarterbacks. He has a stable of excellent receivers, including all-league returnees Darryl Jenkins and Paul Richardson. Edison is going to try to control the ball and the clock, and limit its turnovers while inducing Los Alamitos to make some. That is the only way the Chargers are going to keep the Griffins to 13 points this season.

Next: Week 8

This is a defensive coordinator's nightmare. Evans passed for 2,300 yards and 15 touchdowns last season, and rushed for 950 yards and 12 touchdowns. He has a strong arm. He can throw from the pocket, and he can throw on the run. Evans runs fast, and he runs with power. This year, too, he has a more mature group of receivers and he is running an offense that will showcase all of his skills. Evans, also a very good basketball player, committed to Colorado.

Quarterback Clark Evans, left, is a fine passer and might be more effective as a runner. Last year, Evans rushed for 866 yards and 13 touchdowns and passed for 2,055 and 15 touchdowns.

He has a good group of receivers, led by returning All-Sunset League selections Darryl Jenkins (52 receptions for 874 yards and four touchdowns) and Paul Richardson (31-581-8).

Defensively, the Griffins are big and fast. Among the top players on that side of the ball should be tackle Joshua Schnitzer, linebacker Nathan Castaneda, and safety Josh Barut, an all-league first-team selection in '07.