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Countdown to kickoff

TODD HARMONSON, OCREGISTER.COM — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 00:41:56 +0000

It's FryDay Night ... on a Wednesday.The first local high school football game of the season is about to kick off, and ocvarsity.com's Steve Fryer will bring you all the action. Mater Dei, the No. 1 team in Orange County, is set to take on Carson of the L.A. City Section.Sure, there will be a lot of Matt Barkley, but there will be plenty of other analysis of what's going on tonight. Fryer will be joined on the live blog by Damian Calhoun, who will help make sure we've got all the angles covered.While you're waiting, click here to read the preview of the game or explore the rest of the blog to find Fryer's predictions on all Week 0 contests.And don't hesitate to send your questions to Fryer at sfryer@ocregister.com. He just might answer them during the game.Finally, click here to check out Fryer's appearance on Fox 11 this morning previewing the game.

Respect for Orange County? Not much

TODD HARMONSON, OCREGISTER.COM — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 18:58:22 +0000

Sure, five Orange County football teams are in the Rivals.com West region top 20, and those five are joined by another to give the county six in the RivalsHigh 100.

But it takes awhile to get to an Orange County team in either set of rankings.

Part of the problem is perception, of course. Big, bad football players come from Texas or the inner-city, of course, not Orange County. (Though, check out a Mark Whicker column on Western High's Fili Moala, who has proved to be pretty tough at USC.)

Another part of the problem is that Orange County's best teams regularly beat up on each other (see Trinity League). Preseason rankings too often are predictions about what team will emerge as the best at the end of the season instead of a reflection of how teams will start the season. Just imagine the kind of year a Trinity team would have to have to run the table.

Finally, it seems as if some "experts" figure the talent level drops off considerably after Mater Dei quarterback Matt Barkley, who is considered the top recruit in the nation by many services. They foget the Division I talent at quarterback (Allan Bridgford to Cal and Clark Evans to Colorado, plus others) and several other skill position players who are quite skilled.

The good thing, of course, is that perceptions can be changed the only place they should: on the field.

Your choice for the preseason No. 1 in football?

TODD HARMONSON, OCREGISTER.COM — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 05:36:18 +0000

Steve Fryer will begin the ocvarsity.com countdown of the preseason football top 25 late this week. He already has weighed in on one team that he says doesn't belong in the rankings despite its success and incredible streak.

Want a last chance to influence the preseason rankings? Vote below for the team you would pick as No. 1. Then click here to go to the new ocvarsity.com message boards and weigh in on your complete rankings.

Top prize in OCVarsity contest: USC-Ohio State tickets

TODD HARMONSON, OCREGISTER.COM — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 18:13:26 +0000

Want a chance to check out the USC-Ohio State game in person at the Coliseum? Well, we know you want to have your say about sports in Southern California ... especially high school sports.

To enter, all you have to do is register and start sharing your opinions on our message board community, with blogs and commenting on stories. You also can add photo galleries.

Click here to get started today.