Daily News football preview: Five storylines to follow this season
High school football practices for the CIF Southern Section and CIF Los Angeles City Section officially began Monday and teams are starting to get into fall form.
There are changes across prep football, so here are five storylines that the Daily News will be covering this season:
1. Sierra Canyon looks to take next step in Division 1
The Trailblazers were placed in Division 1 for the CIF-SS playoffs for the first time last season and reached the semifinals, where they fell to eventual champion Mater Dei.
Sierra Canyon’s nonleague schedule is no cakewalk with opponents like Punahou (Hawaii), JSerra, Oaks Christian, Orange Lutheran and 2023 Division 1 runner-up St. John Bosco on the slate. Performing well in those games and capturing a second straight Mission League title will work in their favor come playoff time.
2. Coaching changes at Burroughs, Taft, Westlake
Burroughs, the 2023 Pacific League champions, tabbed LaRon Johnson as its new head coach after Jesse Craven accepted the head coaching position at Westlake. However, in late June, Westlake announced that Carnell Henderson will officially be the head coach this season.
The Warriors are looking to rebound from last season’s 2-8 overall record.
Taft will be led by Thomas Randolph, who was previously an assistant coach, after Fred Emmerson was dismissed after one season as head coach. Emmerson is now coaching at Savanna in Anaheim.
3. New leagues could breed competition
Multiple area teams have changed leagues this season and two new leagues have been created in hopes of generating more competition between teams.
Bishop Alemany struggled in the Mission League in recent seasons and hadn’t recorded a league win since 2021, although it did advance to the second round of the Division 5 playoffs in 2022. Competing in the Angelus League this season alongside Paraclete and St. Francis could help the Warriors get back on track.
Westlake has moved from the Marmonte League to the newly-formed Conejo Coast League — which features Newbury Park, Calabasas and Thousand Oaks — and could see more success due to the change.
The now-defunct Canyon League was a casualty from the creation of the Conejo Coast League and the Channel League. The 2023 season was a close one for the Canyon League with a three-way tie for first place between Newbury Park, Moorpark and Thousand Oaks.
4. CIF-SS introduces air quality regulations
Coaches must now take air quality into consideration before holding practices. It has already caused interruptions for at least one area football team. The CIF-SS recommends using the airnow.gov app to check the air quality index and determine whether it is safe to hold practice.
Hart head coach Jake Goossen-Brown said that he had to alter plans for practices due to the air quality index. Allowing regional air quality to determine practice times, duration and intensity has the potential to produce inequities among football teams.
5. Birmingham is still chasing a state title
Birmingham is the Goliath of the West Valley League and the City Section as a whole with 18 league titles and nine City Section championships to its name. The Patriots made their second appearance in the state finals in three years last season, but have yet to win a CIF state championship.
Birmingham lost to Acalanes 35-23 in the state finals and is diving right into this season with a nonleague schedule filled with CIF-SS opponents. They’ll play St. Bonaventure, Oak Park and Calabasas within the first three weeks of the season before starting West Valley League play.