Sizing Up the Teams Playing in Mission Viejo High School Football Classic

Here's a game-by-game preview of the Mission Viejo High School Football Classic that will take place Friday and Saturday at .

Cypress (9-2 in 2010) vs. Garces of Bakersfield (10-2) at Mission Viejo High, Friday, 4:30 p.m. -- The Centurions, who lost in the CIF Southern Section Southwest Division quarterfinals last season, feature Vincent “Bug” Rivera, a 5-foot-7, 185-pounder who rushed for more than 900 yards and scored 16 touchdowns last season. Assuming he recovers from a thumb injury, he will be faced with breaking in an an entirely new offensive line.

Garces, which lost in the Central Section’s Division II semifinals, is the Centurions’ antithesis as the Rams return an experienced offensive line but have largely unproven players at the skill positions. Garces returns eight players on defense, however, and its secondary should be exemplary.

Centennial of Bakersfield (10-2 in 2010) at Mission Viejo (13-1), Friday, 8 p.m. -- Centennial, which fell in the CIF Central Section Division 1 semifinals last season, is a relatively young squad that lost many key seniors to graduation. The Golden Hawks feature senior tight end Logan Cucuk (6-1, 205) and freshman quarterback Andrew Hansen (5-11, 140), who has the unenviable task of trying to replace Cody Kessler. A freshman at USC, Kessler has won the backup spot to quarterback Matt Barkley.

Coach Bob Johnson's Diablos, ranked No. 5 in the nation in the ESPN Powerade Fab 50, reached the Southern Section Pac 5 Division title game last season. They feature two of the best running backs anywhere in seniors Jahleel Pinner (USC) and Buzzy Yokoyama (a transfer from Newport Harbor), an outstanding quarterback in Alex Bridgford and one of the best offensive lines in the country, led by Colby Cyburt and Austin Maass. Last season, Pinner rushed for 1,004 yards and 14 touchdowns, Yokoyama ran for 1,250 yards and 12 touchdowns in only eight games and Bridgford threw for 2,417 yards and 23 touchdowns.  Mission Viejo scored a county-leading 613 points in 2010. The game will be televised live by FSN Prime Ticket.

Bakersfield (10-3 in 2010) vs. Timpview of Provo, Utah (10-1) at Mission Viejo High, Saturday, 11:15 a.m. -- After losing to Bakersfield Centennial during the regular season, the Drillers won the rematch in the playoffs but ultimately lost in the CIF Central Section Division 1 championship game to Clovis West. Like the best of the Bakersfield bunch (Bakersfield, Centennial and Garces), the Drillers lost a lot of talent to graduation, including starting quarterback Brian Burrell, but they have enough returning, too, to make them a title threat again.

The Timpview Thunderbirds have won the Utah 4A state title in five of the last six years but reached only the quarterfinals last season. The T-Birds’ defense is more experienced than its offense, which is led by wide receiver Rickey Shumway. Senior quarterback Marshall Nelson was a backup last season. Timpview opened its season with 35-14 loss to Alta on Aug. 19, but followed with a 40-9 victory over Westlake on Aug. 26. In the victory, Shumway caught touchdown passes of one and 19 yards from Nelson, who completed five of 13 passes. Jake Lloyd completed six of eight passes for 127 yards and rushed for 64 yards, including scoring runs of 10 and 66 yards.

Crenshaw of Los Angeles (12-2 in 2010) vs. Alta of Sandy, Utah (4-7; 1-1 this season), at Mission Viejo High, Saturday, 2:20 p.m. -- Both teams are, perhaps, a couple of seasons past their primes, but Crenshaw, which played in the Open Division of the CIF State Championships Bowl Games in 2009, figures to contend for its third consecutive CIF City Section Division 1 championship and Alta, which last won state titles in 2007 and 2008, is still a top 10 team in Utah. It’s the season-opener for  Crenshaw, which will look to Justin Johnson to run the ball in place of De’Anthony Thomas (Oregon), who helped the Cougars remain undefeated until a loss to Concord De La Salle in the open division of the CIF State Championship Bowl Games in December.

Alta, which features defensive back Austin Lee (Utah commit), opened its season with a 35-14 victory over Timpview on Aug. 19. Senior quarterback Tyson Blackner completed 20 of 36 passes to seven different players for 262 yards and three touchdowns as the Hawks scored the game’s final 35 points. Alta held Timpview to only two first downs in the second half. The Hawks lost to archrival Bingham, 21-18, as the Miners scored a touchdown with only 17 seconds left to play on Saturday.

Orange Lutheran (5-5 in 2010) vs. Bingham of South Jordan, Utah (13-1; 1-0 this season) at Mission Viejo High, Saturday, 5:25 p.m. -- Orange Lutheran, which failed to qualify for the playoffs last season for the first time since 1993 and the first time under coach Jim Kunau, suffered another blow when starting quarterback Clark Livingston recently transferred to La Habra. But his departure didn’t empty the cupboard. The Lancers return tight end Christo Kourtzidis (Florida State), defensive back Darien Washington (Washington), linebacker Deion Williams (Duke) and cornerback Jordan Greenwood (Dartmouth). All-league running back Jabari Wilson and receiver Robby Cooper return behind a big and experienced offensive line, but the Lancers are going to have to control the ball better. They averaged four turnovers a game last season.

The state Division 5A champion last season, Bingham is undergoing a rebuilding season but is still ranked No. 2 in Utah. Led by linebacker Jared Afalava (6-2, 215), who is leaning toward Oregon or BYU, and offensive lineman Lowell Lotulelei (6-0, 240), the Miners opened their against Alta. Bingham defeated its archrival for the third time in a row, 21-18, Saturday when quarterback Brady Lail completed a 17-yard touchdown pass to Kalan Cantwell with 17 seconds left to play.

Oaks Christian of Westlake Villlage (12-2 in 2010) vs. Bellevue, Wash. (13-1) at Mission Viejo High, 8:30 p.m., Saturday -- The Lions, the CIF Southern Section Northern Division champions, are ranked No. 15 in USA Today’s preseason poll, while Bellevue is No. 23. Oaks Christian, which has won seven section titles in the past eight years, is led by wide receiver/defensive back Jordan Payton (61 catches for 840 yards and nine touchdowns in 2010) and cornerback Ishmael Adams, two of the country’s best. Also back are running back/linebacker Carlos Mendoza (Arizona State) and lineman Marcus Piechowski, along with a couple of transfers, cornerback Malik Cyphers from Narbonne and Luke Falk from Logan, Utah, who is battling sophomore Brandon Dawkins for the starting quarterback spot.

Bellevue, ESPN Rise’s top-ranked team in Washington and winner of eight Class 3A titles in 10 years, including the last three, features a Delaware Wing T offense piloted by quarterback/defensive back Tyler Hasty (5-11, 180). The Wolverines' explosive and talented offense operates behind returning starters Michael Kneip, Kyle Bentz and Jake Eldrenkamp, who has already drawn offers from Pac-12 schools Oregon State and Utah in addition to Brown and other Ivy League schools. Bellevue's most notable victory came in 2004, when it defeated De La Salle of Concord, 39-20, to end the Spartans' 13-year, 151-game national record-setting winning streak.

“You have to be very disciplined on defense to be able to play against the Delaware wing-T because of all the misdirection they use,” Oaks Christian Coach Bill Redell told ESPN.LA. “It will be difficult for us, especially right at the beginning. We’ll be well-prepared for them. We know they’re a good team. We are looking forward to the challenge.”

Saturday's final game will also be televised live by FSN Prime Ticket.

Ticket Information

Remember, tickets for the Mission Viejo-Centennial game on Friday will only be available at the stadium box office, which opens on Friday at 3 p.m. Prices are $8 for adults, $6 for students with ID cards. The stadium will be cleared between Friday's games.

No tickets for any other individual games will be sold. To see one or more of the games, a two-day pass must be purchased from the event promoter, Hercules Sports Management, either online here by Thursday or at the stadium box office, which also opens at 7:30 a.m. on Saturday.

If purchased online, passes for adults are $20 and $15 for students, plus a $1.20 transaction fee for each. A VIP sideline pass for both days is being sold for $175. But again, no two-day passes will be honored for the Mission Viejo-Centennial game on Friday.

Parking is available in the school lots around the stadium and in the surrounding streets, but it gets crowded, so plan on arriving early.