This could be one of those special Friday nights in the high school football season — perfect weather, great games, exciting matchups.
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As the saying goes, anything is possible under the Friday Night Lights.
That’s why the Southern California News Group will have reporters covering more than 30 games tonight, ready to report on everything that happens.
Before the games start, check out what high school football analyst Michael Huntley has put together — his list of the “players to watch” and his predictions for some of the top games on the Week 2 schedule.
Once the games begin, we’ll have photos and score updates right here.
HUNTLEY’S PLAYERS TO WATCH
Dominik Hardy, QB, Calabasas
Hardy is a dual-threat quarterback who has completed 74 percent of his passes for an average of 266 yards per game with five touchdowns and a pair of rushing touchdowns this season. He faces a Burbank team that gave up six passing touchdowns and 177 yards rushing last week against Centennial of Las Vegas.
Gabriel Degl’innocenti, DL, Hart
Hart will need to put pressure on Pacifica of Oxnard’s excellent quarterback Taylor Lee in order to pull off an upset. Degl’innocenti has 4.5 sacks and averages seven tackles per game for Hart this season and will need to have a big game.
Matt Milazzo, DB/WR, Bonita
Milazzo is a top defensive back for Bonita who is tied for the team lead in interceptions and pass deflections. Bonita plays a Western team that threw two interceptions against Villa Park last week. Milazzo also leads Bonita in receiving with two touchdowns.
Charlie Ancich, RB, Whittier
Ancich is playing against St. Paul where his grandfather (Marijon Ancich) was a legendary coach who won three CIF-SS championships. The sophomore leads Whittier in rushing with 262 yards and five touchdowns. St. Paul has given up eight rushing touchdowns this season through its first two games.
AJ McBean, RB, Serra
The Stanford commit ran for 135 yards with three touchdowns against Hamilton last week. McBean faces a Los Alamitos team that gave up 125 yards rushing with two touchdowns against Huntington Beach last week.
Jesiah Soro, DB, Redondo Union
Redondo Union plays Culver City quarterback Nicholas Hoang who threw for 546 yards with six touchdowns against King/Drew last week. Soro has the lone interception for Redondo Union this season and will be busy against Culver City’s passing offense.
Raymond Umi, OL, Long Beach Poly
Umi is the starting right guard for Long Beach Poly and might be tasked with having to block Tustin’s BYU-committed defensive lineman Jeremiah Williams who had three sacks last week.
Isala Wily-Ava, DB, St. John Bosco
The Washington commit had a team-high 11 tackles with an interception when St. John Bosco played tonight’s opponent, Pittsburg, two years ago. Wily-Ava led Bosco with nine tackles last week against Roman Catholic.
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Marcus Washington Jr., QB, Cajon
Washington is averaging 304 passing yards per game and 106 rushing yards per game through two games. The sophomore will need to have a big game for Cajon to pull off an upset over Murrieta Valley.
Ryu Posadas, RB, King
King ran for 263 yards with four touchdowns against JW North last season in a 35-13 win. Posadas leads King in rushing this season and might get his first touchdown of the season tonight.
Jaxson Rex, DB/WR, San Clemente
Rex and San Clemente’s defense will be tasked with covering a Chaparral receiving corps that features four Division I commits. The BYU commit has 13 tackles, a sack and an interception he returned 97 yards for a touchdown this season.
James Munro, LB, Canyon (Anaheim)
Munro leads Canyon with 24 tackles this season, which is twice as many as Canyon’s next highest tackler. The Cobras face Pacifica running back Zack Dickison, who had a school-record five touchdowns last week against Garden Grove.
PREDICTIONS: HUNTLEY’S SIX PICKS
Brentwood vs. Oak Park: Brentwood quarterback Ben Mikail threw for 309 yards with five touchdowns last season in a 48-28 win over Oak Park. Gary Ferguson had 230 yards receiving with three touchdowns for Oak Park last week.
The pick: Brentwood
St. Francis vs. Crespi: Chase Curren threw for 291 yards with four touchdowns for Crespi last week in a 38-7 win over Golden Valley. St. Francis had under 200 yards of total offense in a tough loss to Alta Loma last week.
The pick: Crespi
Riverside Poly vs. Redlands East Valley: Riverside Poly quarterback Marjok Gustafson threw three touchdown passes in a 20-14 win over Redlands East Valley last season. Nasir Shahid had a sack with a forced fumble last week for the Bears against JW North.
The pick: Riverside Poly
Loyola vs. Mira Costa: Both teams suffered blowout losses to Crean Lutheran this season. Mira Costa quarterback Wyatt Nucci averages 185 passing yards per game and has four touchdowns this season. Matthew Fine ran for three touchdowns for Loyola in a win over Millikan last week.
The pick: Mira Costa
Cerritos vs. Valley Christian: Valley Christian quarterback Graham Lunzer threw for 267 yards with six total touchdowns when Valley Christian beat Cerritos 42-23 last season. Cerritos has only scored 10 points this season but played good defense in a 7-3 loss to Gahr last week.
The pick: Valley Christian
Troy vs. Fullerton: Troy ran for 201 yards with four touchdowns when it beat Fullerton 31-12 last season. Fullerton is coming off a tough loss to a good El Dorado team and Isaac Garza had two touchdown catches.
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The pick: Troy