For the first time in history, four Long Beach or Moore League football teams will compete in CIF Southern Section championships. Just a year after COVID-19 delayed the high school football season from the Fall to the Spring and stopped the playoffs before they began, four local teams will get a chance to put their names in the record books forever.
For some, it’s familiar–Long Beach Poly has won 19 CIF-SS championships and is looking for their first since 2012. St. Anthony won in 2016 and is hoping to add to its championship legacy with a title in head coach Raul Lara’s first year.
For others, this is uncharted territory. Jordan is playing in the school’s first-ever CIF-SS football championship, and Compton is playing in its first championship since 1979–when they lost to Millikan at Anaheim Stadium. Compton won their last title the year before, in 1978. To give a sense of how historic this season is, 1979 was also the last time that two Moore League teams played in a championship–this year, three teams will try to bring home gold.
We’re going to bring you championship coverage all week long with stories on every team every day. But for now, let’s take a look back at the semifinals and how we got here.
Click here for our coverage of Long Beach Poly’s 35-0 shutout of Cypress
Click here for our coverage of Jordan’s amazing comeback win over Twentynine Palms
Click here for our coverage of St. Anthony’s dramatic 49-48 win over league rival Salesian
Click here for our coverage of Compton’s win on a long road trip against Tahquitz
