Fattal: Passion for City Section football can be felt on Friday nights, no matter the level of play

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Last weekend at Pierce College, Daily News No. 1 Sierra Canyon faced top-ranked Servite in a 7:30 p.m. prime time TV game on Bally Sports Network.

The broadcasters were dressed in suits speaking about the high-level NCAA Division I-caliber talent on the field. Each sideline had a dozen assistant coaches and support staff. The lights were bright, the turf was crisp and the crowd on hand must have been around 3,000.

On Friday night, Reseda hosted Kennedy in a very important City Section Valley Mission League showdown.

The trimmings that surrounded the game were much different. A grass field patched with dirt. A few volunteer coaches. Dim lighting. Lightly chalked field lines. No cameras. No TV timeouts. It was high school football in its purest form in front of a crowd of roughly 1,000.

On the field, the quality of play pales when comparing the two weekends. Reseda used a late fourth quarter touchdown to beat Kennedy 21-13. But the passion and support was just as present Friday night as it was last weekend at Pierce College.

Maybe, the passion runs deeper.

The local City schools that fill the San Fernando Valley have deep roots in the community. No matter the level of play, that nostalgic element is easy to feel. Reseda High was founded in 1955. Kennedy in 1971. But those schools are babies compared to San Fernando (1896), Sun Valley Poly (1897) and Canoga Park (1914).

Many of the football players and cheerleaders are sons and daughters of Reseda High alumni. One of Reseda’s top players Jason Wagner Jr. is a second generation Regent. His father, Jason Wagner Sr., is a 1999 graduate. Coach Alonso Arreola played at Reseda for legendary coach Joel Schaeffer in the early 1990’s, and has been the head coach himself since 2005.

Longtime Kennedy athletic director Kevin Kanemura was on the sideline. He graduated from Kennedy in the mid 1980’s.

The home PA announcer’s microphone was cutting in and out each play. A fan and mother were bonding over how neither had a clue what was going on in the game. The mother, wearing a Reseda Regents jersey, cheered when Kennedy intercepted the Reseda quarterback. Although the praise was accidently misplaced, the intent was absolutely in the right place.

Reseda’s defensive coordinator – who goes by ‘Coach Loon’ – stood at the top of the bleachers among parents and fans with a headset barking adjustments the entire game. If he thought his message wasn’t being relayed quick enough, he ripped the headset off and yelled to the sideline. Parents would snicker as white helmets would turn around and listen to the echoing voice.

The image sums up one of the dramatic differences between private and public, or even just CIF Southern Section and the City Section.

One City coach said Saturday that he can’t stat games or watch film because his Hudl account – a program used to record and document games – can’t be accessed. The Los Angeles Unified School District doesn’t see Hudl as an official vendor, so payment for the service is like pulling teeth.

“It puts us at a huge disadvantage,” the coach said.

Birmingham Charter, the reigning City Section Open Division champion from 2019, is arguably the best the section has to offer in football this season. The Patriots (0-5) are winless. They’ve lost all their games to Southern Section opponents, including a 44-0 loss to Oaks Christian Friday night. It was Oaks Christian’s first win of the season.

Despite signs that point towards the City Section’s slow deterioration, the coaches keep showing up (for very little pay), the players keep working, and the parents keep supporting. Even when the quality of the game isn’t top-tier, the sense of community is second to none.

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