Fryer’s First and 10 for high school football’s Week 6

Starting the football week in Orange County with notes, comments and observations …

1. It’s here: Mater Dei vs. St. John Bosco is the game of the year. Again.

They play Friday at St. John Bosco High at 7:30 p.m. Tickets sold out quickly Monday. It will be televised live by Bally Sports West (formerly Fox Sports West).

Mater Dei is 3-0. St. John Bosco is 5-0. Mater Dei is No. 1 in MaxPreps.com’s national rankings and St. John Bosco is No. 3. It will be interesting to see if St. John Bosco, with its five games played and a bye last week, will be sharper from the start than Mater Dei, which played La Mirada last week and has only played three games overall.

2. They seem ready: In Mater Dei’s 58-7 win over La Mirada, the Monarchs held La Mirada to minus-10 yards rushing while rushing for 355 themselves. Total yards of offense were 474 for Mater Dei, 45 for La Mirada.

3. Arrive early: Even if you don’t have a ticket, go to St. John Bosco just for the tailgate. The St. John Bosco tailgate might be the best in CIF-SS football. Get there before 6 p.m., buy a Bosco shirt and put it on, tour the parking lot yelling “Go Braves!” and somebody will offer you a paper plate of something delicious.

4. Other games of the week: Corona del Mar plays Los Alamitos in a Sunset League opener Thursday at Westminster High; Orange Lutheran plays Servite in a Trinity league opener Thursday at Orange Coast College, and on Friday Tustin plays Pacifica in an Empire League opener at Bolsa Grande High.

5. It’s over: The sit-out period, that is. Student-athletes who transferred and did not change residence must sit out the first 50 percent of a season before becoming eligible at their new school. Among the teams that will receive a major upgrade to their rosters is El Toro, where two-way lineman Derrick Ford (6-2, 290, Jr.) from Mater Dei and running back/safety Thomas Frum (5-7, 140, Jr.) from Mission Viejo now are eligible.

6. The best leagues in O.C.: Of course the Trinity League is the best football league with Orange County teams in it. Ranking the next four, evaluating top-to-bottom strength: 2. South Coast League; 3. Sunset League; 4. Crestview League; 5. Sea View League.

7. They’re winless, still ranked and should be: La Habra is 0-5 and No. 19 in the county top 25. San Juan Hills is 0-5 and No. 22. Those teams would be league champions of several leagues that have 5-0 and 4-1 teams in them.

8. Worthless advertising: A giant billboard on the 55 Freeway has Mission Viejo coach Chad Johnson’s face on it but the Diablos don’t have any impact sit-out-period transfers.

9. Too much time on their hands: Santa Ana and Western have not played for two weeks because of COVID-19 protocols and previously scheduled off weeks.

10. The other game of the week: Mater Dei at St. John Bosco, Thursday, 4 p.m. That’s the Monarchs-Braves freshman game. They are both undefeated teams, and it will be a game that helps define the Southern California football future.