All season, high school football coaches advise their players to stay focused and not look ahead. Then there’s what happens before, during and after the Garfield vs. Roosevelt football game is played.
“We’ve been hearing about this game since January,” Roosevelt coach Ernesto Ceja said. “I get the texts, the phone calls, ‘Are you guys going to beat Garfield?’ I’m like, ‘Let me put a team together, then I’ll get back to you.’”
The annual East L.A. Classic, in its 90th year, has a double homecoming and usually produces the largest regular-season crowd of the football season. It is set for 7:30 p.m. Friday at East Los Angeles College. The JV game is at 4 p.m., followed by a girls’ flag football game, then the varsity. DJ Mustard will be part of halftime festivities.
In this time of concerns about ICE raids in Los Angeles, East L.A. College officials say every entrance will be watched by L.A. County Sheriff’s deputies, campus police or private security. The school hosted 11 high school graduations last summer with no incidents and believes fans should feel comfortable attending. Tickets are available at GoFan.co
Garfield is on the verge of winning the Eastern League title with a 6-2 record and 5-0 league mark. Roosevelt (4-4, 3-1) has won three straight league games since switching to the double-wing attack.
Garfield principal Regina Marquez Martinez told a gathering of media, players, cheerleaders and band members on Wednesday at East Los Angeles College: “This community, these schools, we’re as American as apple pie and pan dulce.”
Said LAUSD board member Rocio Rivas: “Let’s go East L.A. Let’s go Boyle Heights.”
This is a daily look at the positive happenings in high school sports. To submit any news, please email eric.sondheimer@latimes.com.
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