There is a fairly long list of Southern California high school football teams that have played at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood in recent years.
The teams include Leuzinger, Palos Verdes, Serra, Loyola, Lawndale, Hawthorne, Mission Viejo, Long Beach Poly, Garfield, Roosevelt, St. John Bosco, San Pedro, El Modena and Servite.
On Friday night, the closest high school team to the stadium, Inglewood, will finally get its chance.
Leuzinger senior running back Journee Tonga (0) runs for a touchdown in the first half against Palos Verdes at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood on Thursday, Oct. 9, 2025. (Photo by Howard Freshman, Contributing Photographer
Inglewood will host Long Beach Poly at SoFi Stadium at 7 p.m.
“To get the opportunity to play in your own backyard is huge,” Inglewood coach Mil’von James said.
This will be Inglewood’s first game this season in its home city. The Sentinels opened the season at Los Alamitos, then played games in Texas and Arizona, and last week they were in Orange County.
The road trips, according to James, brought the team together.
“I think it helped bring us together as a team,” he said. “A lot of traveling, meetings, collegiate atmosphere. It helped forge a lot of unions and bonds between the players. It was a great experience for high school kids to travel and play in different states and against different opponents.”
Inglewood enters the week with a 3-1 record while Long Beach Poly is 1-3.
Serra headed back to SoFi Stadium
The Serra and Loyola football teams will meet again this season at SoFi Stadium. The teams will play Oct. 16 at 5 p.m.
Last year, Serra faced Loyola in a Mission League game at SoFi. The game was part of a doubleheader that included Palos Verdes taking on Leuzinger. Serra lost to Loyola that night 13-10.
Looking ahead at the Mayor’s Cup
The annual Mayor’s Cup rivalry football game between Hawthorne and Leuzinger is set for Sept. 25.
Leuzinger has won 12 consecutive meetings against Hawthorne. All of those games, except for one, were one-sided games.
Entering this week, Hawthorne has one win while Leuzinger is winless. This week, Hawthorne (1-3) hosts Compton Centennial while Leuzinger (0-4) hosts Oceanside.
Could the Cup change hands this season?
El Camino College football plays Saturday
El Camino College’s football team, coming off a loss to Mt. San Antonio College in overtime, will play at Chaffey College on Saturday at 6 p.m.
The Warriors (2-1) lost to Mt. San Antonio College, 43-37, in overtime this past Saturday. It was the second consecutive meeting between the teams that went into OT.
Last year, after winning the regular-season meeting, the Mounties defeated the Warriors 42-40 in five overtimes in the Southern California Regional quarterfinals.
Malika Eugenio completed 19 of 32 passes Saturday for 266 yards with two touchdowns and an interception. Nazarus Williams (Narbonne HS) had four receptions for 121 yards and a touchdown. Patrick Hill led the defense with 11 tackles.