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Column: Storylines to follow in the upcoming high school football season

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Column: Storylines to follow in the upcoming high school football season

The high school football season begins this week. A look at top storylines and other issues to follow:

Can Corona Centennial end the Mater Dei/St. John Bosco domination in Division 1 football?

Every season since 2016, either Mater Dei or St. John Bosco has won the Southern Section Division 1 championship. Centennial won the title in 2015 and has the best chance to end the private-school domination. Centennial came within one play of beating St. John Bosco in the Division 1 semifinals last season. As usual, coach Matt Logan fears no one and the Huskies will play Mater Dei on the road to open the season Thursday night. With quarterback Husan Longstreet, a good offensive line and speed at receiver, Centennial will be scoring lots of points this season. Longstreet has been dealing with foot injury for the past month and might not be ready for the opener.

Will Mission Viejo have enough depth on the offensive and defensive lines to threaten the elite teams?

When it comes to skill-position players, Mission Viejo doesn’t have to take a back seat to anyone. Quarterbacks Luke Fahey and Draiden Trudeau, running back Hinesward Lilomaiava, receivers Vance Spafford and Phillip Bell, and defensive backs Dijon Lee and Jeron Jones were big-time contributors during a 13-3 season. Beware of the Diablos if coach Chad Johnson finds some linemen who can stay healthy and produce.

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Who will be the player of the year?

With Mater Dei and St. John Bosco going with new quarterbacks, it’s wide open for top player in Southern California. Longstreet deserves consideration with his expected improvement. Santa Margarita receiver/defensive back Trent Mosley is a special talent and was Trinity League MVP as a sophomore. Orange Lutheran quarterback TJ Lateef is primed for a big season. Running back Karson Cox of Oak Hills is a punishing player. Linebacker Tristan Phillips of Ventura is building momentum as a defensive standout. Sierra Canyon sophomore defensive lineman Richard Wesley is going to be turned loose after recording nine sacks as a freshman.

Is Birmingham ready to be beaten in City Section football?

Birmingham’s unbeaten streak of 43 games against City Section opponents dating back to the 2017 season is in serious jeopardy with 16 sophomores on varsity. Graduation and player defections via transfers have left the Patriots vulnerable this season, with Marine League teams expected to offer the toughest challenge. San Pedro, Banning, Narbonne, Carson and Gardena all have title aspirations. Just don’t count out Birmingham. Coach Jim Rose knows how to develop players during the regular season, so perhaps a new star or two might step forward by the postseason.

Are teams changing schedules to help improve their playoff pairings?

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It’s clear that some coaches despise the Southern Section playoff format where teams are ranked by the CalPreps.com algorithm and placed in a playoff bracket regardless of their school size, league finish or head-to-head performance against a common opponent. That has caused some coaches to tweak their non-league schedule in an attempt to game the computer. Good luck. It doesn’t hurt to try but the system is here to stay.

What scandals are coming?

Yes, there will be more forfeits because some schools don’t check their transfer students properly (maybe a home visit would be good to confirm an address). There are more schools enrolling students to attend via online classes. It’s legal but recruiting isn’t. A lack of enforcement of recruiting rules is setting the stage for a big debate and big mess in the future as the CIF tries to protect education-based high school sports in the face of a record 17,000 transfers statewide last school year.

What positive change is happening this season?

It’s now a 15-yard penalty before the game begins for using illegal equipment when a team wears jerseys with numbers that people in the stands can’t see because they blend in (particularly blue numbers on black jerseys). Grandparents, announcers, sportswriters, photographers and friends of players are leaping for joy after years of teams adopting jerseys made famous by the University of Oregon, which were miserable for identification purposes. The new national rule says numbers have to be clearly visible and contrast with the body color of the jersey. Schools have had several years to prepare for the change.

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Can girls’ flag football continue its growth?

After a terrific first season, girls’ seven-on-seven flag football is set to generate even more attention with the first Southern Section championships. And yet, there are private schools declining to add teams, not wanting to take away athletes from volleyball, soccer and softball teams or share field time. They will learn they are making a big mistake as the sport grows even more with support from the Rams and Chargers.

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Miami Heat star Bam Adebayo makes NBA history with 83-point game

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Miami Heat star Bam Adebayo makes NBA history with 83-point game

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Miami Heat star Bam Adebayo made NBA history on Tuesday night.

Adebayo scored 83 points, all while setting league marks for free throws made and attempted in a game for the Miami Heat in a 150-129 win over the Washington Wizards. It is the second-highest scoring game for a player ever, only to Wilt Chamberlain’s famed 100-point game.

“An absolutely surreal night,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra told reporters after the game.

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Adebayo started with a 31-point first quarter. He was up to 43 at halftime, 62 by the end of the third quarter. And then came the fourth, when the milestones kept falling despite facing double-, triple- and what once appeared to be a quadruple-team from a Wizards defense that kept sending him to the foul line.

He finished 20 of 43 from the field, 36 of 43 from the foul line, 7 for 22 from 3-point range.

After the game, he was seen in tears while he hugged his mother, Marilyn Blount, before leaving the floor after the game.

“Welp won’t have the highest career high in the house anymore,” Adebayo’s girlfriend, four-time WNBA MVP A’ja Wilson, wrote on social media, “but at least it gives me something to go after.”

MAGIC’S ANTHONY BLACK MAKES INCREDIBLE DUNK OVER FOUR DEFENDERS IN HISTORIC NBA GAME

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Bam Adebayo #13 of the Miami Heat celebrates during the fourth quarter of the game against the Washington Wizards at Kaseya Center on March 10, 2026, in Miami, Florida.  (Megan Briggs/Getty Images)

The NBA’s previous best this season was 56, by Nikola Jokic for Denver against Minnesota on Christmas night. The last player to have 62 points through three quarters: one of Adebayo’s basketball heroes, Kobe Bryant, who had exactly that many through three quarters for the Los Angeles Lakers against Dallas on Dec. 20, 2005.

He wound up passing Bryant for single-game scoring as well. Bryant’s career-best was 81 — a game that was the second-best on the NBA scoring list for two decades.

Adebayo scored 31 points in the opening quarter against the Wizards, breaking the Heat record for points in any quarter — and tying the team record for points in a first half before the second quarter even started.

He finished the first half with 43 points, a team record for any half and two points better than his previous career high — for a full game, that is — of 41, set Jan. 23, 2021, against Brooklyn.

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Adebayo’s season high entering Tuesday was 32. He matched that with a free throw with 5:53 left in the second quarter, breaking the Heat first-half scoring record.

Adebayo’s 43-point first half was the NBA’s second-best in at least the last 30 seasons — going back to the start of the digital play-by-play era that began in the 1996-97 season.

The Associated Press contributed to this report. 

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Kings lose in overtime to the Boston Bruins

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Kings lose in overtime to the Boston Bruins

Charlie McAvoy scored 39 seconds into overtime and Jeremy Swayman stopped 14 shots on Tuesday night to earn the Boston Bruins their 13th straight victory at home, 2-1 over the Kings.

Mason Lohrei scored midway through the third period to break a scoreless tie. But the Kings tied it five minutes later when Drew Doughty’s shot from the blue line deflected off the heel of Bruins forward Elias Lindholm and into the net.

It was the seventh straight time the teams had gone to overtime in Boston.

In the overtime, Mark Kastelic blocked a shot in the defensive zone and made a long pass to David Pastrnak, who waited for McAvoy to come into the zone. The Bruins’ defenseman and U.S. Olympian, who went to the locker room at the end of the second period after taking a puck off his mouth, skated in on Darcy Kuemper and went to his backhand for the winner.

Kuemper stopped 21 shots for the Kings, who entered the night one point out of the second wild-card spot in the Western Conference. The victory kept Boston in possession of the East’s second wild-card spot.

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Swayman tied his career high with his 25th win of the season. The Bruins haven’t lost at the TD Garden since before Christmas.

After the game, Kings forward and future Hall of Famer Anze Kopitar stayed on the ice to shake hands with the Bruins after what is expected to be his last game in Boston.

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Jon Jones requests UFC release after Dana White says legend was ‘never’ considered him for White House card

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Jon Jones requests UFC release after Dana White says legend was ‘never’ considered him for White House card

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Mixed martial arts legend Jon Jones ended his retirement from UFC simply because he wanted a spot on the “Freedom 250” fight card at the White House in June. 

But, when UFC CEO Dana White announced the card during UFC 326 this past weekend, Jones wasn’t among the fighters. As a result, he has requested a release from his UFC contract. 

White was candid when asked about Jones following the UFC 326 card. 

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Jon Jones of the United States of America reacts after his TKO victory against Stipe Miocic of the United States of America in the UFC heavyweight championship fight during the UFC 309 event at Madison Square Garden on Nov. 16, 2024 in New York City.  ((Photo by Sarah Stier/Getty Images))

“Never, ever, ever, which I told you guys a hundred thousands times, was Jon Jones ever even remotely in my mind to fight at the White House,” White explained, per CBS Sports. “Some guy with Meta Glasses filmed him talking about his hips – that his hips are so bad. And I don’t know if you guys saw that flag football game where he can barely run. Jon Jones retired because of his hips. He’s got arthritis in his hips. Apparently, doctors say he should have a hip replacement.”

White added that “the Jon Jones thing is bulls—,” saying that he texted the fighter’s lawyer saying he would never be on the White House card despite Jones saying he was in negotiations for it. 

UFC ANNOUNCES CARD FOR WHITE HOUSE EVENT

The Meta Glasses incident White is referring to came from a viral video, where Jones, unaware he was being filmed, discussed issues with his hips to a fan. 

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On Monday, Jones composed a thorough response to White’s comments about him and the White House Card. He previously posted and deleted social media explanations, but Monday’s appeared to be his final statement on the matter. 

UFC President Dana White speaks after UFC Fight Night at Toyota Center on Feb. 21, 2026.  (Troy Taormina/Imagn Images)

“Yes, I have arthritis in my hip and it’s painful, but that doesn’t mean I can’t fight,” Jones, who retired a heavyweight champion in 2025, said. “So let me get this straight, if I had accepted the lowball offer, suddenly my hip would be fine and I’d be on the White House card? That doesn’t make sense. I even received stem cell treatment last week to get ready for the White House card, and training camp was scheduled to start today. I was preparing to be ready. 

“I understand business deals fall through sometimes, but going out publicly and saying things that aren’t true isn’t right. After everything I’ve given to the UFC, the years, the title defenses, the fights, hearing that I’m ‘done’ is disappointing. Especially when as recently as Friday UFC was calling me trying to get me on that White House card for a much lower number.”

Jones finished his statement by saying he “respectfully” asks to be released from his UFC contract.

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Jon Jones enters the ring before facing Stipe Miocic in the UFC heavyweight championship fight during the UFC 309 event at Madison Square Garden on November 16, 2024 in New York City, New York. (Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC)

“No more spins, no more games. Thank you to the real fans who know what’s up,” he wrote. 

The UFC did not immediately respond to a request for comment by Fox News Digital.

Jones is considered one of the best UFC fighters of all time, owning a 28-1-1 record, which includes his last bout with Stipe Miocic, knocking him out to take the heavyweight title belt. He is also a two-time light heavyweight champion. 

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