The air near Tustin High has been deemed unhealthy for athletic events. The condition has been caused by a fire that destroyed the north hangar at the Marine Corps Air Station this week.

Foothill is the home team for the Division 5 quarterfinal game against Newbury Park. Foothill plays its home football games at Northrup Field, which is on the Tustin High campus.

The decision to move the game was made Thursday.

Foothill coach Doug Case said the school had secured Valencia High’s Bradford Stadium, which is roughly 14 miles north of Tustin High, as a backup location when the game’s status was in doubt.

Tustin Unified School District schools were closed Thursday because of the air quality, so Foothill was not allowed to practice.

Foothill defeated Aquinas last week to advance to the Division 5 quarterfinals.

SANTA ANA — Orange County’s releaguing process for the 2024-26 cycle resumed Monday after an appeal by five Freeway League schools and delivered the same configuration that emerged in May.

Yes, the same league alignments for all sports — other than football — that were approved in the spring were pushed forward again.

The big change coming is that Orange County’s proposed leagues will now head to the CIF Southern Section Council for approval or appeal instead of the much smaller CIF Executive Committee.

“Hopefully, we’re finished,” Mater Dei president and O.C. leaguing chairman Michael Brennan told the gathering of principals and athletic directors at Calvary Chapel High.

After about a nearly 4 1/2-hour meeting that was mostly amiable, Orange County voted 66-10-1 to send the “Kennedy” proposal to the council, which next meets Jan. 30. The council is comprised of nearly 90 leagues with voting rights.

The Freeway League schools that appealed to the executive committee — Fullerton, La Habra, Sonora, Sunny Hills and Troy — were among the dissenting votes. Buena Park, the sixth school from the all-Fullerton Union High School District league, was the one abstaining vote.

The schools appealed based on “releaguing criteria and process” for non-football sports.

“It was an extremely clean process,” Villa Park athletic director Tom Fox said after Monday’s meeting. “I think all procedures were followed to a T. I believe that everybody who had a voice or had a skin in the game had their opportunity to speak their part. I believe there is no stone unturned.”

A Freeway League official at the meeting referred a media inquiry about the outcome to Fullerton Union assistant superintendent Karl Zener, who didn’t immediately return a message seeking comment.

La Habra, Sonora, Sunny Hills and Troy were again proposed to join a 15-team Century Conference while Buena Park and Fullerton were slotted for a 15-team Golden Empire Conference.

Several Freeway League representative spoke Monday in support of a plan by Rosary, which made the final two proposals along with the one from Kennedy.

Rosary’s draft placed itself and the five appealing Freeway League schools together in the Century Conference, slotted Irvine in the Golden Empire instead of Fullerton and moved Crean Lutheran to the Trinity League.

The Kennedy proposal defeated the Rosary plan 51-24-2.

“I think they should feel good about their representation and what they brought to the table,” Fox said of the Freeway League. “I understand their concerns. It’s a paradigm shift (to conferences). Those of us who have been in a conference understand the implications.”

The proposed county alignment features five conferences and just two leagues, the Sunset and Trinity.

Other highlights of the proposal that passed Monday: Beckman moves to the Coastview Conference; Laguna Beach, Rosary and St. Margaret’s join the Pacific Coast Conference.

Beckman and several Irvine school were dissenting votes in the final tally.

The meeting began with mentions of legal forces working behind the scene.

“There were conversations with the legal folks in Northern California who handle legal procedures for the CIF,” said releaguing veteran John Dahlem, who served as the meeting’s parliamentarian. “It was felt that (releaguing) was mandated to Orange County and that they needed to come forth with another proposal.”

The county’s competitive equity plan for football leagues with the exception of the Trinity remains on track to kick off next year. The football plan wasn’t part of Monday’s meeting.

But Collier, in all likelihood, is destined for the draft after one season with the Trojans. And on Friday night, USC locked its future future backcourt into place.

Trent Perry, a 6-foot-4 combo guard coming off a run leading a talented Harvard-Westlake squad to a CIF Open Division state championship, announced his commitment to USC on Friday night on social media. It’s another massive recruiting win for Coach Andy Enfield, who brought in Collier and Sierra Canyon’s Bronny James as part of a loaded 2023 class and now strikes big with Perry in 2024.

“He felt at home with the staff and school,” David Rebibo, Perry’s coach at Harvard-Westlake, wrote in a text.

Perry’s the ideal modern combo guard for Enfield. He’s mature beyond his years and plays with the innate pace of a conductor, if the conductor could also take off from a few steps inside the arc and flip a legs-splayed layup around the outstretched arms of opposing big men. He’d be a ready-made fit next to Bronny James if James were to stay at USC for a sophomore season – James’ recovery from cardiac arrest leading to a range of possibilities as to his future with the Trojans – and if James moves on, Perry is a foundational piece capable of running the point or playing off the ball.

“Coach Enfield plays an uptempo style and gives his guards freedom to play,” Rebibo wrote, when asked how he envisioned Perry fitting into Enfield’s system.

Perry’s shot selection can occasionally waver, firing off a pull-up 3-point attempt here and there when a better look might have come later in the shot clock in games during his junior year, but that’s more than offset by his court vision and versatility on defense. Watch his patience here in commanding a fast break, drawing the eyes of the low-man just long enough to dink teammate Jacob Huggins for a dunk:

Trent Perry finds Jacob Huggins and Harvard-Westlake is up 27-9 over De La Salle. Mick Cronin watching here at Mater Dei. pic.twitter.com/Gssxy9zC6M

— Luca Evans (@bylucaevans) January 29, 2023

He’s got plenty of shot-making moxie and the ability to push tempo, too, as evidenced in the first clip of this highlight by Ballislife, an end-of-quarter 3-pointer over double-coverage in a game against Sierra Canyon last year:

From watching him orchestrate Harvard-Westlake’s offense at one of the highest levels of high school basketball in the country, it’s easy to see Perry eventually stepping into a Drew Peterson-esque role at USC, a versatile guard with size who is as capable of threading a pick-and-roll needle as he is bumping a defender off for a smooth midrange jumper.

Perry, too, is a born leader, the focal point of excellent chemistry in Harvard-Westlake’s core, in constant communication and encouragement with teammates like now-graduated forward Brady Dunlap.

“Constantly seeking ways to improve his game, how he approached the game, film study, nutrition, and the weight room,” Rebibo texted. “An incredibly motivated young man who loves the process of getting better.”

The CIF-SS office announced Friday that Rollinson and Orange County high school sports figures Jim Brumm, Rocky Ciarelli, Tony Ciarelli, Dan Glenn, Jeff Gordon, Gary Meek and Bill Seckington are the Orange County high school sports figures who are among the latest inductees who will be honored at a luncheon at The Grand Convention Center in Long Beach on Oct. 18.

Rollinson coached Mater Dei football to eight CIF-SS championships, four state championships and five national titles. He coached two players, Matt Leinart (USC) and Bryce Young (Alabama), who went on to win the Heisman Trophy.

Brumm coached water polo and swimming at Foothill and Huntington Beach. His teams won seven boys water polo CIF-SS championships and eight CIF-SS boys swimming championships. Brumm led his water polo teams to 600 wins in his 40 years of coaching.

Rocky Ciarelli’s 37 years coaching boys and girls volleyball at Edison, Huntington Beach and Newport Harbor produced more than 600 wins and 18 league championships, three CIF-SS boys championships and one girls CIF-SS title, one boys CIF Southern California Regional boys volleyball championship and one CIF State girls volleyball championship.

Tony Ciarelli coached six CIF State champions and 18 CIF-SS champions in the throwing events (shot put and discus) at Edison, Huntington Beach and Newport Harbor. He also was an outstanding assistant coach at Newport Harbor football.

Glenn coached boys and girls volleyball for 35 years at Edison, Newport Harbor and University. His Newport Harbor girls teams won seven CIF-SS championships and five CIF State titles. He also coached three CIF-SS boys volleyball championship teams at Newport Harbor.

Gordon coached soccer at Sunny Hills to 19 Freeway League championships and three CIF-SS championships. He was the National High School Coaches Association Coach of the Year in 2007.

Meek coached Esperanza football to three CIF-SS champions during his 17 seasons there. His record with the Aztecs is 144-50-4.

Seckington coached Huntington Beach golf teams to 404 wins and 19 Sunset League championships in his 26 seasons. His teams won three CIF Southern California Regional titles.

Among the CIF-SS Distinguished Service honorees are Bill Prichard, who played water polo at Newport Harbor and wrote “The History of CIF-SS Water Polo 1912-2020,” former CIF-SS commissioner Rob Wigod who was the baseball coach and athletic director at Los Alamitos and former CIF-SS assistant commissioner Rainer Wulf, who coached the Trabuco Hill boys basketball team to a CIF-SS championship.

Ray Fenton of Los Alamitos and Dan O’Shea of St. Margaret’s have been named the football coaches for the 64th Orange County North-South All-Star Classic planned for Feb. 3 at Newport Harbor High.

Fenton will lead the North team and O’Shea will the guide the South as the former Sunset League rivals coach the O.C. game for the first time.

Prior to taking the helm at St. Margaret’s this fall, O’Shea led Corona del Mar for eight seasons. He highlighted his tenure by guiding the Sea Kings to a 16-0 record in 2019 and CIF-SS and state championships.

St. Margaret’s is 3-4 this season and appears headed toward the CIF-SS playoffs as an automatic qualifier in the Orange Coast League.

Fenton, in his eighth season at Los Alamitos, has led the Griffins to the past three Sunset League titles. They reached the CIF-SS Division 1 semifinals last season, falling to Mater Dei.

Los Alamitos is 4-2 this season and ranked seventh in Orange County.

In 2007, Fenton guided Cypress to the CIF-SS Division 9 crown and was named O.C. and state coach of the year.

Schools will nominate their seniors for the all-star game, which is sponsored and run by non-profit Costa Mesa United.

The South owns an eight-game winning streak in the game and leads the series 34-26-3.

Please send football news to Dan Albano at dalbano@scng.com or @ocvarsityguy on X or Instagram

Mater Dei quarterback Cole Leinart, son of Heisman Trophy winner Matt Leinart, has left his father’s high school alma mater and enrolled at Newport Harbor, Sailors football coach Peter Lofthouse confirmed Thursday.

Leinart, a 6-foot-4, 190-pound sophomore, served as the primary backup to senior Elijah Brown for the Monarchs (5-0), who are ranked No. 1 nationally in multiple polls.

This season, Leinart has played in two games, completing 2 of 3 passes for 10 yards and one touchdown.

He last appeared for Mater Dei on Sept. 2 against Creekside of Georgia, an opponent the Monarchs defeated 62-0.

Leinart, who donned the same No. 7 jersey that his father wore at Mater Dei, also played basketball for the Monarchs.

Matt Leinart rose from Mater Dei to claim the Heisman Trophy for USC in 2004 and later played in the NFL.

At Newport Harbor, sophomore Jaden O’Neal (6-3, 190) has emerged as the starting quarterback this season after competing with senior Bode Stefano during the summer.

O’Neal, a transfer from Los Alamitos, has completed 57 percent of his passes for 1,034 yards and 10 TDs for the Sailors (2-3).

Newport Harbor opens the Sunset League against visiting Huntington Beach on Friday.

The CIF-SS website doesn’t yet list Leinart’s transfer eligibility but shows that Newport Harbor is processing the transfer of Samuel and Jackson Stremick. Mater Dei lists Sammy Stremick (5-10, 175) as a junior wide receiver.

Leinart’s departure appears to leave Mater Dei’s quarterback options after Brown on the inexperienced side this season.

During summer passing competition, Leinart and freshman Furian Infererra (6-2, 192) were two of the quarterbacks who played after Brown. The Monarchs also have another touted freshman passer in Reagan Toki (5-10, 176).

Please send football news to Dan Albano at dalbano@scng.com or @ocvarsityguy

“I feel like I’m getting closer to a dream, especially playing on an NFL field,” said Ross, a standout receiver on the school’s football team. “Just to have that experience, it touched me with excitement and it’s for sure going to have me lit for the game.”

Ross, a four-star recruit who is committed to Colorado State, is one of several high-profile players who will get a chance to showcase their talents when the Warren High and Downey High football teams square off in the first-ever high school football game at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood on Oct. 13 at 7 p.m.

Simply put, the Downey Showdown is going Hollywood.

Ross, 18, will have a message for his younger self when he steps onto the field at SoFi next month.

“You made it,” Ross said. “You lived your dream.”

SoFi Stadium, which opened in 2020, is the home of the NFL’s Los Angeles Rams and Los Angeles Chargers. The selection of Warren and Downey to participate in The LA Bowl Friday Night Lights series was announced Wednesday.

“LA Bowl is committed to promoting the importance of education, health and wellness, and physical activity by hosting various events in the local community,” said SoFi Stadium and Hollywood Park vice president of programming and booking Adolfo Romero in a statement. “We’re excited to continue these efforts by welcoming the students, faculty, and families of Downey High School and Warren High School to SoFi Stadium for its first high school football game.”

Warren (3-2) is ranked No. 41 in the CIF Southern Section by CalPreps, and Downey (4-1) is ranked No. 44.

Last year, quarterback Nico Iamaleava led Warren to a 49-22 win at home against Downey. Warren coach Kevin Pearson said they had approximately 10,000 fans attend the annual rivalry game that night.

“I think because of the excitement, being able to play at a venue like SoFi, which is really a once-in-a-lifetime experience for a lot of people, I think that will mitigate the problems people have paying for it,” said Pearson. “I’m assuming that we’re going to get 10,000-plus (fans).”

Tickets will go on sale Thursday at 10 a.m. at Ticketmaster.com. Tickets will be $35 for general admission and $15 for student tickets. There will be a charge for parking.

Iamaleava’s brother, Madden, a junior, is now Warren’s starting quarterback.

“I was hyped. We were just excited,” Madden Iamaleava said, recalling his initial reaction to the SoFi Stadium news. “The first high school to play in SoFi Stadium, it’s huge for sure.”

Iamaleava said it will feel surreal to play on the same NFL field that hosted the Super Bowl on Feb. 13, 2022, and the College Football Playoff National Championship on Jan. 9.

“It hasn’t hit me yet… but I think it’s going to hit me on game day when we’re all playing out there,” said Iamaleava, who is also a four-star recruit with several offers from Division I college football programs.

Last season, Vikings were the Gateway League runner-up and won the CIF-SS Division 4 championship.

This season’s team is led by sophomore Oscar Rios, a promising dual-threat quarterback.

“It’s a great opportunity,” said Downey coach Jack Williams, who played against Warren when he was a student-athlete at Downey in the 1990s. “It’s probably been a year and a half in the making. Last year it was supposed to be a co-deal with Mater Dei and Bosco (and Downey vs. Warren) and things didn’t work out, but through the year we kept hitting up SoFi people and finally the paperwork got done last week.”

Williams thinks a large venue is appropriate for the rivalry game, and he’s thankful the Downey Unified School District was able to make it happen.

“I think our facilities are too small… I think it’s good for the City of Downey,” Williams continued. “As a kid, you want to play in the stadium like that, you want to play in a big-time game.”

The high school game will be hosted by the LA Bowl, the college football bowl game that will be played at SoFi Stadium on Dec. 16. The L.A. Bowl will match the Mountain West No. 1 team against the Pac-12’s No. 5 selection after the College Football Playoff brackets are finalized.

The winner of the Warren-Downey game will be invited back and recognized before the L.A. Bowl.

The appeals were heard and subsequently supported by the CIF Executive Committee on Thursday.

The five schools in the Freeway League — Fullerton, La Habra, Sonora, Sunny Hills and Troy — appealed on the basis that procedures as outlined in the CIF-SS by-laws were not followed during the Orange County releaguing process.

Orange County high schools had agreed to create football-specific leagues and large conferences for other leagues like a 15-school Century Conference and a 15-school Golden Empire Conference.

Longtime Freeway League schools like La Habra, Sonora, Sunny Hills and Troy would be placed in the Century Conference with schools like Brea Olinda, Crean Lutheran, Villa Park and Yorba Linda. The Fullerton schools objected to the configurations of the non-football conferences.

CIF-SS assistant commissioner Thom Simmons said any Orange County configuration that comes from the upcoming process would not need CIF-SS Council approval. Once the schools have settled upon conference and league memberships, then that plan would be in place for the 2024-25 and 2025-26 school years.

CIF-SS Council president Jim Perry, who is on the Executive Council, said league configurations need to be agreed upon by the end of December.

Mater Dei president Mike Brennan has chaired the Orange County releaguing meetings the past two releaguing cycles. Brennan could not be reached for comment to discuss if he would be interested in chairing the next releaguing process.

Dana Hills is No. 1 in the CIF Southern Section Division 3 girls cross country rankings. Hodges coached the team for two months, having been hired this summer.

Hodges declined to comment.

Faris will run the Dolphins girls cross country coach while the school seeks a replacement.

He said the school must make the position available to personnel within the Capistrano Unified School District before opening it up to non-district people.

A Beckman assistant football coach is recovering in the hospital after he collapsed during the third quarter of a game Thursday night in Glendora, Patriots coach Marcello Giuliano said Friday.

Lower-level coach Jed Fernando, 21, required emergency medical aid during the game against Azusa at Citrus College but is now receiving treatment at Hoag Hospital Irvine, Giuliano said.

“I spoke to the parents and he’s doing much better,” the coach said. “It was super scary.”

Fernando, a Cal State Fullerton student who played center for Beckman before graduating in 2020, collapsed in the middle of the third quarter, Giuliano said.

With Beckman leading 37-8, the game was halted.

Giuliano said Fernando was struggling to breathe and received medical aid from Beckman athletic trainer Logan Port.

“Incredibly professional,” Giuliano said of Port, who also teaches at Beckman.

Giuliano said Fernando has received an “outpouring of support” with numerous inquires about his condition.

Beckman improved to 4-1 and plays host to Loara at Tustin High for its homecoming game on Sept. 22.