After the first week of matchups, many of the teams in the San Fernando Valley put on a great display of football, leading us to believe the 2026 season could be a wild one. There are a handful of games on the slate on Friday night that provide all you could want for a great night of action. Here are the games that you won’t want to miss happening in the Valley tomorrow night:

Pasadena Bulldogs (0-1) at #4 Kennedy Cougars (1-0) – 7 pm kickoff, Kennedy High School
No one in the City Section looked as impressive as the Kennedy Cougars did in week zero. There were questions if their offense would look as dominant as it had in previous seasons, and the Cougars answered those questions emphatically on the road at Eagle Rock. The number of options Kennedy has at its disposal will make many teams in the section jealous. Junior quarterback Chaz Rodriguez spread the ball to seven different receivers in their runaway victory over the Eagles. They’ll face a different kind of test this week as the Pasadena Bulldogs pay a visit to Granada Hills. The Bulldogs will want to erase the memory of their opening week blowout loss at home to Golden Valley and will surely put their best foot forward. The Cougars have a brutal early-season schedule. A win here in their home opener could really set the table for an Open Division push.

Venice Gondoliers (0-1) at #7 Granada Hills Highlanders (1-0) – 7 pm kickoff, Granada Hills High School
It was a tough week zero for the Venice Gondoliers as they had to deal with St. Monica’s high-octane aerial attack. They’ll be in for a different set of problems this week when they travel to Granada Hills to take on the Highlanders, who amassed over 400 yards on the ground last week in their week zero win against the North Hollywood Huskies. Make no mistake, the Gondoliers are a much better team than what they looked like last week, and they’ll try to reset their season by pulling an upset on the road. A win at home is imperative for the Highlanders. This matchup against Venice is the first of the four straight home games, but the next three are all against top-20-ranked city-section opponents.

Heritage Christian Warriors (1-0) at El Camino Real Royals (0-1) – 7 pm kickoff, El Camino Real High School
Heritage Christian hits the road for another intersection matchup when they take on El Camino in the Royals’ home opener. The Warriors handled San Fernando last week on the road pretty easily, but El Camino does present a tougher task. The Royals looked good on the road in Hawaii last week, but they came up on the short end of a 28-21 loss to Kauai. What better way to rebound and gain some positive momentum in your season than to pull off an upset at home over Heritage Christian. These two programs are quite familiar with each other, as they tend to play each other in non-league just about every season. Can the Royals finally hand the Warriors a loss to a city section opponent? We’ll get our answers on Friday night.

Alemany Warriors (0-1) at Notre Dame (SO) Knights (1-0) – 7 pm kickoff, Notre Dame High School
It was a tale of heartbreak for the Alemany Warriors in Week Zero as they came within a tipped pass away from knocking off Calabasas in Coach Dennis Keys’ debut. The task won’t get any easier for Alemany as they take the road to face off against the Notre Dame Knights, who are flying high after their opening-week victory on the road at Crespi. If the Warriors are going to pull the upset on the road, it all starts with their captain, Tabary McKnight, who had an excellent game last week versus Calabasas. McKnight led the way with a rushing, receiving, and interception return touchdown in week zero.

VST Game of the Week
#17 Jefferson Democrats (1-0) at #14 Van Nuys Wolves (1-0) – 7 pm kickoff, Van Nuys High School

An intriguing matchup goes down in Van Nuys on Friday night between two teams that feel destined to be headed for Division I in the postseason. Both Jefferson and Van Nuys looked impressive in their Week Zero victories, posting shutouts over Roybal and Fremont, respectively. This game will be all about which team’s defense can control the pace of the game. The Wolves’ defense suffocated Fremont in Week Zero, but it will take the unit going to another level to contain Jefferson’s Daiveaun Neal, who put up 201 yards on the ground against Roybal last week. The Democrats also looked great on defense in Week Zero, but the Wolves’ offensive variety and the number of weapons they have will make for a much tougher task. Points will definitely come at a premium in this game tomorrow night. The winner of this matchup will definitely find themselves moving comfortably inside the top 15 in the city section rankings next week.