BHHS Football Kicks Off Sept. 9

The 2011 football season is right around the corner and will once again play a difficult non-league schedule to prepare for the Ocean League.

Last season, coach Donald Paysinger's varsity squad finished 6-5 and tied for second place in the league standings with Santa Monica and Culver City. Inglewood took the top spot.

The Normans received a postseason berth and lost 48-7 to Gardena Serra in the first round of the CIF Southern Section Western Division playoffs.

BHHS will open its season in a road match against Santa Barbara on Sept. 9. The Normans played host to the Dons in last season's opener and won 29-7.

On Sept. 16, Beverly Hills hosts San Marcos (a team they blanked 36-0 last season) and on Sept. 23 they play at home against Palos Verdes Peninsula of the Bay League—a team that suffered through a 2-8 season last fall.

The Normans conclude the non-league portion of their schedule with consecutive road games against quality opponents. On Sept. 30, Beverly Hills will travel to Canyon Country to face perennial Foothill League contender Canyon, which beat BHHS 31-21 last year. Then on Oct. 6 comes perhaps the biggest challenge of the season—a rematch with Serra League champion Alemany in Mission Hills.

Alemany routed the Normans 53-0 last October on its way to reaching the semifinals of the CIF Southern Section's Pac-5 Division—traditionally the toughest playoff bracket in California. 

Beverly Hills begins its Ocean League slate with an Oct. 14 road game at Hawthorne, which finished fifth last year and suffered a 49-20 loss to BHHS. That game will be followed by home games against Santa Monica on Oct. 21 and Inglewood on Oct. 28. Inglewood went undefeated in the Ocean League last year and lost to Paso Robles in the Western Division quarterfinals.

Next the Normans travel to take on last season's cellar dweller Morningside in a game held at Inglewood's Coleman Stadium on Nov. 4. Then Beverly Hills returns home for their season finale Nov. 11 against archrival Culver City, which handed BHHS a 49-34 road loss last season.   

2011 BHHS VARSITY FOOTBALL SCHEDULE

Sept. 9 — @ Santa Barbara, 7 p.m.

Sept. 16 — San Marcos, 7 p.m.

Sept. 23 — Palos Verdes Peninsula, 7 p.m.

Sept. 30 — @ Canyon Country Canyon, 7:30 p.m.

Oct. 6 — @ Alemany, 7 p.m.

Oct. 14 — @ Hawthorne, 7 p.m.*

Oct. 21 — Santa Monica, 7 p.m.*

Oct. 28 — Inglewood, 7 p.m.*

Nov. 4 — @ Morningside (Inglewood's Coleman Stadium), 7 p.m.*

Nov. 11 — Culver City, 7 p.m.*

* Ocean League game

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