HIGH SCHOOL

* KENNEDY (5-0-1, 1-0) vs. SYLMAR (6-0, 1-0)

At Sylmar High, 7 p.m.

Kennedy single-handedly ruined Sylmar’s season a year ago, snapping the Spartans’ 69-game league winning streak, 21-20, then winning again in the playoffs, 69-33. Sylmar has looked forward to this game ever since. The winner will have the upper hand in the Valley Mission League race. Kennedy had the tougher nonleague schedule, defeating Taft and Granada Hills. Sylmar opened with an impressive victory over Dorsey then rolled over a string of inferior opponents. Behind an agile defensive line, heavily recruited linebacker Josh Martin and fleet defensive backs, the Spartans allow only 11.5 points and 214 yards a game. Kennedy averages 44 points a game, but gives up 26 points a game. Although top defensive back Charles Nettles is back after missing several games with a foot injury, the Golden Cougars are vulnerable to the pass, having surrendered 1,408 yards. John Valdez (65.8%, 1,048 yards, 11 touchdowns) gives Sylmar its best passer in years. Adam Geery of Kennedy has passed for 1,202 yards and 13 touchdowns.

* TAFT (5-1, 1-0) vs. BIRMINGHAM (6-0, 1-0)

At Birmingham, 7:30 p.m.

Everyone keeps asking, “Is Birmingham for real?” A perfect record against six teams with a combined mark of 12-24 has left people wondering if the Patriots are ready to take on the elite. The answer should come tonight against Taft, which has offensive firepower like few others. Rick Clausen leads the region with 1,709 yards passing, 19 touchdowns and a 63.1% completion rate. He has two potential NCAA Division I receivers, USC-bound Chris Morgan and sophomore Steve Smith. Running back Lee Marks has rushed for 752 yards. Birmingham, under first-year Coach Ed Croson, has used speed and big-play ability to turn around a program that was 2-8 last season. The key for the Patriots to keep pace tonight will be junior Scott Jensen, who is coming off a 308-yard passing performance against El Camino Real. If Jensen can connect with USC-bound receiver John Walker, and running back Kevin McCleary picks up his usual yardage, it could be a shootout in Van Nuys. An intriguing matchup figures to be Walker covering Smith and vice versa. Taft has played a tougher schedule to date, but virtually every coach that has played Birmingham insists the Patriots can compete for the West Valley League title. Look for the Patriots to blitz Clausen often hoping to produce turnovers.

* GRANT (3-3, 1-0) vs. CANOGA PARK (5-1, 1-0)

At Canoga Park High, 7 p.m.

The winner is in the driver’s seat in the Sunset Six League. Canoga Park seems to improve each week. Josh Geiger has established himself as a running back to be reckoned with after three consecutive 100-yard games. Jeremy Egan provides balance through the air, completing 61.5% of his passes. Chris Lugo and Tony Olivera each have 21 receptions. Grant’s offense is even more potent. The Lancers average 334 yards a game behind running back Perry Clayton. The senior has rushed for 1,319 yards, 500 more than any City rusher in the region. Alfonso Estrada has passed for 585 yards and five touchdowns. Grant’s defense is suspect, having allowed an average of 370 yards. Canoga Park has won five in a row since opening with a loss to Birmingham.

* VALENCIA (5-1, 1-0) vs. HART (4-2, 1-0)

At College of the Canyons, 7:30 p.m.

A rematch of last season’s Division III final. The winner of this game will likely claim the Foothill League title. Nine-time defending league champion Hart has won 44 consecutive league games, including a 45-8 victory last week over Burbank, and has never lost to Valencia. Kyle Matter passed for 400 yards and six touchdowns, and Matt Moore made three interceptions against Burbank. Matter has been sacked 35 times, six short of the school record, but Hart is treating opposing quarterbacks almost as badly. The Indians have 29 sacks, led by Chris Frome’s nine. Last week, Kyle Bauer of Valencia passed for 335 yards and three touchdowns, including the game-winner to Nick Scott with four seconds left, in a 20-14 victory over Saugus. Will Broadous caught two scoring passes, giving him eight this season. Hart is 5-0 against Valencia, including a 34-6 rout last year in the section final, with a 24-point average margin of victory. In the two games last season, Matter completed 22 of 36 for 394 yards and five touchdowns. Bauer completed 17 of 44 for 238 yards and two touchdowns.

* HUENEME (4-2, 0-1) vs. CAMARILLO (3-3, 1-0)

At Camarillo High, 7 p.m.

Both teams rely on solid groundwork, but Camarillo has been much more balanced. Behind running back Loren Cerny and quarterback Mike Jasper, the defending Pacific View League champion Scorpions average 208 yards on the ground and 189 yards through the air. Cerny has run for 846 yards and 12 touchdowns in 151 carries. Option quarterback Mike Jasper is 55 of 97 passing for 1,057 yards with nine touchdowns and three interceptions. Jasper is Camarillo’s second-leading rusher with 280 yards and four touchdowns in 55 carries. He averages 5.1 yards per carry. Justin Peterson is Jasper’s main target, with 28 receptions for a 22.6-yard average and eight touchdowns. Hueneme, preseason Pacific View League favorite, suffered a blow to its title hopes with a loss to Oxnard last week. The Vikings average 247.8 yards per game on the ground and 110.5 passing, but feature versatile athletes Leslie Lee, Dwayne Taylor, Tamar Lee and Julian Gooden, who all line up at running back or receiver. Junior Gordie Pinedo has completed 51.3% of his passes, 40 of 78, for 663 yards, nine touchdowns and two interceptions.

* ST. BONAVENTURE (6-0, 1-0) vs. OAK PARK (5-1, 1-0)

At Oak Park High, 7:30 p.m.

If any team is going to keep St. Bonaventure from enjoying a second consecutive undefeated regular season, it’s Oak Park. But don’t count on it. While the Eagles field their best team in years, they seem to be overmatched again. Scoring has been a problem for the Eagles against St. Bonaventure. The Seraphs have outscored Oak Park, 162-3, in their last three meetings, including 55-0 a year ago. Defensively the teams are comparable. Both allow fewer than 220 yards and 12 points a game. Offensively the teams are vastly different. St. Bonaventure averages about 200 yards more than Oak Park. Lorenzo Booker, with 19 touchdowns and nearly 1,400 yards, is averaging 14.1 yards a carry. Jack Swisher has passed for 1,125 yards and 16 touchdowns, but has had seven of 91 passes intercepted. Whitney Lewis, who has nine touchdowns and averages 26.3 yards a catch, is a speedster. The Eagles counter with Eric Testan, who has rushed for 648 yards and six touchdowns, and Josh Walker, who has passed for 835 yards and six touchdowns in four games. Monte McNair is a multi-threat averaging 19.3 yards a catch.

* OTHER GAMES

CITY SECTION

Sunset Six League: 7 p.m.--Hollywood at Poly; North Hollywood at Verdugo Hills; Valley Mission League: 7 p.m.--Monroe at Reseda; San Fernando at Van Nuys; Kennedy at Sylmar; West Valley League: 7 p.m.--Chatsworth at Granada Hills; Cleveland at El Camino Real.

SOUTHERN SECTION

Academy League: 7:30 p.m.--Campbell Hall vs. St. Margaret’s at Capistrano Valley High; Alpha League: 7:30 p.m.--Marshall vs. Paraclete at Antelope Valley College; Kilpatrick vs. L.A. Baptist at Alemany High; Channel League: 7:30 p.m.--San Marcos at Ventura; Foothill League: 7 p.m.--Burroughs vs. Saugus at Canyon High; Canyon vs. Burbank at Burroughs High; Frontier League: 7 p.m.--Calabasas vs. Santa Clara at Channel Islands High; Malibu at Nordhoff; Golden League: 7 p.m.--Highland at Littlerock; Palmdale at Lancaster; Quartz Hill at Antelope Valley; High Desert League: 7:30 p.m.--Frazier Mountain at Rosamond; Marmonte League: 7 p.m.--Agoura at Thousand Oaks; Moorpark at Simi Valley; Royal at Newbury Park; Pacific League: 7 p.m.--Crescenta Valley at Glendale; Hoover at Pasadena Muir; Pacific View League: 7 p.m.--Channel Islands at Rio Mesa; Rio Hondo League: 7:30 p.m.--Temple City at La Canada; Nonleague: 7 p.m.--Buena at Oxnard; Irvine Woodbridge at Westlake; 7:30 p.m.--Alemany vs. Santa Margarita at Saddleback College; Crespi at St. Bernard; Harvard-Westlake at Chaminade; Santa Paula at Fillmore; Serra at Notre Dame; St. Francis at Bishop Montgomery; Vasquez vs. Montclair Prep at Valley College.

EIGHT-MAN

Heritage League: 1 p.m.--Grace Brethren at Windward; 3 p.m.--South Bay Lutheran at First Lutheran.