UPDATED: Maranatha moves to Saturday at ELAC; San Gabriel to play Friday night at Keppel High

WEDNESDAY
*UPDATED (2:03 p.m.)* This just in from La Salle AD John Matheus: Due to the uncertainty of the air quality in the Pasadena area for the game on Friday night, the venue for the JV and Varsity games have been changed from Lancer Field at La Salle to St. Matthias High (7851 Gardendale St. Downey, CA.) JV at 4 p.m. and varsity at 7 p.m. Meanwhile, Bosco Tech's game on Saturday has moved up from 1:30 p.m. to 10 a.m. The JV's will go at 1:30 p.m. Bosco Tech coach Chris Shockley said if the JV's can't play that afternoon they'll reschedule to Monday or Tuesday.

<======================>

*UPDATED (11:32 a.m.)* Here's what we've learned: Keppel's game vs. Pomona has been canceled postponed because of the Aztecs' lack of practice time on the field. The game has been rescheduled to Sept. 22. As a result, Ganesha High has opened up, meaning Diamond Ranch can host Muir there Friday night at 7. Mustangs coach Kenny Howard said both administrations and coaching staffs want the game played Friday night, and are waiting to get the green light from the Pasadena Unified School District. Another alternative is for Saturday night at Mt. SAC, but it's more likely to be played at Ganesha. La Salle will make a decision by noon Thursday as far as canceling, postponing or moving its game against Village Christian. La Salle AD John Matheus said he's had no luck finding a venue outside the area. Maranatha AD Brian DeHaan said they'll wait til about 2 p.m. Thursday and see what the air quality is like before making a decision. Worse case scenario, DeHaan said, the Minutemen move the game to Linfield Christian, located in the Temecula area. Gabrielino vs. La Puente is still set for Thursday night at Gabrielino, but it may be moved to La Puente. We'll know more later in the day.

<======================>

*WEDNESDAY (8:14 a.m.)* Got word last night and early this morning from Monrovia AD Randy Bell and Wildcats coach Ryan Maddox that Friday's game against Arcadia has been moved to Thursday at Fullerton High. The Station Fire is now 22 percent contained, but full containment is not expected until well into next week. Published reports say Sept. 15. La Salle coach Antoine Peterson said last night the Lancers plan to play Friday at home vs. Linfield Christian, but a change in venue or cancellation may come later today. This is not only limited to La Salle. Maranatha and Muir are also working on deals to get its Friday games moved to L.A. or Orange County. We'll update you as soon as schools make their decision.

<======================>

MONDAY

*UPDATED (11:59 a.m.)* Maranatha athletic director Brian DeHaan is calling a number of schools in L.A. to find a place to practice. The Minutemen, who open the season Friday at home vs. Linfield Christian, have not practiced outdoors since last Thursday. "I can tell you we've been proactive in contacting schools," DeHaan said. "Our goal is to play the game. We would most likely move it to a game that doesn't have a Week 0 game somewhere local." By somewhere local DeHaan means somewhere in L.A. where the fires have not severely affected the air quality as much as it has here in the SGV. "We've looked ahead since the end of last week trying to come up with solutions for practice locations and possibility of a change in venue," DeHaan said. "Our number one concern is the kid's safety." Waiting to hear back from La Salle, the only other school that could have its game Friday affected by the fires.

<======================>

*UPDATED (11:49 a.m.)* Monrovia coach Ryan Maddox called to say they are not sure what will happen in regards to Friday's game against Arcadia. "We're preparing as if we have a game going on," Maddox said. "Hopefully the fire situation will improve before then." Monrovia scrimmaged Friday but the situation worsened over the weekend. " I live in San Dimas and I walked out the door this morning and it was pretty bad," Maddox said. "There's nothing we can do other than just pay close attention to the air quality." Maddox spoke today with Monrovia AD Randy Bell, who will get in contact with Arcadia AD Ryan Press to discuss alternatives. "They'll have to talk about some of the options if it doesn't get better for Friday," Maddox said. The consensus among coaches is indoor practice is becoming repetitive, even frustrating for players who want to go to full contact with Week 0 approaching. "I would agree," Maddox said. "But there's not much we can do other than try to get in what we can. If we're able to do a little more then we'll see, but I would guess, based on what it looks like outside right now, we won't be doing any running or heavy activities by any means."

<======================>

*UPDATED (11:31 a.m.)* Muir football coach Ken Howard is meeting with school administrators in a few hours to discuss Friday's game against Diamond Ranch. "We may have to change it to Diamond Ranch," Howard said. Muir has not practiced on the field since the fire started. Much like the rest of the area schools, and Diamond Ranch as well, Muir has been practicing in the gym. Howard wants the game played and said he's more than willing for a change of venue, whether it's at Diamond Ranch or any other site. "But I don't want to play on a Tuesday or something like that," Howard said. "I don't want to cancel it and I don't want to postpone it. Then again, I don't want to play well Friday and then the little bit of bad air ends up affecting our guys for next week. So we have to look at a few things."

<======================>

It smells like a camp fire here in the Star-News office. I can't imagine what the conditions must be like for folks near the Station Fire in the Altadena and La Cañada-Flintridge areas. The school most affected by these ravaging fires is La Cañada High. The Spartans have canceled at least three practices and the first day of school (today) was postponed until at least Tuesday. While most area schools have been restricted to indoor practices, the Spartans can't even do that since La Cañada's gym has been turned to an evacuation center. To make matters worse, the Spartans' weight room is also outdoors and La Cañada's gym doesn't have air conditioning. The evacuation center at La Cañada High is seeking air conditioning vendors with portable units to help cool their gymnasium, officials said. The American Red Cross is running the evacuation operation at the gym. Vendors who may want to help can call La Cañada Flintridge City Hall at (818) 790-8880. "It's hurt us pretty bad," Spartans coach Dan Yoder said. "We were limited last Thursday to an hour of outdoor activity." School administrators said today they don't want any students on campus, so chalk talk is also out of the question. "We are severely limited and trying to figure out how to maximize the time we have." La Cañada is scheduled to scrimmage Burroughs on Friday at La Cañada High. No word yet on whether the scrimmage will go on as planned, but worse case it gets canceled. "If we can't practice this week I don't want our first practice back to be a scrimmage against Burroughs," Yoder said. The Station Fire is about 5 percent contained, meaning this fire could last well into next and affect Week 1 games not just in the La Cañada area but also surrounding cities like Pasadena, San Marino and Alhambra. Walk-throughs are OK the first day or so, but can become repetitive after a while. "Absolutely," Yoder said. "That's exactly what we did when the fire first broke out. We went outside for our first hour and went in the gym for a walk-through. The next day we were even restricted to that. We've been able to nail down the academic element of the game, but like you say, you can do that once or twice but it then gets repetitive. But we're getting it done and doing the best we can to prepare for next week." La Cañada plays Alhambra at Moor Field next week. No word yet on Diamond Ranch-Muir on Friday or other games in the nearby areas, but I'll bring you the latest after I make a score of calls to area coaches.