I had a fun conversation with Glendora quarterback Chad Jeffries yesterday, who wasn’t short on predictions. One, he said junior Donovan Holmes, the younger brother of Andre Holmes, is an absolute stud and will be a huge part of their offense in the backfield. He said he was glad he made his decision early to go to San Diego State so he could concentrate on the season, and said we should make the Week 0 Charter Oak and Glendora the game of the week, because they’ve got some surprises for the two-time defending champion Chargers. You got to love his confidence, when I asked where they should be in the Trib rankings, he said No. 1, then laughed and said no lower than No. 3, though I know he really felt they deserved the No. 1 tag. The smartest team of all is Ganesha, they will have the stage to themsleves by kicking off our season with a Thursday night game on Sept. 2 (too bad Bonita and San Dimas couldn’t play on Thursday, it would have been the biggest Smudge Pot ever). As far as who gets the Friday night game of the week, is there anything better than Glendora-Charter Oak? I know San Dimas-Bonita is tradition, it’s for the Smudge, but for pure football anticipation Jeffries is right, Glendora-Charter Oak is No. 1. For the fun of it, I will rank who we feel are the most important games as far as coverage.

Thursday, September 2
Ganesha at Montclair, 7 p.m.
Friday, September 3
1. Charter Oak vs. Glendora at Citrus College, 7 p.m.
2. San Dimas at Bonita, 7 p.m.
3. Rowland at Baldwin Park, 7 p.m.
4. Garfield vs. Bishop Amat at East Los Angeles College, 7 p.m.
5. Covina at West Covina, 7 p.m.
6. Nogales at Diamond Bar, 7 p.m.
7. Ontario at Arroyo, 7 p.m.
8. Los Altos at El Rancho, 7 p.m.
9. Diamond Ranch vs. Santa Margarita at Saddleback College, 7 p.m.
10. Ayala at Don Lugo, 7 p.m.
11. Garey at Pomona, 7 p.m.
12. Bassett at Keppel, 7 p.m.
13. Chino Hills vs. Mayfair at Bellflower, 7 p.m.