Football: City Invitational predictions

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OK, here’s some predictions for the first round of the City Invitational tournament on Thursday:

South East at Arleta. Jeff Engilman has done a terrific job building Arleta’s program in just two years of varsity competition. Arleta is seeded No. 1 and won’t have any trouble winning this one.

Huntington Park at Lincoln. The Eastern League was one of the strongest in the City Section, and that strong competition will help Huntington Park win.

Santee at Wilson. Wilson has shown enough ability in some pressure-filled games to pull out this one.

Reseda at Fairfax. This is my upset special. Reseda has some good underclassmen, so this could be the start of 2009 with a victory.

Canoga Park at Franklin. Don’t underestimate the Hunters, who have one of the best running backs in the City Section. But Franklin gets the nod.

Cleveland at West Adams. This is another game where the team that played a tough schedule should win, and that’s Cleveland in an upset.

Marshall at El Camino Real. This could be the best game of the night. Marshall has lots of offensive weapons. El Camino Real held its own in the competitive West Valley League. Flip a coin. The team that doesn’t make a turnover will win. I’m going with the Conquistadores.

Jefferson at Roosevelt. Forgive me, but my alma mater, Poly, deserved to get the No. 15 seed. Roosevelt is going to rout Jefferson, and Roosevelt is my pick to win it all.

-- Eric Sondheimer