The teams in the Southern California Division 6-AA playoffs tonight play the long game.

The Quartz Hill Royals (9-4), located 70 miles north of Los Angeles and on the upper edge of the Southern Section boundary, will travel almost 250 miles, a distance not  unfamiliar to their opponent, Blythe Palo Verde Valley.

The Yellow jackets have represented the furthest  point in the San Diego Section since they joined in 2000, 216 miles from the city and 173 miles from Desert League rival Mountain Empire.

The Yellow jackets sustained 11 losing seasons in the next 14 after posting 10-2 record  and 20-12 loss to Santa Fe Christian in 2004 in the D-IV championship.

Enter Wally Grant in 2019.  Blythe was 6-6 in Grant’s first season as coach, followed by a 3-1 record in 2020, and 11-2 this season, including a  41-19 victory over Mission Bay and D-V title last week.

The ‘Jackets come to run the ball, averaging as few as three passes a game, putting the ball in the hands of running backs Zavier Bejarano and Marcus Macon, who’ve rushed for almost 3,200 combined yards and 42 touchdowns.

Quartz Hill defeated once-powerful Compton, 43-8, for the Southern Section D-XII championship last week and depends on quarterback Chalin Crawford, who has rushed and passed for 2,500 yards and 18 rushing touchdowns.

Resurgent Patrick Henry, 19-9 in three seasons under coach J.T. O’Sullivan and 10-2 in 2021, takes on visiting Lake Balboa Birmingham Saturday night in the Southern California Division III-A playoffs.

San Diego Section schools don’t often play those from the Los Angeles City Section, usually only in postseason matchups such as this.

Birmingham (8-5), which has the same Van Nuys address as when the school opened in 1953, is now identified as representing the district neighborhood of Lake Balboa.

That’s not the only change. Originally known as the Braves but now as Patriots, Birmingham’s mascot is the same as Patrick Henry’s.

Each school also can claim at least one famous Hollywood actor among its alumni. Birmingham has Sally Field from the class of 1963 and Henry has Annette Benning from 1975.

Football fortunes at Henry were decidedly different until O’Sullivan, a former NFL quarterback and University of California-Davis graduate, arrived in 2019.

The Henry Patriots had a combined record of 21-44 from 2013-’18.

Birmingham has been a West Valley League representative and is 62-40 since 2013. Most important,  these Patriots are on an eight-game winning streak and averaging 48 points a game following a 44-0 loss to Westlake Village Oaks Christian of the Southern Section.

Cal Preps.com awarded Henry a 28.5 grade and Birmingham 27.1.  Max Preps ranks Patrick Henry No. 113 in the state and Birmingham No. 124.  Cal-Hi Sports’ rankings stop at 50.