Joining Forces

It’s amazing how quickly a rivalry, after being built up for years, can disappear.

The bitterness, the intensity, the anger at losing, the rush of winning. Gone.

When two former field enemies find themselves on the same team, past feelings vanish faster than a Kyle Boller pop pass to a tight end.

Mike Seidman and Anthony Foli, Marmonte League rivals when they played for Westlake and Newbury Park highs, respectively, are now watching film sessions together and dissecting a common foe.

If three-a-days didn’t force them to bond earlier this week, the down time after a full day of football has brought them closer as the California team prepares to play Texas in the 48th All-Star Shrine Football Classic at 5 p.m. today at Cerritos College.

There are no TVs in the rooms at the Rancho Capistrano retreat, where the all-stars have been living this week. No phones in the rooms, either, leaving Seidman, a tight end, and Foli, a linebacker and defensive end, to provide their own entertainment.

Inevitably, talk turns to Westlake-Newbury Park.

Newbury Park defeated Westlake the last two years, including a 32-25 victory last fall that propelled the Panthers to their second consecutive Marmonte title.

Two seasons ago, when Seidman and Foli were juniors, Newbury Park won the league championship in part because it defeated Westlake, 20-7, in the second-to-last game of the regular season.

“They always seemed to win it,” Seidman said. “I don’t know why. It’s always like a jinx. We’ll be undefeated [in league] and then go out there and freak out against them.”

The league battles were fun, Foli said, though the talent level has risen dramatically this week.

“We haven’t seen [the talent of] one of these guys out here in the whole Marmonte League,” Foli said. “That’s how good they are here.”

Seidman, a 6-foot-5, 235-pounder who has signed with UCLA, is the only tight end listed on the California roster and can expect to have more than a pass or two thrown his way.

Foli, a 6-3, 240-pounder who has signed with San Diego State, has spent the week learning a new position, a move that might not pay off as quickly as today, but will provide future dividends.

Either way, Hart High Coach Mike Herrington, who is coaching the California team, is glad they’re on his side.

“I would have taken them at Hart any day,” Herrington said, even though his offensive system at Hart does not utilize a tight end. “We’d have made room for [Seidman]. With the tight end situation they have at UCLA, he has the ability to step right in and play.”

Foli has had to make more of an adjustment, converting from inside linebacker, his high school position, to defensive end, the position he likely will play at San Diego State.

“He’s kind of had a crash course,” Herrington said.

With a safe landing, apparently.

In a scrimmage on Wednesday, Foli intercepted a screen pass and sacked the quarterback twice.

“The first couple days I was kind of struggling because I wasn’t used to it,” Foli said. “You get off the ball faster, but you’ve got to keep your outside contain. It’s pretty weird, but it’s better in some ways.”

As for the past, Foli and Seidman have put their rivalry in the rear-view mirror. Today, they’ll mess with Texas.

The 48th All-Star Shrine Football Classic.

When: Today at 5 p.m.

Where: Cerritos College, Norwalk.

Who: Thirty-six of the top high school graduates from California vs. 36 of the best from Texas.

Tickets: $15 reserved seats. General admission at $10 and $8.

Parking: $5.