The Long Beach Poly football banquet to cap off the 2009 season was Wednesday night—what does that mean?  It means that the 2010 season officially started on Thursday, when we spoke with head coach Raul Lara about the Rabbits’ Fall schedule, which has now been solidified.

0 Week: Bakersfield @ Vet’s

1 Week: St. Bonaventure @ Vet’s

2 Week: @ Narbonne

3 Week: Mission Viejo @ Vet’s

A few notes—adding Mission Viejo is a great choice; it’s a two-year contract so Poly will play a game down there in 2011.  This is the final year of the Narbonne contract; St. Bonny and Poly have re-upped for at least another two years.  “We have a good relationship with Bonny,” says Lara.  “It looks like we’ll be playing for a long time.”

So that leaves…Bakersfield.  Local football fans might be scratching their heads about that one—in the past, the zero week game has been left open for Poly to play out-of-state, or to play a top CIF contender (like Servite in 2009).  So…Bakersfield?

Prepare to get excited for 2010.

The game between Poly and Bakersfield will be a meeting of the two most historic football teams in California—a combined 208 years of football, and 52 CIF championships will meet at Vet’s to start the 2010 season.  Currently, Bakersfield’s record stands at 692-234-40.  They are the winningest high school football team in state history.  Number two?  Long Beach Poly, with 690.  A zero week win for Poly would make it 692 to 691 (third place is Loyola with 606).

Bakersfield also has more state titles than any other school in Cali, with six, the most section championships, with 34 (De La Salle has 24, Poly has 18), and the most undefeated seasons of any school (with 22).  So while the Drillers of Bakersfield may not be as well known as Poly, make no mistake: in the first game of the season, the two California schools with the best football pedigrees will be facing off against each other, with a lot of pride, and a lot of history at stake.

ESPN/CalHiSports.com’s State Record Book & Almanac is indispensable for this kind of thing, and a must-get if you’re a CA high school sports nut.