In Week 10, they play a little thing called the Menifee Bowl

Mason Carvalho (left) has caught 49 passes for 947 yards and 12 TDs for Paloma Valley; Sherod White has carried 92 times for 930 yards and 12 TDs for Heritage. Photos by Kristi Jo Aguirre

The football game the coaches don't want to talk about -- the game everyone else eagerly awaits -- is almost here. Tonight, crosstown rival high schools Heritage and Paloma Valley will play for the Sunbelt League championship in what has become known in the city as the Menifee Bowl.

Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. at Paloma Valley High. Both teams enter the game with 8-1 overall records and are 4-0 in league play. Both will advance to the CIF playoffs the next week, but only one with city bragging rights and a league title.

Something to get excited about? It certainly is for the parents, alumni and just plain fans of each school. A "heated" rivalry? You could use that term, but it's being promoted by both schools more as a source of community pride, with the motto "2 schools, one city."

As for the players and coaches? As usual in Menifee Bowl week, the hype has been kept to a minimum on the practice fields, with the emphasis on Xs and Os rather than winning streaks and flashy statistics.

Playing for the Sunbelt League title is nothing new at Heritage. The Patriots have won the championship every year they've been in the league -- seven years running. Not only that, they have never lost a league game during that time, with a 39-0 record. That, of course, means they have never lost to Paloma Valley.

But out of all that, the one thing Heritage coach Kraig Broach (left) wants his player to focus on is the league title. Hype? Not here, he said this week.

"That's for everyone on the outside," Broach said earlier this week. "It's an awesome deal for the community, but for us, we're playing for the league championship. That's as big as the game needs to be."

As for Paloma Valley? Beating Heritage for the first time would obviously be a huge accomplishment. So would improving their record to 9-1 heading into the postseason. And there's always the intrigue of first-year head coach Tom Tello going up against the school where he coached for 10 years.

But ask Tello about the Menifee Bowl and his comments are remarkably similar to Broach's.

"We won't even talk about that other stuff," Tello (right) said about the hype. "We've gotten to Week 10 with a chance to play for the league title. And it just so happens that Week 10 is against Heritage."

Both offenses are led by talented senior quarterbacks, each contributing in his own way. Heritage QB Devan Freedland has been effective at leading a balanced offense, throwing when he needs to but perhaps focusing more on directing a fine group of running backs. Freedland has passed for 1,023 yards and 17 touchdowns, but that is at times overshadowed by a punishing ground game that includes leading rusher Sherod White (930 yards, 12 TDs), James Phillips, Ika Tuatala and others.

Across town, Paloma Valley quarterback Chance Nolan has piled up passing yards while ranking as the team's leading rusher as well. He has thrown for 2,396 yards and 29 touchdowns. Showing his ability to take off and run when the pass isn't there, he also has rushed for 471 yards and 2 TDs. Running backs Tyler Tinahui and Tyrese Tillman give the Wildcats other options on offense.

On defense, Heritage uses a variety of two-way players to stop the opposition, including linebackers Tuatala and Jesse Estrada. The Patriots have allowed only 107 points all season and just 27 points in league play.

Meanwhile, Paloma Valley's defense is led by senior linebacker Steven Bradshaw, who has made 74 solo tackles and seems to be all over the field. Other defensive standouts are linebackers Phillip Mills and Damian Torres and lineman Kanishka Lokusooriya.

Fans are advised to arrive early to find suitable parking and dress warmly. Regardless of the outcome, both teams will be placed into CIF playoff brackets on Sunday for the upcoming postseason.