Thankfully, it has come down to this.
Canoga Park and Sylmar are the two best teams of the Valley Mission League this season, with 5-0 league records. They will settle the league title — and maybe more — on Friday, Nov. 7.
Canoga Park is 8-1 overall, the only loss by three points Palisades of Pacific back on Sept. 19. Van Nuys has been the only league team to score against the Hunters; they have shut out Kennedy, Reseda Panorama and San Fernando, and have not allowed a point in their last 12 quarters.
Scoring is not the problem for Sylmar, 7-2 overall. The Spartans, whose only losses were in nonleague games against Crespi and Palmdale, have averaged 43.6 points through nine games. The average is even higher in league play — 54 points per game.
A win might sneak Canoga Park into the top eight of the City Section Division I playoff seedings, depending on what happens to Taft, Palisades and Venice in their final games. If Sylmar wins, it could get the top seed of the Division II playoffs if South Gate falters against South East of South Gate.
The kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. at Sylmar High.
Other games this week involving Valley-area teams:
Friday, Nov. 7
Angelus League
Santa Fe Springs St. Paul at Harvard-Westlake
East Valley League
Arleta at North Hollywood
Poly at Chavez
Verdugo Hills at Monroe
Gold Coast League
Lancaster Paraclete vs. Sierra Canyon, Moorpark College
Mission League
Alemany at Crespi
La Puente Bishop Amat at Notre Dame
Olympic League
Heritage Christian at Cerritos Valley Christian
Santa Fe League
Rosemead Bosco Tech at St. Genevieve
Valley Mission League
Panorama at Reseda
San Fernando at Van Nuys
West Valley League
Birmingham at Granada Hills
Chatsworth at El Camino Real
Cleveland at Taft
Nonleague
Los Angeles vs. Village Christian, Occidental College
All games are at 7 p.m. unless otherwise indicated.