UPDATE, 11:39 p.m.: Back in teh hotel room here in Fresno, now gearing up for Fresno State's home game against UC Davis tomorrow night, the return of a healthy Ryan Mathews and possibly Derek Carr's collegiate debut. But in the meantime, let's rehash what we saw on the first high school football Friday of the fall. The big games (as always, a complete Central Section and Kern County scorelist is below, and it will continue to be updated as the weekend progresses and we get more scores):

Clovis West 31, Liberty 21: After all the talk about finally winning a big game at Liberty, this one was there for the taking. And the Patriots took it. And then gave it back. I don't know if this one is especially frustrating for Liberty or not, because for once, some breaks were going its way and it was capitalizing with huge plays. But Clovis West had more left in the tank in the fourth quarter, and it was obvious when Kendall Brock started running roughshod over a once-stout Liberty D. The point is that the Pats are going to go far if they can stay out of their own way — three turnovers inside your own 20 is not going to get it done, period.

Ridgeview 36, Independence 15: This certainly isn't an unexpected result. What is a bit surprising is that Indy actually led this game 13-0 before the Falcons' lack of seniors (and therefore of depth) caught up to them. Ridgeview outscored Independence 24-2 in the second half and 36-2 over the final three quarters. For the Wolf Pack? A nice start, but I think Dennis Manning and company would like to see a little more consistency.

Templeton 24, Taft 21: Wow. Surprise of the night here. I really thought Taft would be able to control this one, but it was Templeton that hung tough and then got a late field goal to win. Pretty disappointing for the Wildcats, who I really thought would be an SSL front-runner. They still can, of course, but this is a sobering opener.

Tehachapi 21, Santa Ana-Segerstrom 20: Don't yet know too many details here, but I know that the Warriors are going to be OK without Josh Strauss and Adam Mullen. A missed PAT helped Tehachapi survive this tough roadie, and they've got plenty of weeks to grow into a Division III power again.

Bakersfield Christian 54, Avenal 0: Same story here. Minus Derek Carr, Jake Peterson, Christian Taylor, Ryan Boschma et al, the Eagles still put up a huge number and rolled over a foe. Trouble is, Avenal isn't very good, so this one might not have told a lot. The jury still is very much out on BCHS.

North 42, Shafter 0: Sorry, Shafter fans, but it's going to take time. North is turning into a bit of a Wing T machine under Mark Camps, and against less-talented teams, this is what's going to happen. Interested to see if North can keep it up with upcoming games against Porterville and Delano.

Highland 35, Arvin 21: Sorry, don't know many details here either (your Saturday morning Californian can help you with all these games), but it looks like Arvin put up a good fight with its one returning starter. I called the Bears to go 1-9, but against a tough Highland team they stayed in it. Meanwhile, the Scots have a very tough schedule ahead. We'll see how many more wins each of these teams can generate.

Wasco 62, Kennedy 0: The Tigers aren't going to be an SSL sleeper anymore if they keep doing this to people. Again, though, Kennedy is a first-year school and Wasco will have to prove it against tougher foes down the road.

UPDATE, 10:48 p.m.: Had deadline responsibilities there, but I wanted to update real quick before I head back to the hotel. Liberty drove down to the Clovis West 35 down three, but the drive stalled and CW added a late TD to make the final 31-21. A valiant effort from Liberty here, but I think they get tired of us saying that when they lose close ones.
Elsewhere, Independence couldn't hold on against Ridgeview and lost 36-15. Highland downed Arvin 35-21. Tehachapi survived 21-20 against Segerstrom because of a missed PAT. And then we had the blowouts: In descending order, Wasco 62-0 over Kennedy, Bakersfield Christian 54-0 over Avenal, North 42-0 over Shafter and Chavez 33-0 over Mira Monte. Be back in an hour or so with some quick thoughts. Scorelist is below.

UPDATE, 9:39 p.m.: Clovis West has stepped its game up, period. A quick stop of Liberty and the Eagles took it down the Pats' throat, getting a big second-and-long pass completion and then letting Kendall Brock do the rest. His impressive 14-yard TD run gives him 114 yards on the night and gives CW a 24-21 lead. Just over six minutes left.

UPDATE, 9:25 p.m.: I can't figure out if Liberty is trying to win this one or just make it exciting at the end. Meadows throws an ill-advised third-down pass that's picked off by Clovis West at the Patriots 13. CW needs points here; three will do, but they really need seven.
Two Kendall Brock runs will make it first-and-goal at the 1, and on the last play of the third quarter, he pounds it in from there for a TD. Extra point is good, and it's 21-17 after three.

UPDATE, 9:17 p.m.: Tony Mills has said all along that Liberty needed to win the key plays to turn around its close losses from past years, and tonight the Pats are winning them emphatically. After Gellinck's kickoff return, Clovis West fumbles on a pitch on their third play from scrimmage. Rane Cravens picked it up and rumbled 39 yards for another quick Liberty TD. About 4:30 to play in the third quarter, so lots of time, but CW needs to figure out how to move the ball if they're going to come back here. Kendall Brock's kickoff return to the Liberty 49 will help.

UPDATE, 9:14 p.m.: Well, Dillon Meadows had the play of the first half and he's made the mistake of the second half thus far. On a third down, Liberty had a bad snap that Meadows recovered. But then he ran backwards against a fervent pass rush and eventuallly succumbed, fumbling the ball to Clovis West way back at the 4-yard line. First and goal CW here.
Two plays later, CW quarterback Connor Buss with a nice scramble to buy himself time, then hitting a wide-open Luke Reyes in the corner of the end zone for a 10-7 Golden Eagle lead. Too many mistakes on offense for Liberty, and now it's down.
WOW. And before I could even post this, Tyler Gellinck returned that ensuing kickoff 86 yards for a touchdown. Once he broke through the first wave of CW defenders, it was off to the races. And Liberty retakes the lead in a suddenly firework-filled affair, 14-10.

UPDATE, 9:00 p.m.: Liberty ceded a couple of first downs to start the second half, then stiffened, but the result is that Clovis West was able to pin the Pats deep again. Starting from their own 9, got to get out of their own shadow here.

UPDATE, 8:41 p.m.: Some other scores for you as the Clovis West band rains Michael Jackson tunes down on our ears: North and Highland are dominating their SSL opponents, 21-0 and 21-7 respectively. Both games are about midway through the second quarter.

UPDATE, 8:29 p.m.: Liberty had a nice sustained drive there, really the first one in the game since Clovis West's first drive, but it stalled at the CW 40 and the Patriots punted with 1:14 on the clock. The Eagles aren't doing much with it, and it looks like we'll be 7-3 at the half. And that's what it is. Nice half for Liberty after an inauspicious start. 24 minutes away from a huge victory for the program.
Elsewhere, Californian staffer Jeff Evans checks in from Ridgeview, where Independence has a somewhat surprising 13-12 lead at halftime. But Jeff said Independence suited up just 23 players and had one of their better-looking ones, Michael Saunders, go off the field with an injury at the end of the first quarter. Indy had a 13-0 lead at the time. We'll see how long the Falcons can hold on...

UPDATE, 8:15 p.m.: And just like that, Liberty gives its lead and momentum right back. Tyler Gellinck fumbled an option pitch from Meadows as Liberty had the ball back, and Clovis West recovers on the LHS 10.
But two incomplete passes from CW quarterback Connor Buss, and it's third-and-10. Kendall Brock ran for just 2, and the Eagles settle for a field goal. It's 7-3 and Liberty needs good field position here.

UPDATE, 8:04 p.m.: Wow. Just wow. Dillon Meadows made a strong case for play of the season in Week 0. On a third-and-6 from the Liberty 24, It looked like the Pats had a screen play set up, like they allowed CW's blitzers to come through unimpeded. But the screen wasn't there, so Meadows took off. He shook off one tackle and ran past the other linemen, then sidestepped another defender, took off down the left sideline, broke another tackle and then another as he reached the ball across the goal line, 76 yards later. The kick's good, and suddenly, it's 7-0 Liberty. More yards on that play than both teams in the first quarter combined.

UPDATE, 7:59 p.m.: That time, Liberty got to punt from just in front of its own end zone after two penalties pushed it back again. Clovis West just committed its own five-yard infraction, but the Eagles still have good field position. Let's see if they do anything with it.
Nope. Liberty's defense is doing a great job against the run, at least after a big Kendall Brock 28-yarder on the second CW play from scrimmage. End of the first quarter, still (no surprise here) scoreless.

UPDATE, 7:50 p.m.: Liberty will have to do something to change around field position here. The Pats have the ball for the third time, the first two drives ending with punts from their own end zone. The good news is that they've stopped Clovis West both times and it's still scoreless.
And right on cue, Tyler Gellinck takes a pitch to the left and scampers up the sideline for a 15-yard gain and a first down on the 27. That's some breathing room, but Liberty has just taken its second timeout of the half already, with 2:52 left in the first quarter.

UPDATE, 7:42 p.m.: Well, I guess the new wrinkle is that Liberty is going five-wide spread. That's more than a wrinkle, but whatever it was, it was terribly ineffective. Patriots coach Tony Mills said his team needed to avoid negative plays, and they got three of them in that first series, including a 12-yard sack on a halfback pass play. Liberty actually fumbled on that play and was lucky to keep possession and be able to punt. Clovis West is now driving inside the Liberty 20. Not a good start for Liberty fans.
I'll keep it here for third-and-goal from the Liberty 5. Clovis West's Kendall Brock finds a seam on a dive play but is stuffed at the 2. Fourth down now, and it looks like the Golden Eagles are going. Big moment here. It's Tevin Villalba this time, and he's stopped in the backfield! Liberty holds, and they'll take over, though in bad field position, with 6:35 left in the first quarter.

UPDATE, 7:31 p.m.: Liberty didn't warm up on the field at all here, I'm told (I got here a bit late). Word is they might have added some wrinkles to the offense they didn't want to give away. We're about to kick off, so we'll see. Got another score? Post it in the comments below. Away we go!

ORIGINAL POST: I wouldn't exactly say it's football weather — 98 degrees ought to stay a boy band, not the weather on Sept. 4 — but the game is definitely in the air. Tonight we begin another journey that will end with six Central Section titles being handed out in December, and maybe with a state bowl game or two for the Valley the following weekend.

School House Zach will be here for all of it, so make it your place for meeting, following scores and discussing the action in Kern County. Throughout Friday nights, I'll be blogging furiously, keeping you up to date on what's happening at my game (tonight I'm at Liberty-Clovis West) and at other Kern games around the section. The game list below will be updated with scores as I can get them, and I'll put final scores here at the end of the night.

Also remember to sign up and follow me on Twitter, @zewing, for on-the-go updates throughout tonight and all of football season.

Countdown to Week 0 in famous jersey numbers: Jim Otto!

(All games are 7:30 p.m. Friday unless noted; Central Section rankings in parentheses)

Kern County scoreboard
(1) Clovis West 31, (8) Liberty 21
Ridgeview 36, Independence 15
North 42, Shafter 0
Highland 35, Arvin 21
Chavez 33, Mira Monte 0
Bakersfield Christian 54, Avenal 0
Tehachapi 21, Santa Ana-Segerstrom 20
Templeton 24, Taft 21
Wasco 62, Kennedy 0
Kern Valley 52, McFarland 0
Boron 47, Rosamond 0
Mojave 28, Acton-Vasquez 6
Escondido-Christian Life 40, Lighthouse Christian 14 (Saturday)
Lancaster-Desert Christian 38, California City 0 (Saturday)

Other Central Section scores
(5) Clovis-Buchanan 50, Sanger 7 (Thursday)
(13) Fresno-Edison 36, Clovis 7 (Thursday)
(2) Fresno-Bullard 41, Merced 0
Atascadero 33, (9) Clovis East 21
Fresno-Central 49, Clovis North 28
Arroyo Grande 35, Madera 20
Selma 7, Fresno-Roosevelt 6
Fresno-Sunnyside 22, San Diego-Torrey Pines 21
Atwater-Buhach Colony 23, Madera South 0
Hanford West 56, Porterville-Granite Hills 0
Los Banos 37, Fresno 8
Dos Palos 48, Mendota 0
Arcadia-Rio Hondo Prep 23, SLO-Mission Prep 7
Reedley-Immanuel 35, Tranquillity 19
Madera Ranchos-Liberty 49, Cambria-Coast Union 7
Firebaugh 20, Orosi 0
Lindsay 66, Tulare-Mission Oak 0
Laton-Kings Christian 25, Merced-Stone Ridge Christian 8
Woodlake 10, Orange Cove 6