Scott Edwards, fourth-year head coach of Central Valley High School's varsity football program, will cross paths with predecessor Tim Garcia and Grace Davis this week in Modesto.
The Edwards-led Hawks will battle the Garcia-led Spartans Friday night at Downey High School.
Garcia was Central Valley's founding head coach. The Hawks amassed a 19-41 overall record, and never qualified for the Sac-Joaquin Section playoffs or posted a winning record under Tim's guidance from 2006-11.
Central Valley posted a combined record of 21-11, won one conference title and advanced to the playoffs twice during Edwards' first three years at the helm.
Scott was voted 2016 Western Athletic Conference Coach of the Year.
"I have a friend on the other sideline that I know and respect," said Edwards, who recruited Garcia to play quarterback at University of Mary in North Dakota when he was offensive coordinator for the Marauders from 1998-2001. "I don't put any more or less emphasis on it (the Central Valley-Grace Davis matchup) because of that relationship. It has nothing to do with Tim and I coaching against each other. It's not about us. It's about our players."
Central Valley dropped to 1-1 on the year following its 20-14 loss to Sierra on Sept. 1 in Ceres.
Grace Davis improved to 2-0 after topping Franklin 49-21 last week in Stockton.
"We've exchanged film," Edwards said. "He's (Garcia) got a good team. They're swinging the ball all over the field. They're scoring a lot of points. He's got them playing at a high level. He's doing a great job."
Central Valley dealt Grace Davis its first loss of the season last year.
The Hawks won the 2016 meeting, 34-7.
Third-year lineman David Serrano and his Hawk teammates don't feel any additional pressure facing Central Valley's first-ever head coach.
"We're not going to focus on the fact he's Central Valley's former coach," Serrano said. "To us, every game is important. We want to win every time we play. Our job is to focus on the players, scheme and their habits. We're going to do our best to execute, offensively and defensively."
"We'll treat Grace Davis like any other opponent," Edwards said.
The non-conference game will get underway at 7 p.m.
