The SoCal Prep Bowl was born out of the former 605 All Star Football Classic. The 605 All Star Football Classic is one of the oldest all star football games in California. The game features the immediate 24 high schools East of the 605 Freeway playing against the immediate 24 high schools West of the 605 Freeway. The game was founded by Kiwanis members Leo Grijalva and Dr. Jerry Haines, both of Wh
ittier. The first game was played in 1967 and was coached by the legendary Ernie Johnson of El Rancho, who captured the high school national championship in 1966. Johnson chose Ed Mitchell of Santa Fe to be his assistant on the North squad. Guiding the South was coached by Don Ashton of Mayfair and Stan Thomas of Neff. The games format changed to an East vs West format during the 1990's. The 605 All Star Football Classic has a ton of NCAA players and NFL stars. Too many to even try to mention here. In 2019 after 50 years, the 605 game was expanded and reformatted to a Los Angeles vs Orange County match up. The Board of Directors included...Rich Estrella, Art Tavison, Ken Sutch and Mike Mendez. The current board has been together since 1994.
