San Diego U-T Preps

CARSON — Time for hoops: The Santa Fe Christian boys basketball team is 4-2 this season heading into today’s game with Oceanside in the North County Tournament. And the Eagles figure to get a boost when four football players join the team. Senior Dominic Burtech and juniors Cole Needham, Slater Howe and Tony Miro — all starters on the football team — are also on the basketball team.

Long and short of it: Modesto Central Catholic bused about five hours to Carson on Thursday, practiced on a turf field outside The Home Depot Center and stayed overnight at a nearby hotel. Santa Fe Christian had breakfast in Solana Beach on Friday, bused to Carson and grabbed a large banquet room at a hotel near The Home Depot Center until it was time to leave for the stadium. According to Eagles assistant coach Jim Rooney, “We watched the only good football film — ‘Rudy’ — on the way up. It finished just as we were pulling into the hotel.”

Family affair: The family of Central Catholic coach Roger Canepa — nearly a dozen strong, including his wife and brother — ate their pregame meal Friday afternoon at Five Guys is Carson. Since they don’t get to Southern California that often, family members drove down Wednesday and took a trip to Disneyland.

Lay it down: The grass field at The Home Depot Center, home of the MLS L.A. Galaxy, was covered with artificial turf for the five state championship games. The venue will also host a pair of football all-star games in January.

Notable: Friday’s game will air at 11 a.m. Sunday on Time Warner Cable Sports Network (TW 35, Cox 71) in San Diego.

•?A group of about 20 Santa Fe Christian students delivered a nice rendition of the national anthem before Friday’s game.

•?Roger Blake, executive director of the California Interscholastic Federation, announced that The Home Depot Center will serve as the host for the State Football Championship Bowl games for the 2013 and 2014 seasons.