The end of the regular season arrives a week earlier for Jordan High School’s football team than it does for almost anyone else, which is just fine with Bulldogs coach Elijah Asante.

Having closed out with a 36-22 victory over Huntington Park Friday to clinch second place in the Eastern League, Jordan (6-4, 5-1) can use the week to rest, get over some bumps and bruises and check out possible future playoff opponents.

“We need it (break),” Asante said. “We’ve played a brutal schedule (Esperanza, St. Bonaventure and Mater Dei were nonleague foes). We’ve played 10 straight games and nobody else has done that.”

Looking ahead to the City Section playoffs that began next week, he figures a fairly high seed is in his team’s future.

“I’m hoping to be somewhere between fourth and seventh,” he said. “It depends how the rest of the leagues play out.”

It’s been a successful season to date for the Bulldogs, who survived a tough schedule while being in a rebuilding mode with a young squad.

They’ve had to replace a prolific passer in current USC football player James Boyd and his 4,462 passing yards, as well as several talented receivers.

They struggled early and didn’t have it easy in the Eastern League, either. But now they seem ready to compete with most teams once the postseason begins.

“This team has grown game by game,” Asante said. “This isn’t a year where we dominated. Last year we were worried about how many yards we were getting, how many touchdown passes, how many records we were setting. This year, we were just worried about winning.

“Considering the caliber of players we lost, what we’ve done is a testament to how hard these kids have worked.”

The Eastern League was no snap for the Bulldogs, who found themselves embroiled in tight games just about every week.

The finale was typical.

Although Huntington Park (3-6, 1-4) is in the lower half of the standings, it gave Jordan all it could handle for three quarters.

Relying heavily on a ball-control attack that featured a group of runners, the Spartans were tied, 22-22 entering the fourth quarter. Earlier in the contest, the visitors held leads of 8-0 and 15-14 (at halftime).

Mauricio Maldonado (17 carries, 73 yards) capped two drives with short touchdown runs and Henri Echevarria (19 carries, 48 yards) ended another with a one-yarder.

What separates Jordan from the rest of the league, though, is speed and that was the difference Friday at its homecoming.

Quarterback Deshawn Beck opened the fourth period with a 48-yard scoring run.

They added an insurance touchdown at the 5:35 mark on an eight-yard pass from Jackyle Cooper to Patrick Wooten.

Beck, who has been timed at 4.22 seconds in the 40 and has the University of Arizona at the top of his college wish list, according to Asante, carried 14 times for 164 yards, was 4-of-8 passing for 94 yards and two TDs, caught one pass for 14 yards and added another 34 yards in kick returns.

Raymond Ford caught seven passes for 75 yards and a TD. He also ran for a score.

Asante has the utmost respect for Huntington Park coach Leroy Wilson.

“He’s a great coach, so you better be on top of your game,” the Bulldogs coach said. “This is really a tough league.”

Marine League
Carson, a 41-28 winner over Narbonne last week, can clinch the Marine League title outright with a victory at home Thursday against San Pedro.

The Colts (7-2, 4-0) hold a one-game lead over Narbonne (5-4, 3-1) and San Pedro (7-2, 3-1) heading into the finale. Narbonne hosts Banning (3-6, 2-2) Friday.

In Carson’s win over Narbonne, Dion Willis rushed for 160 yards and two TDs, Myles Johnson ran for 103 yards and one TD and Daniel Torres passed for 132 yards and a score. Dwan Gill had a 97-yard kickoff return for the Colts.

Southern League
The Southern League title will be on the line Friday when Santee (7-2, 5-0) visits West Adams Prep (8-1, 5-0).

Each team has its share of standouts.

West Adams, the defending league champion and a 61-0 winner over Bernstein last week, is led by All-City quarterback Karrington Jones, who has thrown for 1,054 yards and 14 TDs and rushed for 312 yards and six scores. Wide receiver Terrance Montgomery, who has 40 catches for 669 yards and 12 TDs, is his favorite target. The running game is led by Fred Adkins, who has gained 647 yards and 13 scores.

Santee, coming off a 30-13 victory over Hollywood, is led California-bound receiver/defensive back Tevin Carter, who has 40 receptions for 1,095 yards and eight TDs and 61 tackles on defense. He was in on 11 tackles and returned a kick 76 yards for a score against Hollywood.

Steven Cross, who rushed for 209 yards and two TDs last week, is the top rusher with 1,386 yards and 22 scores.