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Prep talk: Simmons brothers are finally Heritage Christian teammates

Freshman Eli Simmons (left) and brother Tae Simmons finally are teammates at Heritage Christian.
Freshman Eli Simmons (left) and brother Tae Simmons finally are teammates at Heritage Christian. (Eric Sondheimer / Los Angeles Times)

It was near the end of the first half of Monday's season-opening basketball game for Heritage Christian when two moments happened that will be engraved in the memory of brothers Eli and Tae Simmons.

Eli, a freshman, passed the ball inside to Tae for a dunk. Not long afterward, Eli got his own dunk. They've been waiting so long for the first and perhaps only time to be teammates this season. Eli is 14, Tae 17. They'd play against each other at home, but they finally get to play together.

"It's amazing," said Tae, who scored 24 points and had eight dunks in a win over Oak Park.

Tae, who's 6 feet 6 and headed to San Diego State, is much stronger and more physical in the paint after lots of offseason weightlifting. Eli is 6-5 and still growing. They're going to have lots of fun this season. …

One of the top individual performances in football last week was turned in by Trevor McSween of Serrano. He carried the ball 46 times for 301 yards and two touchdowns in win over Hemet. Then he probably found the nearest ice bath to recuperate. …

Doug Mitchell, in his 36th season coaching basketball at Bishop Montgomery, is one win away from No. 800. …

USC versus UCLA at the Rose Bowl on Saturday matches lots of former high school teammates. It's always great to see after the game many coming together for a group photo. The winners smile. The losers maybe not so much.

This is a daily look at the positive happenings in high school sports. To submit any news, please send to eric.sondheimer@latimes.com.

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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.