California Clash Reloaded As San Diego Legion Look To Stop Slide

Rivalry sparks anew in Los Angeles as playoff jitters push the San Diego Legion to travel to Wallis Annenberg Stadium to face RFCLA this Friday, April 26, at 6 p.m. ET.

This contest is the second leg of the 2025 Cali Cup, and generally, San Diego appears to have a slight edge after a 36–28 win on March 8. In that earlier clash, the Legion scored five tries-one being a penalty try-and rallied from a halftime lag to overtake RFCLA. The game will stream live on ESPN+, FanDuel Sports Network WEST, and KUSI.

Yet after a disappointing Week 10 loss to the Utah Warriors, marking their fourth consecutive setback-and a current third-place standing in the Western Conference with 26 points-they now face pressing questions about their game plan.

Lincoln McClutchie remains one of San Diego's must-haves. He managed to score a try along with two penalty kick goals and a conversion in the previous bout, and in most cases his sharp kicking might just be the game-changer in a tight contest. His performance, even in defeat, counsels a focus on precision when the pressure mounts.

Meanwhile, RFCLA, sitting fourth in the West with 25 points, is still reeling from a razor-thin 23–21 loss to New England in a midweek thriller. They grabbed a bonus point, partly due to Matias Jensen's gritty display - logging 15 carries, covering 73 meters, and pulling off 12 tackles across a full 80 minutes.

Adding to the mix, Jimmy Hokafonu led San Diego with 16 carries and 18 tackles last week, underscoring his two-way grit despite the loss, while Ed Timpson had set RFCLA's tone in the initial Cali Cup showdown with two tries.

With the teams separated by merely a point and playoff dreams dangling by a thread, you can expect another unpredictable, high-stakes chapter in this SoCal chaos-the Cali Cup is on the line.

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Aaron Moody is a sports and general reporter for the News & Observer. Here is a second sentence for the bio because it will probably be longer than this. Maybe even longer I don't know. Support my work with a digital subscription

This story was originally published April 26, 2025 at 3:05 AM