Football: Muir to Scrimmage Birmingham Thursday at 6 p.m.

Muir cancelled its Friday night Blue-Gold intervarsity scrimmage and instead will face Birmingham High in a scrimmage Thursday at 6 p.m. at John Muir High School, Mustangs coach Ken Howard said Tuesday afternoon.

Howard said the school's athletic director Robert Galvan began searching for schools interested in scrimmage on Monday and found a willing partner in Birmingham.

The Patriots went 2-8 last year in the CIF-Los Angeles City Section.

"They've been practicing against themselves all summer," Howard said. "(Now we can) get a good look to see where we're at."

Howard said he plans to pay close attention to the play of his offensive and defensive lines during the scrimmage -- his two biggest areas of concern throughout the summer. The Mustangs lost their entire starting offensive line from last year and will depend on a number of junior varsity call ups this season.

Thursday should also be a big night for junior quarterback Josh Washington. Washington has established himself as the front-runner in his battle with Mark Samuels, but Howard said a starter has not been finalized.

"Josh is getting more snaps (with the first-team offense)," Howard said. "He's improving almost every day. He's still making mistakes, but he's figuring it out. He's the front-runner now."

One thing that will help Washington keep the No. 1 job is his ability to consistently get wideout Kevon Seymour the ball. Seymour, a 4-star wide receiver according to Rivals.com, is one of the most explosive players in the San Gabriel Valley as he proved in rushing for four touchdowns as a wildcat quarterback in the fi.

"We expect big, big things from him," Howard said. "We just hope to get him the ball. … At the end of the day, Kevon just needs to be Kevon. He's ready to go."