Here are The Sporting News' top 25 team rankings for Week Six (Sep. 29 - Oct. 5) of the 2025 California high school football season.
Teams from all 10 CIF sections are eligible for the rankings, which will be updated every week throughout the season.
PREVIOUS RANKING: Week Zero | Week One | Week Two | Week Three | Week Four | Week Five
California high school football top 25 team rankings
1. St. John Bosco (5-0 – 1st last week)
Like half the rest of the teams in these rankings, St. John Bosco is coming off a bye week. It opens Trinity League play at JSerra, which enters on a three-game winning streak.
2. Mater Dei (3-1 – 2nd)
Bishop Gorman beat Santa Margarita 14-0 on Saturday, which was eight days after Mater Dei beat Bishop Gorman 27-24. With the Monarchs possessing a win over Bishop Gorman and Santa Margarita possessing a win over Centennial which beat Mater Dei, the Bishop Gorman-versus-Santa Margarita outcome was basically a wash for Mater Dei's stock, if not a slight boost. The Monarchs now head to Orange Lutheran, which just had a week off to think about the 41-9 demolition it suffered at the hands of Sierra Canyon.
3. Corona Centennial (4-1 – 3rd)
As usual, the big question entering league play for the Huskies is not whether or not they're the overwhelming favorite but simply if anyone has a nonzero chance of dethroning them. When you beat Mater Dei, your stock is probably in good shape late in the regular season even if your league experiences a bit of a down year.
4. Sierra Canyon (5-0 – 4th)
Similarly to Centennial, Sierra Canyon's league is having a relative down year but won't stop the Trailblazers from staying near the top of the rankings due to a win over a Trinity League power. The fact that Sierra Canyon not only beat Orange Lutheran but utterly destroyed the Lancers is enough to consider them a full-blown national title contender if they enter the postseason unbeaten.
5. Mission Viejo (5-1 – 6th)
Santa Margarita was unable to score one touchdown in a loss for the second time this season on Saturday when it lost 14-0 to Bishop Gorman. Granted that's Bishop Gorman, but given that Mission Viejo was the first team to shut down Santa Margarita like that, it only makes sense for Mission Viejo to jump back ahead of Santa Margarita despite its McCallie loss. Last week's 36-21 win over Chaparral, which they led 28-7 and 36-14, was another day at the office.
6. Santa Margarita (3-2 – 5th)
The blurb under Mission Viejo one spot above pretty much tells you everything you need to know for Santa Margarita this week. The Eagles have a chance for a meaningful win this week at Servite, a team that's generally given them fits in recent years but not in 2024 when Santa Margarita rolled to a 44-8 win.
7. De La Salle (5-0 – 7th)
De La Salle pummeled what's generally been a tough opponent in recent years in St. Mary's (Stockton), rolling to a 36-7 win despite missing star two-way lineman and 3-star Cal commit Nemyah Telona. This week brings what should be the toughest game of the regular season for the Spartans, and probably a bigger test than any they'll face before the Open Division state finals if they win out until then – another 5-0 juggernaut in Cathedral Catholic.
8. Orange Lutheran (3-2 – 8th)
It might be the hardest three-game stretch in all of high school football this season: Sierra Canyon, bye week, Mater Dei, St. John Bosco. That's life in the Trinity League. Can Orange Lutheran show more resistance against Mater Dei than it did in Week Four against Sierra Canyon?
9. Folsom (5-1 – 9th)
Ryder Lyons returned from a brief injury absence in Week Four to help Folsom to a 34-21 win over Rocklin. Last week was probably a perfect time for a bye week for the Bulldogs, and they already have a chance to unofficially clinch the Sierra Foothill League title at home on Friday against Oak Ridge.
10. Lincoln-San Diego (5-1 – 10th)
With almost all of California's other top programs done with their bye weeks, Lincoln gets a rest in Week Six following a 40-21 victory over Grant Union. Keep your calendar marked for the Hornets' regular season shot at Cathedral Catholic on Oct. 24, which will likely be a CIF-SDS Open Division finals preview as well.
11. Cathedral Catholic (5-0 – 13th)
Speaking of Cathedral Catholic, the two San Diego Section top dogs are now ranked neck-and-neck. The Dons have a legitimate chance to break into national top 25 discussions this week if they can "upset" De La Salle in a battle of unbeaten powerhouses. Cathedral fell 28-20 when these teams last met three years ago, but both teams are considerably better than they were in 2022.
12. Archbishop Riordan (4-0 – 11th)
Riordan's stock wasn't helped by a closer game against Saint Francis (Mountain View) than most expected, but it wasn't as concerning as it looked on paper. Saint Francis is only winless due to a brutal schedule (and opening WCAL play against Riordan), and with all the talent and experience under the Lancers' belt, it's not a shock that they led at halftime and after three quarters. The Crusaders' defense left something to be desired, but their offense responded well to pressure as Riordan scored the final 27 points en-route to a 47-28 victory.
13. Servite (4-1 – 12th)
With half a season to prepare for Trinity League play behind them, it's time to see what the Friars are made of. With only a loss to Corona Centennial holding them down, a win against Santa Margarita would establish them not only as a Southern Section D2 championship threat but actually, more likely, as a projected Division 1 selection as well. If Servite is unable to pull the upset, it wouldn't fall in the rankings unless Santa Margarita won by a huge margin, but it would be a deflating end to Servite's four-game winning streak.
14. Los Alamitos (7-0 – 14th)
For one last week, Los Alamitos stands alone with the best record in California high school football, which its had since coming from behind to beat Inglewood 20-12 in Week Double Zero. But on Friday, its run as the clear-cut top team in the standings will end. Does that mean we're guaranteeing a Los Al loss? Nope – it's time for the Griffins' bye week, and they'll still be tied atop the standings after a small handful of teams that are currently 6-0 get a chance to catch up.
15. Serra-Gardena (3-2 – 15th)
The Cavaliers would've liked to come into Mission League play with a resume that, on paper, gives them a shot against Sierra Canyon. With Sierra Canyon being their first Mission League test, it's too late to build a full head of steam. But that doesn't mean Serra doesn't have another gear it can reach.
16. Damien (5-0 – 16th)
Like the teams in the Mission League and West Catholic a bit higher in the rankings, Damien too has what might be its league championship in its very first league game. It hosts Rancho Cucamonga on Friday and has to like its chances in one of the top games of the week.
17. JSerra (3-2 – 17th)
If there's any good news for JSerra this week, it's that it opens Trinity League play on a three-game winning streak with plenty of adversity already under its belt. It's hard not to count the Lions out on Friday against the consensus No. 1 team in the country, St. John Bosco, but remember when they unexpectedly gave Mater Dei a run for its money to open Trinity League play in 2022?
18. Murrieta Valley (4-1 – 19th)
The Nighthawks are likely to open Big West - Upper play in style this week at Norco, but at 5-0, Norco is too good for them to overlook. Last week's 26-14 win over San Clemente showed that Murrieta Valley can grind out low-scoring wins even on nights when its offense is functioning but not scintillating.
19. San Juan Hills (4-1 – 18th)
For the second year in a row, San Juan Hills enters Bravo League play with four in-state wins, one loss to out-of-state competition, and Corona del Mar and Yorba Linda up first. In last year's league race, the Stallions were home free and CIF-SS D2-bound after outlasting CdM 31-28 and Yorba Linda 26-16.
20. Manteca (5-0 – 20th)
It was yet another statement for the Buffaloes last week as they blew out Central Catholic 49-7, and not many teams in California have a better chance of going 10-0 at this point. One could see Escalon or unbeaten East Union give them a competitive game down the road, but there's a good chance that the Valley Oak League title race is already decided.
21. Pittsburg (3-1 – 21st)
Pittsburg came back from a bye week to earn another quality win, 41-20 over Marin Catholic this time. This week might bring another non-league shootout as the Pirates head to Los Gatos.
22. Mission Hills (5-0 – 22nd)
It's time for one of the most intriguing games of the entire regular season on Friday as Mission Hills hosts La Costa Canyon. They're both 5-0, they're both well-rested after a bye week, and they'll both be favored to go 10-0 if they win despite having to deal with Carlsbad and potentially other legitimate Avocado League challengers.
23. Oak Ridge (4-1 – 23rd)
After Oak Ridge started with a 40-7 rout of Frontier, 24-13 loss to Mission Hills, and 56-35 win against St. Mary's (Stockton), it appeared a higher-scoring pace would be advantageous for the Trojans in SFL play. Then they went ahead and opened it by beating Del Oro 12-8 and Granite Bay, which was 4-1 with at least 31 points in every game, by a score of 21-14. With Oak Ridge impressing and Rocklin giving Folsom a competitive game (34-21), one has to like Oak Ridge's chances at Folsom more than expected. Much more daunting than Folsom's marginal advantage on paper based solely on 2025 resume is how poorly Oak Ridge did against the Bulldogs last year, when it lost 35-7 in league play and 41-0 in the section championship.
24. La Costa Canyon (5-0 – 24th)
Despite being two spots lower in our statewide rankings and the road on Friday, La Costa Canyon isn't anyone's underdog on Friday at Mission Hills. This game will likely secure a 10-0 season for whichever team that wins, but don't overlook the rest of the conference in an Avocado League that's even deeper than usual in 2025.
25. Crean Lutheran (5-0 – Unranked)
For what we believe to be the first time in the program's history, Crean Lutheran is ranked top-25 in California. The Saints haven't played any state-ranked foes, but they've manhandled some very good competition. Last week's 38-14 rout of La Serna, which was fresh off an upset of Edison (Huntington Beach), adds to a list of lopsided wins that also includes St. Pius X-St. Matthias Academy and Capistrano Valley.
ON THE BUBBLE:
Cardinal Newman, Grant Union, Central East, Carlsbad, Woodcreek, Clovis North, Acalanes
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