California high school football top 25 (Week 1): Los Alamitos, Oak Ridge debut

Here are The Sporting News' top 25 team rankings for Week One 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

California high school football top 25 rankings

1. Mater Dei (1-0 – 1st last week)

The Monarchs' win at Florida powerhouse St. Thomas Aquinas was among their most bizarre in recent memory. Mater Dei won the second quarter 26-0 and the game 26-23. Not ideal, but enough to retain the undisputed No. 1 ranking in the state and country.

2. St. John Bosco (1-0 – 2nd)

Have out-of-state teams not learned their lesson about poking the bear? After Florida fans spent weeks on social media questioning St. John Bosco's ability to play in the humidity – just like many of other South/East Coast opponents in recent years – the Braves beat Manatee 31-0 by halftime when the game was called due to thunderstorms. Expect a similar result next week against Eastwood (TX).

3. Corona Centennial (1-0 – 3rd)

One of the first statement wins of the near belongs to Cen10, which routed Servite 42-14 in a game it led 35-0 at halftime. Its mostly new skill position core of QB Dominick Catalano, RB Malaki Davis, WR Ty Plinski, and TE Keawe Browne balled out, as did its defense. Plinski's touchdown catch was the No. 1 play of the day and No. 2 play of the week on SportsCenter. Next week brings another Trinity League test against Santa Margarita.

4. Orange Lutheran (1-0 – 4th)

Backing up the high ranking so far, OLu toughed out a 17-15 win against nationally-ranked Florida foe Miami Northwestern. Its non-league slate doesn't get much easier from here: Rancho Cucamonga, Basha, Serra (Gardena), and Sierra Canyon.

5. Mission Viejo (1-0 – 5th)

Mission Viejo has already turned in one of the defensive gems of the year to beat Santa Margarita 7-3. Luke Fahey was, while not prolific, surgical under center, completing 15 of 20 passes for 179 yards, a touchdown, and no turnovers. Santa Margarita transfer Jack Junker caught the only touchdown of the game, a difficult 33-yard dime from Fahey.

6. Sierra Canyon (1-0 – 7th)

Talk about starting with a bang. After JSerra has spoiled some of Sierra Canyon's season-openers in recent years, the Trailblazers built on last year's 35-7 thumping with a 35-0 blowout. Look for them to do the same at Oaks Christian on Friday, but it could be a trap game if they don't bring another strong effort.

7. Santa Margarita (0-1 – 6th)

While Mission Viejo's amazing defense was the No. 1 story in Santa Margarita's 7-3 loss, Santa Margarita's amazing defense was right behind it, quieting one of the nation's steadiest passing games. Carson Palmer has to wait at least one more week to get his first win as head coach, but with Corona Centennial on deck, it might take another week after that.

8. Folsom (1-0 – 8th)

Unfortunately, no one will ever get to see 2024 Folsom and 2024 Grant go against each other, but Folsom got the next-best pertinent thing – a blowout of Grant to start 2025. Folsom showed just how far ahead of the rest of the Sac-Joaquin Section it is with a 51-13 demolition that was only competitive for one quarter. It's exactly what the Bulldogs need heading into a foe who has thoroughly had their number lately – Serra (San Mateo).

9. De La Salle (0-0 – 9th)

Most or all of California will be cheering on the reigning NorCal champions this week as they look to maintain a very important statewide tradition – outclassing Florida's best teams. De La Salle probably has its work cut out for it hosting Lakeland this weekend, but Lakeland struggled to gain separation last week in a 31-21 win over a much lower-ranked Auburndale foe.

10. Lincoln-San Diego (1-0 – 11th)

A slew of fresh faces had big nights as Lincoln's offense began the season with a bang, beating strong Hawaii program Punahou 57-29. Senior RB Rashad Robinson had 14 carries for 148 yards and two touchdowns. Lincoln's tough non-league schedule continues winding up with Long Beach Poly, Arbor View (NV), and Mission Viejo coming up.

11. Central East (1-0 – 14th)

The reigning Central Section champions started with a bang in their first game since rebranding to the Bengals, rolling past Inglewood 41-12. Familiar faces did the heavy lifting on offense in QB Jelani Dippel, RB Brandon Smith, and WRs Bayon Harris and EJ Morgan. To top it off, Harris had two sacks and a forced fumble, and Smith added an interception. This week against Grant will be interesting.

12. Servite (0-1 – 12th)

Servite's season-opening loss to Corona Centennial wasn't quite cause for concern given how promising the second half was. While the Huskies took their feet off the gas pedal a bit, Servite won the second half 14-7 and looked the part while doing it. This week's battle with Murrieta Valley should be a better game and barometer.

13. JSerra (0-1 – 13th)

Given the Lions' success against Sierra Canyon in recent years and penchant for fast starts to the season, their inability to compete in a 35-0 loss to the Traiblazers definitely is cause for concern. But definitely not enough to warrant a drop in the rankings. JSerra has a chance to regroup against another formidable foe this week hosting Damien.

14. Archbishop Riordan (0-0 – 15th)

Highly-touted Riordan kicks off this week against perennial Oakland Section heavyweight McClymonds with a 1:30 p.m. start on Saturday. The Crusaders won a 35-34 thriller in the matchup to open 2024.

15. Serra-Gardena (1-0 – 17th)

A 26-0 victory is vintage Serra, and that was the final score to beat Palos Verdes in its season opener. Ohio State commit Khary Wilder was hot out of the game with nine tackles, five tackles for loss, three sacks, and a fumble recovery.

16. Grant-Sacramento (1-0 – 16th)

Grant's inability to keep it competitive against Folsom in its 51-13 loss made it hard to take any positives away from its season opener. On the bright side, there shouldn't be any shock on Friday when the Pacers look to upset another dominant team and reigning section champion, Central East.

17. Murrieta Valley (1-0 – 19th)

The Nighthawks started with a 28-26 victory over Rancho Cucamonga. Not enough to move the needle, but solid. Sophomore QB Ty Isaia broke out with 211 yards, two touchdown passes, and one interception on 8-14 completion plus three carries for 52 yards.

18. San Juan Hills (1-0 – 20th)

Living up to the hype so far, outscoring a loaded Chaparral offense 38-33 to start with a win behind all the usual faces. Timmy Herr completed 17 of 24 passes (70.8%) for 255 yards, three touchdown passes, and one interception, Elijah Ayala ran for 128 yards and a TD on 12 carries, and Luke Frith, Ryan Matheson, and Dean Kolasinski all had a TD catch.

19. Cathedral Catholic (1-0 – 21st)

Statement win alert. Cathedral started with a 52-7 blowout of a solid foe in Mater Dei Catholic to get the ball rolling. Coming up next is Saint Francis (Mountain View).

20. Chaparral (0-1 – 22nd)

While a 38-33 loss to San Juan Hills was surely a disappointing start to the season for the Pumas, it's far from a damnation for the No. 20 team in the state on the road against a higher-ranked team. With that said, it doesn't get much easier from here for them. Chaparral takes a bye week and then heads to San Clemente and Rancho Cucamonga before debuting at home against Great Oak and Mission Viejo.

21. Pittsburg (0-0 – 23rd)

Pittsburg hasn't even played a game yet but is already up two spots from last week. The new-look Pirates are considered by most to be the favorites this week against Granite Bay, but with so few returners, they might not have a lot of time to build chemistry on the fly if they want to beat the Grizzlies.

22. Yorba Linda (1-0 – 24th)

While Yorba Linda was the heavy favorite opening up against Mayfair, a 41-0 beatdown was even more lopsided than most expected. This week should be a total tossup as 22nd-ranked Mustangs head to No. 23 Edison.

23. Edison-Huntington Beach (1-0 – 25th)

Edison already has a close win under its belt with a 20-13 win against Clovis West. It wasn't a statement victory, but with Yorba Linda coming to town this week, a little bit of pressure from the very start probably wasn't bad for the Chargers.

24. Los Alamitos (2-0 – Bubble)

It's only the start of "Week One", and the Griffins already have two wins against quality competition. After a rare Week Double Zero comeback win against Inglewood, they handed solid Hawaii foe Kapolei its first loss by a score of 34-31.

25. Oak Ridge (1-0 – Bubble)

With Oaks Christian and Newbury Park falling out, Oak Ridge jumped about a dozen teams to earn the last spot in the top 25 with a 40-7 thrashing of Frontier. Since that didn't prove to be a challenge, its next two games might be with Mission Hills and St. Mary's (Stockton) on deck.

ON THE BUBBLE:

Damien, Inglewood, Oaks Christian, Chaminade, Newbury Park, Millikan, Carlsbad, Granite Hills-El Cajon, La Costa Canyon, Rocklin, Oak Hills, Leuzinger, Clovis North

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