Here are The Sporting News' top 25 team rankings for Week Two (Sep. 1-7) 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
California high school football top 25 rankings
1. Mater Dei (1-0 – 1st last week)
Week One was an unexpected bye week for the Monarchs after Bishop Montgomery had to forfeit preemptively on Monday due to lack of eligible players. On Friday they host Kahuku, the Hawaii team that infamously upset St. John Bosco in 2023 a week after losing 55-8 to Mater Dei. Speaking of St. John Bosco, Kahuku is also the squad that Braves' former QB Matai Fuiava transferred to midseason in 2024, and 4-star former Orange Lutheran LB Talanoa Ili transferred there over the offseason as well. So Mater Dei will see some familiar faces.
2. St. John Bosco (2-0 – 2nd)
So far we haven't learned anything about the Braves, as it was a foregone conclusion that they'd blow out Manatee (FL) and Eastwood (TX). But they sure looked good doing it, beating those foes by a combined 97-7 in just three halves of football. This week, however, the Braves jump right into one of the biggest games of the entire high school football season – a home game against Maryland superpower St. Frances Academy.
3. Orange Lutheran (2-0 – 4th)
One week after upsetting national powerhouse Miami Northwestern in Florida, Orange Lutheran needed an epic second half comeback to beat Rancho Cucamonga at home. But an epic second half comeback is what OLu got en-route to a 27-24 victory after trailing 24-6 early in the third quarter. The Lancers look to maintain their top-three ranking while again leaving the state to play a national-caliber foe, reigning Arizona Open Division runner-up Basha (1-0).
4. Mission Viejo (2-0 – 5th)
We've mentioned the incredible efficiency of Ohio State-bound QB Luke Fahey many times, so his stat line in a 59-14 rout of St. Paul shouldn't be too surprising. Fahey completed 23 of 26 passes (88.5%) for 375 yards and three touchdowns with no interceptions, good for a passer rating of 166.3, and ran for a touchdown. Mission Viejo makes its home opener against Folsom this week – and much of the high school football world will be watching.
5. Sierra Canyon (2-0 – 6th)
This really might be the Trailblazers' best team ever by a decent margin if the first two weeks were any indication. They've now beaten JSerra and Oaks Christian by a combined 98-0. Sierra Canyon's 63-0 beatdown of Oaks Christian was the most lopsided in Oaks Christian history, and Sierra Canyon was already up 56-0 at halftime.
6. Santa Margarita (1-1 – 7th)
Carson Palmer is on the board with a dub as a high school football coach. After losing 7-3 to Mission Viejo, Santa Margarita's offense came alive last week in an epic 33-27 overtime victory over Corona Centennial, its second upset of Centennial in the last two years. And that was despite the absence of 4-star WR Trent Mosley (USC), whom the Eagles hope to have back by Sep. 27 against national title contender Bishop Gorman (NV). The next two weeks should be lopsided wins despite facing solid foes in Highland (Palmdale) and Oaks Christian.
7. Corona Centennial (1-1 – 3rd)
It goes without saying that losing to Santa Margarita was not what the Huskies needed. But doing it just a couple weeks before facing Mater Dei was particularly rough timing. California and the Southern Section are so deep that despite dropping to No. 7 in both rankings, Centennial is still ranked in SN's national top 25 with the potential to climb quite a ways again over the coming months.
8. Folsom (2-0 – 8th)
In one of Northern California's biggest games of the year, Folsom finally got over the hump against Serra (San Mateo), winning a 56-45 shootout behind seven total touchdowns from Ryder Lyons. With that said, the Bulldogs will probably need an even better team-wide performance this week to have a chance against Mission Viejo. A convincing upset win would thrust the Bulldogs into the realm of national title contention.
9. De La Salle (1-0 – 9th)
The big names come and go, but this defense is always something else. Playing their very first game of the year in front of a national audience on MaxPreps' Game of the Week, the Spartans held reigning Florida state finalist Lakeland to six points in an exciting 10-6 victory that puts them within striking distance of a national top-25 ranking. Deuce Jones-Drew scored De La Salle's only touchdown in the fourth quarter.
10. Lincoln-San Diego (2-0 – 10th)
After handling Long Beach Poly 36-20 last week in a game that wasn't as close as the final score suggested, Lincoln now seeks revenge against Arbor View (NV), which upset the Hornets 45-44 to open 2024. Arbor View is off to an 0-2 start, but it's already gotten its feet wet twice against elite competition, so Lincoln will still need a strong effort to secure victory.
11. Grant Union (1-1 – 16th)
Grant's season opener against Folsom was a gut punch, but it looked like a whole new ball club on Friday against Central East. The Pacers won 42-26 in a game where they led by three or four scores the majority of the time. Sophomore QB Shiren Crump had a coming out party with 361 yards and two touchdowns passing against an excellent defense, and Thorne Watson ran for three touchdowns.
12. Servite (1-1 – 12th)
After struggling mightily on offense in Week Zero against Corona Centennial, Servite justified its high ranking with a 56-35 victory over a strong Murrieta Valley defense. Kale Murphy threw for 227 yards and four touchdowns to zero interceptions, Gavin Gutierrez ran for 163 yards and a touchdown, and many other Friars got in on the production on both sides of the ball. Servite looks to keep building momentum this week against Chaminade.
13. Archbishop Riordan (1-0 – 14th)
So far so good for the Crusaders, who opened the season with a 41-18 win over McClymonds in which they at one point led 28-0. Harvard-committed wideout Judge Nash caught five passes for 77 yards and three touchdowns.
14. Central East (1-1 – 11th)
The bad news for the Bengals: a rather lopsided loss to Grant halted any momentum from their previous win against Inglewood and put a big dent in their potential to rise in the rankings. The good news for the Bengals: the loss didn't do much harm besides that, and once they woke up in the second half, they had no trouble showing they could compete. This week they host Turlock, which nearly upset them in a 28-22 Central East win last year.
15. Serra-Gardena (2-0 – 15th)
As expected, the Cavaliers steamrolled Hamilton (Los Angeles) 47-0 despite its foe showing the toughness to battle until the end. Serra has now beaten Palos Verdes and Hamilton by a combined 73-0 heading into a home game against Los Alamitos, in which the Cavs are a light favorite.
16. Cathedral Catholic (2-0 – 19th)
It's one of those years when Cathedral Catholic is firing on all cylinders from right out of the gate. After routing Mater Dei Catholic 52-7 in Week Zero, the Dons went up to the Bay Area and pummeled a formidable Saint Francis (Mountain View) squad 35-7 with their usual stars leading the way. This week's home battle against Arizona powerhouse Chandler (1-0) has the potential to be the best game of the week in California.
17. San Juan Hills (2-0 – 18th)
The Stallions were the heavy favorites last week at Roosevelt (Eastvale), but leading 34-0 at halftime and winning 41-0 was definitely a statement. Timmy Herr completed 11 of 14 passes for three touchdowns and ran for one as well. This week against formidable Chino Hills (2-0) could plausibly end up as either a close game or another San Juan Hills blowout.
18. Murrieta Valley (1-1 – 17th)
After all the talent Murrieta Valley just graduated, scoring a combined 63 points against Rancho Cucamonga and Servite isn't bad at all despite the loss to Servite. Its schedule chills out a bit now with a bye week followed by Murrieta Mesa and M.L. King.
19. Pittsburg (1-0 – 21st)
It's too early to have a strong take on Pittsburg's 42-36 win over Granite Bay, but what matters is that the Pirates pulled out the win. Some expected a more dominant showing from Pittsburg's defense, but Granite Bay has a dangerous offense. QB Carlos Torres, RB Jari Alexander, and WR Yamil Guyton were all dominant for the Pirates.
20. Yorba Linda (2-0 – 22nd)
For the second year in a row, Yorba Linda pulled out about as close a win as possible over Edison, 21-17 this time after winning 22-21 last season. The Mustangs trailed 17-7 after three quarters before sophomore RB Isaiah Trujillo ran for his second and third touchdowns of the night.
21. Damien (1-1 – Bubble)
Damien is living up to the hype. QB Isaiah Arriaza led the way with 410 passing yards, two touchdown passes, and two rushing touchdowns as the Spartans defeated JSerra 34-31 in a thriller. After JSerra had taken a 31-27 lead with less than a minute left, Arriaza led his team up the field and dove across the goal line with three seconds left for the game-winner. Eric Osorio continued his breakout campaign with 13 catches for 228 yards and a touchdown.
22. JSerra (0-2 – 13th)
After having victory within its grasp multiple times, including what appeared to be a game-clinching interception that was waved off due to a penalty, JSerra's loss to Damien was an absolute heartbreaker. But the Lions have three more opportunities for wins against strong competition before Trinity League play starts, facing Kamehameha Kapalama (HI), Oak Hills, and Leuzinger.
23. Chaparral (0-1 – 20th)
The Pumas had a bye week to let their 38-33 loss to San Juan Hills simmer, and now it's time for what should be another great battle at San Clemente, which they beat in overtime to start 2024. Their main non-league opportunity to move up the rankings comes three weeks after that against San Clemente's arch rival, No. 4 Mission Viejo.
24. Edison-Huntington Beach (1-1 – 23rd)
A close-as-it-gets loss to Yorba Linda a year ago wasn't enough to put a damper on Edison's 2024 campaign, so don't expect it to put a damper on the reigning 1-A state champion's 2025 campaign. The Chargers will have to get their offense to another gear, however, to win the big games in October, November, and possibly December. Edison is the heavy favorite this week against Lakewood.
25. Los Alamitos (3-0 – 24th)
No promises, but we are pretty sure Los Alamitos is the only 3-0 team in California after Millikan was upset by Loyola last week to drop to 2-1. This week brings the Griffins' only chance until the second half of October to surge upwards in the rankings as they head to Gardena to play No. 15 Serra.
ON THE BUBBLE:
Mission Hills, Oak Ridge, Inglewood, Valencia (Valencia), Chaminade, Oaks Christian, Carlsbad, Granite Hills-El Cajon, La Costa Canyon, Rocklin, Oak Hills, Leuzinger, Clovis North
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