AllSportsPeople High School Football Game of the Week: No. 17 Santa Margarita at No. 10/SN No. 11 Sierra Canyon

Kendall Webb

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AllSportsPeople High School Football Game of the Week: No. 17 Santa Margarita at No. 10/SN No. 11 Sierra Canyon image

Santa Margarita and Sierra Canyon will stage a rematch of their quarterfinal meeting two years ago.

It's finally time for California's CIF Southern Section playoffs, and the first round has several matchups of intrigue. But none of them are bigger than the No. 17 Santa Margarita [Rancho Santa Margarita, CA] Eagles at the No. 10/SN No. 11 Sierra Canyon [Chatsworth, CA] Trailblazers on Friday night.

The contest is AllSportsPeople High School Football Game of the Week, and it promises to be a doozy with both teams still riding high in the national rankings as they begin their pursuit of a California Division 1 state championship. And while Santa Margarita's three losses mean the Eagles won't be in the running for a national title, undefeated Sierra Canyon remains very much alive in the championship race.

It won't be easy, of course, as the Southern Section playoff bracket is ranked as the most challenging in the entire country. The winner of this will almost certainly meet No. 3/SN No. 3 St. John Bosco [Bellflower, CA] in the Southern Section semifinals as long as the Braves take care of business against the unranked Orange [CA] Lutheran Lancers Friday night. And the championship game the week after that will likely come from a trio of teams that includes the No. 6/SN No. 9 Mater Dei [Santa Ana, CA] Monarchs, No. 7/SN No. 5 Centennial [Corona, CA] Huskies, and No. 29 Mission Viejo [CA] Diablos.

That's elite company, and the team left standing at the end will go on to compete for a state championship. And either Santa Margarita or Sierra Canyon will inch one step closer to that goal Friday night in SN's national game of the week.

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No. 17 Santa Margarita [Rancho Santa Margarita, CA] Eagles at No. 10/SN No. 11 Sierra Canyon [Chatsworth, CA] Trailblazers

LAST WEEK'S GAME OF THE WEEK SN No. 25 Hamilton [Chandler, AZ] Huskies 55, NR Chandler [AZ] Wolves 41

Friday, November 14, 2025
Sierra Canyon Athletic Field, Chatsworth, California | 10 p.m. EST (7 p.m. PST local)
TV/Streaming: NFHS Network

Local Media Coverage: Los Angeles Times High School Sports

School Athletics Websites: Santa Margarita Eagles Football | Sierra Canyon Trailblazers Athletics

School Social Media: Santa Margarita Eagles Football on X.com @SMCHSEagles | Chandler Wolves Football on X.com @SierraCanyonFB

The Background

Santa Margarita has experienced some exhilarating highs in its first season under head coach Carson Palmer, an alum and former Heisman Trophy winner, who led the Eagles to their first win over Mater Dei since 2013. But along with those highs, which also include a 33-27 overtime win over Centennial, the Eagles have experienced growing pains, including losses to the Mission Viejo Diablos, Bishop Gorman [Las Vegas, NV] Gaels, and St. John Bosco Braves.

Sierra Canyon, on the other hand, has yet to even be challenged in 2025 with their closest game being a 30-0 shutout over the Serra [Gardena, CA] Cavaliers on October 3. Granted, they haven't played the schedule that Santa Margarita has, but they've at least beaten those lesser opponents in the manner in which you would expect a great team to win. It's the Trailblazers' second 10-0 regular season in three years since emerging as a force in California's Division 1 ranks, and a win here would at least allow them to match their 11-1 finish in 2023. To break through to the next level, however, they will have to figure out how to get past the Southern Section semifinals, and that's easier said than done.

Top Recruits

Santa Margarita has eight ranked senior prospects on the 247sports.com list for California, and DL Simote Katoanga (6-4.5, 255 lbs., USC Trojans) tops that list at No. 8 in the state. His linemate is mammoth DL Manoah Faupusa (6-2, 360 lbs., Arizona), and they're supported by LB Ivrick Carrigan (uncommitted) and a strong secondary that includes CB Jayden Crowder (USC) and S Logan Hirou (UCLA). Offensive stars include WR Trent Mosley (USC), IOL Niniva Nicholson (6-3, 285 lbs., Arizona State), and QB Trace Johnson (Tulane). The top-rated junior prospect is DL Isaia Vandermade (6-2, 270 lbs., uncommitted).
Sierra Canyon counters with the No. 4 senior prospect in the state in EDGE Richard Wesley (6-5, 250 lbs., Texas Longhorns). His counterpart on the other side is EDGE Mikhal Johnson (uncommitted), and a loaded secondary includes four rated senior CB prospects in CB Havon Finney (LSU), CB Brandon Lockhart (USC), CB Madden Riordan (uncommitted), and CB Lennie Brown (Kansas). The offense has WR Ja'Myron "Tron" Baker (USC), RB Jerod Terry (uncommitted), and QB Laird Finkel (uncommitted) while ATH Demarkus Barnes (uncommitted) is also rated. Junior prospects include DL Kasi Currie (6-5, 315 lbs., uncommitted), S Myles Baker (uncommitted), RB Jaxsen Stokes (Oklahoma), S Faruq Muhammad (uncommitted), and IOL Tyson Seidman (uncommitted) while sophomore OT Lance Ciechanowski (6-6, 270 lbs., uncommitted) is also already ranked by 247sports.com

When Santa Margarita has the ball...

Offense has been the main problem for the Eagles in 2025 as they average just 23.2 points per game. They managed just a touchdown in games vs. Mission Viejo (7-3 loss) and Mater Dei (7-6 win) while failing to score at all against Bishop Gorman (14-0 loss). Their defense kept them in those games, however, and also helped them win a 17-7 game against the Servite [Anaheim, CA] Friars, too. Johnson has put up respectable numbers with 1,859 yards passing, but he only has 10 touchdowns to go along with 5 interceptions. His top target Mosley only played in half of the Eagles' regular-season games which certainly didn't help matters, and his receiving numbers (30 rec.-255 yards) have only netted 8.5 yards per reception with no touchdowns since his midseason return. He's actually been more of a force in the running game, lining up in the Wildcat formation on occasion with 17 carries for 135 yards and 6 touchdowns.

On the other side, Sierra's defense has been stout all year, recording five shutouts and yielding just 43 points in 10 games. As a unit, the Trailblazers have made 106 stops behind the line with Johnson's 16 tackles for loss leading the way. Their talented secondary has also picked off 16 passes with Riordan's snagging four of those on his own.

When Sierra Canyon has the ball...

Finkel has directed an offense that scores 44.5 points per contest, and his 2,212 yards passing with 19 touchdowns and only 6 interceptions has been key to that success. He spreads the ball around nicely with Barnes (37 rec.-688 yards, 5 TDs) and Baker (36 rec.-574 yards, 8 TDs) getting equal opportunities. The run game is key to the Trailblazers' offensive philosophy, too, with Terry (75-604 yards, 8 TDs) and Stokes (85-598 yards, 12 TDs) divvying up the workload there, too.

Just like Sierra Canyon, Santa Margarita's defense spends a lot of time making plays behind the line, and four Eagles have at least eight tackles for loss led by Holani's 11 stops. Opposing quarterbacks have also felt the heat all year with Santa Margarita ringing up 17 sacks on the season to keep opponents behind the sticks.

Keys to the game

Santa Margarita wins if the defense continues its elite level play to keep the offense within range of the upset. It feels like a night where the offense will struggle again, but a couple of big plays could be the difference, especially if the defense can give the Eagles a couple of short fields to work with. The quarterback Johnson doesn't necessarily have to go out and win the game for Santa Margarita on offense, but he does have to limit the mistakes. The Eagles have proven they can win games with little offense, even beating Mater Dei with a single touchdown, but that feels like too much to ask of their defense tonight. Seventeen points might be enough, however, in a game that could be another slugfest.

Sierra Canyon wins if the offense is cooking. The Trailblazers' stout defense feels capable of shutting down Santa Margarita's offense which can be prone to long scoring droughts, and if Sierra's offense is up to its usual standards, then the Trailblazers might pull off a surprisingly comfortable win. They haven't, however, put up numbers against the same kind of schedule that Santa Margarita plays so don't be surprised if this is Sierra Canyon's first close game. If it is, then their battle-tested visitors might have the edge.

Looking Ahead

The winner stays alive for a California state title, but Sierra Canyon still has its eyes on an even bigger goal; if the Trailblazers can win this, they're still in the national title hunt, and subsequent wins over the likes of maybe St. John Bosco and Mater Dei would be one of the nation's best resumes.

Series history

We've done this before. Two years ago, Sierra Canyon won its first playoff game at the Division 1 level at home in Chatsworth against – you guessed it – the Santa Margarita Eagles. That remains one of the Trailblazers' biggest moments, and they'll be looking to repeat history Friday night.

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