Here are The Sporting News' California football top 25 team rankings for Week Two of the 2025 season (Sep. 1-7).
The rankings will be updated every week throughout the season.
PREVIOUS RANKINGS: Week One
SN's CIF-Southern Section 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. Expect another dominant win this week against Hawaii heavyweight Punahou.
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. Servite (1-1 – 8th)
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.
9. Serra-Gardena (2-0 – 10th)
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.
10. San Juan Hills (2-0 – 12th)
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.
11. Murrieta Valley (1-1 – 11th)
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.
12. Yorba Linda (2-0 – 14th)
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.
13. Damien (2-0 – 17th)
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.
14. JSerra (0-2 – 9th)
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.
15. Chaparral (0-1 – 13th)
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.
16. Edison-Huntington Beach (1-1 – 15th)
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.
17. Los Alamitos (3-0 – 16th)
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.
18. Oak Hills (2-0 – 23rd)
Oak Hills is at least as good as advertised, and it has a handful of opportunities coming up to prove it's even better. After beating Highland (Palmdale) and Bishop Amat by a combined 73-16, it heads to Rancho Cucamonga in one of this week's most intriguing matchups.
19. Inglewood (0-2 – 21st)
The Sentinels just had a bye week after a close loss to Los Alamitos and lopsided loss to Central East, and they're now in need of some big wins to stay ranked. Fortunately, almost every week for the rest of the season brings an exciting opportunity for them to show what they're made of. This week Inglewood plays St. Bonaventure, against whom it's won all three meetings in the last five years.
20. Valencia-Valencia (2-0 – Unranked)
Coming in hot after a light upset of Chaminade which saw the senior year debut of Brian Bonner, who we have ranked as the No. 1 running back in California. The Washington commit had 169 yards of offense and two rushing touchdowns after missing Valencia's Week Zero win over Simi Valley with an illness, and Valencia defeated Chaminade 34-20. Caysen Badawi had two picks for the Vikings, who look to beat another Mission League foe in Bishop Amat.
21. Chaminade (1-1 – 18th)
As it currently stands, Chaminade's stock is heavily tied to both Valencia and Oaks Christian keeping up in the rankings, and it'll likely stay that way all regular season if Chaminade isn't able to upset Sierra Canyon or Serra in Mission League play. However, the Eagles could take matters further into their own hands this week if they manage to take down higher-ranked Servite.
22. Leuzinger (2-0 – 24th)
Who the heck knows what Leuzinger will face on Friday with Bishop Montgomery, which just fired its coach after a Week Zero altercation led to some suspensions and a Week One forfeit against Mater Dei. If Bishop Montgomery has its key players and is ready to bring a strong effort, this should be a good test for the Olympians.
23. Oaks Christian (0-2 – 19th)
How will the Lions respond to the most lopsided loss in program history, which followed a Week Zero upset at the hands of Chaminade? This week brings a good opportunity to regroup against strong competition in Liberty (Bakersfield), but they better do it quickly with Santa Margarita and Serra (Gardena) on deck.
24. Rancho Cucamonga (0-2 – Bubble)
Despite dropping to 0-2, Rancho Cucamonga actually moves up for very nearly taking down Orange Lutheran, and it would also be 14 spots higher had it scored one more touchdown the previous week and beaten Murrieta Valley. Either way, the Cougars will be formidable if they can bring a similar effort to last week on a regular basis.
25. Tustin (2-0 – Bubble)
The next three weeks bring tremendous opportunities for the Tillers to continue rising in Long Beach Poly, Damien, and Yorba Linda. In last week's 44-0 beatdown of Foothill (Santa Ana), 4-star LB Taven Epps (Texas) recorded two sacks and caught a two-point conversion. At 6-4, 225 with athleticism and ball skills, it wouldn't be shocking to see him develop into a two-way star at tight end.
ON THE BUBBLE:
Long Beach Poly, St. Bonaventure, Vista Murrieta, Downey, Palos Verdes, Bishop Amat, San Clemente, Beaumont, Pacifica (Oxnard)
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