California high school football season rolls on with another exciting week of action. Week Two (Sep. 4-6) includes a potential national championship battle of West Coast versus East Coast, the most highly-anticipated NorCal-versus-SoCal game of the regular season, and a battle between particularly familiar Bay Area alphas.
Here's a quick look at the top 10 games to watch in Week Two, followed by many more games on our radar. Rankings referenced in games' descriptions below refer to SN's statewide team rankings for Week Two.
Top 10 California high school football games to watch this week
(Games start at 7:00 or 7:15 p.m. Friday unless otherwise noted.)
10. San Clemente vs. Chaparral
A rematch of a game that Chaparral won 17-16 in overtime last year. Coming off a bye week, No. 23 Chaparral (0-1) is the light favorite here but is yet to register a win this season after opening with a 38-33 loss to San Juan Hills. San Clemente started with a 30-17 loss to Tustin but bounced back last week to beat solid Utah foe Riverton 35-15, and few teams have had better home-versus-away splits in recent memory than the Tritons, so expect this one to come down to the wire. If it does lose, San Clemente would be in a tough spot with La Costa Canyon, Chino Hills, Murrieta Valley, Mission Viejo, Los Alamitos, and Edison (Huntintgon Beach) all left on its regular season schedule.
9. Pittsburg at Bishop Manogue (NV) – Saturday at 4:00 p.m.
A lot of people are wondering what this No. 19 Pittsburg squad is made of. The Pirates had one of their strongest teams yet in 2024 when they won yet another CIF-NCS D1 title and regional crown, but after graduating a fantastic senior class, they have the least big-name talent they've had in several years or more. Pittsburg's new-look offense showed its meddle in a season-opening 42-36 win over Granite Bay, but its defense could use a statement win. The Pirates look to get exactly that on Saturday against perennial Reno heavyweight Bishop Manogue, which is coming off a 51-38 loss to St. Mary's (Stockton) and 28-23 loss to Rocklin. Pittsburg will need to contain the dynamic duo of QB Brandon Mann (Nevada) and WR/DB Nate Simmons.
8. Cathedral Catholic vs. Chandler (AZ)
It's too early in the season to have a gauge on perennial Arizona powerhouse Chandler, so the stakes for No. 16 Cathedral Catholic aren't particularly high here. That's why this game only checks in at No. 8, but between the sheer talent level and how evenly-matched these teams appear to be on paper, it may well prove to be the most exciting game of the week. With the likes of 5-star RB/DB Honor Fa'alave-Johnson, 3-star QB Brady Palmer (Cal), and 3-star WR PJ Johnson, Cathedral Catholic has the edge in top-end talent, but Chandler is usually quite a bit deeper. The Dons were so good in season-opening blowout wins against Mater Dei Catholic and Saint Francis (Mountain View) that they may well continue their roll against a nationally-relevant program in another tier of competition.
7. Rancho Cucamonga vs. Oak Hills
Orange Lutheran is widely ranked as one of the top 25 teams in the country, and Rancho Cucamonga very nearly stunned No. 3 OLu last week before falling 27-24 in a second half comeback. That dropped Rancho Cucamonga to 0-2 after it fell 28-26 to Murrieta Valley in Week Zero, but the Cougars have looked like one of California's better teams despite their record. Oak Hills has started off with two outstanding blowout wins, 35-6 over Highland (Palmdale) and 38-10 over Bishop Amat, but it hasn't been tested yet like Rancho was in both its first two games. Expect a close battle between two of the Inland Empire's top squads, both of which are filled with Division I talent.
6. Serra (Gardena) vs. Los Alamitos
This one is an easy sell between two top-25 teams in the state. California's only 3-0 team, No. 25 Los Alamitos, heads to Gardena to face a Serra team that beat its first two opponents by a combined score of 73-0. If No. 15 Serra aspires to break into Southern Section Division 1, this most likely its biggest game of the season. Why? Assuming No. 3 Orange Lutheran and No. 5 Sierra Canyon don't significantly fall off from their early success, the Cavaliers could drop both of those upcoming games and still have a great chance at making the Division 1 bracket if they win out from there.
5. Lincoln (San Diego) vs. Arbor View (NV)
The Hornets are hungry for revenge after Arbor View, the No. 2 team in Nevada, upset them 45-44 to open 2024. And there's a good chance they'll get it. Arbor View is off to a rocky 0-2 start, losing 28-20 to Millilani (HI) and 49-7 to Millard South (NE), but those are a couple of the better teams in the country. No. 10 Lincoln is one of the better teams in the country too, which makes it the favorite here as long as it brings its A-game. Its biggest priority is probably slowing down the passing game of QB Thaddeus Thatcher (Utah), WR Jayden Williams (Sacramento State), and TE Zac Fares (4-star recruit with 39 offers).
4. Orange Lutheran at Basha (AZ)
Now up to No. 3 in the state, Orange Lutheran has the opportunity to continue gaining steam heading into Trinity League play. After beating Miami Northwestern in a light upset in Week Zero and then nearly losing to Rancho Cucamonga in Week One, it's hard to gauge exactly where the Lancers are at right now. But they're clearly a great team, and this clearly will be a great game against one of Arizona's top high school football programs. Basha returns a litany of national recruits and other standouts coming off a big 2024 campaign, including 4-star RB Noah Roberts, 3-star LB Eli Cramer-Cronin (New Mexico), and 3-star QB Broderick Vehrs (North Texas).
3. Serra (San Mateo) vs. De La Salle – Saturday at 2:00 p.m.
Here we go again. With Serra falling to statewide No. 8 Folsom last week, this probably isn't the preemptive NorCal regional championship, but it may well prove to be depending how the rest of the season shakes out. Especially with De La Salle and Folsom not meeting this regular season. No. 9 De La Salle is the favorite against the Padres after beating Lakeland (FL) 10-6 last week, but Serra's offense looked potent in its 56-42 loss to Folsom. Especially if you include the fact that RB Jeovanni Henley scored a third touchdown on the night with a pick-six to add to his two rushing touchdowns.
2. Mission Viejo vs. Folsom
It's time for one of the absolute most exciting NorCal-versus-SoCal regular season matchups in a while. Led by 5-star BYU commit and statewide MVP frontrunner Ryder Lyons, No. 8 Folsom has scored 107 combined points in its first two games, wins against fellow NorCal powerhouses Grant Union and Serra (San Mateo). But it's still the heavy underdog against the fourth-ranked team in California and one of the top-ranked teams in the country. With the likes of WR Jameson Powell (Mississippi), WR Rob Larson, and OL Vlad Dyakonov (USC) helping lead the way, Folsom might have what it takes to run up the points on a nationally-ranked SoCal defense. Can it get enough stops to win?
1. St. John Bosco vs. St. Frances Academy (MD)
After blowing out two out-of-state foes who never stood an inkling of a chance, No. 2 St. John Bosco leaps into the fire in what could eventually prove to be a national title game. St. Frances Academy is widely considered a top-five team in the country, and is far better in 2025 than in 2023 when Bosco won 37-14. Featuring 5-star seniors DE Zion Elee (Maryland) and S Jireh Edwards (Alabama) plus roughly two-dozen more national recruits, the Panthers can go toe-to-toe with anyone in top-end talent. But they're still an underdog to the third-ranked team in the country. Perhaps the biggest matchup to watch is St. John Bosco's prolific passing game against St. Frances' phenomenal defensive backfield.
MORE GAMES TO WATCH:
San Juan Hills vs. Chino Hills
Servite vs. Chaminade
Central East vs. Turlock
El Camino (Oceanside) vs. Carlsbad
Liberty (Bakersfield) vs. Oaks Christian
JSerra at Kamehameha Kapalama (HI)
Monte Vista (Danville) vs. Archbishop Riordan
Granite Hills (El Cajon) at Perry (AZ) – Saturday at 7:00 p.m.
Inglewood vs. St. Bonaventure
Valencia (Valencia) vs. Bishop Amat
Long Beach Poly vs. Tustin
Downey (Downey) vs. Millikan
Beaumont vs. Summit
Soquel vs. San Ramon Valley
Moorpark vs. Birmingham
Great Oak vs. San Pedro
Palisades vs. Granada Hills Charter
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