While this week is far from the biggest of the California high school football season regular season, it still brings a slew of games involving state-ranked and nationally-ranked opponents that will be great to watch. At the top of the list is a game with national championship ramifications that will have fans tuning in from across the country.
Here's a quick look at the top 10 games to watch in Week Three, followed by many more games on our radar. Rankings referenced in games' descriptions below refer to SN's statewide team rankings for Week Three.
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. Rancho Cucamonga vs. Chaparral
There is no rest for the weary. These are a couple of the better teams in the state, and they enter a combined 1-4 with all four losses coming painfully close against outstanding competition. Now, they have to play each other with Chaparral in need of its first win and Rancho Cucamonga fresh off a 14-3 win against Oak Hills. With that win in tow and home field advantage, Rancho Cucamonga is the clear favorite, but not by an overwhelming margin. It should be a good duel between 3-star Rancho Cucamonga QB Jacob Chambers (Fresno State) and Chaparral 4-star QB Dane Weber.
9. San Juan Hills at Rockwall-Heath (TX) – Friday at 5:30 p.m.
California-versus-Texas battles don't happen often, and Rockwall-Heath (1-1) is a worthy opponent, so this should be a fun one. This early in the season, it's too early to have enough of a read on Rockwall-Heath for this game to affect No. 16 San Juan Hills' ranking, but a win in Texas against not just any old program would undeniably be a good look. With decent size and a longstanding penchant for winning games in the trenches, San Juan Hills theoretically has a better chance than many other Southern Section heavyweights to match up well with a high-caliber team from the South. Rockwall-Heath's top players that San Juan Hills has to worry about include dual-threat QB Prosper Neal, RB Carter Zahm, LB Luke Mitchell, and WRs Isaac Zmerzlikar and Shawn Gary.
8. Damien vs. Tustin
An underdog on the road, Tustin is tasked with showing its resilience after a gutting 28-27 comeback loss at the hands of Long Beach Poly. But one could argue that No. 21 Damien has more to lose here with a serious chance of going 10-0 and only two games remaining before opening Baseline League play against Rancho Cucamonga. This game features a slew of serious D-1 prospects, including Damien's Isaiah Arriaza (3-star QB) and Gavin Williams (DB/WR) and Tustin's quarter of 4-star junior defensive players – DLs Jeremiah Williams and Jon Ioane, LB Taven Epps, and S Khalil Terry.
7. Orange Lutheran vs. Serra (Gardena)
A week ago, it looked like this game was going to be the biggest game of the week, in SoCal at least, after Corona Centennial vs. Mater Dei. It's still up there, but both of these teams' stock just dropped after picking up their first losses in upset fashion. No. 7 Orange Lutheran came back from down 24-0 in the second half against Arizona powerhouse Basha before losing in the final minutes, and No. 15 Serra lost in a fairly lopsided manner to Los Alamitos, so this non-league game isn't quite as juicy as it was – but it's still dang juicy, and it features tons of blue chip talent. For those who like watching dominant defensive linemen, this one is for you, as 4-star Serra senior Khary Wilder (Ohio State) and 5-star Orange Lutheran sophomore Marcus Fakatou are a couple of the best in the business.
6. San Clemente vs. La Costa Canyon
Over the many years in which these teams have annually played in the vicinity of Week Three, this is one of the more intriguing matchups yet. La Costa Canyon broke San Clemente's long winning streak in the series last year by a score of 27-17 and might be on its way to its second consecutive undefeated regular season. But San Clemente isn't much of an underdog after upsetting Chaparral 35-34 last week, especially at home where the Tritons statistically have one of the best home field advantages over the past decade. San Clemente is tasked with stopping RB Coby Herman, who only ran for 32 yards and one touchdown in last year's meeting but also had five catches or 92 yards and another score. And the Mavericks are probably on high alert for San Clemente DE Joshua Kerst, who broke out for 3.5 sacks and two forced fumbles last week.
5. Oak Hills vs. JSerra
Despite picking up its first loss to Rancho Cucamonga last week by a score of 14-3, Oak Hills has a serious chance to score a Trinity League victory for the High Desert. JSerra, on the other hand, just picked up its first win, 38-20 over Kamehameha Kapalama (HI), but will likely show some desperation for another quality win with Leuzinger on deck followed by Trinity League play. Any time you have a fairly evenly-matched game between an on-the-rise public school powerhouse versus a Trinity League squad, it's hard not to get excited. In recent years, those matchups have usually favored the Trinity League team, but Oak Hills has more nationally-ranked prospects in this matchup. Expect this one to go down to the wire.
4. Lincoln (San Diego) vs. Mission Viejo
Everyone knows that Mission Viejo is one of the top teams in the state and country, and part of what has made Mission Viejo such a juggernaut in the past decade or so has been its consistency against lower-ranked teams – even when its lower-ranked foes are still nationally-ranked programs. Look no further than last week when the Diablos dismantled formidable Folsom 53-14 to approach the national top 10. Currently ranked 27th in the country in SN's composite national rankings, Lincoln enters ranked right around Folsom and is an underdog by more than a couple scores. But Lincoln (3-0) is known for showing no intimidation and a penchant for stepping up against its strongest foes. Despite the long odds, the Hornets are too good for this to not at least enter Friday as one of the more intriguing games of the week in California and beyond.
3. Oak Ridge vs. St. Mary's (Stockton)
One of the most highly-anticipated non-league games of the regular season among CIF-Sac Joaquin Section teams, and for good reason. Oak Ridge is fresh off a Division 1 finals appearance, and St. Mary's nearly took down eventual D2 section and 2-AA state champion Grant Union before losing 28-21 in the semifinals. Now they battle for both momentum and pride in a public-versus-private battle between potential top-25 teams in California. Oak Ridge just had a bye week to think about a deflating 24-13 loss to Mission Hills, which came one week after a resounding 40-7 victory over reigning Central Section and state champion Frontier, and the Trojans don't want to enter Sierra Foothill League play at 1-2. St. Mary's is riding high at 3-0 after opening with double-digit wins over Bishop Manogue (NV), Central Catholic, and Marin Catholic, and will definitely pose a threat to take down NorCal champion De La Salle if it can register another statement victory here. Keep your eyes out for St. Mary's WR Kenneth Moore, a high 3-star UCLA commit and stat sheet stuffer who looks to lead the charge against one of NorCal's top defenses on Friday.
2. Archbishop Riordan vs. Pittsburg – Saturday at 1:30 p.m.
There's only one big-name Saturday matchup this week, but it's a huge one. Two of the Bay Area's top teams will go at it looking to start 3-0 with fans looking for a barometer for both teams, and for different reasons. Riordan may well have its best team ever, and it looks to justify and build on a statewide No. 12 ranking with WCAL play already a week away. It's been dominant in season-opening wins over McClymonds and Monte Vista (Danville), but Pittsburg is probably another tier or two up in competition. The Pirates, on the other hand, are trying to show that they aren't on the way down after graduating an amazing senior class following one of their strongest seasons to date. After this week, they could take a major leap up from No. 19 or take a steep tumble if they lose in lopsided fashion. While this game won't necessarily have a major impact on the season in the long run, it'll likely be a statement win for one team and a statement loss for the other.
1. Corona Centennial vs. Mater Dei
2025 brings a unique spin on one of the top annual non-league showdowns in all of high school football. Corona Centennial looks to take down Mater Dei in a battle of two of the nation's top programs, which both happen to be off to a shaky start by their otherworldly standards. Mater Dei has looked quite mortal in one-score victories over St. Thomas Aquinas (FL) and Kahuku (HI), the latter of which played Mater Dei to a 21-18 finish despite entering the game with two shutout losses already. But as long as the Monarchs keep winning, it matters not if every single victory is by just a field goal, and such is the case again at Centennial on Friday. With Mater Dei not looking like itself, Centennial wouldn't be the heavy underdog it almost always is against the Monarchs if not for an overtime loss to Santa Margarita two weeks ago. Historically, Mater Dei has almost always reached a higher gear (if needed) upon facing a Huskies opponent that it knows is hungry for a chance to dethrone the nation's top team. Many expect the Monarchs to do it again on Friday, but if they don't, Friday will likely be Centennial's long-awaited breakthrough win in the matchup. The bright side for whichever team loses is that there's a solid chance they'll get a rematch two months from now in the Southern Section Division 1 playoffs – if they don't let it derail their season before then.
MORE GAMES TO WATCH:
St. John Bosco vs. Serra (San Mateo)
Garfield vs. Banning (Wilmington)
Brentwood vs. Palisades
Downey (Downey) vs. Sierra Canyon
Oaks Christian vs. Santa Margarita
Saint Francis (Mountain View) vs. De La Salle
Folsom vs. Sacred Heart Cathedral Prep – Friday at 7:30 p.m.
Norwalk vs. Venice
Notre Dame (Sherman Oaks) vs. Servite
Murrieta Mesa vs. Murrieta Valley
Franklin (Los Angeles) vs. Cleveland
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