Notes and insights for Week 0 of the high school football season:
Games to watch
1. St. John Bosco at Bishop Gorman: The matchup is being heralded as the No. 1 vs. No. 2 matchup by MaxPreps, which will air the game live on Friday, Aug. 21 at 7 p.m. Bishop Gorman (1-0) won its season opener 41-0 against Somerset Academy Losee on Aug. 14, which allowed them to shake off any first-game jitters. Bosco is coming into its season opener supremely motivated after losing two consecutive games to Mater Dei and Orange Lutheran, ending its 2025 campaign that was trending toward a national championship season. The Braves will not secure the national championship in Week 0 with a victory over Bishop Gorman, especially with a five-week Trinity League schedule featuring JSerra, Orange Lutheran, Santa Margarita, Servite and Mater Dei in October pending. However, they could cement their status as an overwhelming favorite to bring home the program’s fourth national championship and the first since 2022.
2. Long Beach Poly at Downey: This is an all-local matchup that has been a long time coming on Friday at 7 p.m. Downey has emerged as one of the top public school programs in the Press-Telegram area in recent seasons behind strong quarterback play from Aidan Chiles, who is trending toward being the starting quarterback at Northwestern, and Oscar Rios, who enrolled early at Arizona. Downey’s new starting quarterback will be senior Kalè Murphy who transferred from Servite. On the Poly side, they have not had a Power 4 signal-caller since Matt Corral in 2018, who signed with Ole Miss, but sophomore quarterback Trevor Scott, who transferred from Mater Dei, is showing great promise to end that drought. Scott is in the mix to be Poly’s starter. However, with this being the season opener for both teams and relative inexperience at quarterback, it could come down to the skill positions. The Vikings are led by three-star recruit Damani Porras, who is committed to New Mexico. Porras, the reigning Gateway League MVP is an equally great receiver and cornerback. Poly is led by the area’s only five-star recruits in Miami commit Donte Wright and UCLA commit Julius Johnson. Both are primarily cornerbacks, which should make it hard for Downey to establish a consistent pass game. Wright and Johnson will also be potentially deployed on offense and special teams, where they successfully moonlighted in prior seasons. Also, Poly’s has two underrated running backs in juniors Steven Hunter and Elijah Dawson, which could swing the result the Jackrabbits way.
Teams to watch
1. St. John Bosco: The Braves’ receiving corps will be young, with no seniors, but juniors Darren Tubbs and Jacob Reid and sophomores Kuika Moaali and Anthony Uzondu are all talented pass catchers. That bodes well for a two-year window with junior quarterback Koa Malau’ulu on track to eventually become Bosco’s first four-year starter. The Braves will also have an extremely talented defense led by senior linebacker Josiah Poyer, who is committed to USC, and senior safety Isala Wily-Ava, who is committed to Washington. Those are just a few names of the dozens of Braves who are on track to play Division I college football.
2. Millikan: The Rams’ defensive backfield, led by junior Odell Sims and sophomore Khyon Wilson, will be key, but junior linebacker Soren Jensen’s development could propel the Rams to the program’s second Moore League title in three seasons. The Rams will begin the season at home against a talented Huntington Beach team on Thursday, which is led by Ohio State quarterback commit Brady Edmunds.
Players to watch
1. Kamden Tillis: The Los Alamitos senior running back, who is committed to San Diego State, knows what it takes to win a CIF-SS title, after helping the Griffins win the Division 2 championship last season. Tillis ran for more than 1,500 rushing yards as a junior, but the 5-foot-11 athlete could end up playing receiver at the next level. He also had 33 receptions last season, so that transition should be seamless.
2. Karson Forge: The Warren senior defensive back ran a 10.75 in the 100 during the spring, so the 5-foot-11, 172-pound athlete is also someone to watch for on special teams.
3. Jesse Laumasima: The Millikan senior defensive lineman’s impact will be paramount to the Rams’ success. The 6-foot-3, 235-pound athlete had 23 tackles, three tackles for loss and two sacks last season.
4. Aiden Katz: The Wilson junior receiver is not a household name yet has all the tools to have a breakout season. The 6-foot-3 athlete has the potential to be an impact two-way player at receiver and safety. The Bruins’ offense is methodical, yet consistently finds innovative ways to get the ball to playmakers.
Schedule to watch
1. St. Pius X-St. Matthias: The Warriors’ have put together one of the most balanced and competitive regular-season schedules a team can play, coming off an appearance in the Division 6 finals. The Warriors went 7-7 last season. Coach Devah Thomas’ team will begin nonleague play in Week 1 at home on Aug. 28 against St. Bonaventure. They will also play nonleague games against Muir, San Juan Hills, Chino Hills and Valhalla. St. Pius’ Angelus League schedule does not get any easier against Bishop Montgomery, St. Francis, Paraclete, St. Paul and Cathedral. Picking up a few nonleague victories will be key. The Warriors will turn to junior quarterback Tyreq Conley and senior running back AJ Monroe to lead the offense. Coach Thomas said other seniors to watch are defensive back Johnny McNeil (Oregon State commit), athlete Francisco “June” Meza, defensive back Edward Spriggs, and offensive linemen Patrick Washington and Kasen Poole. He’s also excited about several freshmen: Skyler Townsend, Romero “RJ” Jones, Davon Jones, Sean Page and Jayden Booker.
St. Pius’ Head Coach, Devah Thomas, left, poses for a photo with the runner-up trophy after his team lost to Ventura, 63-28, in the CIF-SS Division 6 football championship game at St.Pius X-St. Matthias Academy in Downey on Saturday, Nov. 29, 2025. (Photo by Trevor Stamp, Contributing Photographer)