ORANGE COUNTY FOOTBALL TOP 25 POLL
Notable this week: Yorba Linda moves into the Top 10 after wins over Laguna Beach and Long Beach Poly. … No. 1-ranked Santa Margarita clipped Corona Centennial, 21-20, last week. … HSratings.com has Santa Margarita at No. 1 and Centennial at No. 2 in its CIF-SS and state rankings. … Huntington Beach moves up to No. 12 after a 31-15 winner over Los Alamitos. … There are three new teams in the Orange County Top 25: Cypress, El Toro and Trabuco Hills. All three teams are 2-0.
Santa Margarita head coach Carson Palmer talks with his team after defeating Centennial 21-20 to win the nonleague football game in Corona on Friday, Aug. 28, 2026. (Photo by Terry Pierson, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG)
1. Santa Margarita 2-0 (75 points)
Adrian Petero rushed for 111 yards and a touchdown and the Eagles defense was superb in a 21-20 road win over Corona Centennial. Ca’ron Williams returned an interception for a touchdown. Freshman linebacker Aydan Steen had a team-high four solo tackles.
Previous ranking: 1
2. Mater Dei 2-0 (72)
The Monarchs traveled to Utah and defeated Orem, 32-26. Mater Dei opened the season with a win over Utah’s American Fork. This week Mater Dei will be home against a Colorado team, Valor Christian. The Monarchs have a Sept. 11 home game against Corona Centennial.
Previous ranking: 2
3. Mission Viejo 2-0 (69)
The Diablos smashed St. Paul, 77-12. They have scored 132 points over their two games. Brett Burnor threw for 219 yards and four touchdowns before being lifted early. Carson Vandermade rushed for 83 yards and a touchdown on only three carries, and six different Mission Viejo players had touchdown receptions.
Previous ranking: 3
4. Orange Lutheran 1-1 (66)
Sophomore quarterback Ezrah Brown completed 18 of 19 passes for 253 yards and two touchdowns as the Lancers beat Cathedral Catholic, San Diego County’s No. 1 team. Sophomore running back Ryan Christianson rushed for 95 yards and two touchdowns on 21 carries. This week Orange Lutheran plays Arizona’s Basha, which is No. 13 in MaxPreps.com’s national rankings, on Friday at Orange Coast College.
Previous ranking: 4
5. Servite 1-1 (63)
The Friars beat Murrieta Valley, 42-10. Jorden Wells rushed for 120 yards and two touchdowns on eight carries. Benjamin Harris had six receptions for 53 yards and caught one of Gino Wang’s two touchdown passes. Servite will face Centennial of Arizona on Friday at La Mirada High.
Previous ranking: 5
6T. Crean Lutheran 2-0 (59)
Braylen Ross had 10 receptions for 141 yards and caught one of Caden Jones’ three touchdown passes in a 31-10 win over Mira Costa. Jones passed for 231 yards. Ahmeer Williamson was in on 10 tackles. Crean Lutheran is home against JSerra on Friday.
6T. San Clemente 2-0 (59)
The Tritons did not play last week. They won their season opener on the island of Kauai and followed that with a 17-0 win over Tustin. San Clemente plays Chaparral in Temecula on Friday.
Previous ranking: 6
8. Corona del Mar 2-0 (53)
The Sea Kings defeated Santa Barbara 37-7. Tucker Murray scored on a punt return and returned an interception 100 yards for a touchdown. Corona del Mar has outscored its opponents, 85-10.
Previous ranking: 8
9. JSerra 1-1 (52)
Hardy Nickerson’s first win as the Lions’ coach was a big one, a 63-0 triumph over Long Beach Wilson. Hayes Cloutier threw three touchdown passes. William Fredrickson rushed for 109 yards and a touchdown on six carries.
Previous ranking: 8
10. Yorba Linda 2-0 (46)
The Mustangs rushed for 173 yards in a 30-13 win over Long Beach Poly. Aiden Gutierrez ran for 72 yards and a touchdown. Isaiah Trujillo rushed for 62 yards and two touchdowns.
Previous ranking: 12
11. Edison 1-1 (42)
Previous ranking: 10
Huntington Beach wide receiver Kye Crump (7) carries the ball for a touchdown during a nonleague game against Los Alamitos in Huntington Beach on Thursday, August 27, 2026. (Photo by Jeff Antenore, Orange County Register/SCNG)
12. Huntington Beach 2-0 (41)
Previous ranking: 14
13. Tustin 1-1 (40)
Previous ranking: 11
14. La Habra 2-0 (37)
Previous ranking: 12
15. San Juan Hills 1-1 (32)
Previous ranking: 15
16. Capistrano Valley 2-0 (30)
Previous ranking: 16
17. Villa Park 2-0 (29)
Previous ranking: 18
18. Dana Hills 2-0 (25)
Previous ranking: 20
Orange wide receiver Tylen Taylor (22) carries the ball during a nonleague game against Laguna Beach in Laguna Beach on Friday, August 28, 2026. (Photo by Jeff Antenore, Orange County Register/SCNG)
19. Orange 2-0 (22)
Previous ranking: 21
20. Los Alamitos 0-2 (18)
Previous ranking: 17
21. Laguna Beach 0-2 (16)
Previous ranking: 19
22. Trabuco Hills 2-0 (10)
Previous ranking: Not ranked
23. El Modena 1-0 (8)
Previous ranking: 22
24. Cypress 2-0 (7)
Previous ranking: Not ranked
25. El Toro 2-0 (3)
Previous ranking: Not ranked
Also receiving votes: Newport Harbor 2-1 (2).
About the poll: Three members of the media vote each week in the poll.