Preseason State TOP 50 FB Ranks (1-25)

Mater Dei offensive linemen and St. John Bosco defensive linemen battle it out during last year’s CIF Southern Section D1 championship. This will likely be the 10th straight year that one of the two super powers will be California’s top team. Photo: Scott Kurtz / Cal-Hi Sports.

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1. MATER DEI (SANTA ANA) 13-0
First Game: Saturday, Aug. 23 at St. Thomas Aquinas (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.).

It took about one year into this current 10-year cycle of domination at the top of the California state rankings by either the Monarchs or St. John Bosco to see that it made the most sense to simply rank the team higher that won in the most recent game.

At the end of last season, there were rumblings among some in the media that since Bosco had so many top, young players and had given the Monarchs a close game in the CIF Southern Section D1 championship that the Braves were going to be ranked higher to start this season. We knew it would have to be Mater Dei with three straight wins vs Bosco and now we are seeing that everyone both in the state and in the nation has come to the same conclusion and that’s because the two super teams are likely going to play twice once again that why bother with trying to rank one over the other. It’s the winning team until the other team wins.

The Monarchs, coming into their second season under head coach Raul Lara, are riding high and looking strong for a third straight CIF Open Division state title and a second straight consensus No. 1 national ranking. They have some of the very highest ranked players in the nation at the following positions: WR (Chris Henry Jr.), TE Mark Bowman, OL Kodi Greene and DL Tomu Topui. And that’s just the seniors and that’s not counting other seniors like WR Kayden Dixon-Wyatt (Ohio State), LB Shaun Scott (USC) and DB C.J. Lavender (Washington) who all have major college commitments.

There are quite a few top defenders who graduated off of last year’s team, especially in the secondary, but the difference with new starters coming up probably isn’t going to matter much. Mater Dei also will have a new quarterback as last year’s starter, Dash Beierly, only transferred in for his senior season. Ryan Hopkins is a similar QB coming in from JSerra (fast runner combined with good throwing) and junior QB Furian Inferrera has committed to Minnesota.

Carson Clark of St. John Bosco looks to take the ball for extra yards during 2024 CIF Southern Section D1 championship. Photo: Scott Kurtz / Cal-Hi Sports.

2. ST. JOHN BOSCO (BELLFLOWER) 11-2
First Game: Friday, Aug. 22 vs Manatee (Bradenton, Fla.) in FLO-CAL Classic.

This year’s regular season matchup with Mater Dei will end the regular season at Panish Family Stadium. Both teams still being unbeaten and No. 1 and No. 2 in the nation will cause headlines, but it’s just more of the same in their Trinity League rivalry. It’s either been one of the two squads at the top of the state since 2016.

Last year’s team was very young by Bosco standards and had close calls twice with both Orange Lutheran (28-24 & 20-17) and Santa Margarita (13-0 & 31-29) but the way the Braves played in a 31-24 loss to Mater Dei in the CIFSS D1 championship (especially compared to the 59-14 blowout earlier) had many in Southern California thinking this year could be for them to take back the state’s (and nation’s) top spot..

Koa Malau’ulu, a freshman, came on as the starting QB when the earlier starter suddenly moved to Hawaii. He ended with 19 TD passes and 1,812 yards and was the State Freshman of the Year. Having arguably the best receiving corps in the nation returning could set up Koa to have a monster sophomore season. Madden Williams (USC), Daniel Odom (Oklahoma) and Carson Clark (San Jose State) are the big three in that group but there are others who can come in and make plays, too. The offense also returns leading rusher Maliq Allen, a junior who had 1,003 yards and 11 TDs. The defense has a ton of talent back as well, led by top tackler Isala Wily-Ava, a junior who also had a team-leading seven interceptions. DL Dutch Horisk is back for his fourth season starting while DB Joshua Holland also has a lot of big time offers.

3. CENTENNIAL (CORONA) 9-3
First Game: Friday, Aug. 22 vs. Servite (Anaheim, Calif.).

The team that has come the closest to the MD-Bosco dominance (other than one team at Servite in 2021) has been the Huskies. They weren’t close to the Monarchs in last year’s playoffs (36-7 loss), but the year before they came one two-point conversion attempt short in a 43-42 loss to Bosco and two years before that it was 21-14 in a playoff loss to MD. Centennial also is starting third this year due to posting a win in the playoffs last year over Mission Viejo, which was the difference in a second straight No. 1 public school ranking for California schools.

Head coach Matt Logan begins the season with 295 career wins, but the early schedule (including a game at home vs Mater Dei on Sept. 12) may delay him from getting his 300th until Big West Upper Division games. According to our own Cal-Hi Sports coaching records, Logan will become just the 15th in state history to reach 300 career wins.

Centennial does have some holes to fill on offense with QB Husan Longstreet now at USC and others moving on. New QB Dominick Catalano is the younger brother of offensive coordinator Anthony Catalano and has the ability to keep everything going strong. Junior RB Braylin Drake, TE Keawe Brown, transfer RB Zander Lewis and others on offense seem primed to have big years. The defense will be led by returning league defensive player of the year Jonathan McKinley at LB. Junior rush end Miles Shirmer, juniors Brett Smith Jr. and Jaden Walk-Green in the secondary and senior nose tackle Ben Tamiefuna are others on defense with a lot of preseason attention.

Mission Viejo head coach Chad Johnson raises CIF D1-AA state title trophy after 2023 triumph in championship game vs De La Salle. Photo: Mark Tennis.

If there was a player of the year in the state for summer/spring seven-on-seven events, then Mission QB Luke Fahey would be the choice. He has recently committed to Ohio State. Fahey also still has one of the nation’s most prolific receivers to work with in Vance Spafford. He has committed to Miami after earlier decommitting from Georgia. Junior receiver Jack Junker also is expected to pick up the slack after two other D1 receivers from last season graduated.

The Mission Viejo defense also has some rebuilding issues with sack king Jaden Williams and one of the nation’s top defensive back recruits, Dijon Lee Jr., both graduated. Jayden Hill, however, was right behind Williams for sacks and Jerone Jones was right behind Lee for picks and both are back. If some others come through on offense and defense, head coach Chad Johnson’s team has the pieces in place to make a jump toward the top two positions in the state.

5. SANTA MARGARITA (RANCHO SM) 5-7
First Game: Friday, Aug. 22 at home (Trabuco Hills) vs Mission Viejo.

The first big game of the Southern California season that matches both teams ranked in the top five of the state to start will be when the Eagles host Mission Viejo on Friday, Aug. 22 at Trabuco Hills. We were thinking that the winning team would deserve to be No. 3 in the state afterward, but Centennial also is playing a strong preseason schedule and we’re matching other rankings so far that have the Huskies higher than Mission.

The big news at Santa Margarita of course is that the team will be under the leadership of new head coach Carson Palmer. We go back far enough in covering the state to say we covered Carson when he was a QB himself for the Eagles for the 1995 to 1997 seasons and that was before he went on to win a Heisman Trophy at USC and star in the NFL. Palmer not only has a lot of major returnees coming back from last season’s team that ended with a blowout win vs Inglewood in the CIFSS D1 playoffs and then just a 31-29 loss to St. John Bosco but there also are impact transfers coming in as well.

Trent Mosley already has 169 career catches and has been used as a running back in the Wildcat formation on offense. He’s one of the top offensive returnees in the state. His younger brother, Grant, a sophomore, also should be stepping up into a starring role. Palmer’s offense will be run by a transfer from Florida, Trace Johnson, who has D1 offers and will be helped by Niniva Nicholson transferring from JSerra into the offensive line. The defense has three transfers (all up front) who figure to give Santa Margarita more of a chance to battle on even terms with the very top teams in the Trinity League. They are Isaia Vandermade and Manoah Faupusa (both from St. Ignatius of San Francisco) and Simote Katoanga (from JSerra).

Jameson Powell of Folsom should once again be one of the top receivers this season in Northern California. Photo: Mark Tennis.

The hunt for the placement of the team from Northern California into this year’s CIF Open Division state final will be very similar to last year. Both Folsom and De La Salle of Concord are heavily favored to win their section titles to become eligible. Folsom has a game at Mission Viejo after it opens at home vs. Grant in what may be the biggest game of the year in Sacramento and then the Bulldogs have to go to Serra of San Mateo, which was only 5-6 last year but has beaten them the past two seasons. If Folsom gets through that perfectly, we expect the CIF would then pick the Bulldogs for the Open Division even if DLS is unbeaten as well. The simple fact that they’ve never been in that game before does make a difference and it should. DLS has lost in its last five straight CIF Open Division appearances.

It’s also not as if head coach Paul Doherty has a bunch of players who’ve graduated, either. On the contrary, Folsom should have one of the most explosive offenses in the state with returning QB Ryder Lyons leading the way. Ryder (committed to BYU) will be in his third year as the starter and has 6,589 yards and 84 TDs passing so far in his career. He also has another 1,538 yards and 38 TDs rushing. Playing in the same colors as the Buffalo Bills, Ryder is perhaps the closest high school version of Josh Allen at QB in the nation. Lyons also has multiple receiving targets back as well, including Jameson Powell (Ole Miss), junior Rob Larson and senior Isaiah Williams. USC commit Vlad Dakonov also leads a big, efficient offensive line. The defense will have some spots to fill, but junior DL Lua Deberry up front and senior Jason Hill Jr. in the secondary are highly regarded returnees.

7. SIERRA CANYON (CHATSWORTH) 8-4
First Game: Friday, Aug. 22 vs. JSerra (SJ Capistrano).

In this program’s quest to get up near the stratospheric level of Mater Dei and Bosco in the CIFSS D1 playoffs, one step in the right direction is when at least one of its position groups could be even better or close to the ones those two have. That’s the case this year with the Trailblazers and their secondary. Madden Riordan (USC) is back after collecting 10 interceptions last season and has 16 for his career. The all-state first team overall pick will be joined by Loyola transfer Brandon Lockhart (also committed to USC) plus the other returnee is senior Havon Finney, one of the top Class of 2027 prospects in the nation who has reclassed to 2026. Finney has committed to LSU. Junior Myles Baker also returns and has an offer from Georgia.

The Sierra Canyon offense lost a lot of big contributors from last season, including QB Wyatt Becker. But head coach Jon Ellinghouse also has some transfers there who should do well, including QB Laird Finkel from Santa Barbara plus WR Tron Baker and RB Jerod Terry Jr., who are both from Los Alamitos. Junior RB Jaxsen Stokes also seems ready to become an impact player. DE Richard Wesley, who like Finney has reclassed from 2027 to 2026, already has been an impact player on defense.

8. DE LA SALLE (CONCORD) 12-1
First Game: Friday, Aug. 29 vs. Lakeland (Fla.).

The comparisons between the Spartans and Folsom probably will go back and forth all season. The two teams also will have two common opponents – Serra of San Mateo and Grant of Sacramento – so if one of the two wins much easier against both teams then that could change rankings.

While the Spartans have lost some top players on both sides of the ball, one difference between this year and last is that their two closest challengers in the CIF North Coast Section the past two years – Pittsburg and San Ramon Valley – were about as senior dominant last year as a team can be. The gap between DLS and others in the NCS may be wider.

Head coach Justin Alumbaugh will have a new starting quarterback in senior Brayden Knight. The leading returnee at running back is junior Duece Jones-Drew, the son of all-time DLS great Maurice Jones-Drew. Who else can come on to make explosive plays as a running back will be a big question. The team does have the fastest player in the state with 2024-25 State Junior Athlete of the Year Jaden Jefferson. He won the CIF state meet 100-meter dash title last spring and in the prelims broke the state record at 10.01 seconds. Jefferson (North Carolina commit) is primarily a corner on defense, but will get lots of touches on offense. The defense also will feature Nemyah Telona up front (committed to Cal) and Jayden Nicholas in the secondary.

9. LUTHERAN (ORANGE) 8-4
First Game: Saturday, Aug. 23 at Northwestern (Miami, Fla.).

With a lot of graduation losses and the transfer loss of linebacker Talanoa Ili to Kahuku of Hawaii, the Lancers may drop some spots from their No. 3 overall finish in the state last season (including two close losses to St. John Bosco) but there is still much to be excited about.

The late transfer of senior RB Sean Morris from Loyola of Los Angeles would seem to be a perfect fit. Morris (committed to Northwestern) was an all-state first team junior last season who rushed for 1,762 yards last season. The offense also should feature a mammoth front anchored by Sam Utu (Alabama) and junior Lucas Rhoa. Head coach Rod Sherman is still deciding about his quarterbacks and there are three who have been in a battle. One of them is freshman Ezrah Brown, who is the younger brother of former Mater Dei Mr. Football State Player of the Year Elijah Brown. Yes, we did raise an eyebrow when seeing Ezrah was at OLu and not MD.

The Orange Lutheran defense may need some help on the back end compared to the other top teams in the Trinity League, but the Lancers have a lot back up front with both Marcus Fakatou and Auma Jennings among the returnees.

Junior Courtney Miller-Thompson came up with a lot of big plays for San Diego Lincoln last season, including this TD during CIF D1-AA state final vs Pittsburg. Photo: Scott Kurtz / Cal-Hi Sports.

In the past three seasons, head coach David Dunn’s program has won the CIF D1-AA state title twice and in the year the Hornets didn’t win they had a loss in overtime in the Open Division title game of the CIF San Diego Section. To us, that’s enough to put Lincoln in a place where it has to start out this season still in the No. 1 spot in its section.

The big question will be at QB where Akili Smith Jr. has gone to Oregon after three years as the starter. Junior Jordan Roa is expected to be the new starter and has a lot of talent. Returning RB Junior Curtis averaged 90 yards rushing per game last season and offensive lineman Jesus Garcia II (6-5, 285) is one of the section’s best. The defense will feature one of the top pass rushers in California in senior Prince Tavizon. He was listed as a sophomore last season but has reclassified one year higher for this fall. Tavizon has committed to Oregon. The secondary will be led by senior Cammron Purnell, who we saw get a pick six in a game at Grant (Sacramento). He has four pick six TDs in his career.

11. OAKS CHRISTIAN (WESTLAKE VILLAGE) 9-4
First Game: Friday, Aug. 22 vs. Chaminade (West Hills).

It’s a close call between the Lions and Newbury Park in our rankings but they are clearly playing a tougher schedule (games include those against Sierra Canyon and Santa Margarita) so we’ll go for them one spot higher to start. We also like the way they ended the season with freshman Trey Towns Jr. at QB, winning big vs San Juan Hills in the CIFSS D2 quarterfinals and then losing in a wild semifinal, 55-52 in OT, to Murrieta Valley.

Besides Towns Jr., who threw for 19 TDs, head coach Charles Collins returns several more prime time players, with Deshonne Redeaux at RB and Davon Benjamin at DB. Redeaux has been labeled as one of the nation’s top RBs and has committed to USC. Benjamin has committed to Oregon. If Joseph Peko can come back to the way he was playing at DL before suffering a knee injury and the offensive line with senior Ben Hatfield and others holds up, Oaks Christian may be able to maintain a top 10 or top 15 state ranking.

12. NEWBURY PARK 14-1
First Game: Friday, Aug. 22 at Millikan (Long Beach).

It will be hard for the Panthers to duplicate last year’s CIFSS D2 title run plus a close loss to Lincoln of San Diego in the regional playoff with QB Brady Smigiel’s sidekick, Shane Rosenthal, now at UCLA. But Smigiel returning on his own is plenty enough to keep Newbury Park among the best in Southern California.

Smigiel, the son of head coach Joe Smigiel, is the returning Mr. Football State Player of the Year who has committed to Michigan. He is likely going to break both of Jayden Daniels’ CIFSS career records for passing yards and passing TDs, then come up short of the state records held by Jake Browning. Rosenthal, who was so important on both sides of the ball, may be impossible to replace, but on offense the addition of Chaminade transfer Devin Olmande should help a lot. The defense should be more than fine as well since leading tacklers Carter Taylor and Balen Bettencourt are both returning. Another defender to watch is senior DT Connor Schlimgen.

Grant of Sacramento co-coaches Syd’Quan Thompson (left) and Carl Reed get presented with CIF D2-AA state title trophy. Photo: Scott Kurtz / Cal-Hi Sports.

Early strength of schedule has always been a big factor in the Cal-Hi Sports preseason state rankings and that’s one of the reasons why the CIF D2-AA state champs from last year are starting out this season with one of their highest preseason rankings in years. Grant not only is opening up against Folsom, but also is playing De La Salle for the second straight year (this time at home) and is heading south for a matchup with Lincoln of San Diego.

The key for us as to how the Pacers may fare this season is about the quarterback position. Junior Shiren Crump got into the CIF D2-AA state final as a freshman two years ago and is back this season along with junior Blake Nycum to take over for graduated standout Luke Alexander. The rest of the offense is loaded with returning standouts, led by junior TE/WR Zo Edwards (perhaps the top Class of 2027 recruit in NorCal) along with junior WR/KR Koby Shabazz, who had 83 catches for more than 1,200 yards as a sophomore. OL Roger Vanderhoef and DL Giovanni Hodge are the team’s other top D1 college prospects.

14. SERVITE (ANAHEIM) 6-5
First Game: Friday, Aug. 22 at Centennial (Corona).

All of the excitement surrounding the Friars having two top 10 picks in the 2025 NFL Draft with DL Mason Graham and WR Tetairoa McMillan died down quickly as the 2025 season began approaching. Last year’s team followed up a run in the CIFSS D2 playoffs to earning a spot in D1 but the odds of getting up there toward Mater Dei/Bosco and now Santa Margarita/Orange Lutheran may be hard.

The Friars’ top offensive performers may be TE Luke Sorensen (Nebraska) and junior RB/WR Benjamin Harris, who was starting at Long Beach Poly as a freshman and last spring helped Servite win the CIF state track team title. Head coach Chris Reinert also has a another top-notch offensive line led by sophomores Keiden Lokeni and Elisha Mueller, both well over 300 pounds. Servite’s defense has one of the top LBs in Orange County in Isaiah Leilua and a very talented DB coming up in Kalbe Aiava.

15. CATHEDRAL CATHOLIC (SAN DIEGO) 9-3
First Game: Friday, Aug. 22 vs Mater Dei Catholic (Chula Vista).

There are some in the media in the CIF San Diego Section who are going to rank the Dons as the preseason No. 1 team and not Lincoln. It’s easy to see why. This is the second year that they’ve had all of those transfers from St. Augustine from a year ago and most of those guys missed games before getting eligible. Head coach Sean Doyle’s team also is the last team since Lincoln to win that CIF D1-AA state title (which was in 2021 with a win against Folsom).

QB Brady Palmer, committed to Cal, is the top returnee on offense. He has nearly 6,000 yards of offense passing and rushing so far in his high school career. The offense also will have RB Willie Flores, a junior RB, and senior WR Hunter Harrington returning to make plays plus there is a massive line led by USC commit Chase Deniz. Another USC commit, Honor Fa’alave, is returning to the defense to lead the secondary. On that side of the ball, Bronx Letuligasenoa also is still around up front and that’s a player who’s been doing well since he was a freshman at St. Augustine. DB Josh Faraimo, who has committed to Washington State, is yet another defender to watch.

16. JSERRA (SJ CAPISTRANO) 6-5
First Game: Friday, Aug. 22 at Sierra Canyon (Chatsworth).

Of all six teams in the Trinity League, the Lions on paper would seem to be the team that will have the toughest road to winning any games. They only have three returning starters on offense with four on defense and that’s partly due to some transfer losses.

This is still a Trinity League team, however, that knows how to compete at the highest level. Head coach Victor Santa Cruz may have found a QB with Koa Smith-Mayall, who is coming back from a knee injury. He had an impressive summer. Others on offense to watch include OL Josh Haney (Fresno State), WR Jerod Sersansie and junior RB Will Fredericksen. On defense, junior LB Rocco Tompkins (also 4.22 GPA) and junior DL Garrett Dudenhoeffer will be among those looking to step up.

17. SERRA (GARDENA) 8-4
First Game: Friday, Aug. 22 vs Palos Verdes (PV Estates).

This is the 28th season of head coach Scott Altenberg leading the Cavaliers’ program and it’s always been an impressive collection of talent-laden rosters. This year’s team has some grad losses such as QB Jimmy Butler, DB Tre’ Harrison and WR/DB C.J. McBean, but there’s a lot of top-notch level returnees as well. What seems to derail the Cavaliers in recent seasons is injuries to key players.

New QB Nicolas Johnson is coming off an injury that sidelined him last season and will have RB Devohn Moutra Jr. back as one of the leading offensive players. It’s the defense, though, that should make Serra special. Junior Duvay Williams is not only one of the nation’s top Class of 2027 DBs in the nation, but he’s the consensus No. 1 recruit in the state in that class according to our own CalHiSports Hot 100 list. Williams will be joined in the secondary by Marcellous Ryan (North Carolina), top tackler Daylawn Reed at LB and DE Khary Wilder, who is one of top pass rushers among seniors in California. Moutra Jr. also plays defense and is a top tackler.

Sophomore Xavior Jones (15) is in middle of runout being done by players from Central of Fresno before D1-A state final vs Edison. Photo: Scott Kurtz.

18. CENTRAL EAST (FRESNO) 12-3
First Game: Friday, Aug. 22 vs. Inglewood.

For this team, first we have to clear up all the silliness of the school name changes in the Central Unified School District. Yes, Central of Fresno still exists and it is still the Grizzlies, but it’s now considered a new school within the district. The campus previously known as Central of Fresno is now Central East and goes by the Bengals. This is the team, though, that won the CIF Central Section D1 title last year with avenging losses over both Clovis North and Clovis East and then topped St. Ignatius of San Francisco in the CIF D1-A NorCal final before falling short in the final seconds to Edison of Huntington Beach in the state final. Almost everyone is back from that squad, making it a big favorite to repeat but if it goes too well then it could be the NorCal D1-AA regional final instead of D1-A.

Senior Brandon Smith (committed to Arizona) was the section player of the year as a junior. He rushed for 1,821 yards and 25 TDs while on defense he had 71 tackles with two sacks and two interceptions. QB Jelani Dippel was just a sophomore last season and returns after almost reaching 4,000 total offense yards. The team’s receiving corps has taken a hit with an early injury to WR Zeb White (out at least two months) but E.J. Morgan (committed to Cal) and Bayon Harris (looked good in the state final) seem to be okay. The defense will still have Smith along with junior DB Xavior Jones but others up front may need to step up to avoid getting into too many dangerous scorefests.

19. CHAPARRAL (TEMECULA) 7-4
First Game: Friday, Aug. 22 at San Juan Hills (SJ Capistrano).

We went back and forth with either Chaparral or Murrieta Valley behind Corona Centennial for the next team in line from the Inland Empire, but the new players coming in plus the ones coming back for the Pumas gave them a slight edge. Both teams also have tough opening games so the question will be answered pretty quickly.

Of the players returning, head coach Andrew Ramer has to be most pumped up about junior QB Dane Weber, who picked up a fourth star as a dual-threat recruit and has several major college trips lined up. Second-leading tackler Logan Coleman, a junior LB, also is back, along with two receivers expected to put up big numbers – senior Michael Farinas (all-league last year) and junior Chase Bonta.

Of the players coming in, senior OL Asher Bancroft (from Murrieta Mesa) has committed to Fresno State, junior OL Calvin Moala (from Rancho Christian) was an all-state sophomore and junior RB Trevor Schneider (from Norco) has already rushed for 2,307 yards and 21 TDs as a varsity player. Another underclassman to watch is soph OL Axton Lange (6-9, 285).

20. MURRIETA VALLEY (MURRIETA) 11-3
First Game: Friday, Aug. 22 vs. Rancho Cucamonga.

We’ll go with the Nighthawks right behind Chaparral to start. And while they will be facing another top 50 team in their first game (Rancho Cucuamonga), so will the Pumas when they play San Juan Hills. Head coach George Wilson’s team also is coming off of a season in which it went to the CIFSS D1 championship game and lost in a close game to Newbury Park.

QB Bear Bachmeier is now at BYU, and while the entire Bachmeier era (going back to brother Hank starting at QB from 2016-2019) isn’t yet over, youngest brother Buck still isn’t old enough to be the Murrieta Valley QB. Top RB Dorian Hoze also has departed. The new QB will be either transfer Daniel Mielke (from Ontario Christian) or soph Ty Isaia, who started games as a freshman last year when Bear was injured. The strength of the Nighthawks may be up front on offense as returnee Elisha Faamatuainu has committed to Cal and Luke Kingman in a 6-foot-6, 320-pounder with offers. The defense also has some real bangers, led by Oklahoma commit Derrick Johnson Jr. in the secondary plus LB Abelardo Leos (107 tackles).

21. ARCHBISHOP RIORDAN (SAN FRANCISCO) 7-5
First Game: Saturday, Aug. 30 vs. McClymonds (Oakland).

This is the trickiest team to rank this season in the state. From a talent perspective, there isn’t a team in Northern California close to the Crusaders, including Folsom and De La Salle. The issue is that despite all that talent the team hasn’t done a lot to show for it, including a CIF Central Coast Section playoff loss last season to Los Gatos.

Senior QB Michael Mitchell (committed to Vanderbilt) already has 6,780 yards passing and 77 TD passes in his career and has broken numerous West Catholic Athletic League records, which is a league that has had Tom Brady and Dan Fouts play in it during high school. Cynai Thomas and junior Wesley Winn Jr. are both back as primary receivers, but Mitchell also now has St. Francis of Mountain View transfer Perrion Williams, another of the top-ranked WRs in NorCal. Junior Adonyae Brown also already has five offers as a running back. The line has senior first team all-state candidate Tommy Tofi (Oregon) along with returning standout Michael Langi (Arizona). Riordan’s defense has given up a lot of points in the major losses and that side of the ball will have to improve greatly. Leading tackler Skylar Tiatia is back at LB and he has committed to San Jose State.

22. SAN JUAN HILLS (SJ CAPISTRANO) 10-2
First Game: Friday, Aug. 22 vs. Chaparral (Temecula).

Anyone who has followed our rankings over the years knows that we like to start out teams playing each other early on fairly close to each other. That’s partly why San Juan Hills is inside the top 25. The Stallions are playing their first game against No. 19 Chaparral of Temecula.

From a look at their personnel, San Juan Hills has a lot back on offense, but needs some linemen and defenders to step up to replace players like LB Weston Port (all-state), LB Grant Kitteredge and DL Gavin Blum. The top returning lineman is senior Cooper Javorsky (committed to UCLA). QB Timmy Herr will lead the offense after netting Bravo League MVP honors as a junior. He threw for 2,230 yards and 22 TDs and scored four times running the ball. The top two receivers also are back with Ryan Matheson and Luke Frith, who is the son of head coach Robert Frith. The Stallions also return RB Elijah Ayala (13 TDs) and DB Dean Kolasinski (three interceptions).

Kenny Ward, a freshman last season at Pittsburg, celebrates after making a big play in one of the Pirates’ big wins last season. Photo: Mark Tennis.

It’s a different vibe surrounding the Pirates this season compared to last as they’ve lost a high number of players now in college, including QB Marley Alcantara, RB Jamar Searcy, DB Jadyn Hudson and DE Jewelous Walls. The good news is that there’s still plenty of D1 talent still around and there really isn’t anyone else coming back loaded with returnees with much of a chance at dethroning De La Salle in the CIF North Coast Section.

The three skill players that any QB would want to throw to at Pitt are R.J. Mosley (Arizona), Truly Bell (Oregon State) and sophomore Kenneth Ward. As a freshman, Ward also was one of the best in his class in the state. Another sophomore to watch is LB/DE Demetrius Toeaina, who already has one D1 offer with more likely to come.

24. LA COSTA CANYON (CARLSBAD) 10-1
First Game: Friday, Aug. 22 vs. St. Augustine (San Diego).

This was a team last season that ended just outside of our final top 25 and has a strong core of returning players. It was enough to start out La Costa Canyon inside the top 25. The Mavericks had wins over San Clemente, Mission Hills and Carlsbad on their way to a 10-0 regular season before falling to Cathedral Catholic in the four-team CIF San Diego Open Division semifinals.

Returning senior Coby Herman not only was the team’s leading rusher in 2024 with nearly 90 yards per game but also was second on the team in receiving yards. Head coach Sean Sovacool also will have senior QB Quinn Roth coming back. Roth passed for 31 TDs as a junior. Other Mavericks coming back after stellar seasons a year ago include LB Ryan Scully, WR Jackson Maggiore and OL Justin Peter Lee.

25. EDISON (HUNTINGTON BEACH) 12-4
First Game: Friday, Aug. 22 vs Clovis West (Fresno).

One of the reasons that the Chargers came through down the stretch last season to win the CIFSS D3 title and then the CIF D1-A state championship was the play of junior QB Sam Thomson, who didn’t start the season as the No. 1 QB but had to come on due to an injury. Thomson is back to be the top QB this season and there are other key starters back. The state title also is why we placed Edison as the second team out of the top Orange County public school league behind Mission Viejo.

Under head coach Jeff Grady and going back to previous head coach Dave White, Edison has always been known for its physical, very coordinated line play. Those units should be top-level again this season, led by Devin Blake (6-3, 280). Other players to watch included OL/DL Nathan Stevens, WR/DB Ayden DeGiacomo and WR/DB Will Harrison.

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Mark Tennis is the co-founder and publisher of CalHiSports.com. He can be reached at markjtennis@gmail.com. Don’t forget to follow Mark on the Cal-Hi Sports Twitter handle: @CalHiSports