Cal-Hi Sports Insider Blog

Quick-hitting, behind-the-scenes news and notes from the CalHiSports.com staff, including previews of upcoming content and events.

All-State FB Patch List For Juniors

By Mark Tennis | Published January 24, 2026

All-State Football patches will again be handled this year by our friends at BillyTees.com. For more information about Cal-Hi Sports merchandise at BillyTees.com, CLICK HERE.


Congratulations to the following players listed in alphabetical order who have been selected to either first team, second team or third team on the 2025 Cal-Hi Sports All-State Junior Football Teams for the fall season. These players and their families can now order an official all-state football patch plus you’ll get a certificate through our partners at BillyTees.com. We also like to post the names on a list so we’re not collecting a subscription from a parent who is only interested in seeing if their son has been picked and then finds out the son wasn’t picked.

For ordering info to get 2025 all-state football patch, CLICK HERE.

To see the 2025 all-state juniors post full presentation, CLICK HERE.

To get a Gold Club subscription so you can see the complete presentation of the Cal-Hi Sports 2025 All-State Junior Football Teams (fall season), CLICK HERE.

Noah Ahari (Chino Hills)
Maliq Allen (St. John Bosco)
Larry Baer (Quartz Hill)
Zac Benitez (Granite Hills, EC)
Cooper Berry (Maranatha)
Troy Bowens (Sutter)
Jaret Bridwell (Red Bluff)
Zach Brien (Bishop O’Dowd)
Adonyae Brown (Riordan)
Harrison Brown (Madison)
Jason Brown (Muir)
Jerrek Buckley (Rancho Cotate)
Mark Cadena (M.L. King, Riverside)
Demare Dezeurn (Palisades)
Jelani Dippel (Central East)
Brady Edmunds (Huntington Beach)
Zo Edwards (Grant, Sac)
Carsten Campbell (Frontier)
Jace Cannon (Serra, SM)
D.J. Clanton (Mater Dei)
Justin Coach (St. John Bosco)
E.J. Coleman (Folsom)
Isaac Cook (Cathedral Catholic)
Kye Cooper (San Diego)
Kasi Currie (Sierra Canyon)
Dillon Davis (St. John Bosco)
Lua Deberry (Folsom)
Maverick DeClark (Villa Park)
Tytus Dimmer (Clovis West)
Eli Dukes (Palma)
Colin Elia (Temecula Valley)
Hunter Eligon (Los Alamitos)
Taven Epps (Tustin)
Gage Esty (Placer)
Honor Fa’alave-Johnson (Cathedral Catholic)
Jackson Fader (Mission Hills)
Michael “Kiko” Farinas (Chaparral)
Lemani Fehoko (Serra, SM)
Sione Felila (Oak Hills)
Chris Fields (Carson)
Troy Fleming (Oak Ridge)
Luke Frith (San Juan Hills)
Quentin Hale (Cathedral, L.A.)
Elija Harmon (Inglewood)
Bayon Harris (Central East)
Jayden Harris (Manteca)
Jeovanni Henley (Serra, SM)
Jackson Hill (Chaminade)
Jailen Hill (St. John Bosco)
Giovanni Hodge (Grant, Sac.)
Jon Ioane (Tustin)
Jaden Jefferson (Cathedral, L.A.)
Darius Johnson (Murrieta Valley)
Caden Jones (Crean Lutheran)
Gage Jones (Live Oak, Morgan Hill)
Duece Jones-Drew (De La Salle)
Nikko Juarez (Manteca)
Jack Junker (Mission Viejo)
Jayden King (Bullard)
Dax Labrum (Santa Fe Christian)
Rob Larson (Folsom)
Masi Latu (Bishop O’Dowd)
Asofa Lauifi (Cathedral Catholic)
Taylor Lee (Pacifica, Oxnard)
Lincoln Mageo (Oceanside)
Lex Mailangi (Mater Dei)
Hudson Manning (Chaminade)
Kevika Mata’uita-Martinez (La Habra)
Malachi McFarland (Damien)
David Medina (San Pedro)
Julian Medina (Norco)
Nate Mensah (Rancho Cucamonga)
Avery Michael (Turlock)
Courtney Miller-Thompson (Lincoln, SD)
D.J. Mitchell (La Habra)
Calvin Moala (Chaparral)
Grant Moser (Buchanan)
Jared Newman (Los Gatos)
Damien Panteloglow (Rocklin)
Kameron Payne (Chaparral)
Isaiah Phelps (Pacifica, Oxnard)
Paisios Polamalu (St. Augustine)
Damani Porras (Downey)
Josiah Poyer (St. John Bosco)
Andrew Quinn (Liberty Ranch)
Ryan Rakowski (Palos Verdes)
Koa Regalado (Colton)
Vaughn Reinert (Torrance)
Jaxson Rex (San Clemente)
Lucas Rhoa (Lutheran, Orange)
Demaje Riley (Tulare)
L.J. Riley (Frontier)
Finley Rivera (Acalanes)
Adan Rodriguez (Red Bluff)
D.J. Sanchez (Riordan)
Trevor Schneider (Chaparral)
Koby Shabazz (Grant, Sac)
Troy Simonson (Nipomo)
Myels Smith (Inglewood)
Carter Sobel (Sierra Canyon)
Jaxsen Stokes (Sierra Canyon)
Kordell Strane (Cardinal Newman)
Seth Sullivan (Redondo)
Sevelino Taliauli (Servite)
Malakai Taufoou (Serra, SM)
Chance Thomas (Western, Anaheim)
Kamden Tillis (Los Alamitos)
Aliseti Tuihalamaka (Oaks Christian)
George Tyus (Antioch)
Kahlio Vaetoe (Cardinal Newman)
Isaia Vandermade (Santa Margarita)
Gabriel Villalobos (St. John Bosco)
Jaden Walk-Green (Centennial, Corona)
Finn Ward (Agoura)
Dane Weber (Chaparral)
Semaj Welch (Inglewood)
Duvay Williams (Serra, Gardena)
Gavin Williams (Damien)
Jeremiah Williams (Tustin)
Philip “Pee Wee” Wilson (Pacifica, Oxnard)
Isala Wily-Ava (St. John Bosco)
Tyler Winkles (Acalanes)
Justen Womack (Oak Ridge)
Blake Wong (Norco)

50th Lions All-Star FB Game Updates

By Mark Tennis | Published January 23, 2026

Lions All-Star Football head coaches Frank Marques of the South (Hilmar) & Andrew Beam of the North (Escalon) have experience going against each other in the Trans Valley League. Photo: Mark Tennis / Cal-Hi Sports.


Coaches are announced for this summer’s game in Tracy, which will be the 50th annual, and for the first time will include a girls flag all-star contest as part of it. ALLRISE Foundation also is coming on board as presenting sponsor.

Note: We hope you enjoy this free post on Cal-Hi Sports.com. Cal-Hi Sports All-State Football content that will be for Gold Club members only also will include second team, third team overall and All-State Juniors & Sophomores plus list of most outstanding freshmen. If you want to check out all of our rankings content, and all state record updates, you can check it out for just $4.99 to cover a one-month subscription. For info, CLICK HERE.

CHECK OUT CALGAMESWANTED.COM
Created for Coaches by Coaches for California Varsity High School Head Coaches and Athletic Directors, Start building your schedule with CalGamesWanted.com.
User friendly to take the stress out of scheduling.

If the 50th annual Central California Lions All-Star Football Game is anything like the last two in the series, the excitement meter could be off the charts.

The South team won in the annual all-star game two years ago, 18-15, on a touchdown with four seconds left. Last year, a back-and-forth contest was won by the North, 42-37, which held off the South with the help of a controversial fourth down play that could have been called an illegal fake punt.

This year’s game, which will be the 50th annual of the series, will be played on Saturday, June 20 at Tracy High’s Wayne Schneider Stadium.

Schneider, one of the founders of the game and longtime head coach at Tracy who retired in 1994, still serves on the committee that puts on the game each year.

“No, not many things last 50 years,” Schneider said on Wednesday before the monthly Lions All-Star Football committee meeting. “It’s been such good support from the Lions and from schools in the area. We’ve struggled a little bit, but have kept to it.”

And in keeping with the theme of looking at the past while looking ahead, for the first time, there is going to be a girls flag football all-star game representing players from the same schools as in the north and south for the boys.

Coaches have been named for all four teams that will be playing in this year’s two games.

Andrew Beam (Escalon) – North Football

The Modesto Bee’s Coach of the Year after the 2023 season has been the head coach at his alma mater since 2019 when he took over for the retired Mark Loureiro, who at the time was the winningest head coach in CIF Sac-Joaquin Section history and is still No. 2 behind Modesto Central Catholic’s Roger Canepa, who was a coach in the Lions’ game two years ago. Beam’s first five teams (non-COVID) at Escalon went 14-1, 12-2, 13-3 and 12-2. His teams the past two seasons were not as successful but were in the SJS D4 playoffs.

“Coach Lou always said this game was something that he’s always remembered,” Beam said. “I still remember the crushing feeling of losing in this game (as a player). I’m happy that it’s still going after all these years.”

Frank Marques (Hilmar) – South Football

The acceptance by Marques to coach the South squad this year is reminiscent of the 2023 contest that was led by retiring Oakdale head coach Trent Merzon. Marques retired at the end of the 2025 season at Hilmar after a 23-year run as head coach. His work at the school with a final career record of 199 wins, four SJS titles and one CIF state title was more than just those totals and the Lions All-Star Football Game is honored he’s agreed to coach in the game once again.

“I played in the ninth game and it’s always been a passion of mine,” said Marques, who last served as South head coach in 2018. “It was such a big deal in the 70s and 80s and it’s always been a premier event. I’m really honored they asked me to do this for the 50th game.”

The first ever girls flag football head coaches for the Lions All-Star Football Classic this summer will be David Rios Jr. from Kimball of Tracy (center) who is flanked by the co-head coaches from Atwater, Nathan Ramirez & Capri Abbasi. Photo: Mark Tennis.

David Rios Jr. (Kimball, Tracy) – North Flag

After leading the Jaguars to a 10-0 record in the Tri-City Athletic League and to a second seed in the SJS D2 playoffs, Rios Jr. will be the first-ever North head coach in the Lions’ all-star game for girls. Although the team was upset in the first round of the playoffs, it still posted a 24-3 overall record.

“I think this is just a tremendous honor to be the coach in this game, especially for the first one,” said Rios Jr., who has been a girls soccer coach at Kimball for 10 years and completed his first season as head coach in flag football. “I’m excited to be a part of it with all of the girls, hopefully leading the North to its first ‘W.’”

Nathan Ramirez & Capri Abbasi (Atwater) – South Flag

The first-ever South all-stars will have co-coaches because that is what the team at Atwater had last season, which went to the SJS D2 semifinals and arguably was the second best team in the division behind league rival Merced, which won the title game 33-6 over Ponderosa of Shingle Springs after just getting past the Falcons in the semifinals, 13-7. Atwater also won in its quarterfinal game, 54-12, over Rocklin. Ramirez and Abbasi both have some experience with 11-man football as Ramirez has been coaching 15 years while Abbasi is married to Modesto Junior College defensive coordinator Eddie Abbasi.

“It’s definitely an honor and a privilege to be the first South coaches in this game,” said Ramirez.

“At the very first tryout at Atwater we had just five girls show up and it was very bleak,” said Abbasi. “To get where we are now is amazing.”

BIG NEWS:
ALL RISE FOUNDATION TO SERVE AS PRESENTING SPONSOR

For the first time in many years, the Lions All-Star Football Game has a presenting sponsor and it will be the ALLRISE Foundation, which is the charity funded by New York Yankees superstar Aaron Judge. The Linden High grad was once selected to participate in the Lions game after his senior season, but respectfully declined to play via letter as he was getting ready to start playing collegiate baseball at Fresno State. Judge is still regarded as one of the best multi-sport high school athletes (football, basketball, baseball) in SJS history.

The Lions All-Star Football Committee is extremely grateful for this help. Specifically, the donation will go toward paying for all of the jerseys for all players (boys & girls) in this year’s all-star games.

Banquet: April 18 at St. Joseph’s Catholic Church
in Modesto (Father O’Hare Hall)

More details are still to come but this year’s all-star football banquet will be held on Saturday, April 18 at St. Joseph’s Catholic Church (Father O’Hare Hall) in Modesto. There will be a guest speaker and all players will have photos taken.

North & South Team Rosters

Those are not yet available. The plan is to have the teams selected by February 18, 2026. The coaches and the two team coordinators are the ones who primarily do the selections.

More History

The event matches top graduated high school football players primarily from the Stockton area against those primarily from the Modesto area. It is going into its fifth year after it was not held for three years due to the COVID pandemic. It has been played at Lincoln High in Stockton (2019), Tracy (2013-2018 & 2023-25), Modesto Junior College (2012) and at University of the Pacific’s Memorial Stadium.

The North team’s win last June broke a stretch of the South team having won in five of the six previous games. The North now has a 27-19-2 edge in the series.

Game Ticket Info

This year’s game will feature tickets that can be purchased through GoFan.com. Tickets are $15. Presale game tickets and t-shirts also will be available at the banquet.

Sadly, a Final Note

We would be remiss in not mentioning the recent tragic passing of longtime SJS southern region prep sportswriter/editor Richard T. Estrada. Mr. Estrada was just 63 years old when he died on Dec. 28 in Oakdale. He was the founder and editor of the Black Hat Football social media page and platform and selected the 14th annual All-Black Hat football teams (which comprises both north and south regions of the Lions game) the night before he suffered a heart attack. He had been a longtime high school writer with the Modesto Bee before that. We pass along our most sincere condolences to Rich’s family.

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.

All-State FB Patch List For Sophomores

By Mark Tennis | Published January 19, 2026

All-State Football patches will again be handled this year by our friends at BillyTees.com. For more information about Cal-Hi Sports merchandise at BillyTees.com, CLICK HERE.


Congratulations to the following players listed in alphabetical order who have been selected to either first team, second team or third team on the 2025 Cal-Hi Sports All-State Sophomore Football Teams for the fall season. These players and their families can now order an official all-state football patch plus you’ll get a certificate through our partners at BillyTees.com. We also like to post the names on a list so we’re not collecting a subscription from a parent who is only interested in seeing if their son has been picked and then finds out the son wasn’t picked.

For ordering info to get 2025 all-state football patch, CLICK HERE.

To get a Gold Club subscription so you can see the complete presentation of the Cal-Hi Sports 2025 All-State Sophomore Football Teams (fall season), CLICK HERE.

Kaleb Aiava (Servite)
Zion Anderson (LB Poly)
Troy Bishop (Mater Dei)
Giovani Blanco (El Segundo)
Sam Boeddeker (Bishop Diego, Santa Barbara)
Karter Brooks (Enterprise)
Jai’Lynn Brown (Vista del Lago, MV)
Julian Bruno (Grant, Sac)
Izeah Buchanan (Salesian, Richmond)
Jaxson Carper (St. Bonaventure)
Henderson Carter (Norco)
Matthew Charles (Chaminade)
Lance Ciechanowski (Sierra Canyon)
Gavin Collier (Santa Monica)
Kevin Cooks (Central East)
J.R. Cruz (Clovis North)
Drew Cumby (St. Francis, MV)
James Curoso (Clovis)
Chase Curren (Crespi)
Matthew Dalhaver (Mission Viejo)
Malaki Davis (Centennial, Corona)
Tommy Devany (Buchanan)
Ayden Edwards (Tustin)
Bryan Edwards (Bishop O’Dowd)
Luke Everett (Mar Vista)
Markus Fakatou (Orange Lutheran)
Sean Fanua (Helix)
Ma’kani Fields-Cook (Canyon Hills)
Apisai Fifita (St. Francis MV)
Owen Fiorenza (Alta Loma)
Colton Fitzgibbon (San Ramon Valley)
Jalen Flowers (Palos Verdes)
Grayson Gaines (St. Joseph, Santa Maria)
Mark Gomez (Garces)
Ryan Gonzales (La Mirada)
Isaiah Grant (Archbishop Riordan)
Jemel Grigsby (Wilson, Long Beach)
Micah Hannah (Simi Valley)
Isaiah Harrison (Pittsburg)
Thunder Hazen (Dublin)
Jack Heaslet (St. Joseph, Santa Maria)
Ethan Hedrick (Villa Park)
Jordan Hicks (Mission Viejo)
Chase Higgs (Apple Valley)
J.J. Howard (Clovis West)
Turner Hughes (Villa Park)
Nick Hunt (Oak Ridge)
Edis Ihoni (Roosevelt, Fresno)
Lincoln Jahn (Inglewood)
Anhor Johnson (Lutheran, Orange)
King Rich Johnson (Lutheran, Orange)
Koby Johnson (Enterprise)
D’Elliott Jones (University, LA)
Ja’Vale Jones (Pittsburg)
Allen Kennett (Servite)
Hayden Koo (Tustin)
Major Lee (Clovis West)
Isaiah Lefotu (Garces)
Jayden Lewis (St. Francis, MV)
Keiden Lokeni (Servite)
Damir Lomax (Bakersfield)
Hezekiah Manuel (Hoover, SD)
Pakipole Moala (Leuzinger)
Koa Malau’ulu (St. John Bosco)
Ethan Miller (San Clemente)
Landon Miller (De La Salle)
Maxwell Moore (Tracy)
Elisha Mueller (Servite)
Darren Nash (St. John Bosco)
Cadillac Pina (Golden West)
Malique Pollard (Loyola)
Bronson Pulu (Valley View)
Cordell Radcliffe (Sacramento)
Weston Reis (Palos Verdes)
Ben Rivas (Oak Ridge)
Dezmond Sanders (Edison, Stockton)
Tristan Savage (Ventura)
Russell Sekona (Leuzinger)
Taylon Sheriff (Canyon Hills)
Jerry Shifman (Mater Dei, Santa Ana)
Malaika Sione (Pacifica, Oxnard)
Jordan Slye (Salesian, LA)
Jaion Smith (Santa Margarita)
Kingston Sula (Carson)
Andrew Tapia (Montgomery, San Diego)
Amerion Taylor (Tulare Western)
Star Thomas (Orange)
Mason Towne (Franklin, Elk Grove)
Isaiah Trujillo (Yorba Linda)
Dunedin Tupou (Casa Roble)
Elijah Tuua (Folsom)
Darren Tubbs (St. John Bosco)
Navi Uhatafe (Balboa, SF)
Anaius Ulu (Bellarmine)
Elijah Walker (Chavez, Stockton)
Kenny Ward (Pittsburg)
James Watson (Ventura)
Darvin Wattree (Ridgeview)
Gaige Weddle (Rancho Bernardo)
Ca’ron Williams (Santa Margarita)
Qassim Williams (Montgomery, SD)

Defense State POY: Jaden Walk-Green

By Mark Tennis | Published January 9, 2026

Jaden Walk-Green of No. 6 Corona Centennial is shown scoring on an interception return during win in September vs Bingham of Utah. Photo: cen10.football / Instagram.com.


Just a junior, the Corona Centennial defensive back is going to make us work to add another category to our state records: most interception returns for a touchdown in a season. Walk-Green had five of those pick six TDs for the state No. 2 Huskies this season, led the state in interceptions with 10, led the team in tackles and created a new term: the pick seven. That’s because after Jaden would get a pick six, he would stay on the field and kick the extra point.
 Read more…

Attn: Senior FB Players

By Mark Tennis | Published January 8, 2026


If there was one thing that the late, legendary football coach Terry Donahue understood it was recruiting players to colleges and how a graduating senior may be unknown but still very much interested in maximizing opportunities to play at the next level.

TO SIGN UP FOR THIS YEAR’S CALIFORNIA FOOTBALL SHOWCASE,
CLICK HERE.

That’s partly why 13 years ago Coach Donahue founded the Terry Donahue California Football Showcase, which says it is for graduating high school seniors and plus community college student-athletes to have an opportunity to display their skills to NCAA Division II, III, and NAIA football programs in a one-day (absolutely free) skills combine.

This year’s California Football Showcase will take place on Saturday, Feb. 21, at the Great Park, Irvine. The event also has partnered this year with The Moving In Right Direction and AIGA Foundations. It is once again free of charge.

Donahue was the head coach at UCLA from 1976 to 1995 and remains the winningest football coach in school history with 151 career wins. He also was general manager of the San Francisco 49ers from 2001 to 2005. He remained very active in the sport until his death in 2021 at age 77 due to cancer. He also was easily able to put himself into the shoes of the very players that the California Football Showcase aims to help. Donahue was not recruited much as an undersized player from Notre Dame of Sherman Oaks, but attended San Jose State as a walk-on, then went to L.A. Valley College and then walked-on as a player at UCLA.

This type of event also is even more critical for high school seniors in just that last two years due to the increased use of D1 colleges of the transfer portal. Those colleges simply don’t recruit nearly as many high school players as they did in the past. It all trickles down.

The event will feature student-athletes from all over California and brings together NCAA Division II, III, and NAIA college/universities from across the country, as well as California community college programs. Players will showcase their skills during a series of tests and drills that will best display each player’s talent at their respective positions. The CA Showcase will be organized and managed by former college and professional football players and coaches associated with Coach Donahue throughout his career.

Following the activities, players and coaches from the colleges/universities will meet in an adjacent facility to discuss scholarship and financial aid opportunities. Admission in the area will be restricted to student-athletes, participating coaches and volunteers, visiting high school and college/university coaches and/or administrators, and the media.

Clovis Girls BB Wins Jamboree Crown

By Harold Abend | Published January 1, 2026

Nihoa Dunn (left) of Hawaii was named the Jim Capoot Memorial Award winner at the 2025 West Coast Jamboree. At right is David “Scoop” Jackson MVP award winner Sadie Sin of Platinum Division champion Clovis. Photo: Harold Abend.


State Top 20 team tops Hawaii team in prestigious Bay Area tourney’s Platinum Division title game behind MVP Sadie Sin. The Cougars also avenged an earlier loss in the semifinals. Their league rivals from Central East won the third-place game with Villa Park taking the consolation crown.

For the first time in 25 years in the history of the West Coast Jamboree girls basketball tournament, which has been contested since 2000, and in an exciting finish, a team from the CIF Central Section has captured the tournament’s top division. That team is Clovis after the Cougars pulled out a Platinum Division 56-53 victory on Tuesday night over Hawaii Kamehameha Kapalana of Honolulu.

Sadie Sin, a senior point guard who in mid-November committed to Long Beach State, was selected as the Platinum Division winner of the David “Scoop” Jackson Most Valuable Player Award named in honor of the late founder of the West Coast Jamboree.

Sin scored the game’s first nine points and finished with 19 points (one three-pointer, five rebounds, five assists and three steals). She was also was 8-of-9 from the free-throw line, including hitting two that helped secure the win with less than 20 seconds remaining with Kamehameha having to foul and Clovis holding a razor thin 52-51 lead.

Senior Yazmin Aguilera was the only other Clovis player to reach double-figure scoring and finished with 10 points, including two three-pointers and two free throws with two seconds left and the Cougars holding a 54-53 lead.

After Sin staked Cal-Hi Sports No. 19 ranked Clovis (9-6) to a 9-0 lead, the Cougars stretched it to 23-7 at the end of the first quarter and the first of four 19-point leads at 36-17 at the half.

The last of the 19-point leads came at 42-23 in the early third quarter, but the relentless defense of Kamehameha, which had come from 10 down at the half in its semifinal 50-43 win over Central East of Fresno, never quit. In fact, the Warriors from the Rainbow State held Clovis to no field goals and only seven free throws in the fourth quarter after closing to 49-36 at the end of the third.

While Sin and Aquilera were the only double-figure scorers, Clovis head coach Cooper Steele got contributions from six other players, particularly in the first three quarters when the Cougars were building their lead. Senior Milly Rojas added seven points (one three-pointer) and junior Amieya Walters chipped in with six points, including a three-pointer.

Kamehameha (15-5) got a huge game from 6-foot-1 senior power forward/center and reining Hawaii Gatorade Player of the Year Nihoa Dunn. Dunn, who led Iolani to its first state championship last season since 2013, finished with a double-double 26 points and 11 rebounds, including 17 in the second half when she was unstoppable in the paint, but Kamehameha dug too big a hole and despite her efforts the team fell just short. For her overall efforts, Dunn was named the recipient of the Jim Capoot Memorial Award for sportsmanship and inspirational play.

Sophomore guard Andrea Porreca added 13 points (three three-pointers) but only five players scored and the other three only able to muster 14 points.

While Kamehameha made a big comeback against Central East to get to the championship game, Clovis avenged a 59-56 loss to Priory of Portola Valley three weeks ago with a 44-30 semifinal victory in a game the Cougars only trailed twice in the first quarter by one point each time in a game where the final margin of victory was their biggest lead of the game. In a low scoring defensive battle, it was Sin leading the way with 11 points. Sophomore Jada Walton and senior Jaylyn Jasso added nine and seven points, respectively.

The third-place game saw Central East (8-6) post a 49-44 victory over Priory. Sophomore post Za Murphy led the way with 16 points, and Savana Chris added 14 points including four three-pointers and Leilah Haynes had 11 points with one three-pointer.

Priory (6-4) got 18 points from junior Sasha Johnson and 11 points with three three-pointers from senior Adelaide Chan.

After losing its opening round game to Kamehameha, 63-37, Villa Park (14-3) rebounded to best Oakland Tech 56-50, and then in the Consolation Championship took down Valencia 67-62 in an all Southern California match-up. Bailey Roczey and Lauren Wolfe each had 16 points and Olivia Sturdivant added 15 points.

In the Diamond Division, the second of the Jamboree’s elite divisions along with the Platinum, it was host Clayton Valley of Concord (6-4) overpowering Caruthers (7-4), 63-44.

Harold Abend is the associate editor of CalHiSports.com and the vice president of the California Prep Sportswriters Association. He can be reached at marketingharoldabend@gmail.com. Don’t forget to follow him on Twitter: @HaroldAbend

Can Now Call Crowe Jr. Mr. 4K

By Mark Tennis | Published December 29, 2025

Inglewood’s Jason Crowe Jr. goes past 4,000 career points at the King Cotton Holiday Classic in Arkansas. Since breaking state record in early December, he’s had three 50-point games, including one on Monday of this week.

Jason Crowe Jr. has had high games of 56 and 54 points since breaking state career scoring record. Photo: BallisLife.com.


There’s now another state record that Inglewood’s Jason Crowe Jr. can perhaps establish this season in addition to the big one he already broke back on December 9 when he became California’s all-time career scoring leader.

Crowe Jr. headed to the King Cotton Classic in Arkansas that began last Saturday and continued on Monday of this week with 3,957 career points. He is running past the previous state record of 3,659 points set last season by Tounde Yessofou from St. Joseph of Santa Maria. J2 didn’t hit 4,000 points on Saturday with 34 points but the Sentinels got a 74-66 win vs Benton of Arkansas.

That meant that Crowe Jr. needed just nine points on Monday night and he got those and plenty, plenty more with 54 points to lead Inglewood past St. Michael’s of Austin, Texas, 92-80. He and his teammates are playing Faith Family of Texas on Tuesday for the tourney title.

The outing of 54 points is the third time since Jason broke Tounde’s record of scoring 50 points or more. The highest was 56 points vs Eagle Academy of New York, which was followed by 52 vs Upsring of Germany. After Monday’s game, Crowe Jr. was averaging 44.6 points per game and his career total stood at 4,045 points.

The current state record of 45.7 ppg for one season was set in 1991 by Mike Fisher from Southwestern of San Marino, a very, very small school team at the time. A better comparison is the 44.3 ppg scoring average that Glendora’s Tracy Murray had for his senior year in 1989.

Along with managing editor Ronnie Flores, we will continue to closely monitor J2’s senior season on this site and on our social media platforms.

Ontario Chr girls dominant in tourney

By Harold Abend | Published December 7, 2025

You can’t get much bigger in girls hoops than Ontario Christian’s Tati Griffin & Kaleena Smith. The duo led Knights to a major tourney title win. Photo: Harold Abend.


State’s preseason No. 1 girls hoops team looks like a national No. 1 team the way that it rolled to the Troy Warrior Way Hoops Classic title on Saturday. Preseason state No. 2 Sierra Canyon also was in the event, but is still missing State Junior of the Year Jerzy Robinson.

Note: We hope you enjoy this free post on CalHiSports.com. Harold Abend’s State TOP 25 rankings updates for the rest of the season will be for our Gold Club members only. To check out getting a Gold Club membership to see all of those rankings plus all of our updated state record lists, totally authentic historical features, recaps of big events and more, CLICK HERE.

CHECK OUT CALGAMESWANTED.COM
Created for Coaches by Coaches for California Varsity High School Head Coaches and Athletic Directors, Start building your schedule with CalGamesWanted.com.
User friendly to take the stress out of scheduling.

Just how good are the Ontario Christian of Ontario girls?

After their showing in dominating and winning the Troy Warrior Way Hoops Classic early season tournament held in Fullerton on December 2-6 that ended on Saturday night, the Knight girls are looking pretty darn good.

With Cal-Hi Sports State Sophomore of the Year and Ms. Basketball State Player of the Year finalist Kaleena Smith, and State Freshman of the Year Tati Griffin, who looks pretty much recovered from a summer injury, both looking in mid-season form plus others, it’s looking like the Knights are absolutely deserving of not only the Cal-Hi Sports preseason No. 1 ranking, but they have a legitimate claim and argument to be ranked No. 1 nationally as well.

The Troy Classic was looking like it was set up to be a potential match-up in the championship game between Ontario Christian and preseason No. 2 ranked Sierra Canyon of Chatsworth, placed in opposite brackets of the eight-team Hess Division, but along the way upset central really made itself known.

Besides those two two-ranked teams, the field also included preseason No. 8 Sage Hill of Newport Beach in the same bracket as Sierra Canyon, and preseason No. 10 Fairmont Prep of Anaheim in the same bracket as Ontario Christian, as well as preseason No. 12 Moreno Valley on the Ontario Christian side.

Ontario Christian made fast work of up-and-coming Oak Park in a somewhat surprising 106-39 opening round victory. The Knights followed that up with an 89-43 win over Moreno Valley and then posted a 88-41 win versus Fairmont Prep, all very impressive results.

Photo: Harold Abend.


It was on the Sierra Canyon side that things went awry.

JSerra of San Capistrano, by virtue of an 18-11 season last year, only came into the game with a spot on the bubble of the preseason state rankings. However, head Coach Rachael Ziemann and her Lions put themselves on the map early with a 60-54 victory over Sage Hill with a balanced scoring attack of 6-foot-2 junior wing Vivian Grenald with 17 points, 6-foot-2 junior wing Kayla Rice with 14 points, flashy junior point guard Rose Santos and junior guard Shae Talleur with 13 points apiece.

Topping that win, JSerra came back and followed that with a huge 67-63 upset victory over a Sierra Canyon team that is visibly missing Cal-Hi Sports State Junior of the Year Jerzy Robinson, who has been out around three months with a bad ankle. In that game, Grenald led the way with 20 points and Santos with 18 points, including five big free-throws down the stretch. JSerra finished pool play with 70-51 win over San Clemente behind 28 points from Grenald and 22 points from Rice.

Having won its first three games, that set up a championship final match-up between JSerra and Ontario Christian, but in this contest the state’s top team wasn’t interested in any of the previous results or upsets and came out on fire in an 86-58 victory that was not anywhere near as close as the score indicates.

Ontario Christian (9-0) bolted out to a 5-0 lead, led 35-8 after one quarter and 60-19 at the half before head coach Aundre Cummings took his foot off the gas pedal and the their credit JSerra never quit despite the outcome obviously being over early.

Ontario Christian ended up converting 13 three-pointers with 12 coming in the first half. The 5-foot-11 Griffin finished with 28 points with six three-pointers, five coming in the first half, plus six rebounds, an assist, steal and a block. She had obviously has been working on her outside shooting, although she did convert on 43 from outside the arc last year. As usual, Smith filled the state sheet. She also finished with 28 points (three three-pointers) plus six steals, four rebounds and four assists.

Chloe Jenkins, a 6-foot freshman guard, had a double-double after finishing with 18 points with two three-pointers plus 16 rebounds with two steals, two assists and a block. Dani Robinson, a 5-foot-10 junior guard, finished with 14 points (two three-pointers) plus four rebounds.

JSerra (8-2) was led by Grenald with 25 points (one three-pointers) plus eight rebounds, four assists and three steals. Rice added 11 points, four rebound and two assists and Talleur also had 11 points, including three three-pointers.

After bouncing back from the JSerra loss, Sierra Canyon bested Sage Hill 75-59 and then the Trailblazers won the third-place game with an equally impressive 61-43 victory over Fairmont Prep.

Sierra Canyon (5-1) went out to a 5-0 lead and never looked back after leading 16-8 after one quarter, 29-14 at the half and 46-33 before it coasted home.

Junior guard Jordan Malek connected on six three-pointers and led the Trailblazers with 20 points. Senior guard Delaney White added 15 points with three three-pointers and senior forward Payton Montgomery had 11 points.

Fairmont Prep (3-3) was led by 6-foot-3 freshman center Aaliyah Mack with 17 points with two three-pointers and senior guard Adyra Rajan with 12 points, but the Sierra Canyon defense held one of the state’s leading three-point shooter to none for the game.

The Yano Division title game saw host Troy with head coach Kevin Kiernan back at the helm taking on Los Osos of Rancho Cucamonga, but the Warriors couldn’t deliver win No. 906 to the state’s all-time winningest coach after falling 69-51 to Los Osos.

Junior guard Tory Johnson led Los Osos (8-2) with 24 points, all on eight three-pointers. Seniors Tiyana Saunders and Ivana Nwagbo added 17 and 13 points, respectively.

Troy (5-3) was led by senior transfer Mei-ling Perry with 25 points, including two three-pointers.

Archbishop Mitty captures
La Jolla County Day Sweet 16 Invitational

Cal-Hi Sports Preseason No. 4 Archbishop Mitty of San Jose (4-0), with superstar and Iowa-committed senior McKenna Woliczko not scheduled to come back from injury until after the first of January, opened its season by winning the La Jolla County Day Sweet 16 Invitational after an 80-38 victory over San Diego Lincoln, 66-48 versus Francis Parker of San Diego, 56-34 over Mission Hills of San Marcos, and a 76-46 victory in the championship title game over Rancho Christian of Temecula.

Mitty got 34 points (three three-pointers) from 6-foot-2 sophomore star center Maliya Hunter in the title tilt. Junior Ze’ni Patterson added 14 points.

Rancho Christian (5-1) received 14 points freshman Addison Archer and 10 points (two three-pointers) from senior Ebony Tayler-Smith.

Harold Abend is the associate editor of CalHiSports.com and the vice president of the California Prep Sportswriters Association. He can be reached at marketingharoldabend@gmail.com. Don’t forget to follow him on Twitter: @HaroldAbend

Mater Dei Wins Inaugural Girls BB event

By Harold Abend | Published December 1, 2025

Players from state No. 5 Mater Dei (Santa Ana) are shown after their win over Oak Park in title game of their own Thanksgiving weekend tourney. Photo: Harold Abend.


Harmony Golightly is MVP for the Monarchs, but the news is not all good for preseason state No. 5 team as it is revealed that South Carolina-bound Kaeli Wynn will be out for the rest of the season due to an upcoming knee surgery. This early season girls bb update also includes big results from Redondo’s Battle at the Beach.

The championship game of the inaugural Mater Dei Holiday Classic between the host Monarchs and upstart Oak Park was set after each won its first three games of the four-day, eight-team event that began on Tuesday of last week, continued on Wednesday with day of on Thursday for Thanksgiving, and resumed on Friday for game three with the teams then playing on Saturday for seventh, fifth and third place before the 6pm title-game tip-off.

This match-up was looking like it could be a very tough one for shorthanded Mater Dei, and while it was close for a half with the hosts only holding a 31-26 lead after two quarters, the superior depth of the Monarchs took control after halftime and they coasted to a 73-61 victory in a game they led 65-46 before second-year head coach Jody Wynn began to substitute.

We say Mater Dei is short handed since it is still playing without its best player, 6-foot-2 South Carolina-committed Kaeli Wynn. Wynn, the daughter of Coach Wynn, injured her knee cap last season and missed the final few games. It was thought she might be able to play this season, but according to Coach Wynn she will be having surgery this week and likely will miss the entire season.

Coaches from Oak Park direct their girls during title game of Mater Dei Thanksgiving tourney. Photo: Harold Abend.


With Wynn cheering her teammates on from the bench, the load has had to shift to others, and so far in a 5-0 start for Mater Dei it has worked well, and the win over Oak Park was a perfect example. The leading scorer so far this season is Harmony Golightly, a junior combo guard who according to Mater Dei coaches already has several offers including Auburn. Against Oak Park, she made five three-pointers in the first half, and finished with six en route to a game-high 28 points plus nine rebounds and four assists. Stella Hoss, a 6-foot-2 junior forward who has shown marked improvement from last season, added 14 points and four rebounds. Noelle Mulvanny, a 6-foot senior forward, controlled the paint and finished with a double-double 10 points (one three-pointer), 10 rebounds plus two assists. Freshman Legend Tyler, a 5-foot-11 guard who showed over the summer and fall that she will be a budding star, also added 10 points plus eight rebounds, five assists.

Mater Dei won its first games, 72-33 over Bishop Montgomery of Torrance, 66-52 over Sierra Pacific of Hanford, and 81-53 versus Moreno Valley. Against Sierra Pacific, Golightly had 17 points with two three-pointers, and against Moreno Valley she went for 24 points with four three-pointers. When the tournament MVP was announced there was little doubt it was going to be Golightly, and it was.

Coming into the season, Oak Park, a three-time defending CIF Southern Section champion, had extremely high hopes. Not only did the Eagles have a new head coach with WNBA experience, April Shilling, who added former Windward (Los Angeles) head coach Rachel Schrote to her staff, they also added transfers to four returning starters, most notable former Ventura star and UC Santa Barbara-committed 5-foot-10 senior guard Karisma Lewis, who already was regarded as the top team player in Ventura County and solidified the Eagles as the the top team in the county. The initial result was for the Cal-Hi Sports preseason rankings Oak Park came in at No. 16 after not being ranked in last season’s Final Expanded Rankings.

Oak Park looked very good in winning its first three games, 65-47 over Canyon of Canyon Country, 65-46 over up-and-coming Priory of Portola Valley and 63-51 against Windward of Los Angeles,. However, not having all its transfers eligible, including Diana Sorrondo, a 6-foot-4 Southern Utah-committed center, who transferred from Arroyo Grande where she was the San Luis Obispo County Defensive Player of the Year last season, meant the Eagles while still very formidable, could not match the depth of Mater Dei. Only five players scored for Oak Park but the bulk of the production came from Lewis and last year’s leading scorer Maya Deshautelle. Lewis finished with 25 points (three three-pointers), eight rebounds and four steals, and Deshautelle added 19 points (one three-pointers) and five rebounds. Sophomore guard Ava Rogerson chipped in with 10 points (two three-pointers) but the other two players that scored only tallied six points. Once Shilling has all the transfers cleared and she has time to put the pieces together as the season progresses, look for Oak Park to be a contender.

One of the surprises on the Mater Dei Holiday Classic, and despite taking a loss to Oak Park, was Priory. Head coach Buck Matthews and his Panthers were only one of a handful of teams that ventured to Southern California for preseason tournaments, and as the only NorCal team at the Santa Ana event it did very well and opened the season at 3-1. Priory made its presence known early after knocking off Cal-Hi Sports Preseason No. 14 Windward 60-58 in the opening round. The Panthers ran into Oak Park in their second game and lost by 19 points. However, after Thanksgiving, they came back on Friday to overwhelm Canyon, 63-41, and that set up a third-place showdown with preseason No. 12 Moreno Valley that produced a solid 55-48 victory.

The match-up with Moreno Valley saw the teams trade leads with several ties early on that saw Priory take a 17-16 lead after one quarter. It was 19-19 in the early second but from there Priory went on a 16-2 run to take a 35-21 lead at halftime that went 21-2 to make it 40-21 in the early third and Moreno Valley was never able to recover. Moreno Valley clawed its way back to 52-47, but they were not able to get over the hump. Sasha Johnson, a 5-foot-10 junior guard, led the way for Priory with 18 points (three three-pointers), including 10 points and two three-pointers in the big second quarter run. Senior 5-foot-11 guard Ugreat Daniels added 13 points (one three-pointer) and junior guard Gabby Wickham finished with 11 points with one two three-pointers.

Alaysha Mills, a 6-foot power forward, led Moreno Valley with a game-high 21 points with one three-pointer, and senior guard Bella Medina added 13 points with two three-pointers.

Seventh Place: Canyon 57 Bishop Montgomery 31
Fifth Place: Windward 53 Sierra Pacific 48

Battle at the Beach at Redondo Union

Another major tournament contested over the Thanksgiving Holiday was the annual Battle at the Beach at Redondo Union High.

The final came down to Cal-Hi Sports Preseason No. 3 Etiwanda and No. 8 Sage Hill of Newport Beach, and it was all Etiwanda (5-0) in a 81-57 victory. Junior guard Chasity Rice led the way with 28 points (four rebounds, three assists), Florida-committed 5-foot-10 senior wing Arynn Finley was chosen as tournament MVP after finishing with 24 points, three rebounds and four assist, and junior forward Aliyah Phillips added 21 points and five rebounds.

After losing 88-81 in double overtime in the semifinals to Sage Hill (5-1), defending state CIF Division I state champions Carondelet of Concord (4-1), who beat Sage Hill in the D1 state title game, rebounded to win the third-place game with a 54-49 victory over host Redondo Union.

Troy Hoop Classic

The Troy Hoops Classic beginning on December 1 will have the same host school but a new head coach as all-time California wins leader Kevin Kiernan is back at Troy where he won three CIF state championships before moving on to Mater Dei.

The field includes Cal-Hi Sports Preseason No. 1 Ontario Christian in one bracket with No. 2 Sierra Canyon in the other bracket with the two scheduled to meet to decide who is the early season favorite for the state’s top spot if barring a major upset the two will meet in the title game.

NorCal Tip-Off Classic Recaps

By Ronnie Flores | Published November 29, 2025

Here’s the results and recaps from the 18th Annual NorCal Tip-Off Classic at Dublin High School. Preseason Preseason state No. 8 Riordan downs No. 14 La Mirada, while state No. 19 San Gabriel Academy is upset by Destiny Christian of Sacramento.
Read more…

    Latest News

    Insider Blog