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.

Updated State Unbeaten FB Teams

By Mark Tennis | Published November 9, 2025

After last year’s CIF state championships, the only two 11-man football teams in the state that finished unbeaten were Open Division winner Mater Dei of Santa Ana (13-0) and D5-AA winner Carmel (15-0). Here’s an updated list of undefeated teams after games of Friday & Saturday Nov. 7 & Nov. 8. As of now, the number of undefeated teams in the state stands at 29. Ten more fell off this list for this weekend.

FOR GOLD CLUB LIST OF STATE’S ALL-TIME UNDEFEATED TEAMS FROM NORTHERN CALIFORNIA, CLICK HERE.

FOR GOLD CLUB LIST OF STATE’S ALL-TIME UNDEFEATED TEAMS FROM SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA, CLICK HERE.

Since the CIF started its current format of inviting every CIF section champion into its regional/state championships in 2015, it’s been getting very difficult for teams to finish the season with an unbeaten record.
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Updated State Unbeaten FB Teams

By Mark Tennis | Published November 4, 2025

After last year’s CIF state championships, the only two 11-man football teams in the state that finished unbeaten were Open Division winner Mater Dei of Santa Ana (13-0) and D5-AA winner Carmel (15-0). Here’s an updated list of undefeated teams after games of Friday & Saturday Oct. 31 & Nov. 1. As of now, the number of undefeated teams in the state stands at 39. Eight more fell off this list for this weekend.

FOR GOLD CLUB LIST OF STATE’S ALL-TIME UNDEFEATED TEAMS FROM NORTHERN CALIFORNIA, CLICK HERE.

FOR GOLD CLUB LIST OF STATE’S ALL-TIME UNDEFEATED TEAMS FROM SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA, CLICK HERE.

Since the CIF started its current format of inviting every CIF section champion into its regional/state championships in 2015, it’s been getting very difficult for teams to finish the season with an unbeaten record.
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Manteca gets comeback win vs Oakdale

By Isai Gutierrez | Published November 1, 2025

Quinn Martinez of Manteca gets tackled by an Oakdale player during a Valley Oak League championship matchup played Friday in Oakdale. Photo: Isai Gutierrez.

State No. 22 Buffaloes complete unbeaten regular season with a victory over their longtime rivals from the same league. This is the first game story that has been turned in by our intern, who hopes to make a career out of sportswriting and media.

Note: We hope you enjoy this free post on CalHiSports.com. After the preseason, all weekly and final state rankings also are available only to our Gold Club members as well as our state record related, some of our in-person game stories and state stat star of the week honor rolls. 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, recruiting player ratings 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.
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Updated State Unbeaten FB Teams

By Mark Tennis | Published October 26, 2025

After last year’s CIF state championships, the only two 11-man football teams in the state that finished unbeaten were Open Division winner Mater Dei of Santa Ana (13-0) and D5-AA winner Carmel (15-0). Here’s an updated list of undefeated teams after games of Friday & Saturday Oct. 24-25. As of now, the number of undefeated teams in the state stands at 47. Eight fell off this list for this weekend.

FOR GOLD CLUB LIST OF STATE’S ALL-TIME UNDEFEATED TEAMS FROM NORTHERN CALIFORNIA, CLICK HERE.

FOR GOLD CLUB LIST OF STATE’S ALL-TIME UNDEFEATED TEAMS FROM SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA, CLICK HERE.

Since the CIF started its current format of inviting every CIF section champion into its regional/state championships in 2015, it’s been getting very difficult for teams to finish the season with an unbeaten record.
Read more…

Girls BB: H.O.P.E event draws top talent

By Harold Abend | Published October 16, 2025

First-year head coach Dante Dixon diagrams a play for the team at Windward of Los Angeles during H.O.P.E. Showcase fall tourney held in Orange County. Photo: Harold Abend.


San Ramon Valley, playing as Wolfpack NorCal – Black, gets one eye-opening win at Orange County event over Etiwanda. Eagles also debuted a new freshman point guard at the event who didn’t play vs SRV. We also have players mentioned and watched from Mater Dei, Windward, Centennial of Corona, Bishop Montgomery of Torrance, Rosary of Fullerton and Pinewood of Los Altos Hills in this writeup.

We hope you enjoy this free post on CalHiSports.com. All regular season State TOP 50 rankings for girls hoops in the upcoming season will be Gold Club posts plus state record updates and state stat stars. You can sign up today to get all of our Gold Club content right now at just $4.99 for per month. Three-month sub also is offered. For details, 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.
Read more…

New SJS Bowl Games Plan Approved

By Mark Tennis | Published October 8, 2025



By a near unanimous vote of the CIF Sac-Joaquin Section Board of Managers on Wednesday, the section approved an immediately effective football playoff system in which the lower seeded teams will be playing in just one additional “bowl game” and will not be in games against the top seeded teams. It’s the first such plan we’ve ever seen in California and while the strongest responses on social media have been negative, the coaches we know like it a lot.

We hope you enjoy this free post on CalHiSports.com. All regular season State TOP 50 rankings will be Gold Club posts plus state record updates and state stat stars. You can sign up today to get all of our Gold Club content right now at just $4.99 for per month. Three-month sub also is offered. For details, CLICK HERE.

The CIF Sac-Joaquin Section (and its schools) have not embraced the competitive equity based football playoff formats that have become common in most CIF sections in the state. The SJS is the only large section, in fact, that doesn’t use it and remains committed to using enrollments as a key component of the criteria to place teams in various divisions.

Despite using byes for the top seeds in the early rounds, however, the lopsided scores for top-seeded teams winning in the first round of most divisions have continued. Another plan to address the dominance of many teams in the early rounds of the playoffs started to pick up steam over the summer. A proposal then came from the section’s Football Advisory Committee. It called for each playoff bracket to be reduced to eight teams and then make the next teams ranked from No. 9 to No. 16 eligible for a “bowl game.” That game would then be played during the week when the top seeded teams are idle. The winner of that “bowl game” would then be done for the season.

The bowl game proposal was voted on by the SJS Board of Managers on Wednesday. It was passed with overwhelming support, 55 votes of yes and just two for no. The new system also is going to be used immediately in just a few weeks when the 2025 regular season is over.

As explained to members of the media back in August by SJS assistant commissioner Will DeBoard, the advisory committee looked to pattern the extra bowl games similar to the way California community colleges have bowl games to conclude their season. As he talked, he said the plan would be voted on in October and that it would likely get major support from the schools. DeBoard mentioned that he thought there could be some teams that were seeded ninth in a bracket that would be getting a bowl game instead of a shot to play deeper in the playoffs that wouldn’t like it, but that most of the coaches were in favor of it.

As an example of how the plan would work, let’s look at last year’s D1 bracket. the No. 9 seed was Edison of Stockton and the No. 10 was Lincoln of Stockton. Instead of Edison losing in the first round to Downey of Modesto it would have just played a game vs Lincoln and the winning team in the “bowl game” would get a trophy of some kind and it’s season would be done. Downey lost in its next game last year, 68-28, to state powerhouse Folsom. A crosstown matchup like that one might not work so well in every bracket, but the section is going to look to avoid long road trips for any teams in any of these bowl games.

We talked to Downey head coach Jeremy Plaa recently about the plan and with him being at a school in the same division based on enrollment as Folsom he was all in favor of it.

“Look, the reality in our section is that if you’re an eight seed or even seven, you’re not going to be beating Folsom,” he said. “And there are a lot of teams like that in other divisions. It’s just more realistic that a nine or 12 seed playing each other is going to be good for the kids.”

Branding will be an important part of the plan working, DeBoard said back in August, pointing to the fact that every team in a bowl game also will be considered a playoff team. Of course, there will be a perception of the lower division teams playing in a meaningless bowl game like the many in college football each year. But if one watches those games the players from the winning teams aren’t just moping around the field. They’re happy to be playing and happy to have gotten a win over a team of similar skill and talent in the final game of the season.

Former Stagg of Stockton head coach Don Norton has been advocating for a way in which teams like he had that always had to play an opponent like Central Catholic of Modesto or even Folsom in the first round of a large bracket didn’t have to go through those ridiculous routs. This plan solves a lot of those issues.

“I think winning a bowl game like that is going to be a great reward for a good season,” he said recently. “This allows teams that maybe are in the wrong bracket or in a bracket with too many big schools to have a win. It’s going to be a great opportunity if you’re a team that’s 6-4 to maybe play another 6-4 from another league. I think it’s going to be a great thing.”

The section’s advisory committee also didn’t balk at voting on this proposal as quickly as possible for immediate implementation. And neither did almost every member of the section’s Board of Managers.

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.

Boys BB: Major Showcase Schedules

By Ronnie Flores | Published September 11, 2025

In November, we will begin the release of our preseason 2025-26 Cal-Hi Sports boys basketball state rankings. As a preview to how things could shake out, here is a list of the major 2025-26 tournaments and classics involving California teams that figure to be ranked. The 2025-26 season officially begins November 17. The CIF state basketball championships are scheduled to take place March 13-14, 2026. 

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Girls HER Skills Summit: Family Affair

By Harold Abend | Published September 1, 2025

1994 all-state choice Cameron Murray (L) poses with his daughter Cayla Murray, his niece Maliyah Murray, alongside her father, 1989 Cal-Hi Sports Mr. Basketball Tracy Murray (R). Cayla is in eighth-grade, while Maliyah is 12 years old but has no trouble competing with girls of high school age. Photo: Harold Abend.

Well respected boys basketball scout and analyst Devin Ugland has produced his annual Skills Summit for boys for six years, but this year after holding the boys event, he decided to duplicate the format for girls. By all accounts, it was a smashing success, or shall we say a slam dunk. 

We hope you enjoy this free story on CalHiSports.com. The upcoming Girls of Summer Player Rankings will be a Gold Club post. Preseason state rankings will be free but all regular season team rankings and all state record updates are also for Gold Club members only. You can sign up today to get all of our Gold Club content right now $12.99 for three months or $4.99 for one month. For details, 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.

The inaugural HER Skills Summit at Tustin High on Sunday attracted 64 girls from the Class of 2026 all the way up to the class of 2031, including the daughters of Marques Johnson, Tracy Murray and his younger brother Cameron Murray. 

Of the 64 attendees, there were only seven seniors (2026), but a whole lot of middle-schoolers. Not surprisingly, 6-foot-1 Windward (Los Angeles) sophomore Shiloh Johnson, Cameron’s eighth-grade daughter and already polished point guard Cayla Murray and Tracy’s seventh-grade daughter and wing Maliyah Murray were among the top players at the event. 

Also in attendance was new Troy (Fullerton) head coach Kevin Kiernan. The state’s all-time winningest coach with 900 career wins is on his second stint at Troy where he won three CIF Division II state championships before coming to Mater Dei (Santa Ana) where he won one CIF Division II and two Division I state championships. Before taking a seat in the stands to watch his daughter Kaidyn Kiernan, a nifty left-handed sophomore transfer to Troy from Mater Dei, and three of his freshmen, Yvonne Yim, Rilynn Robinson and Dylen Lee, Kiernan assisted in the 90-minutes fundamental skills drills. There was then a break for lunch before the group of girls was split up into eight teams for the afternoon session.

By our assessment, the top player at the Skills Summit was Windward 6-foot junior wing Charis Rainey. Her dribble drive was unstoppable, she dominated the glass on both ends, and even drained a couple of 3-pointers. She was invited to Colorado Springs for the 2025 USA Women’s U16 National Team trials in May and despite not even starting her junior season, Rainey reportedly has several offers including Arizona State. 

Two Mater Dei players also were among the event’s elites. 

Amiah Lewis, a 5-foot-8 senior point guard, showed excellent ball-handling skills and played excellent defense as well. Mater Dei fans will get to see what she has this season. Before transferring to Mater Dei last season where she missed several games with a fractured nose, she was at La Habra Sonora her first two years. It was pointed out by noted boys basketball analyst Frank Burlison, who came to the event to support Ugland and give girls basketball some love, that Lewis also had some basketball playing family in attendance. Her grandfather Mike Lewis played for and graduated in 1973 from Verbum Dei of Los Angeles. Her father, Mike Lewis Jr., was a 1996 graduate of Carson. 

Stella Hoss, a 6-foot junior forward for the Monarchs, showed marked improvement and some newfound long range shooting. She was tough around the basket and by our count she drained eight 3-pointers in the two games each of the eight teams played. 

Marques Johnson, the former Crenshaw (Los Angeles) star who went on to UCLA where he was coached by legendary John Wooden and won an NCAA championship before being named the first recipient of the John R. Wooden Award in 1977 and then spending 14 years in the NBA, brought his son Kris Johnson, the 1993 LA City Player of the Year 20 years after his father earned the same honor for the second time, with him. Kris has been working with Shiloh and her game has stepped up to another level. She’s long, solidly built, seems to be playing with a newfound passion, and even knocked down a few 3-pointers. We would be surprised if Shiloh doesn’t have a breakout season if she stays healthy.

We couldn’t help but reminisce with Tracy Murray about his performance in the 1989 CIF Division II state championship at the Oakland Coliseum Arena when he set the record for scoring in a state championship title game after dropping in 64 points in his final high school appearance. We also reminded him that back then we emceed the press conferences at the state championships and after the game he wasn’t very happy since his Glendora team lost, 89-83, to Menlo-Atherton of Atherton.

“I would rather have the ring than the 64,” said a smiling Murray who went on to star at UCLA and then spent 12 years in the NBA.

Cam Murray himself was a star at Glendora and then went on to play in college at USC and Louisville. He and Tracy have a family-run club girls program called Prodigy Prep in the Inland Empire and the cousins have gotten a ton of exposure and the tutelage as a result.

Rainey, Johnson, Lewis and Hoss were the top four players in our opinion, but Cayla Murphy wasn’t far behind, and coupled with Maliya Murray in reality the two cousins somewhat stole the show. 

The ball handling, athleticism, long range shooting and court sense of the 5-foot-5 Cayla Murray was as good as the top high school point guards we’ve seen and it’s a year before she’ll play her first high school game. She more than held her own and even dominated some of the older girls on Sunday. Maliyah is only 12 years old and is already 5-foot-10 and long so likely she will grow a bit. She can handle the rock as well and nailed some college-range 3-pointers. 

Besides Mater Dei and Windward, Sage Hill (Newport Beach) had a couple of standouts in junior wing Kamdyn Klamberg and sophomore Leah O’Toner.

Rainey will all be among the top ranked players in the upcoming Cal-Hi Sports Girls of Summer Player Rankings, and Johnson, Lewis and Hoss will get solid rankings, but there were several other players that caught our eye and will be ranked fairly high. They include in alphabetical order:

Leila Boykin (Marlborough, Los Angeles) F, 6-0, 2026

Angelina Habis (Windward, Los Angeles) G, 5-8, 2027

Bella Medina (Moreno Valley) G, 5-8, 2026

Alexie Werhle (Windward, Los Angeles) C/F, 6-1, 2028

Lauren Wolfe (Villa Park) G, 5-6, 2028

As for the middle school ballers, the top player was Mina Lu, an eighth grader from Rowland Heights. We counted nine made 3-pointers in her two games. Other middle school players that we liked include in alphabetical order:

Sadie Davis 2031

Zoey Gear (Prodigy Prep) 2030

Olympia Marinho 2031

Calista Monroe (Windward) 2030

Makena Ramos (Brentwood, Los Angeles) 2030

Aaliyah Robinson (Prodigy Prep) 2030

Remi Sumpter 2030

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

Carson Palmer 1995 Favorites

By Mark Tennis | Published August 10, 2025

Thirty years ago in 1995, sophomore Carson Palmer was getting ready to play in his first game as a high school QB at Santa Margarita of Rancho Santa Margarita. He went on to win a Heisman Trophy and pass for 46,247 yards and 294 touchdowns over a 14-year NFL career. He’s now about to be the head coach for his first game at Santa Margarita on Aug. 22 vs Mission Viejo.

So what are some of the things Carson was thinking about prior to his first high school season as a player. We happened to have found Santa Margarita’s 1995 Football Media Guide which included a question/answer section for each player. We thought it would be fun to review the future school’s head coach’s responses.

Image from 1995 Santa Margarita HS Football Media Guide.


Note that the head coach of the Eagles for 1995 was Jim Hartigan, who was in his seventh year as head coach at the time. Hartigan is now on staff at the school as Vice President of Athletics.

Palmer had led the freshman team at Santa Margarita to a 9-0-1 record in 1994. The media guide reported that he had won the Eagle Award, had a 4.5 pro agility, a 5.0 in the 40 and a 25-inch vertical leap.

Personal Goals: Be the best leader, competitor and player that I can be.

Team Goals: Win league and win CIF.

Who is your favorite athlete and why? Bo Jackson because he can everything and no one has his talent.

Which game do you look forward to the most in 1995? Irvine.

What is your greatest moment in sports? Being the first to win league as a freshman.

The one thing I like about football is: the competitiveness.

The one thing I dislike about football is: all the time it takes.

The thing that impresses me the most about Coach Hartigan is: how dedicated he is to our program.

My ultimate goal in life is: to get through it with class.

My football fantasy is: to receive a punt and return it over 11 players on my way to a TD dance.

My gameday superstitions/rituals are: to sit down and review all the plays in my head.

The best football advice I’ve been given is: Be the hammer and not the nail.

All-State Softball Patch List 2

By Mark Tennis | Published July 21, 2025

Our all-state patch for the 2025 softball season is the same as previous years through our partners from BillyTees.com.


For those just wanting to check to see about a particular player on this year’s All-State Second & Third Teams for softball without being a subscriber, here is a simple alphabetical list. If you want the full presentation and are not Gold Club, please check out getting a membership today.
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