Previews and predictions for the top football games in Orange County this week. The teams are listed by their ranking in the Orange County Top 25.
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HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL
GAME OF THE WEEK
No. 1 Santa Margarita (1-0) vs. Corona Centennial (1-0)
Where, when: Centennial High, Friday, 7 p.m.
Live coverage: Spectrum Sports
Analysis: This is a rematch of last season’s CIF Southern Section Division 1 championship game. Santa Margarita dominated that game, beating Centennial 42-7 at the Rose Bowl. The Eagles also beat Centennial last year in its season opener, 33-27, in overtime. Both teams lost a large number of top players to graduation — nine of Santa Margarita’s 2025 defensive starters among them. Santa Margarita and Centennial both won their season openers last week. Centennial beat Servite, 41-21. Centennial senior quarterback Jaden Jefferson, a transfer from Cathedral in Los Angeles who has committed to Hawaii, completed 19 of 24 passes for 296 yards and two touchdowns. He also rushed for 92 yards. Senior Quentin Hale (USC commit) had eight receptions for 155 yards and two touchdowns. Santa Margarita was a 27-0 winner over Jones of Orlando, Fla., last week. Fletch Palmer, a junior and the son of Eagles coach Carson Palmer, won the competition for the starting quarterback position. He completed 21 of 31 passes for 242 yards and two touchdowns. Santa Margarita freshman receiver Kiyan Callis had nine receptions for 105 yards and a touchdown. Santa Margarita freshman linebacker Ayden Steen had a team-high seven solo tackles. Jefferson’s mobility, his passing excellence and his rapport with Hale make it difficult for opponents to match points with Centennial. The Huskies’ quick defense is another problem.
Winner: Centennial
Video: Week 1 football predictions from OCVarsity’s Steve Fryer and Dan Albano
No. 17 Los Alamitos (0-1) vs. No. 14 Huntington Beach (1-0)
Where, when: Huntington Beach High, Thursday, 7 p.m.
Analysis: The former Sunset League mates meet in this one. Los Alamitos, last season’s CIF-SS Division 1 champion, lost its opener last week to Inglewood, 20-7, at Los Alamitos High. About everything that could go wrong did go wrong for Los Alamitos, admitted first-year head coach Rory Schoonmaker. “We had a little bit of confusion about how we were operating the system,” Schoonmaker said. “That didn’t just happen at quarterback, it happened all over the place.” The Griffins passed for only 54 yards and All-County running back Kamden Tillis was bottled up, accumulating only 30 yards on 11 carries. Tillis averaged 104 rushing yards a game last season. All of that will get fixed, but doing it in one week is a tall order. Huntington Beach was a 42-14 winner last week against Millikan. All-County quarterback Brady Edmunds started his senior season impressively, throwing for 446 yards and six touchdowns. Dylin Bruce must be included in the conversation about the county’s top receivers. He had 10 receptions for 226 yards and three touchdowns. HB’s soaring over Orange County continues in this one.
Winner: Huntington Beach
No. 24 Western (0-1) vs. No. 18 Villa Park (1-0)
Where, when: El Modena High, Thursday, 7 p.m.
Analysis: Western had a rough start to the season. The Pioneers lost to Salesian, 42-14, as quarterback Donovan Shirley scorched the Pioneers by throwing for 348 yards and five touchdowns. Surely the Pioneers are better than that. They fell behind early against Salesian, and that can blow up your offensive game plan and make your offense predictable the rest of the evening. Villa Park opened its season two weeks ago with a 55-6 rout of Farrington in Honolulu. Sophomore quarterback Jacob Titchenal was efficient (9 of 11 passing for 147 yards) and tossed three touchdowns. All-County senior linebacker Maverick DeClark had six solo tackles. The Spartans did not play last week. A big win to start the season followed by a week off is a big advantage for a good team like Villa Park.
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Winner: Villa Park
Cypress (1-0) vs. No. 25 Brea Olinda (1-0)
Where, when: Brea Olinda High, Friday, 7 p.m.
Analysis: My working partner Dan Albano and I expect Cypress to be one of the more improved teams in county football. The Centurions looked that way last week in a 42-7 win over Cerritos to open the season. Junior quarterback Justin Hall threw four touchdown passes. Sophomore receiver Ian Do had six receptions for 182 yards and two touchdowns. Brea Olinda went 10-4 last season and played in the CIF-SS Division 8 championship game. The Wildcats started this season with a 35-14 win over Marina, an outcome more one-sided than expected. Brea threw the ball only six times and rushed for 170 yards. Senior linebacker Nolan Santana led the defense with 12 solo tackles. This could be a very close game. Maybe Cypress has the better passing game, which can be a difference-maker when most everything else seems equal.
Winner: Cypress
No. 21 Orange (1-0) vs. No. 19 Laguna Beach (0-1)
Where, when: Laguna Beach High, Friday, 7 p.m.
Analysis: Orange quarterback Star Thomas III started his junior season with a supernova performance in the Panthers’ 49-14 win over North Torrance. Thomas passed for 439 yards and four touchdowns and ran for 122 yards and two touchdowns on only eight carries. His 17 completions went to eight different receivers. Laguna Beach did not play well last week in a 34-21 loss to Yorba Linda. Credit much of that to Yorba Linda’s defensive front and its big-play abilities on offense. The Breakers fell behind early, made a couple of rallies but never did catch up. Receiver Will Kimball was an offensive highlight, making nine receptions for 62 yards. Laguna Beach can and will play better. Orange, however, might have something special going this season.
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Winner: Orange
Fryer on Football last week: 3-2