Capistrano Valley wide receiver Izaiah Bennett, right, tries to take down Crean Lutheran defensive back Damari Hall as Hall pulls him along in a Bravo League football game in Irvine on Friday, October 9, 2026. (Photo by Paul Rodriguez, Contributing Photographer)
Capistrano Valley quarterback Talon Spencer, right, crosses the goal line to score a touchdown against Crean Lutheran in a Bravo League football game in Irvine on Friday, October 9, 2026. (Photo by Paul Rodriguez, Contributing Photographer)
Crean Lutheran wide receiver Braylen Ross, right, pushes away Capistrano Valley’s Izaiah Bennett after catching a pass in a Bravo League football game in Irvine on Friday, October 9, 2026. (Photo by Paul Rodriguez, Contributing Photographer)
Capistrano Valley running back Zadyn Hall, right, tries to get by a Crean Lutheran defender in a Bravo League football game in Irvine on Friday, October 9, 2026. (Photo by Paul Rodriguez, Contributing Photographer)
Capistrano Valley wide receiver Cartyr Quartucy, left, celebrates scoring a two-point conversion with wide receiver Sam Plosker in a Bravo League football game against Crean Lutheran in Irvine on Friday, October 9, 2026. (Photo by Paul Rodriguez, Contributing Photographer)
Capistrano Valley wide receiver Brody Saavedra dives forward for a first down against Crean Lutheran in a Bravo League football game in Irvine on Friday, October 9, 2026. (Photo by Paul Rodriguez, Contributing Photographer)
Capistrano Valley’s Jolan Gonzalez, right, jumps on Crean Lutheran wide receiver Braylen Ross to bring him down after a reception in a Bravo League football game in Irvine on Friday, October 9, 2026. (Photo by Paul Rodriguez, Contributing Photographer)
Capistrano Valley quarterback Talon Spencer gets ready to throw a pass against Crean Lutheran in a Bravo League football game in Irvine on Friday, October 9, 2026. (Photo by Paul Rodriguez, Contributing Photographer)
Capistrano Valley quarterback Talon Spencer falls forward for a first down against Crean Lutheran in a Bravo League football game in Irvine on Friday, October 9, 2026. (Photo by Paul Rodriguez, Contributing Photographer)
Capistrano Valley wide receiver Izaiah Bennett catches a pass against Crean Lutheran in a Bravo League football game in Irvine on Friday, October 9, 2026. (Photo by Paul Rodriguez, Contributing Photographer)
Capistrano Valley quarterback Talon Spencer scores a touchdown against Crean Lutheran in the fourth quarter in a Bravo League football game in Irvine on Friday, October 9, 2026. (Photo by Paul Rodriguez, Contributing Photographer)
IRVINE – The Trinity League is the best football league that has Orange County teams in it.
Read more New York prosecutors seek to sustain their case against Luigi Mangione, despite his federal plea
Friday’s Capistrano Valley vs. Crean Lutheran game adds muscle to any assertion that the Bravo League is the second-best such football league.
Crean Lutheran battled to a 30-22 win over Capistrano Valley in a hard-hitting Bravo League game filled with big plays Friday at Crean Lutheran High.
The Saints are 2-0 in the six-team league. So is Corona del Mar, which beat Tustin on Friday. Bravo League teams occupy positions Nos. 8, 9, 11, 12, 15 and 16 in this week’s Orange County Top 25.
Crean Lutheran is No. 9 in the county rankings. Capistrano Valley, which lost for the first time this season to slip to 6-1 overall and 1-1 in league, is No. 12.
The game also had a heck of a subplot. Crean Lutheran coach Rick Curtis is the father of Capistrano Valley coach Sean Curtis. The teams played each other last year in a nonleague game, with Crean coming away with a 23-6 win. Friday’s game was the Curtis men’s first league game against each other.
Saints senior quarterback Caden Jones completed 18 of 28 passes for 170 yards and two touchdowns. He has 14 passing touchdowns. Jones, who committed to Arizona and is a slippery runner, also rushed for 48 yards.
Crean Lutheran’s Braylen Ross, a 6-4 senior receiver, caught the two touchdown passes. The first was a jump-ball catch in the right rear corner of the end zone in the final seconds of the second quarter. The other was a Jones deep pass that round Ross uncovered for a 52-yard scoring play.
Ross, who entered this week with a county-leading 52 receptions, finished with six catches for 99 yards.
Crean Lutheran’s leading rusher Caleb Bey Jr. was out with the flu. Saints freshman Eden Gamiz, their starting running back early in the season when Bey was injured, filled in just fine again. Gamiz rushed for 149 yards on 22 carries including an 80-yard touchdown run early in the fourth quarter.
Capistrano Valley senior quarterback Talon Spencer, like Jones a dangerous dual-threat player, completed 17 of 26 passes for 175 yards and one touchdown. Spencer rushed for 64 yards and touchdown runs of 11 and 16 yards. He has 12 rushing touchdowns this season.
“Two really good quarterbacks,” Rick Curtis said. “That is a great team we just played. We’re happy to come away with the victory.”
Read more Orange County scores and player stats for Friday, Oct. 9
Crean’s Curtis does not want the players focused on “we have to win it for the dad.” But he knew the players would talk about that during the week leading up to the game.
“Yeah, I heard a little bit of that,” he said. “But, you know, it’s for the kids.”
Friday’s first quarter was scoreless. Crean Lutheran took a 7-0 lead on a 2-yard touchdown run by running back Aaron Nicasio one minute into the second quarter.
Capistrano Valley tied it on an 11-yard touchdown run by Talon Spencer. He took the snap in shotgun formation, looked right, and then ran to his left, taking a speedy angle to the end.
Crean Lutheran took a 14-7 lead on the 12-yard touchdown pass from Jones to Ross. That would be the halftime score.
The 52-yard Jones-to-Ross touchdown pass came early in the third quarter for a 20-7 Saints lead (the point-after kick was no good). Crean’s Eric Miao kicked a 30-yard field goal early in the fourth quarter to increase the lead to 23-7.
Spencer scored on his 16-yard run and threw to Cartyr Quartucy for two points, reducing the Crean Lutheran lead to 23-15.
Gamiz scored on his 80-yard run with 10 minutes left in the game to make it 30-15. Capistrano Valley got late touchdown on a Spencer 8-yard pass to Colin Hooper.
Capistrano Valley has a Bravo League home game Friday, Oct. 16, against Corona del Mar.
Crean Lutheran has a league game against La Habra at SoFi Stadium on Friday, Oct. 16.
Read more Photos: Our top shots from Friday’s Week 7 high school football games