ORANGE COUNTY FOOTBALL TOP 25 POLL
Notable this week: Top-ranked Santa Margarita finishes the regular season against No. 3 Orange Lutheran on Friday while No. 2 Mater Dei takes on St. John Bosco in a Trinity League finale. … San Juan Hills moves up to No. 6 after it shut out then-No. 4 San Clemente, 16-0. … Mission Viejo is No. 4 this week, the top ranking for an Orange County public-school team. … El Modena climbs four places to No. 14 after a 21-19 win over Dana Hills. … Cypress returns to the county Top 25. … Pacifica makes its 2026 Top 25 debut at No. 25.
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1. Santa Margarita 9-0 (75 points)
The Eagles’ winning streak reached 15 games last week with a 36-12 win over JSerra in a Trinity League game. They outscored the Lions 27-6 in the second half. Santa Margarita sophomore running back Adrian Petero had another big game, rushing for 114 yards and a touchdown. Grant Mosley had seven receptions for 71 yards and a touchdown. Santa Margarita is alone in first place with a 4-0 league record. The Eagles conclude the regular season Friday against Orange Lutheran at Orange Coast College.
Previous ranking: 1
2. Mater Dei 7-2 (72)
Asir Nembhard set a Mater Dei record Friday when he ran for 339 yards in the Monarchs’ 52-38 win over No. 3 Orange Lutheran in a Trinity League game. He did it on 22 carries for an average of 15 yards a carry. He scored touchdowns on runs of 6, 59 and 62 yards. Mater Dei is tied for second place with St. John Bosco in the league with a 3-1 league record. The Monarchs and Braves play each other Friday at Santa Ana Stadium.
Previous ranking: 2
3. Orange Lutheran 5-4 (69)
The Lancers scored 38 points against Mater Dei, which would be enough in most games. But they gave up too many big plays in a 52-38 loss to the Monarchs. Reagan Toki threw for 264 yards and Chris Flores Jr. had nine receptions for 116 yards. Orange Lutheran plays state-No. 1 Santa Margarita on Friday at Orange Coast College.
Previous ranking: 3
4. Mission Viejo 7-1 (66)
The Diablos rolled to a 58-7 win over Los Alamitos in the Alpha League. They are 3-0 in league. (Their game against San Clemente two weeks ago was canceled because of the Norte fire.) Sophomore quarterback Brett Burnor completed 16 of 18 passes for 238 yards and a touchdown. Jack Junker and Wyatt Boardman both exceeded 100 rushing yards. Junker scored four touchdowns. Mission Viejo plays San Juan Hills (4-0 in the Alpha League) on Friday at Mission Viejo High.
Previous ranking: 5
5. JSerra 4-5 (60)
The Lions lost to No. 1 Santa Margarita, 36-12. They were outscored, 27-6, in the second half. For the game they were held to 70 rushing yards and 60 passing yards. Running back Will Fredrickson accounted for 66 of those rushing yards. Grayson Matvay had an interception. JSerra is 0-4 in the Trinity League, as is Servite. The Lions are at home against Servite on Friday.
Previous ranking: 6
6. San Juan Hills 8-1 (56)
The Stallions beat San Clemente, 16-0, last week to improve to 4-0 in the Alpha League. Arthur Tuverson returned an interception 52 yards for a touchdown. San Juan Hills safety Luke Frith had team highs of four solo tackles and seven solo tackles and as a receiver had four receptions for 50 yards. San Juan Hills plays at Mission Viejo on Friday in the game that will determine the Alpha League champion.
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Previous ranking: 12
7. Crean Lutheran 7-2 (57)
Caden Jones threw three touchdown passes for the Saints in their 31-17 win over Corona del Mar in the Bravo League. Jones also rushed for 90 yards and a touchdown and had 273 yards of total offense. Daiman Hall had 98 receiving yards and two touchdown receptions. Freshman Jordan Terry had eight solo tackles. Crean Lutheran is alone in first place in the Bravo League with a 4-0 league record. The Saints finish the regular season Friday with a league home game against Villa Park.
Previous ranking: 6T
8. San Clemente 7-1 (53)
The Tritons lost for the first time this season, a 16-0 shutout loss to San Juan Hills in an Alpha League game. Turnovers were critical. An interception was returned for a San Juan Hills touchdown. Jaxson Rex had five catches for 42 yards for San Clemente. Tritons running back Matthew Norman rushed for 80 yards on 12 carries. San Clemente finishes the regular season Friday with a league game against visiting Edison.
Previous ranking: 4
9. Servite 3-6 (51)
The Friars fell to 0-4 in the Trinity League with a 54-7 loss to St. John Bosco. They have lost to good teams. The cumulative record of the teams that have defeated Servite is 41-12. Servite has been outscored, 46-175, in league games. The Friars conclude the regular season Friday with a league game at JSerra.
Previous ranking: 8
10. Capistrano Valley 8-1 (49)
The Cougars beat Villa Park, 30-18, in a Bravo League game. They beat Corona del Mar in a league game the previous week. Capistrano Valley senior quarterback Talon Spencer passed for 225 yards and two touchdowns and rushed for 53 yards and two touchdowns. Colin Hopper had seven receptions for 80 yards and a touchdown. Cash Perry had nine solo tackles and an interception for the Cougars. Capistrano Valley plays at Tustin on Thursday in a league game.
Previous ranking: 9
11. Huntington Beach 9-0 (46)
Previous ranking: 11
12. Corona del Mar 7-2 (44)
Previous ranking: 10
13. Yorba Linda 1-8 (40)
Previous ranking: 13
14. El Modena 8-1 (35)
Previous ranking: 18
15. Villa Park 7-2 (34)
Previous ranking: 14
16. Tustin 5-4 (29)
Previous ranking: 15
17. Dana Hills 7-2 (27)
Previous ranking: 15
18. Edison 3-6 (24)
Previous ranking: 17
19. Orange 9-0 (23)
Previous ranking: 19
20. La Habra 5-4 (18)
Previous ranking: 19
21. Newport Harbor 7-2 (15)
Previous ranking: 21
22. Trabuco Hills 7-2 (12)
Previous ranking: 22
23. El Dorado 7-2 (9)
Previous ranking: 24
24. Cypress 8-1 (6)
Previous ranking: Not ranked
25. Pacifica 8-1 (3)
Previous ranking: Not ranked
About the poll: There are three members of the media who vote in the weekly poll.
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