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Quarterback Fletch Palmer completed 21 of 31 passes for 242 yards and two touchdowns in his first start to lead the Eagles to a 27-0 victory against Jones of Orlando, Fla., in their season-opening game at Saddleback College on Friday.
Palmer, who is a junior and the son of Santa Margarita coach Carson Palmer, set career highs in several categories. As a sophomore, he attempted seven passes as the backup to Trace Johnson.
Freshman Kiyan Callis had nine receptions for 105 yards for Santa Margarita (1-0). Grant Van Raaporst caught a 39-yard touchdown from Palmer.
Ca’ron Williams and freshman Jayden Jack had interceptions to help lead the Eagles’ defense.
Freshman linebacker Ayden Steen added 10 tackles, including three sacks. Freshman Kaleb Herndon had two sacks as the Eagles tallied nine sacks.
In other games Friday:
Miami Central of Florida 23, Orange Lutheran 22: Quarterback James Perrone scrambled for a 30-yard touchdown run on third-and-20 with 14 seconds left in the fourth quarter to rally the Rockets at Orange Coast College.
Orange Lutheran (0-1) led 11-0 after the first quarter. Reagan Toki threw a touchdown to Chris Flores Jr. and Ryan Christianson rushed for a score to lead the Lancers. Flores finished with seven catches for 79 yards.
La Habra 55, Upland 13: DJ Mitchell threw five touchdown passes and Blake Rogers caught three scores as the Highlanders (1-0) outscored Upland 34-0 in the final three quarters. Mitchell sparked the outburst with a touchdown pass to Rogers in the second quarter. Kevika Mata’utia Martinez then added a touchdown run.
Orange 49, North Torrance 14: Star Thomas III completed 17 of 21 passes for 439 yards and four touchdowns, and also rushed for 122 yards, to lead the Panthers (1-0). Dylan Stone had three catches for 113 yards and one touchdown and KJ Woodbury had three receptions for 108 yards and a score.
Laguna Hills 31, Foothill 21: The Hawks (1-0) outscored Foothill 28-7 in the second half to rally for the victory. Foothill led 14-3 at intermission.
Canyon 33, Kennedy 6: The Cobras (1-0) scored 33 unanswered points to race to their first victory under coach Vinnie Lopez.
Sunny Hills 20, Westminster 13: Troy Garcia scored on a 4-yard run on third-and-goal with 5:53 left to lift the Lancers (1-0) to their first victory under coach Luis Cruz.
— Dan Albano
Newport Harbor 29, Murrieta Mesa 24: Jordan Spigarelli threw a game-winning 25-yard touchdown pass to Ryan Palmer with 2:08 remaining in the game to lead Newport Harbor to a win.
Palmer caught five passes for 77 yards with two touchdowns for Newport Harbor (2-0). Spigarelli completed 17 of 28 passes for 207 yards with two touchdowns.
Jackson Stremick added a touchdown run and Luke Garrido recovered a fumble in the end zone for a touchdown on a botched punt attempt by Murrieta Mesa.
Crean Lutheran 31, Loyola 6: Crean Lutheran scored on each of its first five possessions of the game in a dominant win over Loyola.
Caden Jones threw for over 280 yards with two touchdowns and ran for a touchdown for Crean Lutheran (1-0). Ty Johnson caught 11 passes for over 140 yards with a touchdown for the Saints and Braylen Ross added a touchdown catch.
Aaron Nicasio ran for a touchdown and Eric Miao made a 22-yard field goal.
Crean Lutheran’s defense had four sacks and held Loyola’s offense under 150 yards for the game. The Saints were eliminated from the CIF-SS playoffs by Loyola the last time the teams met in 2024.
El Toro 34, Tesoro 15: El Toro outscored Tesoro 17-0 in the second half to pull away with a win at Dana Hills High.
Jaxson Algaze threw for 217 yards with three touchdowns in his first game for El Toro (1-0) after transferring from Crean Lutheran. Bryce Thacker caught eight passes for 98 yards with two touchdowns and Matthew Arroyo added 92 yards receiving with a touchdown.
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Brody Bevan threw a 5-yard touchdown pass to Owen Stirrat for Tesoro (0-1). Emmett Owens added a rushing touchdown for the Titans.
Dana Hills 56, San Marcos 10: Carter Anderson threw four touchdown passes for Dana Hills and the Dolphins led 42-0 at halftime.
Colin Ridgley caught three passes for 102 yards with a touchdown for Dana Hills (1-0). Jack Norman had two touchdown receptions and Mason Valles added a touchdown catch. Enzo Gallo ran for 80 yards with a touchdown.
Portola 35, Woodbridge 7: Orion Suttle completed 10 of 11 passes for 236 yards with three touchdowns for Portola.
Jamal Abdelkarim had 103 yards receiving for Portola (1-0) and Blaise Williams had two touchdowns. Carter Nguyen and Pierson Waters each had touchdown receptions on their lone catches of the game.
Quarterback Waylon Stone ran for a touchdown for Woodbridge (0-1).
Fountain Valley 27, Ocean View 21: Isaac Combs ran for a 20-yard go-ahead touchdown for Fountain Valley with just over four minutes remaining in the game.
Combs threw for over 250 yards with three touchdowns for Fountain Valley (1-0). Raymond Dillon caught six passes for over 150 yards with two touchdowns. The Barons led by 14 in the first half but Ocean View (0-1) scored 21 unanswered points to take a lead.
Dean Northam threw a touchdown pass to Trevor Valvao and Elijah Stokley had a kick return for a touchdown for Ocean View.
Trabuco Hills 42, Norte Vista 10: Jackson Verplancke completed 19 of 24 passes for 207 yards with three touchdowns for Trabuco Hills in a win over Norte Vista of Riverside.
Luke Hoffman ran for 128 yards with two touchdowns and Logan Bailey ran for a score. Nate Davis, Beckham Nolan and Dillan Olson each caught touchdown passes for Trabuco Hills (1-0). Cy Ohlwiler blocked a field goal for the Mustangs, who scored 42 unanswered points.
Segerstrom 43, Bishop Montgomery 0: Jacob Garcia threw two touchdown passes and ran for a touchdown for Segerstrom in a shutout win.
Segerstrom (1-0) led 43-0 at halftime. Adrian Cervantes and Scott Sellers had touchdown catches for the Jaguars. Eddie Anuu had a touchdown run and Segerstrom returned a punt for a touchdown.
Capistrano Valley Christian 49, West Valley 6: Dalton Hastings threw four touchdown passes on just seven completions for Capistrano Valley Christian in a blowout win.
Gavin Gizzi had two receiving touchdowns for Capo Valley Christian (1-0). Ben Mannion and Luke Langdale caught touchdown passes while Sam De La Torre and Ezra Nyhan ran for touchdowns.
Valencia 39, Beverly Hills 7: Valencia ran for over 300 yards with three touchdowns in a win over Beverly Hills.
Ediel Nicolas paced Valencia (1-0) with over 170 rushing yards and a touchdown. Ivan Torres and Alex Navarro each ran for a touchdown and Deacon Belsey threw a touchdown pass to Zach Watson. Tyler Campos returned an interception for a touchdown in the fourth quarter.
Beverly Hills (0-1) is coached by former Yorba Linda coach and OC Coach of the Year Jeff Bailey.
— Michael Huntley
In other games Thursday:
University 41, Godinez 19: Dylan Elmer completed 8 of 11 passes for 147 yards and four touchdowns to lead the Trojans (1-0). Moises Keith-Chavez had four receptions for 103 yards, including three scores.
Santiago 23, Saddleback 12: Michael Hoang rushed for two scores and Jacob Godinez added one to lead the Cavaliers (1-0).
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— Dan Albano