Here are The Sporting News’ top 25 team rankings for Week Nine (Oct. 20-26) of the 2025 California high school football season.
Teams from all 10 CIF sections are eligible for the rankings, which will be updated every week throughout the season.
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California high school football top 25 team rankings
1. St. John Bosco (8-0 – 1st last week)
The Trinity League championship is now St. John Bosco’s to lose after it handed Santa Margarita its first conference loss. A win against Servite and loss against Mater Dei would most likely force a three-way tie for first place.
2. Corona Centennial (7-1 – 2nd)
Centennial is the only unbeaten team left in Big West – Upper play after last week’s 48-20 win over Murrieta Valley. The Huskies didn’t budge after an even first half and upped their game on both ends to win comfortably.
3. Sierra Canyon (8-0 – 3rd)
After losing the first quarter 7-0, Sierra Canyon dominated the last three quarters to beat Notre Dame (Sherman Oaks) 45-10. Bishop Amat and Loyola stand in the way of another undefeated regular season and Mission League title.
4. Mater Dei (5-2 – 5th)
Mater Dei kept its winning streak alive against traditional rival Servite with a 29-19 victory in which it led 29-7 after three quarters. Speaking of rivals, it has one more week to build momentum before facing St. John Bosco with a Week Nine game against JSerra.
5. Mission Viejo (7-1 – 6th)
The Diablos are still unbeaten against in-state competition following a 34-16 win over rival San Clemente. They close the regular season with Alpha League games against Edison (Huntington Beach) and Los Alamitos.
6. Santa Margarita (5-3 – 4th)
After a win against Mater Dei and solid effort against St. John Bosco, one could argue Santa Margarita should be higher. Especially given the difference Trent Mosley has made since coming back from injury, and the fact that he wasn’t there in the shutout loss against Bishop Gorman. That game is currently the difference of roughly three spots for the Eagles, who still have a feasible path to leaping up before the season ends.
7. De La Salle (7-0 – 7th)
De La Salle opened EBAL play with a 56-13 rout of Amador Valley. The competition is about to get tough with San Ramon Valley, California (San Ramon), and Clayton Valley Charter on deck, but recent history says they are likely to cruise past them all.
8. Orange Lutheran (4-4 – 8th)
A lot of fans and media got quite down on OLu after its blowout loss to St. John Bosco and competitive loss against Mater Dei. Whether or not the Lancers can stay top-eight down the stretch is yet to be determined, but a 63-23 rout of JSerra should remind the critics that this is still a national-caliber football team.
9. Folsom (7-1 – 9th)
It was another day at the office as Folsom smashed Whitney (Rocklin) 48-7. The Bulldogs probably won’t have much trouble with Jesuit, but it could be a trap game if they take it too lightly.
10. Lincoln-San Diego (7-1 – 10th)
It’s again time for one of California’s premier high school football rivalries as Lincoln hosts Cathedral Catholic for the Western League championship. It’s hard to know what to expect from Cathedral in light of some recent injury-plagued losses, but Lincoln is inarguably the favorite.
11. Servite (5-3 – 11th)
A 10-point loss to Mater Dei is fine for Servite’s stock. The Friars hope for a better result this week as an underdog again versus St. John Bosco.
12. Archbishop Riordan (7-0 – 12th)
It was business as usual as the Crusaders stayed unbeaten with a 49-10 rout of Valley Christian (San Jose). They’ll be a heavy favorite once again this week at Bellarmine.
13. Los Alamitos (8-0 – 13th)
Los Al has now scored more than 40 points six games in a row after defeating Edison (Huntington Beach) 41-22. This week brings an intriguing game as San Clemente may or may not be able to give Dons a run for their money before Mission Viejo gets its shot.
14. Murrieta Valley (6-2 – 14th)
There is zero reason to move the Nighthawks down after their 48-20 loss to Corona Centennial. They played Centennial evenly in the first half and made a national title contender earn it for the Big West – Upper title. Most importantly, Murrieta Valley’s resume speaks for itself with wins over Rancho Cucamonga, Norco, Chaparral, and San Clemente.
15. Manteca (8-0 – 15th)
With a 56-20 victory over East Union, Manteca scored at least seven touchdowns for the fifth game in a row. Assuming the Buffaloes keep rolling against Patterson, their Week 10 match with Oakdale will be for all the marbles in the Valley Oak League.
16. Pittsburg (6-1 – 17th)
Pittsburg didn’t play with its food at all in a 29-12 win against Liberty (Brentwood) that will most likely decide the BVAL title. Its defense was active against an imposing offense with nine tackles for loss, four sacks, 13 QB-hurries, and nine pass break-ups.
17. Carlsbad (8-0 – 16th)
The Lancers avoided upset with a 31-28 win against a worthy San Marcos (San Marcos) team to set up something of an Avocado League title game against La Costa Canyon. If La Costa Canyon wins, it would likely be a three-way tie between Carlsbad, La Costa Canyon, and Mission Hills.
18. Corona del Mar (8-0 – 18th)
CdM’s defense led the way for the second week in a row as the Sea Kings defeated Villa Park 21-3. At this point, Corona del Mar is a threat to win not only the Bravo League but perhaps the CIF-SS D2 title as well.
19. Mission Hills (7-1 – 19th)
The Grizzlies will likely be rooting for La Costa Canyon this week as it looks to knock off Carlsbad in the Avocado League, which would put the Grizzlies in a three-way tie for first. Last week’s 36-0 rout of Torrey Pines was a statement that they aren’t out of this race yet.
20. La Costa Canyon (7-1 – 20th)
Despite losing to Mission Hills earlier in the season, La Costa Canyon can take matters into its own hands this week facing undefeated Carlsbad. An upset of Carlsbad followed by a win against Torrey Pines would give the Mavericks, at minimum, one third of the Avocado League title.
21. San Juan Hills (6-2 – 21st)
Back-to-back statement wins after the painful Corona del Mar loss. The Stallions steamrolled Newport Harbor 47-10 to keep hope alive for a 2025 Bravo League title.
22. Crean Lutheran (8-0 – 22nd)
While Crean Lutheran still hasn’t played an elite strength of schedule this season, it’s continued to make statement after statement against very good competition. Last week’s 56-21 win against La Habra sets up a winner-take-all Epsilon League championship on Friday against Huntington Beach.
23. Cardinal Newman (6-1 – 23rd)
This defense has been outstanding almost all season, and a 14-3 win over Rancho Cotate is among its best performances yet. This week is likely to bring another defensive battle with San Marin on deck.
24. Grant Union (5-4 – 24th)
Grant has now beaten its three league foes by a combined score of 129-19, and that’s no surprise. It has a bye week before wrapping up against Cordova.
25. Central East (7-1 – 25th)
Another shootout win for the Bengals, who took down arguably their biggest threat in the TRAC, Clovis West, 46-39 despite trailing 14-0 after one quarter. This week it can basically clinch the title, but it may well be tested again facing Clovis.
ON THE BUBBLE:
Acalanes, Damien, Pacifica (Oxnard), Rancho Cucamonga, Point Loma, Cathedral Catholic, Granite Hills (El Cajon), Serra (San Mateo), JSerra, Chaparral
