high school football

Kickers have been making long field goals look routine at the college and NFL level. Now they’re becoming the same in high school football.

Noah Thayer, a senior at JSerra, has booted field goals from 55 and 54 yards this season, made a game-winning 31-yard field goal against Oak Hills and is 16 for 16 on PATs.

There’s lots of kickers this season with the ability to try long field goals, but they must first get the permission from their coach. JSerra coach Victor Santa Cruz said Thayer has his complete confidence.

“It’s an easy decision when you have a weapon like Noah,” Santa Cruz said. “It’s exciting to have him. He’s been developing since he was a freshman. He’s just a confident kid.”

Thayer said he gained strength and muscle in the offseason, going from 5-feet-8, 140 pounds to 5-9, 165 to help him increase his distance on kicks. He’s missed field goals from 60 and 55 yards.

Other long field goals this season include a 50-yarder from Mel Huerta of Lawndale, a 49-yarder from Nico Talbott of Mira Costa and a 49-yarder from Ishaan Kedia of Portola.

This is a daily look at the positive happenings in high school sports. To submit any news, please email [email protected].

WEEK 5

(Games at 7 p.m. unless noted)

THURSDAY’S SCHEDULE

CITY SECTION

Eastern League

Bell at South East

Garfield at Huntington Park

South Gate at Legacy

Valley Mission League

Canoga Park at Sylmar

Panorama at Reseda

San Fernando at Van Nuys

SOUTHERN SECTION

Golden League

Quartz Hill at Palmdale

Pacific League

Burbank Burroughs at Arcadia

Nonleague

Arroyo Valley at Pomona

Century at Loara, 6:30 p.m.

Hacienda Heights Wilson at Cerritos

Los Altos at California

Moreno Valley at Chaffey, 6:30 p.m.

South Pasadena at West Covina

Temecula Prep at San Jacinto Valley Academy

South Pasadena at West Covina

INTERSECTIONAL

Inglewood at Midland (TX), 5 p.m.

8-MAN

CITY

Nonleague

New Designs University Park at East Valley

SOUTHERN SECTION

Coast Valley League

San Luis Obispo Academy at Valley Christian Academy, 6 p.m.

INTERSECTIONAL

Bakersfield Valley Oaks at Sherman Oaks CES

FRIDAY’S SCHEDULE

CITY SECTION

East Valley

Chavez at Arleta, 3:30 p.m.

Fulton at Monroe

Grant at Sun Valley Poly

North Hollywood at Verdugo Hills

Nonleague

Crenshaw at Cleveland

Dymally at L.A. Hamilton

Eagle Rock at Marquez

Fremont at L.A. Jordan

King-Drew at Narbonne

Lincoln at Hollywood

Los Angeles at LA Wilson

LA Marshall at Jefferson

Rancho Dominguez at Maywood CES

SOUTHERN SECTION

Camino Real League

St. Monica at Bosco Tech

Cottonwood League

Webb at Riverside Prep

Foothill League

Canyon Country Canyon at Castaic

Golden Valley vs. Hart at College of the Canyons

Saugus at Valencia

Golden League

Eastside at Lancaster

Knight at Highland

Littlerock at Antelope Valley

Manzanita League

Vasquez at California Military Institute

Mesquite League

Whittier Christian at Big Bear

Mission Valley

Arroyo at South El Monte

El Monte at Pasadena Marshall

Gabrielino at Mountain View

Moore League

Compton at Long Beach Cabrillo

Long Beach Wilson at Millikan

Long Beach Poly at Lakewood

Mountain Valley League

Indian Springs at Miller

Pacific at San Bernardino

Pacific League

Crescenta Valley at Hoover

Muir at Burbank

Pasadena at Glendale

Nonleague

Adelanto at Corona Santiago

Alta Loma at Silverado

Anaheim at Magnolia

Aquinas at San Jacinto

Bellflower at Arrowhead Christian

Beverly Hills at Saddleback

Canyon Springs at Montclair

Carpinteria at Santa Paula

Channel Islands at Bolsa Grande

Charter Oak at Long Beach Jordan

Colton at Jurupa Hills

Compton Early College at Westminster La Quinta

Corona del Mar at Trabuco Hills

Desert Hot Springs at Yucca Valley

Desert Mirage at Twentynine Palms

Diamond Bar at Rowland

Duarte at Desert Chapel

Edison at La Serna

Elsinore at Diamond Ranch

Esperanza at Peninsula, 3 p.m.

Estancia at Artesia

Glenn at Irvine University

Godinez at Katella

Grand Terrace at Rim of the World

Great Oak at Temescal Canyon

Hacienda Heights Wilson at Cerritos

Indio at West Valley

Leuzinger at Hawthorne

Los Alamitos at Calabasas

Los Amigos at Eisenhower

Mission Viejo at Chaparral

Murrieta Valley at San Clemente

Oxnard at Camarillo

Placentia Valencia at Gahr

Rancho Alamitos at Garden Grove

Rancho Verde at Tahquitz

Rosamond at Brentwood

San Gorgonio at Cathedral City

Santa Fe at Covina

Savanna at Bassett

Servite at St. Paul

Sherman Oaks Notre Dame at Culver City

South Torrance at West Torrance

St. Anthony at Rio Hondo Prep

St. Genevieve at Bishop Montgomery

St. Margaret’s at Laguna Hills

Summit at Barstow

Trinity Classical at Santa Ana Calvary Chapel

Valley View at Coachella Valley

Ventura at Newbury Park

Villa Park at Mira Costa

Village Christian at La Canada

Vista del Lago at Granite Hills

Whittier at Pioneer

INTERSECTIONAL

Angelou at Temple City

Bernstein at Keppel

Carson at St. Pius X-St. Matthias

Dorsey at Steele Canyon

El Cajon Foothills Christian at Viewpoint

Franklin at San Marino

Gardena at Dominguez

Inglewood at Midland (Texas)

La Quinta at El Centro Central

Las Vegas Shadow Ridge at Citrus Valley

Oakland Fremont at LA Jordan

Palisades at Mary Star of the Sea

Redondo Union at Wilmington Banning

San Pedro at Laguna Beach

Verbum Dei at Locke

Vista Murrieta at Oceanside El Camino, 7:15 p.m.

Workman at West Adams, 4 p.m.

8-MAN

CITY

Nonleague

New Designs University Park at East Valley

SOUTHERN SECTION

Nonleague

California Lutheran at Cornerstone Christian, 5 p.m.

Hillcrest Christian at Laguna Blanca, 3 p.m.

Noli Indian at Lucerne Valley

Rolling Hills Prep at Malibu, 3 p.m.

Sage Hill at Hesperia Christian

Santa Ana Magnolia Science at Vista Meridian, 6 p.m.

Santa Clarita Christian at Chadwick, 3:30 p.m.

United Christian at California School for the Deaf Riverside

Villanova Prep at Public Safety Academy, 6 p.m.

INTERSECTIONAL

Bakersfield Valley Oaks at Sherman Oaks CES

Immanuel Christian at Maricopa

Lancaster Desert Christian at Desert

New Designs Watts at Pasadena Poly, 3:30 p.m.

Salton City West Shores at PAL Charter, 3 p.m.

SATURDAY’S SCHEDULE

SOUTHERN SECTION

Nonleague

Channel Islands at Bolsa Grande, 2 p.m.

El Toro at Aliso Niguel

Western Christian at Silver Valley, 6 p.m.

INTERSECTIONAL

Birmingham at Harvard-Westlake

Las Vegas Bishop Gorman vs. Santa Margarita at Tesoro

8-MAN

SOUTHERN SECTION

Nonleague

Avalon at Faith Baptist, 12:30 p.m.

INTERSECTIONAL

Animo Jackie Robinson at Thacher, 2 p.m.

Cate at Orcutt Academy, 1 p.m.

Escondido San Pasqual Academy at Academy for Careers & Exploration, 6 p.m.

New Designs Watts at Pasadena Poly, 10 a.m.

Sierra ar Flintridge Prep, 2 p.m.

Valley Oaks CES at Lighthouse Christian

Vista St. Joseph Academy at Downey Calvary Chapel, 6 p.m.

SATURDAY’S RESULTS

SOUTHERN SECTION

Nonleague

Webb 66, Channel Islands 7

Aquinas 69, Riverside Notre Dame 6

8-MAN

SOUTHERN SECTION

Nonleague

Cate 40, Coast Union 20

Flintridge Prep 20, Faith Baptist 14

INTERSECTIONAL

Florida School for the Deaf 32, California School for the Deaf Riverside 14

Fresno Christian 68, Santa Clarita Christian 32

Trona 50, PAL Academy 18

The East L.A. Classic, matching high school football rivals Garfield and Roosevelt, is returning to East Los Angeles College on Friday, Oct. 24, the Bulldogs confirmed on Monday. There also will be a JV game and flag football game.

Last season, the two schools played at SoFi Stadium. The Coliseum has also hosted a recent game. But East L.A. College has been the site for the majority of a rivalry that serves as a homecoming for both schools and annually attracts the largest fan attendance in the City Section, if not in Southern California.

Thousands of alumni return for the yearly matchup. There’s a week of festivities that both schools participate in leading up to the game.

This is an unfamiliar playbook for Carson Palmer.

Sure, he has the NFL pedigree and the Heisman Trophy, and a staff of assistant coaches loaded with pro experience. But he’s the first-year coach at Santa Margarita Catholic High School, his alma mater, and stepping into an elite league of schools while studying not just game tape but reels of red tape.

“This is harder than I thought,” said Palmer, 45, sitting in his office above the practice field. “Year One is tough. The NFL is fast and responsive. Here, changing the playbook software takes an act of Congress. But I’m learning every day.”

Not that he’s complaining. He knew when he took the job eight months ago that his path would be littered with challenges and obstacles. Along with some satisfying successes.

The Heisman Trophy winner and former No. 1 overall pick has spent his adult life in that wafer-thin line at the top, the lofty latitude occupied by the best players in the game. Now, he’s getting back to basics.

“I enjoy seeing a kid make a mistake, then understand the why and fix it,” he said. “You don’t get that in the NFL. There, it’s just a job. Here, there’s joy in learning.”

The Eagles, ranked No. 7 in the Southland by The Times, open their season Friday against No. 6 Mission Viejo.

Said Palmer, engrossed in preparing the program for the last eight months: “It’s time.”

Santa Margarita coach Carson Palmer watches over practice on Wednesday.

(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

He will have his hands full in the Trinity League, easily among the most competitive leagues in the country and featuring football powerhouses such as Mater Dei and St. John Bosco.

Are those opposing coaches looking for their Carson Palmer pelt on the wall?

“It’s not about the coach,” Palmer said. “Programs where the coach is the focal point don’t work. It’s about the players 100% of the time. I can help them because I was taught by great minds, but I’m just passing it on.”

Santa Margarita has standouts in brothers Trent and Grant Mosely, both wideouts and Trent committed to play at USC. At quarterback is Trace Johnson, who played high school football in Florida before transferring to spend his senior season with Palmer. His father, Doug Johnson, is Santa Margarita’s quarterbacks coach and played the position in the NFL.

Cornerback Jayden Crowder is heading to California, safety Logan Hirou to UCLA. Dash Fifita, a first-team All-Trinity League linebacker last season and nephew of Santa Margarita’s defensive coordinator, is committed to Arizona, and fellow linebacker Leki Holani is going to Sacramento State.

Santa Margarita coach Carson Palmer instructs his players during practice.

(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

Palmer has several assistant coaches with NFL and/or major college football experience, among them running backs coach Mike Karney, a bruising fixture at fullback for the New Orleans Saints; receivers coach T.J. Houshmandzadeh, one of Palmer’s standout targets with the Cincinnati Bengals; offensive line coach Lenny Vandermade, among Palmer’s blockers at USC; defensive coordinator Steve Fifita, a standout at the University of Utah who later played in the NFL; and linebackers coach Rob Thomas, who was Pac-10 defensive player of the year as a UCLA linebacker and played eight NFL seasons with four teams.

“It’s been awesome,” Karney said. “Carson’s been running the program the way it should be run but putting his own twist on it, making it his own. From how we run practice to what we’re doing schematically, there’s a lot of carryover from the NFL.”

Palmer said it isn’t necessary to have a staff with so much playing experience, but it’s helpful.

“These guys know the importance of staff chemistry,” he said. “I’ve heard high school coaches say the hardest part isn’t the kids or the parents, it’s the adults and their egos. That’s why I was intentional about picking guys who get along. No one’s doing this for the money.”

Before accepting the job, Carson frequently consulted with Pete Carroll, his legendary coach at USC who is now leading the Las Vegas Raiders.

Carroll believes Palmer will be successful in this endeavor, but that it will take time.

Santa Margarita coach Carson Palmer instructs a player during practice.

(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

“He’s going to take his knocks, I’m sure,” Carroll said. “He’ll have first- and second-year issues like all the coaches do — just getting your act together and trying to figure yourself out.

“We went extensively into that when we got together — helping him understand some of the questions that will be raised: What am I standing for? How hard am I? How tough am I? How open am I? All of those kinds of things that come into coaching.

“He’s tough, he’s demanding, and he has high expectations for anybody that plays — just like he held himself to all those years. I think he’ll do a wonderful job. He has a great love for the school and the setting, and he was really excited about the opportunity to go back. He’ll put his best foot forward, but it’s a challenge now. He’s got good guys working with him, too, so that’ll all help out. He’s going to do just fine.”

Palmer said he frequently gets phone calls from Norm Chow, his offensive coordinator at USC, who delivers a simple and powerful message.

“He keeps calling me and saying, ‘Culture before Xs and O’s,’ then hanging up,” Palmer said. “That sticks with me. It doesn’t matter what you run. It’s, do they believe in it? Do they trust each other? Is there an environment for growth? We don’t haze. We respect each other.”

That meant showing some players the door.

“Some kids didn’t fit culturally with what I envisioned,” he said. “This is the Trinity League. It’s big-boy ball.”

Santa Margarita coach Carson Palmer speaks to his players during practice on Wednesday.

(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

And that also means coaching some sophisticated concepts, which he said his players are grasping to a surprising degree.

“I’m just giving them what I was given,” he said. “I use Bruce Arians’ short passing game, Norm Chow’s trick plays, the play-action stuff of [Steve] Sarkisian and [Lane] Kiffin.”

He borrowed, too, from Greg Knapp, the longtime NFL offensive coordinator who died in 2021 after a bicycle accident.

“Greg was a master installer,” said Palmer, who played for him in Oakland in 2012. “He’d give surprise quizzes in the meeting room to keep you awake. ‘What’s the capital of Nevada?’ I do that now. Meetings aren’t sit and stare. We’re on the move.”

How will that translate in terms of wins and losses? We’ll see. One of his old and beloved coaches is optimistic.

“The respect for him is automatic, right?” Chow said. “Just because of who he is. … When you’re coaching, you need to be able to run the room. With Carson, young people say, ‘OK, I’m going to listen.’”

Then, perhaps the highest praise.

“I’d absolutely want my kid to be coached by him,” Chow said. “Because of the human being that he is.”

HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL

THURSDAY’S WEEK ZERO RESULTS

CITY SECTION

Nonleague

Granada Hills 50, North Hollywood 16

SOUTHERN SECTION

Nonleague

Aliso Niguel 38, Beckman 3

Apple Valley 20, Orange Vista 6

Beaumont 58, San Jacinto 14

Big Bear 41, Riverside Prep 7

Bolsa Grande 66, Savanna 0

Chino Hills 40, Glendora 0

Covina 49, La Puente 35

Desert Hot Springs 32, Rubidoux 14

El Cajon Christian 42, Rancho Mirage 14

El Segundo 62, South Pasadena 34

Elsinore 60, Heritage 14

Etiwanda 36, Grand Terrace 13

Fountain Valley 24, Ocean View 7

Fontana 25, San Bernardino 17

Fountain Valley 24, Ocean View 7

Fullerton 40, Anaheim 6

Gabrielino 26, Century 14

Hawthorne vs. Lawndale at SoFi Stadium, 8:30 p.m.

Huntington Beach 35, Orange 18

Laguna Beach 45, Chino 7

Marina 13, Santa Ana Foothill 7

Moreno Valley 14, Eisenhower 0

Mountain View 47, Glenn 21

Murrieta Mesa 33, Newport Harbor 27

Perris 32, Bloomington 30

Public Safety Academy 70, Warner 8

Ramona 13, Riverside North 0

Rosemead 48, Bosco Tech 0

San Gabriel 32, Whittier Christian 27

Summit 28, Ayala 13

Tahquitz 31, Hemet 13

Western 34, Salesian 31

Whittier 26, Temple City 0

Vista Murrieta 47, Great Oak 25

Yorba Linda 41, Mayfair 0

Yucca Valley 48, Arrowhead Christian 7

INTERSECTIONAL

Cottonwood West Valley 54, Sierra Vista 6

Los Osos 42, Narbonne 6

8-MAN

SOUTHERN SECTION

Cornerstone Christian 63, Santa Clarita Christian 12

High school football began on Friday night in California, and no one was having more fun than the tourists/players from Sparks, Nev., the Spanish Springs High Cougars.

They flew in Friday morning on Southwest Airlines, with plans to visit the Santa Monica Pier on Saturday and Six Flags Magic Mountain on Sunday. First up was a game against Simi Valley, and it went better than expected.

Brady Hummel, a senior receiver and the son of coach Robert Hummel, caught 14 passes for 121 yards and three touchdowns in a 41-21 victory. There were 11 turnovers, with Simi Valley losing four fumbles and getting intercepted twice.

Hummel was so wide open on one touchdown because of a Simi Valley secondary communication error that he could have been counting one Mississippi, two Mississippi, three Mississippi and still would have been wide open. Quarterback Tyson McNeil passed for 211 yards.

From the opening kickoff, when Jackson Sundeen returned it for a 96-yard touchdown, the Pioneers were trying to come from behind.

The two teams combined for seven turnovers in the first half. Spanish Springs held a 20-14 halftime lead. Micah Hannah and James Scida each had interceptions for Simi Valley. The Pioneers lost three fumbles. Quarterback Connor Petrov had touchdown passes of 29 yards on fourth down to Quentin McGahan and 50 yards to Cole Alejo.

In the second half, Petrov was intercepted twice and also lost a fumble that turned into a touchdown. Zane Tryon had a 73-yard touchdown run.

Simi Valley was 12-2 last season and defeated the Cougars in Nevada, but two new quarterbacks and a rebuilt offensive line has the Pioneers working to improve.

“We’ll bounce back,” Hannah said.

As for playing against Hummel, Hannah gave up a touchdown against him, but also picked off one of his passes.

“He’s smooth,” Hannah said.

Los Alamitos came away with a 20-12 win over Inglewood. A two-yard touchdown run Lenny Ibarra put Los Alamitos ahead for good. Los Alamitos is headed to Hawaii next week.

In Henderson, Nev., Long Beach Millikan defeated Foothill 27-14. Tight end/defensive end Jude Nelson had two sacks and made nine catches. Quarterback Ashton Pannell threw two touchdown passes.

As Hart High football players participated in a 6 a.m. workout on Wednesday morning, injured player Micaiah Underwood was given an important task — flying the team’s drone to take video. He had been trained by head coach Jake Goossen.

When an alarm went off alerting low battery, Underwood calmly manipulated the controls to bring the drone down — though it briefly went so high that teammates were joking it was out of control.

Managers make peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for football players to eat after practices.

(Eric Sondheimer / Los Angeles Times)

Every head coach needs to delegate responsibilities and rely on others to help him focus on getting his team ready, and three important positions in 2025 are drone operator, manager and athletic trainer.

Every program needs one of each.

At a City Section school earlier this week, three managers were making peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for players to eat after practices. At another school, the athletic trainer was taping ankles and roaming the field in case of an emergency. For those teams without athletic trainers, coaches were forced to take on the task.

Coaches kept handing out their keys to managers to retrieve or open something.

Managers and trainers have been around for years, but drone operators are new. At Hart, they have to pay special attention to hawks. Seriously, Hart had a drone disabled by a hawk. Now there are spotters to make sure no hawks are nearby. After all, Hart’s new nickname is the Hawks and apparently the real hawks like flying drones.

So everyone say thanks to the drone operators, managers and trainers. They’re unsung helpers every program needs.

Electric bikes lined up at Hart High.

(Eric Sondheimer / Los Angeles Times)

Oh, and one more trend. There are so many players using electric bikes to get to practices perhaps a charging station is next to be added on a program’s football budget.

When Charles Dickens began his 1859 novel “A Tale of Two Cities” with the legendary line, “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times,” who knew that it would aptly describe the state of amateur football in 2025?

From college athletics to high school athletics, if you’re a parent, coach, athlete or fan, you have plenty of stories to tell. Take notes, because there’s so much material you’ll be able to write a book, launch a podcast or participate in court cases still to be decided.

“It’s all crazy,” said future Hall of Fame football coach Matt Logan of Corona Centennial.

Football isn’t in a crisis but it is in a black hole with stakeholders seeking an escape path.

With final rules still not adopted in how name, image and likeness is supposed to work and college programs not only paying their own athletes but high school recruits, too, everyone is adjusting on the fly. Parents trying to navigate the changes are hiring agents, who are showing up to high school camps trying to find clients. There’s the college transfer portal and something similar in high school that saw more than 17,000 students switch schools in California last year.

Until NIL rules are figured out, it’s roll your eyes and don’t be surprised at anything.

Some elite high school players have been reclassifying their graduation years to take advantage of money opportunities. And that’s after parents held them back entering high school to be bigger, stronger and faster as a 16-year-old freshman.

It’s all legal and even logical but the changing landscape is riddled with pros and cons and bad actors.

One big concern in high school sports is that parents might be too focused on scholarships for their kids and earning NIL money while forgetting the real reason people play sports — for the love of the game.

“For me, the whole value in sports has been degenerated,” Logan said. “You don’t play sports to get a scholarship. You play to learn how to lead, how to take orders, how to be a good teammate, how to work together. This could be the only chance to have fun, play with their friends, have a great experience.”

There have been football scandals in recent years — twice at Narbonne High, which had City Section championships taken away in 2019 and 2024 for using ineligible players. Now the football community is focused on what the Southern Section intends to do this fall about Bishop Montgomery, which supposedly has numerous transfer students (some from Narbonne) and is so confident it’ll ‘ll be declared eligible that a trip to Hawaii and a nonleague game against powerful Mater Dei have been scheduled.

Every week, coaches have to decide how to deal with players and parents who have little patience and many options. It’s a balancing act, and for the elite of the elite, coaches can’t even count on juniors returning as seniors because of opportunities to skip ahead to college.

“I understand why they are doing it. They have my full support,” said Sierra Canyon coach Jon Ellinghouse, who’s losing star defensive lineman Richard Wesley to Oregon a year early after he reclassified to the class of 2026.

Ellinghouse is embracing the idea his job is to “put them into positions to have life-changing opportunities.”

There are many different paths to success and failure. Remember how LaVar Ball didn’t care that his youngest son, LaMelo, was 13 years old playing summer basketball as a freshman for Chino Hills. He threw him in against older players and the rest is history. He averaged 25.2 points this season for the Charlotte Hornets as a 23-year-old in his fifth NBA season.

There are others who were 19-year-old seniors in high school, stopped developing, kept switching schools and will probably blame their coaches for not making the pros when the truth is it’s difficult to become a professional athlete.

It is the best of times with all kinds of money to be given out for being a good athlete. It is the worst of times because many of the treasured lessons from playing amateur sports no longer receive priority treatment. What happened to the importance of getting a college degree?

It will take someone with magical ideas to return a balance to the amateur sports world.