matchups

Hi, and welcome to another edition of Prep Rally. I’m Eric Sondheimer. League play begins this week in high school football for the best of the best. That means get ready for some great matchups in the Trinity League, the Mission League, the Alpha League, the Marine League and many others.

League play begins

Coach Carson Palmer of Santa Margarita will try to help his team win a Trinity League title.

(Craig Weston)

St. John Bosco’s Koa Malau’ulu looks to pass while pressured against Bishop Gorman.

(Ian Maule/ LA Times)

It’s time for a dose of reality. Lots of teams are off to great starts with nonleague schedules designed to get them enough early wins to be able to get an at-large playoff berth in case they stumble in league play.

League play begins, so some of the unbeaten teams are about to be no longer unbeaten.

Santa Margarita was the best team in the state in 2025, but the Eagles didn’t win the Trinity League. St. John Bosco was the champion, and with league play beginning Friday, both schools have ambitions to finish on top.

Santa Margarita (5-0) plays Mater De (3-2) in its opener at Saddleback College and St. John Bosco (4-1) hosts JSerra (4-1). The other league game is Servite (3-2) facing Orange Lutheran (3-2) at Orange Coast College.

What’s different this season is that any of the six Trinity teams look capable of winning on a given night. But some of the teams are about to be strengthened by the addition of sit-out period transfer students that become eligible effective Monday.

The Mission League is all about which team will finish second to unbeaten Sierra Canyon (5-0). A good Friday opener has Chaminade (5-0) hosting Sherman Oaks Notre Dame (5-0).

The new Alpha League will feature weekly battles with Mission Viejo, San Clemente, Edison, Yorba Linda, Los Alamitos and San Juan Hills. The likely title decider on Oct. 16 has Mission Viejo at San Clemente.

Harvard-Westlake has started 5-0, but the Wolverines receive their first major test with a Del Rey League opener against Salesian on Friday.

In the City Section, Birmingham, which has won every West Valley League title since 2018, faces unbeaten Cleveland on Friday at home in a West Valley League opener. San Pedro and Banning have their annual Marine League rivalry game Friday at Banning.

Marshall takes a 5-0 record into the start of Northern League play at Franklin.

Freedom day arrives

It’s freedom day on Monday for Southern Section football players who have been sitting out the first half of the season after transferring without moving.

St. John Bosco can’t wait to insert offensive tackle Elisha Mueller, a transfer from Servite and one of the top prospects from the Class of 2028. Also becoming available is sophomore defensive back Kingston Fatu, a transfer from Tustin who will help a secondary that has been struggling in trying to deny big plays.

Santa Margarita adds 6-foot-3, 285-pound sophomore transfer Karras Vandermade, a defensive lineman. Servite has six players who could compete for major roles, with four on defense that will add much needed depth. Orange Lutheran gains 6-5 tight end Hudson Ploog and linebacker Jamaal Fay, who started for two years at Leuzinger. JSerra adds 6-7, 315-pound offensive lineman Wyatt Martin.

Other schools are also about to be strengthened. Unbeaten Sierra Canyon adds physical wingback/linebacker Fletcher Thomas. Unbeaten Chaminade, hoping to challenge the Trailblazers in the Mission League, picks up sophomore receiver Champ Ross and junior cornerback Jayden Woods.

Long Beach Poly fans will get their first look at Mater Dei transfer Trevor Scott, a sophomore quarterback. Quarterback Daniel Mielke becomes eligible at Chino Hills. Corona Centennial gains Brody Black, an offensive lineman from Servite. San Clemente picks up receiver Titus King, a speedster from Santa Margarita. Amir Morton, a junior running back who transferred from Sierra Canyon, is expected to provide immediate help for Crespi.

Cornerback Tadd Mitchell, a Montana commit, joins Oxnard Pacifica along with lineman Miguel Macias Santiago.

Matix Frithsmith demonstrated his versatility in Hart’s 34-17 Foothill League win over Saugus. He rushed for 218 yards and four touchdowns, including a 91-yard run. Here’s the report.

Corona Centennial traveled to Northern California to take on De La Salle and what a game it was. De La Salle won 35-32 behind Duece Jones-Drew, who rushed for 211 yards. Here’s the report.

Centennial has lost three close games to Santa Margarita, Mater Dei and De La Salle. As soon the Huskies get back to full strength with the return of standout safety/kicker Jaden Walk-Green and others, beware.

Cleveland High running back Moyosoreoluwa Odebunmi gives the thumbs-up after the Cavaliers defeated Crenshaw on the road.

(Joel Beers / For The Times)

Cleveland pulled off the upset of the week in going on the road to improve to 5-0 and beat Crenshaw. Here’s the report.

Also here’s a look at how 34-year-old Cleveland head coach Mario Guzman came up with one of the biggest wins in school history.

Here’s this week’s top 25 rankings by The TImes.

Here’s top individual performances from the past week.

Here’s the the Week 6 schedule.

Midseason report

Receiver Andrew Cordero (left) and quarterback Jeremy Mellalieu have led Chaminade to a 5-0 start.

(Eric Sondheimer / Los Angeles Times)

It’s midseason in high school football, so it’s a good time to check who has lived up to expectations or come out of nowhere to be a major contributor.

Here’s a look.

Is CIF powerless?

When a coach takes his team out of state and plays two players who are listed on the Southern Section transfer portal as not being cleared to play and are also missing from the team’s MaxPreps roster to possibly prevent others from knowing who’s playing, is a two-game coach suspension adequate punishment?

That’s the scenario involving Inglewood football coach Mil’von James, who missed two games after the Southern Section alerted the school that James played two ineligible players during a game in Texas last month. Since Inglewood lost, forcing the school to forfeit was moot. James returned to coaching the team on Friday and told the Daily Breeze that it was an “administrative decision” for him to sit out two games.

The Southern Section has no power to discipline James, but schools and districts are expected to impose appropriate punishment for violating CIF rules.

Here’s a look at what’s at stake.

Oxnard quarterback Ryanna Harris has scored 33 touchdowns and thrown for 13 more in 16 games.

(Steve Galluzzo / For The Times)

JSerra is 19-0 with few teams being able to give the Lions much competition these days.

Here’s a look at this week’s top 10 flag football rankings by The Times.

Huntington Beach won its own tournament championship.

Los Angeles Wilson is off to a 9-1 start and could be the favorite in the City Section. Wilson at defending City Section Open Division champion Marshall on Monday is a big Northern League opener.

Carson is 8-3 and has handed the only loss to Wilson.

Girls golf

Santa Margarita keeps producing low scores in girls golf.

The defending Southern Section Division 1 champions are stronger than ever. The team is 6-0 and 3-0 in the Trinity League.

All-female officiating crew

An all-female officiating crew for Orange County game on Thursday: Kristi Wilson (left, head linesman), Sarita Stamps (back judge), Mary Margaret Montgomery (referee), MaryAnne Menlove (umpire), Nina Berbiglia (line judge).

(Orange County Officials Assn.)

An all-female officiating crew is set to become a first for the Orange County Football Officials Assn. when they work a Thursday game between La Quinta and Garden Grove Santiago on Thursday night at Garden Grove High.

Notes . . .

There’s trouble brewing at Van Nuys High, where the baseball coach has been removed for building an unauthorized batting cage during the summer. Also the softball field had a protective fence demolished earlier this week that was a safety measure to protect fans and dugouts could be next demolished. Here’s the report.

Here’s the latest Southern Section girls volleyball rankings….

El Camino Real’s boys’ soccer team, going for a third straight City Section championship, has three players committed to Cal State Northridge. Here’s the report….

In girls’ tennis, Corona del Mar defeated Portola in a rematch of last year’s Division 1 final. Here’s a report….

Orange Lutheran baseball player Evan Dugdale has committed to Oklahoma….

Junior catcher Jordan Lindsay of Birmingham has committed to Wake Forrest….

Junior pitcher Eli Martinez of Aquinas has committed to UC Santa Barbara….

Jaylen Maroney of Edison has committed to Sacramento State for women’s soccer….

Junior pitcher Julian Pardinas of La Mirada has committed to UCLA….

Junior pitcher Jayden Singer of Calabasas has committed to USC….

Junior outfielder/pitcher Noah Esquival of South Hills has committed to St. Mary’s….

Left-handed pitcher Charlie Hoye of Palos Verdes has committed to Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo….

Standout guard Davey Smith from Windward has committed to San Diego State….

Shooting guard Jeremiah Profit from Rancho Christian has committed to Northwestern….

Junior softball player Bailey Holder from Long Beach Poly has committed to Washington….

Junior slapper Makayla Encinas of Chino Hills has committed to UCLA….

Devon Richardson is the new basketball coach at Sun Valley Poly, replacing Joe Wyatt, who’s now the coach at North Hollywood. He was an assistant coach at L.A. Valley College and former head coach at Blair….

Joe Heinz, the commissioner of the CIF San Diego Section, has died. He was 56….

The Southern Section has announced its playoff schedule for fall sports. Here’s the link.…

Southern Section schools are required to pick a 14-day dead period each summer that all their sports teams have to follow. Now there’s a proposal to allow basketball players participate in CIF-approved recruiting events known as Section 7 and CaliLive. It will be voted on next year by the Southern Section Council….

Sophomore quarterback Marcus Washington of Cajon has committed to Kentucky….

Offensive lineman Kaden Franco of St. John Bosco has committed to Brown….

From the archives: Vernon Adams

Eastern Washington quarterback Vernon Adams Jr. in 2014.

(Elaine Thompson / Associated Press)

After being a star quarterback at Bishop Alemany, Vernon Adams went on to play quarterback at Eastern Washington and Oregon and has made a strong career in the Canadian Football League. They season playing for the Calgary Stampeders, he has passed for 3,261 yards and 27 touchdowns.

He’s 33 and has been playing in Canada since 2016.

Here’s a story from 2010 about his talent against Crespi.

Here’s a story from 2014 when he was putting up big numbers for Eastern Washington.

Recommendations

From Frontofficesports, a story on how private equity can be helpful for youth sports.

From San Gabriel Valley Tribune, a story looking at USC-bound Gavin Williams of Damien.

From The Times, a look at Orange junior quarterback Star Thomas III.

Tweets you might have missed

Until next time….

Have a question, comment or something you’d like to see in a future Prep Rally newsletter? Email me at eric.sondheimer@latimes.com, and follow me on Twitter at @latsondheimer.

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