Southland

A look at the top performers from high school football games across the Southland this week.

RUSHING

• Ceasar Reyes, Garfield: Rushed for 277 yards and scored five touchdowns in win over Montebello.

• Jorden Wells, Servite: Rushed for 117 yards and one touchdown in loss to Corona Centennial.

• Sameer Ferguson, Victor Valley: Rushed for 136 yards in win over West Covina.

• Denzel Carter, La Salle: Had 254 yards rushing and four touchdowns and caught two touchdown passes in win over Cantwell-Sacred Heart.

• Tru Warrior Casas, Fairfax: Rushed for 251 yards and four touchdowns in win over Hollywood.

• Joshua Jones, Crenshaw: Rushed for 124 yards and one touchdown in win over Palisades.

• Asir Nembhard, Mater Dei: Rushed for 115 yards and two touchdowns in win over American Fork.

PASSING

• Brady Edmunds, Huntington Beach: Completed 24 of 31 passes for 441 yards and six touchdowns in win over Long Beach Millikan.

• Cody King, Castaic: Passed for 357 yards and two touchdowns in win over Buena.

• Jaden Jefferson, Corona Centennial: Passed for 296 yards and two touchdowns and ran for 92 yards and two touchdowns in win over Servite.

• Trent Lux, Great Oak: Passed for 230 yards and four touchdowns in win over Vista Murrieta.

• Chase Curren, Crespi: Passed for 352 yards and three touchdowns in loss to Sherman Oaks Notre Dame.

• Donovan Shirley, Salesian: Passed for 348 yards and five touchdowns in win over Western.

• Gibson Turner, Torrance: Passed for 324 yards and four touchdowns in win over Mira Costa.

• Fletch Palmer, Santa Margarita: Passed for 242 yards and two touchdowns in win over Orlando (Fla.) Jones.

• Chris Field III, Carson: Accounted for four touchdowns, including the game-winner, in win over San Diego Lincoln.

• Matthew Escobedo, Cantwell-Sacred Heart: Passed for 452 yards and five touchdowns in loss to La Salle.

RECEIVING

• Dylin Bruce, Huntington Beach: Had 10 receptions for 226 yards and three touchdowns in win over Millikan.

• Ian Do, Cypress: Caught six passes for 182 yards in win over Cerritos.

• Quentin Hale, Corona Centennial: Caught eight passes for 155 yards and two touchdowns in wn over Servite.

• Jordan Slye Jr., Salesian: Caught seven passes for 109 yards and two touchdowns in win over Western.

DEFENSE

• Vincent Scates, San Dimas: Returned an interception for a touchdown in win over Glendora.

• De’Andre Kirkpatrick, Crenshaw: Had an interception and ran for touchdown vs. Palisades.

• Jaxson Rex, San Clemente: Returned an interception 95 yards for a touchdown in win over Tustin.

• Hudson Manning, Chaminade: Had four sacks in shutout of Oaks Christian.

• George Hastings, Agoura: Contributed seven tackles, 103 yards rushing and a kickoff return for a touchdown in win over Saugus.

• Aydan Steen, Santa Margarita: The freshman had seven solo tackles vs. Orlando (Fla.) Jones.

SPECIAL TEAMS

• Nevada Ford, Oak Park: Returned two kickoffs for touchdowns in win over Angelou.

• Niko Dragin, Palos Verdes: Made game-winning 22-yard field goal as time expired in win over Gardena Serra.

• Jalen Flowers, Palos Verdes: Returned kickoff 97 yards for touchdown in defeat of Gardena Serra.

• Jonas Mendoza, Long Beach Poly: Made 41-yard field goal in win over Downey.

• Myles Baker, Sierra Canyon: Returned kickoff 93 yards for a touchdown in win over JSerra.

The high school football season begins this weekend with Week 0 games. Let’s examine storylines and questions to be answered:

Will a lineman be the player of the year?

The last time a lineman was The Times’ player of the year was St. John Bosco offensive tackle Wyatt Davis in 2016. The Braves now have Elisha Mueller, a 6-foot-4, 295-pound junior transfer from Servite, as one of their blockers, so don’t be surprised if he emerges as an MVP candidate on a team that can go unbeaten. Sierra Canyon defensive lineman Marcus Fakatou is also an MVP-like lineman.

Can any City Section team beat defending champion Carson?

Call it unlikely. The Colts return versatile quarterback Chris Fields III, who does magical things when you least expect it. There’s linemen to protect him and a nonleague schedule that should have the Colts prepared to run over Marine League teams.

Can Santa Margarita show its 2025 championship in the first year of Carson Palmer as coach was no fluke?

The Eagles don’t have the defensive front from last season that was so dominating and gone to USC is Mr. Big Play, Trent Mosley. Expect the Eagles to put up a good challenge to St. John Bosco in the Trinity League. There’s speed and talent and Steven Fifita is about as good a defensive coordinator as there is. Wait for the young players, led by freshman linebacker Aydan Steen, to come on strong late in season.

Former Heisman Trophy winner Carson Palmer raises the 2025 Southern Section Division 1 championship plaque in his first year as head coach at Santa Margarita.

(Craig Weston)

Is Long Beach Poly ready for a resurgence?

First-year coach Travon Patterson made one of the best hires for his offensive coordinator, former Cathedral and Warren coach Kevin Pearson. He has two cornerbacks second to none in JuJu Johnson and Donte Wright. The key to the Jackrabbits returning to the top in the Moore League will be whether they can develop their offensive line to be effective.

Who will be the most successful first-year coach?

This is going to be debated all season because so many well-known football programs changed coaches. Servite’s Rick Garretson, Orange Lutheran’s Ray Fenton and JSerra’s Hardy Nickerson have high expectations from their rabid fan base. St. Bernard’s Dean Herrington takes on a rebuilding job. Bishop Alemany’s Dennis Keyes takes over a program that hit rock bottom. Jeff Bailey left Yorba Linda for Beverly Hills, which can go nowhere but up. You’ve heard of Storm Watch. This season will be called Rookie Coach Watch.

How many teams will make the Southern Section Division 1 playoffs?

Don’t look for more than eight. The Southern Section wants competitive equity, and the leading candidates at the end of the season can already be predicted: St. John Bosco, Santa Margarita, Orange Lutheran, Mater Dei, Servite, Corona Centennial, Sierra Canyon and Mission Viejo. Remember last season, with the help of rain, the No. 8 seed, Orange Lutheran, stunned the No. 1 seed, St. John Bosco.

Quarterback Chris Fields III of Carson is a dual threat quarterback who led the Colts to the City Section Open Division title last season.

(Craig Weston)

Does the City Section still have talent?

Absolutely. The recruiters have already discovered defensive end Elyjah Staples from Marquez, linebacker De’Andre Kirkpatrick from Crenshaw, Fieldsand his heavily recruited Carson teammate and defensive back Bennie Saulter. There are others waiting for their chance. Beware of receiver Paul Turner of Birmingham.

Will there be another eligibility scandal?

Count on it if athletic directors and principals don’t take their jobs seriously to give scrutiny to transfer paperwork and make home visits. There were rumors throughout the summer of 2025 about Bishop Montgomery turning the other cheek, and sure enough, they were correct. The school ended up canceling its season after too many players were declared ineligible.

What are the great games to mark on your calendar?

On Thursday, it’s Corona Centennial vs. Servite at Orange Coast College. On Friday, it’s St. John Bosco at Las Vegas Bishop Gorman.

Aug. 28: Inglewood at Westlake, Santa Margarita at Corona Centennial. Sept. 4: Murrieta Valley at Cajon, San Clemente at Chaparral. Sept. 10: Corona del Mar at Newport Harbor. Sept. 11: Corona Centennial vs. Mater Dei at Santa Ana Stadium, Cathedral at King/Drew. Sept. 18: Orange Lutheran at Sierra Canyon. Sept. 25: Oxnard Pacifica at Sierra Canyon, Servite at Damien.

Coach Jason Negro and St. John Bosco open the season as the No. 1 team in California.

(Craig Weston)

Oct. 1: Murrieta Valley at Chaparral. Oct. 2: San Pedro at Banning, Crean Lutheran at Tustin, Bishop Amat at Gardena Serra. Oct. 9: Sierra Canyon at Gardena Serra, Orange Lutheran at St. John Bosco. Oct. 15: Norco at Corona Centennial. Oct. 16: King/Drew at Crenshaw, Mission Viejo at San Clemente, Santa Margarita at St. John Bosco.

Oct. 23: San Pedro at Carson, Corona Centennial at Chaparral, St. Bonaventure at Oxnard Pacifica, Long Beach Poly at Long Beach Millikan. Oct. 29: Garfield vs. Roosevelt at East L.A. College, Edison at San Clemente, Valencia vs. Hart at College of the Canyons, St. John Bosco vs. Mater Dei at Santa Ana Stadium.

Which coaches might be under the microscope?

First-year coaches at private schools will start feeling pressure if their players don’t deliver results. There’s little patience these days from boosters, parents and fans. Watch the Corona Centennial staff, because someone there is going to one day succeed future Hall of Famer Matt Logan.

What will be the new trend in 2026?

Watching to see how well PlayOn Sports handles its control of high school sports in California. It owns MaxPreps, the NFHS Network, GoFan.co and just won state playoff TV rights from the CIF, replacing Spectrum, who’s 15-year contract ended in June. People are waiting to see if prices increase or quality decreases. And who will hold them accountable? They are the definition of monopoly for high school sports. Competition always brings out the best in businesses, so the lack of that has to be something to monitor.

What are five predictions that will come true?

St. John Bosco will win the Division 1 title (barring rain). Carson will win the City Section Open Division title (barring injury to Fields). Jack Hurst of Laguna Beach will lead Southern California with the most touchdown passes (barring his receivers doing too much surfing). Corona Centennial will exceed 70 points in a single game (barring a running clock in the first half). Lots of teams will forfeit games because of an ineligible player (barring athletic directors being skeptical of every transfer).