The top five teams in our SoCal Top 25, opened the 2015 season strong Friday night.
Leading the way was #3 Mater Dei, which opened with a 24-21 win against #4 Bishop Amat. The Monarchs used a punishing second half run game to erase a 21-14 halftime deficit.
Related: Mater Dei/Bishop Amat game story with post-game interviews
In the only other game involving two Top 25 teams, Oaks Christian defeated Notre Dame of Sherman Oaks by overcoming a 14 point fourth quarter deficit. Michael Pittman, who has given his verbal commitment to USC, caught a 13-yard touchdown with 20.6 seconds to go in the game to give the Lions a 41-34 non-league victory. It was the first game for new Oaks Christian head coach Jim Benkert. Before the game Oaks Christian re-dedicated its field to legendary OC head coach Bill Redell.
Top-ranked Corona Centennial got ready for next week’s showdown with #5 Serra (Gardena) in The Honor Bowl with a 49-13 win over East High School from Utah. Serra opened with a 41-15 win Friday night against Lakewood.
#2 St. John Bosco fell behind quickly 8-0 to La Mirada, but scored 76 unanswered points in a 76-8 non-league win. Quentin Davis, who takes over for Josh Rosen at quarterback, amassed 389 yards in total offense with six TD passes and one rushing.
Related: St. John Bosco preview
Corona Centennial, St. John Bosco and Mater Dei are also ranked in our national Top 25.
Related: High School Football America Top 25
Two teams at the bottom half of the poll lost last night.
#23 Great Oak was beaten 36-13 by Heritage. The Patriots were led by Jalen Glover, who rushed for 187 yards and two touchdowns. Javier Luna also topped the century mark with 114 yards on the ground.
San Juan Hills, led by Nebraska verbal commit Patrick O’Brien, beat #25 San Clemente 34-20. The Stallions got-out to a 27-0 lead. O’Brien passed for three TDs and ran for another.
#11 Alemany was in mid-season form in its 61-7 win over Garfield. Sophomore quarterback Brevin White threw for 274 yards and five touchdown passes.
Crespi, ranked #12 in our preseason Top 25, beat Sylmar 43-20. The Celts were led by UCLA-bound Jalen Starks, who rushed for 192-yards and four TDs.
Aside from St. John Bosco and Mater Dei’s wins, three other Trinity League teams in the Top 25 picked-up wins.
#14 Orange Lutheran came-out with big defensive stops in the red zone to get by Dominguez 21-13.
Behind quarterback K.J. Costello, #16 Santa Margarita beat Cathedral Catholic 40-14. Costello, who’s given his verbal to Stanford, threw for 336 yards and three touchdowns.
Related: Santa Margarita Eagles preview
#24 JSerra topped Long Beach Cabrillo 48-13. Running back Avery Williams led the way for the Lions with four rushing touchdowns.
Servite, under new head coach Scott Meyer, gave the Trinity League a perfect 6-0 start with a 45-7 win over Fountain Valley. The Friars are just outside of our Top 25.
#17 Rancho Cucamonga opened with a 45-10 win over 2014 CIF-Southwest Division champ Trabuco Hills. Aaron Manning had 147 all-purpose yards for the Cougars on just 14 touches.
#18 Westlake gave new head coach Tony Henney a win in his debut. The Warriors beat Oxnard 31-17 behind Chase Jasmin ran for three touchdowns.
And, #19 Tesoro prepped for next week’s game against Mater Dei with a 35-16 win over Edison. Quarterback Devon Modster, who has given his verbal to Arizona rushed for three touchdowns and threw for two.
How the High School Football America Top 25 Fared
- Corona Centennial beat East (Utah) 49-13
- St. John Bosco beat La Mirada 76-8
- Mater Dei beat #4 Bishop Amat 24-21
- Bishop Amat lost to #3 Mater Dei 24-21
- Serra (Gardena) beat Lakewood 41-15
- Long Beach Poly – Idle
- Narbonne – Idle
- Redlands East Valley – Idle
- Vista Murrieta – Idle
- Mission Viejo beat Bakersfield Liberty 27-14
- Alemany beat Garfield 61-7
- Crespi beat Sylmar 43-20
- Norco beat Etiwanda 66-13
- Orange Lutheran beat Dominguez 21-13
- Los Alamitos – Idle
- Santa Margarita beat Cathedral Catholic 40-13
- Rancho Cucamonga beat Trabuco Hills 45-10
- Westlake beat Oxnard 31-17
- Tesoro beat Edison 35-16
- Notre Dame (Sherman Oaks) lost to #21 Oaks Christian 41-34
- Oaks Christian beat #20 Notre Dame (Sherman Oaks) 41-34
- Great Oak lost to Heritage 36-13
- Loyola beat Harvard-Westlake 34-0
- JSerra beaat Long Beach Cabrillo 48-13
- San Clemente lost to San Juan Hills 34-20
*Editor’s note: High School Football America uses its proprietary algorithm to determine the HSFA SoCal Top 25
