Seven Southern Section Games Running the Timeline Tonight

Four Southern Section teams sitting in this week's MaxPreps national Top 25 all play tonight, and not one of them gets a night off. Santa Margarita is No. 2 in the country. Sierra Canyon is No. 4. St. John Bosco is No. 11 and Mater Dei is No. 19.

That's the national picture. The local one is even louder. Trinity League standings, a Division 1 playoff berth and a couple of unbeaten records are all on the table before midnight.

Here are the seven games running the timeline tonight, ranked by how much is riding on them. All kick off at 7 p.m.

1. JSerra at No. 2 Santa Margarita

Santa Margarita is 8-0 and just moved to No. 2 in the MaxPreps Top 25 after going into Bellflower and beating St. John Bosco 21-7. Win tonight and the Eagles clinch at least a share of the Trinity League title.

The receipts from last week are real. Fletch Palmer went 12 of 21 for 167 yards and a touchdown. Grant Mosley caught five balls for 76 yards and a score. And Class of 2030 wideout Kiyan Callis led the team with six catches for 80 yards. A freshman-class kid leading a national No. 2 in receiving against Bosco is the stat of the week, period.

JSerra sits at 4-4 and is coming off a 48-13 loss to Orange Lutheran. On paper this is a coronation. Carson Palmer's teams have nine wins over MaxPreps Top 25 opponents since he took over in 2025, so do not expect a letdown.

2. No. 4 Sierra Canyon at Notre Dame (Sherman Oaks)

Sierra Canyon is 8-0, 3-0 in league, No. 4 nationally and No. 1 in California per MaxPreps. The Trailblazers shut out Chaminade 41-0 last week.

Notre Dame is 7-1 and has the best shot anyone in the Mission League will get at this team. Unbeaten versus one-loss on a Friday in the Valley. That's appointment viewing.

3. No. 11 St. John Bosco at Servite

Bosco dropped three spots to No. 11 after the Santa Margarita loss and sits at 6-2. MaxPreps still made this one of its Regional Games of the Week, and it should be.

Servite is coming off a 38-15 loss to Mater Dei. Two programs licking wounds in the same building. Bosco's offense managed one touchdown last week, so all eyes on whether that was a blip or a pattern.

4. Orange Lutheran at No. 19 Mater Dei

Mater Dei climbed two spots to No. 19 after handling Servite 38-15, and the Monarchs are chasing a third straight win. Orange Lutheran brings a dangerous offense that just dropped 48 on JSerra.

This one shapes the final Trinity League standings and the Southern Section playoff picture. Mater Dei being outside the national top 15 in late October is a strange sight. A big night here starts fixing that.

5. San Clemente at San Juan Hills

The rankings guys might skip this one. Don't. San Clemente is 7-0 and San Juan Hills is 7-1. The Tritons are on the edge of a Division 1 playoff berth, but they need to win out.

Injuries are the whole storyline. San Juan Hills will roll with a new quarterback throwing to receiver Luke Frith. San Clemente quarterback Preston Beck is banged up too, with Ryan Matheson and Jaxson Rex as the big-play threats.

My call: San Juan Hills wins and blows up San Clemente's Division 1 math. Frith is the best player on the field, and a backup quarterback only needs to throw it up to him.

6. Corona Centennial at Chaparral

Centennial is 5-3 but the record lies. Two of those losses came by a single point, 21-20 to Santa Margarita and 10-9 to Mater Dei. MaxPreps has the Huskies No. 28 nationally and made this a Regional Game of the Week.

This is a playoff tune-up for Centennial. For Chaparral, it's a chance to put a nationally ranked name on the resume.

7. Mission Viejo at Los Alamitos

Mission Viejo is 6-1 and No. 7 in the Southern Section per MaxPreps. Going on the road to Los Al this late in the year is no free square. Keep an eye on this score at halftime.

Your Move

I put San Juan Hills over an unbeaten San Clemente on record. Tell me I'm wrong in the comments, and drop your pick for the upset of the night. Final scores and the standouts land on HSPrepSports in our Saturday SoCal roundup.

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Sources: MaxPreps Top 25 (Oct. 19, 2026)  |  High School On SI  |  On3 California Composite