SoCal High School Football Week 6: Santa Margarita Sacks Mater Dei Again as Trinity League Opens With a Bang

Santa Margarita 14, Mater Dei 7

Mater Dei came out swinging. A 12-play, 80-yard opening drive ended with a 6-yard Asir Nembhard touchdown run. Those were the first points Santa Margarita had allowed since Sept. 4 (MaxPreps).

Then the Eagles' front took over. A Ca'ron Williams sack flipped the field, Fletch Palmer hit Grant Van Raaphorst for 34 yards, and Adrian Petero punched in a 1-yarder to tie it. Before the half, Jake Martin got a hand on a 41-yard Mater Dei field goal try to keep it 7-7.

The go-ahead drive opened the third quarter. Van Raaphorst ripped off a 20-yard double reverse, then caught a 4-yard Palmer touchdown with 7:47 left in the third. Mater Dei answered with a 13-play march that ended in a 32-yard field goal pushed wide right. On the final drive, Kingston Jimmerson's second sack of the night backed the Monarchs up, and freshman Jayden Jack picked off Guess in the end zone to end it (MaxPreps).

Shutout ball over the final three quarters. Palmer finished with 158 passing yards and a score.

St. John Bosco 40, JSerra 14

No. 9 St. John Bosco handled business in its league opener behind Maliq Allen, who scored four touchdowns: three on the ground and one through the air from junior quarterback Koa Malau'ulu, who threw two TDs (MaxPreps, High School On SI).

Sierra Canyon 41, Loyola 0

No. 6 Sierra Canyon led 34-0 at halftime and coasted through its Mission League opener (High School On SI, MaxPreps).

Orange Lutheran 56, Servite 21

The Lancers put up 56 to start Trinity League play 1-0 (High School On SI, HSFA). That sets up a heavyweight matchup next Friday: Orange Lutheran at St. John Bosco (MaxPreps schedule).

Bishop Amat 27, Serra 26

One point. Bishop Amat escaped Gardena Serra for a much-needed Mission League win (High School On SI, On3).

Will's take: Santa Margarita's defense is the best unit in Southern California, and the Eagles will go into Bosco's place on Oct. 16 and win. Put it on the record.

SoCal Scoreboard: Week 6 Final Scores

CIF Southern Section
Thursday, Oct. 1
Corona Centennial 65, Vista Murrieta 14 (MaxPreps, SI)
Chaparral 52, Murrieta Valley 14 (SI)

Friday, Oct. 2
Mission Viejo 42, Huntington Beach Edison 14
San Clemente 28, Yorba Linda 0
San Juan Hills 61, Los Alamitos 10
Corona del Mar 24, Villa Park 10
Notre Dame (Sherman Oaks) 28, Chaminade 21
Huntington Beach 24, El Modena 21
Oxnard Pacifica 38, Oaks Christian 17
Palos Verdes 42, Long Beach Millikan 7
Norco 24, Murrieta Mesa 14
Crean Lutheran 21, Tustin 7
Orange 42, El Dorado 14
Capistrano Valley 42, La Habra 20
Chino Hills 28, Damien 21
St. Bonaventure 44, Simi Valley 37
Westlake 34, Rio Mesa 7
Newbury Park 35, Bishop Diego 0
Calabasas 13, Oak Park 7
Crespi 51, La Salle 3
Cathedral 21, St. Francis 18
Salesian 35, Harvard-Westlake 28
Valencia 62, Saugus 28
Long Beach Poly 55, Lakewood 0
Inglewood 26, Mira Costa 21
Etiwanda 42, Upland 7
La Mirada 49, Cerritos 14
(SI final scores, On3 scoreboard)

CIF Los Angeles City Section

Carson 57, Gardena 0
Palisades 29, Venice 26
Cleveland 14, Birmingham 9
Taft 32, Chatsworth 27
(SI, On3)

CIF San Diego Section

Carlsbad 30, Torrey Pines 7
Mission Hills 14, La Costa Canyon 0
St. Augustine 48, University City 40
Helix 42, Mount Miguel 8
Madison 35, Coronado 14
Eastlake 13, Otay Ranch 3
Oceanside 28, San Marcos 21
Mira Mesa 21, Rancho Buena Vista 17
De La Salle (Concord) 42, Cathedral Catholic 0
(SI, On3, MaxPreps)

National Top 25 Watch (MaxPreps Top 25, updated 9/28/2026)

1. St. Thomas Aquinas (Fla.): W 21-20 at No. 22 Chaminade-Madonna
2. St. Frances Academy (Md.): W 46-0 vs. Legacy School of Sport Sciences (Texas)
3. IMG Academy (Fla.): plays Saturday vs. The St. James Performance Academy (Va.)
4. Santa Margarita (Calif.): W 14-7 vs. No. 18 Mater Dei
5. Buford (Ga.): idle
6. Sierra Canyon (Calif.): W 41-0 vs. Loyola
7. Columbus (Fla.): W 53-0 vs. Miami Southwest (Thursday)
8. Bishop Gorman (Nev.): idle
9. St. John Bosco (Calif.): W 40-14 vs. JSerra
10. Allen (Texas): idle
11. Baylor (Tenn.): W 49-7 vs. McCallie
12. Carrollton (Ga.): idle
13. Thompson (Ala.): W 31-14 at Hoover
14. Thomas County Central (Ga.): W 55-12 vs. Veterans
15. Brownsburg (Ind.): W 38-3 at Zionsville
16. Hamilton (Ariz.): idle
17. Hough (N.C.): idle
18. Mater Dei (Calif.): L 14-7 vs. No. 4 Santa Margarita
19. North Crowley (Texas): idle
20. De La Salle (Calif.): W 42-0 at Cathedral Catholic
21. Miami Central (Fla.): plays Saturday at Miami Springs
22. Chaminade-Madonna (Fla.): L 21-20 vs. No. 1 St. Thomas Aquinas
23. Don Bosco Prep (N.J.): plays Saturday at Bergen Catholic
24. Central Catholic (Pa.): W 62-0 at Mt. Lebanon
25. North Shore (Texas): W 41-0 at Humble (Thursday)
(MaxPreps rankings, MaxPreps Top 25 scoreboard, HSFA 300 scoreboard)

Near-miss of the week: No. 1 St. Thomas Aquinas trailed No. 22 Chaminade-Madonna 20-7 in the third quarter. Then Ryan Mathis ran for one touchdown and caught the go-ahead screen pass from Cody Conness with 10:45 to play, making it 21-20. Ohio State commit Wyatt Smith blocked a potential game-winning field goal with 1:23 left. That's 20 straight wins for the Raiders (MaxPreps, HSFA). The only SoCal team to lose a ranked-vs-ranked game was Mater Dei, now 4-2. The Monarchs' slide is the national storyline to watch when the new rankings drop.

Players Who Popped

Maliq Allen, St. John Bosco: 4 total TDs (3 rushing, 1 receiving) vs. JSerra (MaxPreps)
Kingston Jimmerson & Ca'ron Williams, Santa Margarita: 2 sacks each in a 7-sack night vs. Mater Dei (MaxPreps)
Jayden Jack, Santa Margarita: game-sealing end-zone interception as a freshman (MaxPreps)
Jaden Jefferson, Corona Centennial: 219 passing yards, 4 TD passes vs. Vista Murrieta; Jaden Bynum added 96 receiving yards and 2 TDs (MaxPreps)
Dane Weber, Chaparral: 200 passing yards and 3 TDs plus 120 rushing yards and a TD in his return from injury (SI)
Brady Edmunds to Dylin Bruce, Huntington Beach: the game-winning TD connection in a 24-21 win over El Modena (SI)
Jaxon Loftin, De La Salle: 1 TD pass and 2 rushing TDs in the 42-0 win at Cathedral Catholic (MaxPreps)
Keegan Croucher, Baylor (Tenn.): 4 TD passes vs. McCallie; five-star RB David Gabriel Georges went over 100 rushing yards with 2 rushing TDs and a TD catch (MaxPreps)

Next Week's Must-Watch SoCal Games (Oct. 9)

Orange Lutheran at St. John Bosco, Trinity League (MaxPreps)
Servite at Santa Margarita, Trinity League (MaxPreps)
Mater Dei at JSerra: the Monarchs try to stop the slide (MaxPreps)
Norco vs. Chaparral, flagged by SI as the big one (SI)
Corona Centennial vs. Murrieta Valley (MaxPreps)

Your Call

Mater Dei hasn't scored on Santa Margarita after the first quarter in either of the last two meetings. Is that the best defense in California, or does Bosco's offense crack it on Oct. 16? Drop your pick in the comments, and follow HSPrepSports.com for the Week 7 roundup next Saturday.