Here are The Sporting News' CIF-Southern Section top 25 football team rankings for Week Three of the 2025 season (Sep. 8-14).
The rankings will be updated every week throughout the season.
PREVIOUS RANKINGS: Week One | Week Two
SN's CIF-Southern Section high school football top 25 rankings
1. Mater Dei (2-0 – 1st last week)
A win is a win. If Mater Dei goes and beats the likes of Corona Centennial and Bishop Gorman and St. John Bosco – especially if the Monarchs do so en-route to postseason glory – no one will care that the Monarchs almost lost to Kahuku (HI). It just doesn't look good for their chances against Bishop Gorman that Bishop Gorman beat that same opponent 38-0 a week prior. If football were played on paper and context weren't important, Mater Dei would be a 35-point underdog to Bishop Gorman for only beating Kahuku 21-18. But there's not always a transitive outcome among teams who played each other, and it has to count for something that Mater Dei is in the midst of a dynasty until the schedule clears the rankings up.
2. St. John Bosco (3-0 – 2nd)
A 21-14 victory over St. Frances Academy – high school football's top-ranked team east of Nevada – was enough to launch St. John Bosco into serious consideration for the No. 1 ranking in the state and country. There have been years in recent memory when St. John Bosco and Mater Dei were both so far ahead of every other team in the country that for one to "only" beat the top team on the East Coast by one score wasn't up to the outside world's expectations and meant one team would likely be in trouble against its rival down the road. But a win is a win no matter the year. And with Mater Dei nearly falling to Kahuku, a one-score win over St. Frances is enough for some to wonder if the Braves might be the favorite in Trinity League.
3. Mission Viejo (3-0 – 4th)
Is there any chance that this is Mission Viejo's best team yet? Or best chance at making the CIF-SS D1 finals? It's time to ask these questions after last week's 53-14 dismantling of Folsom. At the minimum, Mission Viejo already has a strong contender for its best defense in program history, and the offense has been very good besides the first half of the first game against Santa Margarita despite an injury to 4-star WR Vance Spafford (Miami). The Diablos aren't even close to having their most highly-touted group of individual talent in program history, but that might not matter with the outstanding talent they do have in conjunction with experience, chemistry, and continuity. If they don't come ready on Friday at Lincoln (San Diego), however, all the lofty praises they've received will come crashing down on them.
4. Sierra Canyon (3-0 – 5th)
Whereas "this is the best Mission Viejo team ever" is a red-hot but plausible take, "this is the best Sierra Canyon team ever" isn't even that spicy if we're keeping basketball out of this conversation. It's still far too early to say, but after beating Hawaii stalwart Punahou 45-0, Sierra Canyon has now beaten JSerra, Oaks Christian, and Punahou by a combined 143-0. That's utterly ridiculous.
5. Santa Margarita (2-1 – 6th)
For all the hype Mission Viejo and Sierra Canyon have gotten through three weeks, let's not forget that Santa Margarita nearly beat Mission Viejo and otherwise has the best win of the three in this young season with its ensuing overtime upset of Corona Centennial. That's just to say how tightly-packed this group of three or four teams is. Santa Margarita blew out Highland (Palmdale) 45-13 on Friday.
6. Corona Centennial (2-1 – 7th)
This isn't a sentence you read very often, but, Centennial may well be licking its chops with Mater Dei on deck and the Monarchs looking very mortal against St. Thomas Aquinas (FL) and Kahuku (HI). After falling narrowly to Santa Margarita and losing its chance at an undefeated campaign, Centennial is still clearly one of the better teams in the country but has little to lose and much to gain against a reigning national champion that looks uncharacteristically vulnerable. If the Huskies lose, they'll still be on track for a Southern Section D1 playoff birth and potential chance for a rematch in November.
7. Orange Lutheran (2-1 – 3rd)
After a 30-24 upset loss to Arizona powerhouse Basha, Orange Lutheran takes what'll probably be a lasting hit to its stock but not one that has to alter its outlook for the season. The young Lancers trailed 24-0 at halftime playing in another state to a great team and still fought their way back to tie it up before losing in the final minutes. They now hope that Basha keeps its own stock high – Basha has a good chance of going 10-0 or better – and turn their focus to California foes. Orange Lutheran's schedule continues to be about as hard as it gets from here with Mission League top dogs Serra (Gardena) and Sierra Canyon on deck before Trinity League play.
8. Servite (2-1 – 8th)
If after Week Zero you thought Servite was only ranked so high due to Trinity League bias, the Friars' last five halves of football have proven them to be the top-15 or so team in the state many expected them to be. After finishing strong against Corona Centennial despite taking a lopsided loss for the evening, Servite has beaten Murrieta Valley 56-35 and now blown out Chaminade 46-3. It's early, but Servite looks Division 1-bound as usual for the Southern Section playoffs.
9. Los Alamitos (4-0 – 17th)
With so many of California's top teams struggling to start 3-0, Los Alamitos is flying high at 4-0 following a resounding 42-21 upset of Serra (Gardena). While it was by no means a shocker, pretty much everyone had the Griffins behind Serra in the rankings, and that makes them one of the biggest risers of the week with a 10-spot leap.
10. Serra-Gardena (2-1 – 9th)
Serra picked a rough week to pick up its first loss, seeing as Orange Lutheran is on deck, but one non-league loss to a state-ranked team is just one non-league loss to a state-ranked team. Los Alamitos certainly proved, however, that Serra's defense is not untouchable. Also important is that Serra's Oct. 3 battle with Sierra Canyon is both teams' league opener, so the Cavaliers have less than a month to get in peak form for Mission League play if they want a chance at unseating Sierra Canyon.
11. San Juan Hills (3-0 – 10th)
Speaking of 42-21 victories, San Juan Hills defeated Chino Hills 42-21 in a battle with one of SoCal's most underrated programs to move to 3-0. QB Timmy Herr had another remarkable stat line, completing 11 of 14 passes for 275 yards and five touchdowns with zero interceptions. WR Luke Frith had four catches for 179 yards and three touchdowns. Up next is a strong Texas foe, Rockwall-Heath, and it appears on paper that the Stallions will be favorites once again.
12. Murrieta Valley (1-1 – 11th)
With a handful of teams around them flying upwards or downwards in the rankings with some unexpected game results, the Nighthawks stay put at No. 18 after a bye week. They'll be the heavy favorite this week against a traditional rival in Murrieta Mesa but will likely need a solid effort to cement a victory.
13. Yorba Linda (3-0 – 12th)
Yorba Linda led 31-7 roughly halfway through the fourth quarter against San Jacinto en-route to a 31-21 victory. The Mustangs don't have any upcoming games against higher-ranked teams, but with so many teams near them in the rankings dropping like flies, who knows how much they could rise just by remaining steady.
14. Damien (3-0 – 13th)
Damien kept rolling with a 38-28 victory over St. Paul in which the Spartans led 31-7 and 38-14. Up next is another exciting battle in which they'll be a rather light favorite at home against Tustin, which has a slew of big names on defense. Through three games, Isaiah Arriaza has thrown for 997 yards and eight touchdowns to one pick and has run for two touchdowns as well.
15. JSerra (1-2 – 14th)
The Lions are on the board with a win, 38-20 over a solid Hawaii squad in Kamehameha Kapalama. Their next two games are very intriguing as they face Oak Hills followed by Leuzinger, which believe or not are their two lowest-ranked opponents besides Kamehameha Kapalama. All nine California teams JSerra scheduled are currently in our statewide top 25 or on the bubble below. Brutal.
16. Edison-Huntington Beach (2-1 – 16th)
Playing a pretty unrelenting schedule, the Chargers won't get too many blowout wins handed to them, so a 31-0 rout of Lakewood had to feel nice. This week they'll be a light favorite on the road against Palos Verdes, which they beat 41-7 last year after Palos Verdes broke its losing streak in the series the year before that.
17. Rancho Cucamonga (1-2 – 24th)
When your only losses are by a total of five points to Orange Lutheran and Murrieta Valley, it's probably not long before you get in the wins column, and meaningfully. Thus was the case for Rancho Cucamonga, which handed formidable Oak Hills its first loss by a score of 14-3. The Cougars' defense will continue to be tested every week for the near future with Chaparral, Corona Centennial, and Damien up next.
18. Inglewood (1-2 – 19th)
After picking up the very first loss of California high school season more than three weeks ago, Inglewood is finally on the board with a win, and it was against quality competition in St. Bonaventure. Inglewood will again be a bit of a favorite against quality competition heading to Downey (3-0).
19. Oak Hills (2-1 – 18th)
No undefeated regular season this time. The Bulldogs' offense fell flat in a 14-3 loss to Rancho Cucamonga, but their defense continued to establish itself as one of the Southern Section's best, holding Rancho two scores lower than what the Cougars scored against Orange Lutheran and Murrieta Valley. Oak Hills has allowed just 30 total points against Highland (Palmdale), Bishop Amat, and Rancho Cucamonga, which is outstanding. This week the Bulldogs have a chance to upset JSerra in what we believe is their first matchup against Trinity League competition, at least in recent history.
20. Leuzinger (2-0 – 24th)
Speaking of 14-3 final scores, Leuzinger's stock rose considerably during a bye week thanks to a 14-3 Week Zero win over Long Beach Poly after Poly beat Tustin. Unfortunately, last week wasn't supposed to be a bye week with this week already scheduled as a bye week – it was the result of Bishop Montgomery cancelling its varsity season. To our knowledge, that means the Olympians will go three weeks in between their 61-0 Week One beatdown of Palmdale and a Sep. 19 crack at JSerra.
21. Beaumont (3-0 – Bubble)
When we put together our initial top 25, Beaumont was as close as it gets to getting a spot on the bubble but there so many key cogs who graduated after the team made Division 2 last year. Now it's clear that it was a poor decision with so many established standouts playing excellent football to start their senior years, such as QB Jeremiah Duhu, WR Braedon Miller, and LB Matthew Casas. The Cougars have rolled against good competition in San Jacinto, Cathedral, and Summit.
22. Long Beach Poly (1-2 – Bubble)
The Jackrabbits' offense has woken up, and not for a lack of tough opposition. After losing 14-3 to Leuzinger, Poly improved on offense in a 36-20 loss to Lincoln (San Diego) and broke through with a 28-27 win over Tustin after trailing 21-0 until the final minute of the first half. The Jackrabbits open league play this week as the heavy favorite to retake the Moore League crown, starting with a road game against Jordan (Long Beach).
23. Tustin (2-1 – 25th)
With some higher-ranked teams falling off and downed foe San Clemente upsetting Chaparral, Tustin actually rises after picking up its first loss, a 28-27 heartbreaker against comeback-minded Long Beach Poly. The Tillers will be a slight underdog at Damien in one of the top games of the week, and they follow that up with another exciting matchup at Yorba Linda before opening Delta League play.
24. San Clemente (2-1 – Bubble)
San Clemente is back in business after hitting its stride on offense to upset Chaparral 35-34. Eiler King completed 23 of 29 passes for 288 yards and three touchdowns, and DE Joshua Kerst had a career night with 4.5 tackles for loss that included 3.5 sacks and two forced fumbles. San Clemente looks to stay hot against annual non-league foe La Costa Canyon in what could be the teams' best matchup yet.
25. Chaparral (0-2 – 15th)
Coming off a bye week that followed a 38-33 loss to San Juan Hills, an upset loss at San Clemente was not what the doctor ordered for the Pumas. They remain in the top 25 for now, but getting in the wins column won't get any easier with Rancho Cucamonga on deck. Two weeks after that, they play Mission Viejo.
ON THE BUBBLE:
St. Bonaventure, Bishop Amat, Valencia (Valencia), Vista Murrieta, Downey, Chaminade, Palos Verdes, Pacifica (Oxnard), Oaks Christian
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