Top 10 Southern California high school football games to watch Week 4 (9/12/2023): Orange Lutheran and Sierra Canyon battle
Some weeks, it's unbelievable how many great games there are to watch in the Southland. And this is one of those weeks.
To be sure, Week Four doesn't have as many huge-name showdowns on a statewide radar as some of 2023's prior weeks. But one would be hard-pressed to find a week with a longer list of promising non-league battles, especially among Southern Section teams vying for spots in the top playoff divisions.
FULL SECTION SCHEDULES: SOUTHERN | LA CITY | SAN DIEGO
TOP 10 SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA GAMES TO WATCH WEEK 2:
(Games are 7 p.m. Friday unless noted)
10. San Clemente at Edison (Huntington Beach)
Photo by Lance Smith
This is the best San Clemente squad since at least the 2020-21 season, and it seeks a breakthrough against Edison. At 4-0, San Clemente is the favorite here by multiple scores, but it surely remembers that Edison has played it tough in recent meetings. Edison nearly got upset by the Tritons last year in a 21-16 victory, but made a statement in their 2021 matchup with a 42-0 win. And when the teams met in 2019, Edison nearly pulled what would've been a major upset before losing 28-21, although San Clemente would later forfeit the victory. So, despite Edison (1-2) entering in the midst of a reloading season with an experienced roster, don't count the Chargers out from making this a good game.
9. Los Alamitos at Mission Viejo
Photo by Heston Quan
Sticking with the theme of Orange County's top public school programs, this one has a clear favorite and underdog as well. Had Los Alamitos not gotten upset by Servite last week, it would enter 4-0 and no one would count the team out. But after losing last week, the Griffins face long odds on the road at Mission Viejo. With that said, this is the week that many transfers become eligible across the Southern Section, and Los Al had a significant influx of talent transfer in last offseason. Some of the new Griffins were eligible right away, but don't be surprised if Los Al are one of the teams that takes a Week Four leap in 2023.
8. Cajon at Lincoln (San Diego)
Photo by Joe Bergman
2023 marks yet another season of Cajon doing its thing. Some years, the Cowboys enter the season with hype, and other years are expected to be reloading years from the outside looking in. Either way, they just keep winning, and they're 3-0 again this year with multi-score victories against Aquinas, Orange Vista, and Arbor View, which is one of the top-ranked teams in Nevada. In fact, Cajon possesses one of the most impressive streaks that almost nobody is talking about – 32 consecutive regular season victories against in-state opponents dating back to non-league play of 2019.
With that said, Cajon faces an uphill battle in Week Four against reigning 1-AA state champion Lincoln (San Diego). Despite graduating much of its core, Lincoln is off to a dominating 4-0 start and is the heavy favorite on Friday. However, Cajon might be a step or two above the other teams the Hornets have played this year, so they can't afford to overlook the competition.
Both teams have some under-the-radar defensive studs in the senior class to watch for. For Cajon, it's 3-star defensive backs and twins Asaad and Ahamad Chapman. And Lincoln linebacker Jerome Roberts began the season with 41 tackles, a whopping 12 tackles for loss, two sacks, and four QB-hurries in the first three games of the season alone.
7. Oak Hills at St. Bonaventure
Photo by Lance Smith
With starting quarterback Anthony Wolter still yet to return from an injury, St. Bonaventure has faced a challenging 2-2 start, but last week was a step in the right direction. The Seraphs went to NorCal to face a fast-rising Archbishop Riordan squad with some high-end talent and emerged victorious with a 24-14 win. Week Four will likely require St. Bonaventure to play one of its best games yet to have a chance, with Oak Hills coming to town. And maybe the Seraphs will have some extra motivation – after they started 1-2 last year, the only team to beat them was Oak Hills, which did so not only in non-league play but again in the playoffs. Both of those games were up in the High Desert, but this time, Oak Hills is the team making the 150-mile drive, which should give St. Bonaventure a boost.
At 4-0 Oak Hills has quietly picked up in 2023 where it left off last year, when it went 10-0 for the first time ever and made the CIFSS D2 quarterfinals. The Bulldogs got tested last week for the first time this season but prevailed in a 24-19 win over Citrus Valley. That makes them the clear favorite this week, but it's unlikely that anyone is automatically shooing them in for victory. Will Oak Hills still prove to be St. Bonaventure's kryptonite in 2023, or will the Seraphs flip the script?
6. JSerra at Clovis North
Photo by Lance Smith
After moving to 4-0 with a 48-14 rout of Central Valley Christian, Clovis North is ranked by many as the top team in the Central Section in a long time. One could go on for a long time about what this test means for Clovis North. But this isn't the NorCal games of the week list, so we'll just focus on what it means for the SoCal contestant, JSerra.
It would be an easy argument to make that JSerra still isn't getting the respect it deserves after tying for third in the Trinity League, beating Santa Margarita in the Southern Section D1 playoffs, returning most of its core, and jumping out to another great start in 2023. Would blowing out Clovis North change that? Probably not, because even if Clovis North is as good as advertised and goes on to win the Central Section, it's still a team that's likely far better than the average SoCal analyst knows. That means losing this week is not an option for the Lions if they want to continue their hot start, despite the fact that they'll be hundreds of miles from home.
5. Apple Valley at Upland
Photo by Lance Smith
So far in 2023, Apple Valley, which is fresh off its first ever CIFSS Division 2 playoff birth, is yet to record a signature win. The Sun Devils have cruised to victories against Eastlake and Victor Valley, and nearly beat a very good Chaparral squad in a game that came down to the wire. But with their Week Two game at Arbor View (NV) getting canceled due to weather once they were already in Las Vegas warming up, last week's blowout win against non-league rival Victor Valley in the Bell Game might not have been enough of a chance to blow off pent-up energy.
In Week Four at Upland, however, Apple Valley will need all the juice it can muster, as the opposing Highlanders are also big, physical, and formidable. After coming up a field goal short in the Division 3 finals last season, Upland is off to another tremendous start at 3-1 with wins over Norco, Millikan, and La Habra. It's a battle of two of the top teams in the Southern Section's northeastern bounds, and on paper, it looks to be a tossup.
4. Chino Hills at Ayala
Photo by Lance Smith
Football fans in Chino Hills have had this one circle on their calendars for a long time. In fact, they probably have it circled before the start of every season. The Battle For the Bone is one of the top non-league rivalry games in the state for routinely producing exciting battles and top-notch atmospheres between tough, physical, and potent cross-town rivals. Last year it was an instant classic, as Chino Hills trailed much of the game but put together a late rally and came up just short of victory.
But will it be a great game again in 2023? Well, in the last six years, three of the games have come down to one point – including the last two seasons – and five have come down to four points or less. That's even though some of those years had a clear favorite and underdog, Ayala entering as the favorite for the last few and Chino Hills being the favorite in recent years before that. However, Chino Hills hasn't claimed the bone since 2017. With Chino Hills off to a strong 3-1 start and Ayala struggling to find its footing at 1-2, the Huskies have their best chance in a while to get back on top in the series. Records aside, however, these teams look evenly-matched once again, and it should be anyone's game in front of thousands of screaming fans.
3. Bishop Amat at Rancho Cucamonga
Photo by Lance Smith
With Rancho Cucamonga facing a major test, all of the top-ranked teams in San Bernardino County make the countdown this week. Rancho Cucamonga may well be in the midst of one of its best seasons yet, off to a 4-0 start against good competition. Pulling out the wins is what counts, but the Cougars would certainly like to put a hurting on somebody – every week has come down to the wire, with seven points being their largest margin of victory on the season. That means their Week Four matchup with Bishop Amat – another team with a knack for finding itself in close games – has a great chance to be the most exciting game of the week. Rancho Cucamonga is favored to pull out its fifth close victory in five tries, but it could also be the week it registers its first statement win, or its first loss.
Like Rancho Cucamonga, Bishop Amat has played in nothing but nail-biters, except Amat is 1-2. After starting the season with an upset loss to Valencia (Valencia), the Lancers beat rival St. Paul 29-28 in a game of the year candidate, took a bye week, and turned heads in Week Three by nearly upsetting Santa Margarita in a 51-45 loss. It's very hard to get a read on Bishop Amat through three games, but one thing is clear – this team is potent.
2. Oaks Christian at Serra (Gardena)
Photo by Andy Holzman
This one isn't a rivalry game for local bragging rights, an interregional game for regional bragging rights, a high-profile David vs. Goliath matchup, or anything else with a major angle coming in. Some might be wondering how Serra will respond after last week's 28-14 loss to rival Long Beach Poly in a game that was canceled at halftime. But overall, this is just a couple of outstanding, evenly-matched football teams playing what should be an outstanding football game. It was close last year when Serra outlasted the Lions 20-14, and it should be a close one again in 2023.
1. Sierra Canyon at Orange Lutheran
Photo by Andy Holzman
For several years in a row, there's been at least one point in every season in which the Southern Section's three top-ranked teams are Mater Dei, St. John Bosco, and Corona Centennial, in that order. 2023 is no different.
What's new this season, however, is that Sierra Canyon and Orange Lutheran are prime candidates to earn that fourth spot in the rankings. And since the fourth spot is good for a home game to start the CIFSS Division 1 playoffs, positioning for it means a ton. Additionally, during seasons in which the section opts for an eight-team D1 bracket, the fifth seed starts the season on the road at the fourth seed. So, if Friday's battle between Sierra Canyon and Orange Lutheran wasn't already exciting enough as simply one of the prospective best games of the regular season, it's almost certainly going to have a major impact on playoff seeding as well. And it could be a playoff preview.
One of these teams will pick up what could be a program-defining win on Friday. The other will face a setback that may well result in a playoff rematch on the road. That makes this a can't-miss game to put on your calendar, and you might want to pencil in some time before kickoff as well to arrange for popcorn.
MORE GAMES TO WATCH:
In any given week of Southern California high school football, there are dozens of great games to watch between top programs. Here are some other exciting matchups happening this week.
Thursday:
Granite Hills (El Cajon) at Central (El Centro)
Valencia (Valencia) at Saugus
Oxnard at Santa Barbara
Notre Dame (Sherman Oaks) at Westlake
M.L. King at Murrieta Valley – 7:30 p.m.
Monrovia at Northview
Friday:
Helix at Cathedral Catholic
Mt. Carmel at El Camino (Oceanside)
Glendora vs. Etiwanda at Citrus College
St. Paul at Downey (Downey)
Citrus Valley at Norco
Inglewood at Lawndale
La Costa Canyon at Fallbrook
Tesoro at Cypress
Newport Harbor at St. Augustine
Leuzinger at Santa Margarita
Banning (Wilmington) at Palos Verdes – 3:30 p.m.
Mater Dei Catholic at Point Loma
Temecula Valley at Vista Murrieta
Franklin (Los Angeles) at Schurr
Simi Valley at Yorba Linda
Del Norte (San Diego) at Poway
Laguna Hills at Irvine
Loyola at Chaminade
Carson at Hamilton (Los Angeles) – 3:30 p.m.
La Habra at El Modena
Torrey Pines at Rancho Bernardo
Beaumont at Murrieta Mesa
Dominguez at Santee
Venice at Crespi
Bishop's at Mount Miguel
El Toro at Capistrano Valley
San Pedro at Eagle Rock – 7:30 p.m.
Damien at Charter Oak
La Jolla at Mission Bay
Warren at Culver City
Westchester at Cleveland – 7:30 p.m.
San Juan Hills at Mira Costa
Bonita at Los Osos
Alemany at Cathedral
Saturday:
St. John Bosco at Kahuku
Mission Hills at San Marcos (Mission Hills)
Mira Mesa at Scripps Ranch
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