Top 10 California high school football games to watch in Week 5 (Sep. 25-27)

Top 10 California high school football games to watch in Week 5 (Sep. 25-27) originally appeared on The Sporting News

With many of the state's top teams taking bye weeks and others set for blowout wins, Week Five is admittedly the quietest of the 2025 California high school football season. Even then, there's no shortage of intriguing matchups, including two non-league battles that could prove to be among the season's most exciting and significant.

Here's a look at the top 10 games to watch in Week Five, followed by many more games on our radar. Rankings referenced in games' descriptions below refer to SN's statewide team rankings for Week Five.

Top 10 California high school football games to watch in Week 5

(Games start at 7:00 or 7:15 p.m. PT on Friday unless noted otherwise.)

10. Mission Viejo vs. Chaparral

To be sure, the most likely outcome here is that No. 6 Mission Viejo rolls against a Pumas team with narrow losses to San Clemente and San Juan Hills. However, fans are dying to see how Mission Viejo bounces back after getting upset by Tennessee powerhouse McCallie in a 25-14 loss that was even less close than the score indicates. McCallie beat the Diablos in the trenches, where Chaparral is strong as well, particularly on offense. If Chaparral can force some turnovers and capitalize early on, its offense is so dangerous that this game could get quite interesting quite quickly. If nothing else, tune in to watch two of the state's very best QBs in action as Chaparral 4-star junior Dane Weber and Mission Viejo 3-star senior Luke Fahey (Ohio State) duel.

9. Valley Christian (San Jose) vs. Serra (San Mateo)

Oh how the times have changed. Not long ago, Serra and Valley Christian were near-locks to be the top two teams in the Central Coast Section for a small handful of years on end. But in 2024, they finished a combined 11-11 and both went 4-3 in WCAL play. With that said, they're still dang good high school football teams with plenty of talent, but Serra is 0-3 thanks to a grueling non-league schedule and Valley Christian (2-1) is once again not ranked among the West Catholic's top teams entering league play. In a vacuum, this game isn't particularly intriguing, but factor in context and the fact that it might come down to the wire, and it's hard not to be excited about it.

8. Central Catholic vs. Manteca

At No. 20 in California, Manteca is a fairly heavy favorite to repeat atop the Valley Oak League, but it's far from a sure thing. Last year, Central Catholic lost 31-14 at Manteca before beating Oakdale 46-27 to claim the undisputed No. 2 spot in the conference. Central Catholic and Oakdale again look like the top candidates to knock off Manteca, and high-scoring Central Catholic is far more dangerous than its 2-3 record would indicate as evidenced by a recent win over St. Bonaventure. Whomever wins this game still has to deal with Oakdale, and perhaps unbeaten East Union is a legitimate dark horse, but it's fair to say the VOL title is at stake in this one.

7. San Clemente vs. Murrieta Valley

If we've said it once, we've said it a million times – San Clemente can never be counted out at home no matter the team it's hosting. Look no further than 2021 when the Tritons suffered one of the more jarring regular season losses in recent program history, a 42-0 road demolition at the hands of Edison (Huntington Beach), before coming home and shocking higher-ranked Murrieta Valley 21-20 in the final minutes. With losses to Tustin and La Costa Canyon on the season, San Clemente is a fairly heavy underdog here, but it also has three quality wins already over Riverton (UT), Chaparral, and Chino Hills. No. 19 Murrieta Valley is coming off two blowout wins after starting with a 28-26 win over Rancho Cucamonga and 56-35 loss to Servite, and it could really use even more momentum before starting Big West - Upper play next week.

6. Oak Ridge vs. Granite Bay

We are now in our second week of Sierra Foothill League play, where you will often find games that probably don't affect the title race well inside our top 10. Such is that case on Friday as reigning Sac-Joaquin Section D1 finalist No. 23 Oak Ridge is a favorite – but not overwhelmingly – at home against Granite Bay. Oak Ridge's offense has had some great moments this season, but has also looked vulnerable in a loss to No. 22 Mission Hills and last week's 12-8 win against Del Oro. Granite Bay is one touchdown away against Pittsburg from entering Friday at 5-0, and that's impressive despite otherwise playing a so-so non-league schedule. 

5. Cathedral Catholic vs. Granite Hills (El Cajon)

It's time for one of the most exciting non-league games of the regular season between San Diego Section teams as Granite Hills looks to spoil Cathedral's undefeated bid. The Eagles will be underdogs to do so, especially on the road, but don't let their last two games – well-contested losses at Mission Hills and Los Alamitos – fool you into thinking they have no chance. Although they'd hate to enter Grossmont Hills League play on a three-game skid, a loss here doesn't ruin their Open Division hopes or change the fact that they're a heavy favorite in conference play, so they don't have a ton to lose. Cathedral Catholic has much more on the line with a legitimate chance at a 10-0 regular season and desire to enter its Week 10 matchup against Lincoln with a full head of steam. Additionally, this could be one of the best quarterback duels of the season with Cathedral Catholic's Brady Palmer (Cal) and Granite Hills' Zachary Benitez going at it. 

4. Archbishop Riordan vs. Saint Francis (Mountain View)

Another intriguing WCAL game in this week's countdown, this matchup is much more likely than No. 9 to have conference title ramifications. Archbishop Riordan is the heavy favorite this year in what's something of a down year for the West Catholic, but it hardly needs to be said that running the table in the eight-team conference is a brutal task, and talent-laden Saint Francis appears to be the Crusaders' biggest competition despite entering 0-3. There's a solid chance that Archbishop Riordan runs away with this one quickly, but if the Lancers are able to slow Riordan's overwhelming passing game and score some points early on, this will probably prove to be the most exciting game of the week. Worth noting is that third place finisher Riordan defeated Saint Francis in last year's matchup despite Saint Francis going on to claim the title.

3. Soquel vs. Salinas – Friday at 7:30 p.m.

Despite being prone to the occasional down year, the Pacific Coast - Gabilan is often one of the best and most exciting leagues outside most California fans' radars. This season is no different as Soquel, Salinas, and Palma are all major threats to win the conference and most or all the league's other teams are dark horse threats to pull an upset or two. After a brilliant 4-0 start that includes last week's lopsided league-opening win against Aptos, Soquel almost has to be considered the biggest frontrunner, but there are a number of different ways that things could shake out. Whomever wins this will still have a few more weeks to prepare for Palma but probably can't afford to overlook the opponents in between.

2. De La Salle vs. St. Mary's (Stockton)

CLIFFORD OTO/THE STOCKTON RECORD / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn

Everyone knows that St. Mary's has had No. 7 De La Salle's number (by De La Salle's untouchable standards) since the pandemic-shortened 2020-21 campaign. That includes a 45-35 win over the Spartans in 2022 and multiple very close losses that would've been major upsets in the last five years as well. After falling 56-35 to Oak Ridge last time out, St. Mary's might not have enough defensive firepower to hang with a better Spartans team than some of the others it's pushed in recent seasons, but recent history says the Rams have a good chance of stepping up and at least making this interesting. And stopping the Rams' explosive offense is also a tall order. St. Mary's doesn't have a ton to lose here, but a loss for De La Salle would end the Spartans' chances at an undefeated regular season and run through regionals, which would probably be the difference between De La Salle again finishing inside the national top 25 instead of outside the top 100.

1. Santa Margarita vs. Bishop Gorman – Saturday at 7 p.m. at Tesoro

You know the drill – Santa Margarita beat Corona Centennial which beat Mater Dei which just beat Bishop Gorman. You also know the drill when we say that Santa Margarita has been without 4-star receiver and USC commit Trent Mosley, one of high school football's most dominant offensive threats, which is a huge game-changer. But Mosley's absence didn't stop the Eagles from taking down Centennial, and that's easily the biggest reason to think Santa Margarita has more than just a prayer of a chance at upsetting Bishop Gorman even if Mosley isn't available or a factor on Saturday. Bishop Gorman, the 2023 disputed national champion alongside Mater Dei, has prided itself on an incredible offensive line in recent years, but the Gaels' offensive line is "merely" great in 2025 as opposed to unstoppable, which Mater Dei proved less than a week ago. And that's a problem when you're going up against the likes of LBs Dash Fifita and Leki Holani and DLs Simote Katoanga, Isaia Vandermade, and Manoah Faupusa – not to mention trying to pass against an outstanding secondary. If Santa Margarita can pull off the upset here, it's time to talk about the Eagles as a legitimate national title contender, especially with Mosley likely to return in good health sooner than later if not on Saturday.

MORE GAMES TO WATCH:

Clovis North vs. Frontier

Lincoln (San Diego) vs. Grant Union

Mira Costa vs. Villa Park

Midland (TX) vs. Inglewood

Pittsburg vs. Marin Catholic

Valencia (Valencia) vs. Saugus

Pleasant Valley vs. Cardinal Newman

St. Pius X-St. Matthias Academy vs. Carson

Culver City vs. Notre Dame (Sherman Oaks)

Laguna Beach vs. San Pedro

Permian (TX) vs. Cajon

Newbury Park vs. Ventura

Banning (Wilmington) vs. Redondo Union – Friday at 7:30 p.m.

Trabuco Hills vs. Corona del Mar

El Camino (Oceanside) vs. Vista Murrieta

San Jacinto vs. Aquinas

Harvard-Westlake vs. Birmingham – Saturday at 7:30 p.m.

Jesuit vs. Rocklin

La Serna vs. Edison (Huntington Beach)

Mary Star of the Sea vs. Palisades

Marshall (Los Angeles) vs. Jefferson

RELATED CALIFORNIA HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL NEWS

• St. Pius X-St. Matthias Academy voted Team of the Week for Week Three
• JSerra LB Rocco Tompkins voted Player of the Week for Week Three
• Mater Dei upsets Bishop Gorman in Las Vegas
• Vote: Week Four Team of the Week
• Vote: Week Four Player of the Week
• The Sporting News CIF-Southern Section Top 25 football rankings (Week 5)