EAGLES FLY IN: No. 17 Santa Margarita (CA) enters Blue Star Media Elite 25 football rankings after nail-biting win over Trinity League rival

BENSALEM, Pa. – What the heck is going on in Southern California?

First, Mater Dei (Santa Ana, Calif.), No. 1 in the Blue Star Media Elite 25 preseason football rankings, drops a rare in-state game to previously-unranked Corona (Calif.) Centennial last month.

Now the Monarchs (5-2) fell for the second time in three weeks in a 7-6 loss to Trinity League rival Santa Margarita (Rancho Santa Margarita) on Friday, Oct. 10. With the win, the Eagles check in at No. 17 in the Elite 25 rankings and No. 18 Monarchs cratered 16 spots.

The Monarchs took a 6-0 lead in the second quarter on their home turf but failed on the two-point conversion. And it remained scoreless until midway through the fourth quarter. The Eagles then marched 73 yards for the winning score with 5:06 left in the contest.

The key play was a 59-yard pass play between Trace Johnson and Adrian Petro. Trent Mosley, a USC recruit, finished the drive from 1 yard out of the wildcat formation. Mosley, who sat out more than a month with an ankle injury, was finally healthy since the opening weekend.

By the way, Santa Margarita is coached by alumnus and Heisman Trophy winner in 2002 Carson Palmer. Last December, Palmer was hired to head up the program which needed a jolt. Palmer was the first overall selection by the Cincinnati Bengals in the 2003 NFL Draft. He quarterbacked three different teams in the NFL.

There are three weeks left in the California Interscholastic Federation-Southern Section regular season and then the Division I playoffs reserved for the top-eight teams. At least five current teams from the Elite 25 after projected to compose the elite bracket. Remember, Mater Dei hooks up with No. 1 St. John Bosco (Bellflower) on Halloween night.

To be clear, the season goes until the weekend prior to Christmas. Buckle up, because there is plenty of football remaining.

So, the latest Elite 25 rankings feature one addition from California; 15 teams moved up one slot; eight remained the same and one from California fell from grace.

This weekend, there are seven games (two state title games) of significance. The action starts Wednesday with Lehi (Utah) at No. 25 Corner Canyon (Draper, Utah) in the final regular season game leading up to the Utah High School Athletic Association Class 6A playoffs. The winner gets the Region 3 title.

In Mission Viejo, Calif., No. 1 St. John Bosco visits No. 17 Santa Margarita Friday at Trabuco Hills High School. On the same night, St. Peter’s Prep (Jersey City, N.J.) travels to DePaul Catholic (Wayne, N.J.) and Catholic Memorial (West Roxbury, Mass.) plays Xaverian Brothers (Westwood, Mass.). On Saturday’s Long Island rivals Chaminade (Mineola, N.Y.) and St. Anthony’s (South Huntington, N.Y.).

And in Alaska, the first set of state championship games will be played in Wasilla (Division III) and Palmer (Division II). In Division III, top-seeded Barrow (Utqiaġvik) tangles with second-seeded Home on Saturday at Wasilla Veterans Memorial Stadium. On Friday, unbeaten and No. 1-seeded Soldotna faces No. 3 Lathrop (Fairbanks) meet for the Division II title in Colony.

Alaska’s large-school (Division I) final is Saturday, Oct. 18. We’ll have the matchup here and results from the other two championship contests.

Well, that’s it for the second weekend of October. The Blue Star Media Elite 25 football rankings will be updated on Tuesday, Oct. 21.

Keep up with us on X (formerly Twitter, @clawlor) for all announcements and other exclusives from the gridiron and the hardwood. The preseason boys basketball rankings will drop later in October and the girls in November.

Bye for now.

Be safe. We hope to see you at a game soon. – Christopher Lawlor

Blue Star Media Elite 25 Football Rankings, Oct. 14, 2025

1. St. John Bosco, Bellflower, Calif. (7-0)

Previous rank: 1.

Recap: Defeated Orange (Calif.) Lutheran, 48-0. The Braves notched their second shutout this season. QB Koa Malau’ulu hit on 17-of-21 passes for 261 yards and three TDs.

Next: Friday at No. 17 Santa Margarita (Rancho Santa Margarita) to be played at Trabuco Hills High School in Mission Viejo.

2. Southlake (Texas) Carroll (7-0)

Previous: 3.

Recap: Defeated Haslet Eaton, 62-7. Riley Dodge picked up his 100^th coaching victory.

Next: Friday vs. Justin Northwest.

3. IMG Academy, Bradenton, Fla. (6-0)

Previous: 4.

Recap: Idle.

Next: Friday at NFL Europe in London.

4. Grayson, Loganville, Ga. (8-0)

Previous: 7.

Recap: Defeated Rockdale County (Conyers), 58-10. QB Deuce Smith fired five TDs passes in the first half.

Next: Oct. 24 vs. South Gwinnett (Snellville).

5. Buford, Ga. (7-0)

Previous: 6.

Recap: Defeated Dacula, 58-7.

Next: Friday at Central Gwinnett (Lawrenceville).

6. Bishop Gorman, Las Vegas (7-1)

Previous: 7.

Recap: Defeated Mojave (North Las Vegas), 58-0. The Gaels shut out a fifth opponent this season.

Next: Friday vs. Somerset Academy Losee (North Las Vegas).

7. St. Frances Academy, Baltimore (6-1)

Previous: 8.

Recap: Defeated St. Thomas More (Oakdale, Conn.), 60-0.

Next: Friday vs. Hun School (Princeton, N.J.).

8. St. Thomas Aquinas, Fort Lauderdale, Fla. (6-1)

Previous: 10.

Recap: Defeated NFL Europe Academy, 41-38, in London.

Next: Friday vs. Monarch (Coconut Creek).

9. Chaminade-Madonna College Prep, Hollywood, Fla. (5-1)

Previous: 10.

Recap: Game with Blanche Ely (Pompano, Beach) was moved to Monday, Oct. 13 due to inclement weather.

Next: Oct. 24 at Cardinal Gibbons (Fort Lauderdale).

10. Corona (Calif.) Centennial (6-1)

Previous: 11.

Recap: Defeated Vista Murrieta (Murrieta), 63-14. Malaki Davis ran for 150 yards and four TDs and QB Dominick Catalano threw for 227 yards and four scores. Earlier in the week, TE Keawe Browne committed to Boise State.

Next: Friday vs. Murrieta Valley (Murrieta).

11. Bixby, Okla. (6-0)

Previous: 12.

Recap: Defeated Edmond North, 64-7.

Next: Thursday vs. Enid.

12. Carrollton, Ga. (8-0)

Previous: 13.

Recap: Defeated Chapel Hill (Douglasville), 56-7.

Next: Friday vs. East Coweta (Sharpsburg).

13. Sierra Canyon School, Chatsworth, Calif. (7-0)

Previous: 14.

Recap: Defeated Chaminade (West Hills), 45-14. Jaxsen Stokes ran for a 135 yards and three TDs.

Next: Friday vs. Notre Dame (Sherman Oaks).

14. Allen, Texas (6-0)

Previous: 15.

Recap: Defeated Princeton, 62-14.

Next: Friday vs. Plano West.

15. DeMatha, Hyattsville, Md. (6-0)

Previous: 16.

Recap: Defeated Good Counsel (Olney), 7-0. QB Tristan Sabb tossed a scoring pass to Penn State-found Lavar Keys to win it with six minutes remaining in the game.

Next: Saturday at Bishop McNamara (Forestville, Md.).

16. DeMatha, Hyattsville, Md. (6-0)

Previous: 16.

Recap: Defeated Good Counsel (Olney), 7-0. QB Tristan Sabb tossed a scoring pass to Penn State-found Lavar Keys to win it with six minutes remaining in the game.

Next: Saturday at Bishop McNamara (Forestville, Md.).

16. Clay-Chalkville, Pinson, Ala. (8-0)

Previous: 17.

Recap: Defeated Huffman (Birmingham), 56-6. Two games remain in the regular season.

Next: Friday vs. Oxford.

17. Santa Margarita, Rancho Santa Margarita, Calif. (5-2)

Previous: Not ranked.

Recap: Defeated then-No. 2 Mater Dei (Santa Ana), 7-6. Trent Mosley’s 1-yard TD run out of the wildcat formation and a made PAT by Tyler Wiegand won it with 5:06 left.

18. Mater Dei, Santa Ana, Calif. (5-2)

Previous: 2.

Recap: Upset by Sant Margarita (Rancho Santa Margarita), 7-6. The Monarchs gave up a late touchdown and extra point.

Next: Friday vs. Servite (Anaheim).

19. Mount Carmel, Chicago (7-0)

Previous: 19.

Recap: Defeated Joliet (Ill.) Catholic Academy, 35-7.

Next: Friday vs. Fenwick (Oak Park).

20. Basha, Chandler, Ariz. (6-0)

Previous: 20.

Recap: Idle.

Next: Friday vs. Salpointe Catholic (Tucson).

21. Liberty, Peoria, Ariz. (6-1)

Previous: 21.

Recap: Defeated Centennial (Peoria), 30-14. The Lions led 16-6 after three quarters.

Next: Oct. 24 vs. Brophy College Prep (Phoenix).

22. Don Bosco Prep, Ramsey, N.J. (6-0)

Previous: 22.

Recap: Defeated St. Joseph Regional (Montvale), 17-14, in overtime. John Devir nailed a 25-yard field goal in overtime to win it.

Next: Saturday at Seton Hall Prep (West Orange).

23. North Crowley, Fort Worth, Texas (5-1)

Previous: 23.

Recap: Defeated Mansfield Lake Ridge, 62-17

Next: Friday at Weatherford.

24. Bergen Catholic, Oradell, N.J. (5-1)

Previous: 24.

Recap: Defeated Paramus Catholic, 45-14. Sophomore QB Trey Tagliaferro passed for three TDs and 140 yards. The Crusaders were up 28-7 after one quarter.

Next: Saturday at Delbarton (Morristown).

25. Corner Canyon, Draper, Utah (7-1)

Previous: 25.

Recap: Defeated American Fork 37-21. Texas A&M-bound QB Helaman Casuga tossed two TDs and ran for two more. He also became the 11th player in Utah history to pass for 100 TDs and the second from the program. The regular season ends this week.

Next: Wednesday at Lehi.

Dropped: No. 18 Milton (Alpharetta, Ga.).

High-Fives by Region

East

1. Iona Prep, New Rochelle, N.Y. (6-0)
2. La Salle College High, Wyndmoor, Pa. (6-1)
3. St. James Performance Academy, Springfield, Va. (6-0)
4. Harrisburg, Pa. (8-0)
5. St. Peter’s Prep, Jersey City, N.J. (6-0)

Geography: Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Maine, Massachusetts, Maryland, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont and Virginia.

Midwest

1. Brownsburg, Ind. (8-0)
2. Cass Tech, Detroit (7-0)
3. Lincoln-Way East, Frankfort, Ill. (7-0)
4. Elder, Cincinnati (8-0)
5. Archbishop Moeller, Cincinnati (6-2)

Geography: Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, Ohio, North Dakota, South Dakota, West Virginia and Wisconsin.

Southland

1. Edna Karr, New Orleans (6-0)
2. Grimsley, Greensboro, N.C. (7-0)
3. Bryant, Ark. (6-0)
4. Baylor School, Chattanooga, Tenn. (6-0)
5. Oakland, Murfreesboro, Tenn. (7-0)

Geography: Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee and Texas.

Far West

1. Mission Viejo, Calif. (6-1)
2. De La Salle, Concord, Calif. (6-0)
3. Los Alamitos, Calif. (7-0)
4. Cherry Creek, Greenwood Village, Colo. (7-0)
5. Lincoln, San Diego (6-1)

Geography: Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington and Wyoming.

Records through Sunday’s games

About: The Blue Star Media Elite 25 High School Football Rankings are released weekly from August until the conclusion of the high school season. Criteria considered are the quality of the team and its players, strength of schedule, tradition, and quality of the team’s league, conference, region or district. The rankings are compiled by Blue Star Media’s Christopher Lawlor, who consults with a national network of coaches, talent evaluators and prep sports writers. The final rankings will be released in December. Follow him on X (or Twitter) at @clawlor.