Top 10 Games of the 2025 California High School Football Season

We just keep ’em coming when it comes to the Top 10 games of the 2025 high school football season and now turn our attention to California, one of the leaders in the sport when it comes to talent and nationally-ranked programs. There’s an abundance of games all across the Golden State that folks are keeping a close eye on this upcoming 2025 campaign. Question as a high school football fan is which ones are the best out of California?

We dive into the California high school football season and spotlight what we believe are the 10 best games this upcoming fall.

1. Mater Dei at St. John Bosco, Oct. 31

If we didn’t put this one at the top, we might as well give up now on even putting this list together. This is the mecca when it comes to high school football matchups around the country. A who’s who when it comes to the nation’s top talents combined with a high stakes California rivalry, what will be a sold out crowd and oh yeah, on Halloween. If anymore really has to be said about this game, we think not. This game could decide who is the mythical national champion at the end of the season as well, add to the fact that the two teams could meet in the playoffs, too.

2. St. Frances Academy (Md.) at St. John Bosco, Sept. 12

Yes, St. John Bosco makes it right back on this list at No. 2 and that’s because they also play at home, earlier in the season mind you, against one of the top teams in the country. When the St. Frances Academy Panthers roll into town from Baltimore, Maryland, the Braves will face their stiffest test to date after having already played Manatee (Fla.) in the opener. Last time the Braves hosted the Panthers in 2023, with the former coming away with a 37-14 victory. A win here would go a long way in St. John Bosco’s hunt to be the No. 1 team in the nation.

3. Mission Viejo at Santa Margarita Catholic, Aug. 22

Forget about the fact that Mission Viejo defeated Santa Margarita 35-7 last year. Throw all of that out the window because Santa Margarita has a new lead man in charge as former NFL Pro Bowl quarterback Carson Palmer takes over at his alma mater. Looking to make a splash right out of the gates against one of the country’s top programs in the Diablos, the Eagles have a chance early on to establish themselves as a different team under Palmer’s watch Week 1.

4. Lakeland (Fla.) at De La Salle, Aug. 29

We’d be remiss if we didn’t make mention of the one game where a Florida team travels to California, instead of the other way around. That’s because teams like Mater Dei, Orange Lutheran and St. John Bosco are all going to travel down to the Sunshine State for Week 1. The Spartans instead will take on the 9-time state champion Dreadnaughts in what is setting up to be a clash between two programs that at one point or another, has been a No. 1 team in the country.

5. Mater Dei at Corona Centennial, Sept. 12

Could this be the year the Corona Centennial upends Mater Dei? Whoa, whoa, let’s not get too ahead of ourselves, here. We think this could be entertaining for sure because of the amount of Power 4 level talent between the two nationally-ranked teams. Last year’s meeting between the Huskies and Monarchs kicked off the 2024 California season, with Mater Dei coming away with a 42-25 victory. We say sit back and let this one unfold because there’s reason to believe this could be closer than some may think.

6. Orange Lutheran at JSerra Catholic, Oct. 17

We know that Orange Lutheran isn’t quite the same team from a year ago, but let’s not act like the cupboard is empty by any means. The Lancers bring back plenty of talent, especially on the offensive line. Facing a JSerra Catholic bunch that they barely edged out in a 23-17 tilt last season, this one figures to be a hard-hitting, smash mouth affair that certainly warrants being one of the games to go watch this fall.

7. Serra at Sierra Canyon, Oct. 3

Last year’s meeting slipped away from Serra in the second half as they coughed up a 17-7 lead and ended up losing 21-20 to Sierra Canyon. The last two clashes have been decided by a total of eight points and this year’s edition doesn’t seem like it will disappoint. With many of the key pieces back on both sides, a plethora of Power 4 talent, there’s little reason this won’t be a down-to-the-wire matchup once again.

8. Folsom at Junipero Serra, Aug. 30

Whenever you can get a chance to see 5-star BYU commitment Ryder Lyons take the field, that seems like reason enough to see Folsom play, right? Taking on a Junipero Serra club they lost to by a point last year, revenge has to be on the minds of the Bulldogs. If history repeats itself, Bulldogs-Padres will be a slobberknocker of a game come Aug. 30.

9. Arbor View (Nev.) at Lincoln, Sept. 5

When two quarterbacks combined for nearly 1,000 yards passing, 45 first downs and a total of 89 points, yeah, you want to run that back. This matchup in 2024 was arguably one of the offensive explosions to start the season as the Aggies of Nevada edged out the Hornets in a 45-44 thriller. Arbor View brings back its signal caller in Thaddeus Thatcher, who completed 31-of-47 passes for 583 yards and four touchodowns in last year’s meeting. This game just screams of offense, offense and more offense.

10. Pittsburg at Archbishop Riordan, Sept. 13

Like the aforementioned game before this final one on our list, we know football is geared towards the offenses, but this is a little bit more of a throwback. Offensively at least as the two teams combined for 572 yards on the ground compared to 356 through the air. Points were at a premium a year ago with this year’s edition shaping up to being another fun one to sit back and enjoy the offensive fireworks.