It’s that time of year again. High school football is here with practice beginning for many schools Monday.
CIF’s first official Friday night is Aug. 22, so that means programs, coaches and players start to gear up for the season this week.
As we head into the 2025 campaign, here are some very early storylines to keep in mind.
SIERRA CANYON CLOSING GAP IN D1 PLAYOFF GOAL?
Sierra Canyon football coach Jon Ellinghouse would tell you the Trailblazers’ goal is to win the CIF Southern Section Division 1 championship. That would mean taking down juggernauts like Mater Dei (two-time defending national champs) and/or St.John Bosco (the only team to beat Mater Dei in the past six years).
Ellinghouse used the term “step-up games” in the spring of 2021 when COVID-19 wiped out the 2020 fall season. They opened that abbreviated spring season by taking on St. John Bosco in its $6-million stadium in front of thousands in what seemed like the first “step-up game” in the program’s ascension into Division 1-level football.
He knew playing powerhouse programs like Corona Centennial, Mission Viejo and any Trinity League team would eventually prepare his program to be a Division 1 playoff mainstay. He was right.
Since 2021, Sierra Canyon won the Division 2 title in 2022 and earned berths to the Division 1 playoffs in 2023 and 2024. In 2023, The Trailblazers made school history with their first D1 playoff win over Santa Margarita. In 2024, they did it again, beating Servite. However, both postseasons ended in losses to Mater Dei.
Could 2025 be the year Sierra Canyon gets over the hump? That’s the storyline to watch for the area’s best football team in 2025.
The talent is there.
Sierra Canyon returns defensive end Richie Wesley (Texas commit), corners Havon Finney (LSU), Brandon Lockhart (USC) and Madden Riordan (USC), along with offensive weapons Ja’Myron Baker (USC) and junior running back Jaxsen Stokes.
Since joining the Mission League in 2022, Sierra Canyon is a combined 14-1 with three league titles.
NEWBURY PARK, BRADY SMIGIEL NOW ‘THE HUNTED’
One of the best stories of 2024 was Newbury Park’s unexpected run to the Division 2 title anchored by five-star quarterback Brady Smigiel and now-UCLA freshman wideout Shane Rosenthal, who ended up being California’s all-time receptions leader after his stellar season.
The Panthers topped some of the Southland’s top programs en route to the Division 2 crown, including a comeback victory over Murrieta Valley in the final.
Well … Newbury Park won’t be surprising any teams in 2025. Smigiel is one of the nation’s top QBs, headed to Michigan, and the Panthers have gone from “hunting” in 2024 to “the hunted” in 2025.
Despite having the target on its back, look for Newbury Park to have another stellar year and be in the Division 2 playoffs again.
NEW FACES UNDER CENTER AT QB
There are notable shoes to fill in the San Fernando Valley and surrounding areas at the quarterback position. Some programs — big and small — have seen their QB1s graduate and will now shepherd in new faces under center.
Sierra Canyon’s Wyatt Becker is now at Princeton and Sierra Canyon has a QB battle going on between Laird Finkel, Demarco Hernandez and Chase Everett.
Crespi will introduce sophomore QB Chase Curren after last year’s starter Masyn Harvey transferred out. Notre Dame has a big impact transfer in Wyatt Brown from Santa Monica to replace Steele Pizzella, who is now at Wake Forest.
Simi Valley has a QB battle between Dawson Armstrong, Connor Petrovan and James Thompson.
Westlake, Valencia and Harvard-Westlake could have freshmen at QB this fall in Ford Green, Evan McCalister and CJ Woods, respectively.
PROGRAMS ON THE RISE
Two under-the-radar programs worth keeping an eye on this fall after promising performances in 2024 are Crespi and Grace, formerly Grace Brethren.
Crespi went from 0-10 in 2023 to 5-6 in 2024 under coach Brad Vonnahme. The improvement earned the Celts a playoff berth in Division 11. That’s progress. Crespi returns experience on the offensive and defensive lines, which should provide a foundation of consistency. However, it appears the Celts will be starting a young but talented quarterback in Chase Curren, who has 11 Division I offers.
Grace will be embarking on its third year back to 11-man football after the school essentially erased its powerhouse program overnight back in 2021. After two seasons of 8-man football, coach Tom Coate has produced back-to-back 7-4 seasons in 2023 and 2024.
The Lancers earned playoff berths in Division 13 and 11, respectively, and could see another jump in the sectional playoffs in 2025. They need to find a replacement for do-it-all QB Ethan LaSecla.
COACHING MUSICAL CHAIRS
Familiar names. New homes.
Rick and Casey Clausen are no longer at Alemany, the brothers are running the show at Westlake. Aaron Huerta, former head coach at Harvard-Westlake is now at Alemany. Dameon Porter, the former coach at Crespi, is now the new man at Harvard-Westlake.
One of the splashier moves this past summer was at Heritage Christian (a basketball school), when it hired Ben McEnroe away from Thousand Oaks. Branden Anderson, who was the offensive coordinator at Newbury Park, is the new coach at Thousand Oaks.
El Camino Real is bringing back Rick Hayashida to be its football coach. The longtime LA City Section coaching legend has five City titles under his belt and was the Daily News Coach of the Year in 1997 at ECR.
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