Larry Wilson: Il Duce meets his American match

• September 26, 2026

Vicenza, Italy — Here in the Veneto, the vast, wine-making plain heading west from Venice toward Milan in the wealthy north of this cobbled-together nation, over 56% of voters cast their ballots in the last national election for the Brothers of Italy, a right-wing populist party with some historical ties to neo-fascism.

Which means a lot more in a country that in our grandparents’ time was actually ruled by fascists. When some of the Brothers indulge in what is known as the Roman salute, the ghost of Il Duce is not that distant.

Up-continent in Germany, the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party earlier this month won a decisive local victory in Germany’s eastern state of Saxony-Anhalt, polling far ahead of conservative mainstream rivals. It’s a bit odd, or maybe just part of the irony that extremism breeds extremism, that the state is part of the former Communist East Germany, some of the spoils divvied up to the Soviet Union at the end of World War II.

No far-right party has controlled a German state since the war, and governing at the state level would mean powers over policing, education and culture. Alternative for Germany is anti-immigrant and opposes contemporary Germany’s self-critical “memory culture” about Nazi crimes. Its leaders advocate a more “positive outlook” on German history.

Yikes.

The good news, such as it is, here in Europe is that the reasonable right, not to mention everyone else, is up in arms about the rise of extremist ideologies. On a wall across the narrow street from our rented apartment here, someone has affixed a decal reading “Azione Anti-Fascista,” emblazoned with a flag showing a pirate’s image. And even though Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni gave a speech this week decrying the wearing of burkas, political analysts here say she was really trying to limit the appeal of  Futuro Nazionale, a new hard-right party with ties to Russia, whose leader says gays are “not normal.”  In Poland, center-right Prime Minister Donald Tusk saw the extremist victory in Germany critically, saying “in Poland only idiots and traitors can rejoice at the triumph of the AfD.”

The bad news in our own freedom-loving country, where we’ve always said that “it can’t happen here”? President Donald Trump posted a screenshot of the German TV projection of the AfD victory on his Truth Social platform, which was reposted by a Kremlin official. On a visit last year, Vice-President JD Vance privately met with the leader of the AfD, and endorsed the party, a move widely criticized in the EU as election interference.

If there ever was a doubt, given his longtime authoritarian proclivities, that the current president would very much like to see “it” — an imperial presidency that leads without any bothersome interference from the other two branches of government — happen in America, those were erased this month with Trump’s assault on the First Amendment’s guarantee of a free press.

Because he didn’t like what they reported,  the president barred journalists at CNN, MS NOW and Politico from entering the White House grounds to do what they do: cover the presidency.

“Media Outlets shouldn’t be able to constantly write or report FICTION and LIES when they’re covering the President of the United States,” Trump wrote.

It was a proud moment for American journalism when all five major television networks — ABC, CBS, CNN, Fox News and NBC — responded together by all deciding not to run any pool coverage of the presidency.

It was a proud moment for the separation of powers when Trump-appointed federal Judge Timothy Kelly ordered the administration to reinstate access to the White House, saying the president acted without “constitutionally adequate due process.”

And it was the terrifying act of a despot to create “TRUMP TV: The Essentials Station” to fill the vacuum he made. Il Duce, you’ve met your American match.

Larry Wilson is on the Southern California News Group editorial board. lwilson@scng.com. 

​ Orange County Register 

Laguna Hills football finishes strong to beat St. Margaret’s

• September 26, 2026

SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO — Prior to its bye last week, the Laguna Hills football team squandered a first-half lead in its lone loss of the season.

The Hawks held onto its first-half lead Friday night for a 23-15 win over St. Margaret’s at St. Margaret’s Episcopal School.

Laguna Hills (4-1) fell to Irvine in the final minute two weeks ago after leading at halftime. The Hawks went back to the basics during their bye week and made sure their performance wouldn’t repeat itself.

“We had to be more physical against the run on defense and I thought we did a really good job of shutting down their run game tonight,” Laguna Hills coach John Lester said. “And we did it with two guys starting their first game on the defensive line. We went back to working on our foundation and making sure that we were solid in what we were doing.”

A key reason Laguna Hills won Friday is that it converted third downs to extend drives and St. Margaret’s (4-1) did not. St. Margaret’s got into the redzone three times and converted none of its three fourth down attempts. Two of the fourth down stops for Laguna Hills’ defense were sacks as well.

Conversely, Laguna Hills converted six third-and-long plays to move the ball and take time off the clock. Hawks quarterback Jaxson Vanderbeek converted two third downs with long run plays and converted one on an 18-yard pass to Nate Medina.

“Our last game we spent a lot of time on defense all night,” Lester said. “We did a much better job sustaining drives and Jaxson Vanderbeek did a great job converting third downs. We did a great job on defense all night. Getting those fourth down stops was huge.”

Vanderbeek completed 12 of 17 passes for 131 yards with a touchdown and ran for 66 yards with a touchdown.

“We had a lot of receivers get touches for us tonight,” Vanderbeek said. “It was a team effort tonight and I’m proud of my boys.”

Laguna Hills’ defense had four sacks for a total of 20 yards lost. Vinny Bresnahan had two sacks while James Gerlach and Blake Imsande each added one.

After its first fourth down stop of the game, Laguna Hills went on an 11-play, 83-yard scoring drive capped by a 2-yard touchdown run by Drew Meyers to give the Hawks a 6-0 lead. Meyers ran for 86 yards on 22 carries.

Vanderbeek ran for a 1-yard touchdown on a quarterback sneak to extend Laguna Hills’ lead to 13-0 just before halftime.

The Hawks went on an 11-play, 69-yard touchdown drive in their first possession of the second half. Vanderbeek threw a 22-yard touchdown pass to Jack Medvene for his first career touchdown reception.

Medvene made a 31-yard field goal with three minutes left in the game to give the Hawks a 23-7 lead, which ended up being a necessary cushion for Laguna Hills.

St. Margaret’s scored on two long touchdown passes in the fourth quarter. Kai Letcher threw a 32-yard touchdown pass to Jack Kleinhanzl early in the quarter to cut the Hawks’ lead to 20-7.

In the final minute, Letcher connected with Kleinhanzl again for a 41-yard touchdown pass. Letcher connected with Charlie Allen for the 2-point conversion to make the score 23-15.

Kleinhanzl caught four passes for 86 yards with two touchdowns. Sam Orellana, who had a school-record five touchdowns in his last game, ran for 124 yards on 22 carries.

Sawyer Collins had 1½ sacks for St. Margaret’s. Griffin Illenberger had a sack and Hao Chang teamed up with Collins for a sack.

Dylan Burnett had an interception for Laguna Hills on a third down when St. Margaret’s was driving into Laguna Hills’ territory.

“It felt like all night the difference was on third and fourth down,” St. Margaret’s coach Dan O’Shea said. “Defensively, we could not get off the field on third down. Our inability to convert in the redzone and our inability to get off the field, that was the game.”

Laguna Hills opens Iota League play on Friday, Oct. 2, against Kennedy. The Hawks have not won a league game since 2023 in the Pacific Coast League.

St. Margaret’s will open Kappa League play on the road against Canyon on Thursday, Oct. 1.

​ Orange County Register 

El Dorado football tops Troy with strong second-half effort

• September 26, 2026

PLACENTIA — The El Dorado football team scored 20 consecutive points to beat Troy 26-12 in in a nonleague game Friday night at Valencia High.

Golden Hawks quarterback Hudson Shaddow threw for 234 yards and three touchdowns and Justin Karg caught seven passes for 129 yards and two scores. Karg also threw a 55-yard TD pass to Mason Shackleton and recorded an interception on defense.

El Dorado coach Zack LaMonda was pleased to get back in the win column after losing to El Modena last week.

“We came out with a victory,” La Monda said of his team’s performance. “Still made mistakes, but they weren’t as horrible. We turned the ball over once, on special teams, but the offense played well. I thought we ran the ball well and we didn’t make mistakes and just ate the clock. Because, you know, an offense like that, they’re run heavy and getting them behind (on) the scoreboard, kind of gets them out of their comfort zone.”

“Still things to get better on,” he added. “That’s good, you know, especially going to a tough league that we’re in.”

El Dorado (3-2) will host Orange (5-0) next week to begin Delta League play.

The Golden Hawks opened up the scoring on their second drive of the game when Shaddow hit Luke Tucker for a 10-yard TD pass that made it 6-0 after a failed 2-point attempt.

The Warriors responded by tying the game on the final play of the first quarter when Riley Billington broke several tackles on his way to a 64-yard TD run.

Troy was also unsuccessful on a 2-point try, leaving the score 6-6.

The Warriors forced a fumble on the ensuing kickoff and Jordan Williams recovered the ball at the El Dorado 30-yard line.

Billington added his second rushing touchdown of the game to make it 12-6 after another failed 2-point conversion.

“I felt like we could never get a rhythm, at least on the offensive side …,” Troy coach Michael Echaves said. “So it was a bit frustrating. But, you know, credit to El Do. They played a great game. They made less mistakes and they did a great job. So yeah, frustrating to say the least, but we got to fix these things immediately.”

The Golden Hawks retook the lead, 13-12, on Karg’s TD pass to Shackleford in the second quarter and then Karg scored on an 8-yard TD catch in the third quarter. The score came after a fumble recovery by the punt coverage unit.

Troy (3-2) was on the verge of cutting the deficit late in the third quarter but its drive stalled at the El Dorado 8. Micah Cavalluzzi deflected Mason Mays’ fourth-down pass attempt.

“Every chance you get to score is critical,” Echaves said. “But, I mean, we had a great play call, and their guy (Cavalluzzi) made a great play to stop it. And just put us in a bad spot. That’s just a great play on them and they capitalized in that moment and we didn’t.”

Shaddow added his third TD pass of the night in the fourth quarter, a 52-yard strike to Karg, that LaMonda said was an audible.

“The deep touchdown pass, they checked (to),” LaMonda said. “That wasn’t the play I called. They hand checked it themselves, so kudos to them. They have the freedom to do that. But, you know, like I tell him, if you’re going to do it, you better convert it. And they did, but they have a great connection.”

LaMonda continued the praise of the versatile Karg.

“He’s just an athlete,” he said. “You know, the fact that he’s only got one offer is shocking to me. But, you know, it’ll come. He’s humble, he’s an athlete, and he’s a guy that will hopefully stay healthy, which he is, and can be a game changer for us in our favor. And through the course of the season and the playoffs, hopefully.”

​ Orange County Register 

Edison football stops three-game losing streak with victory over Summit

• September 26, 2026

HUNTINGTON BEACH — After three consecutive losses against high-quality nonleague opponents, Edison capped the nonleague portion of its schedule with a 36-0 victory over Summit — also an excellent team — on Friday at Huntington Beach High School.

Edison (3-3) dominated every facet of the game.

The Chargers’ special teams scored on a safety and blocked a punt, their defense held the SkyHawks to 75 yards of total offense and forced two fumbles, and their offense controlled the line of scrimmage, scoring two rushing touchdowns and two passing touchdowns.

“It feels good to get a win after a tough three-game stretch,” Edison coach Jeff Grady said. “When you start rolling and running the ball effectively, and getting stops on defense, it helps your confidence and you just go from there.”

The Chargers, who are ranked No. 18 in Orange County this week, received the opening kickoff. On their third play from scrimmage, quarterback Sam Thomson connected with Brennan Vares for a 43-yard touchdown.

The SkyHawks then fumbled on the 1-yard line on the ensuing kickoff and recovered the ball in the end zone, resulting in a safety.

Summit didn’t run an offensive play until the second quarter, and the Chargers’ special teams made another big play on that drive when Jalen Cole blocked a punt and teammate Gavin Tahmoush recovered the ball on the Summit 2.

Samuel Edmisten scored on the next play to give the Chargers a 15-0 lead after the missed extra point.

In the third quarter, Edmisten, who rushed for 65 yards on 14 carries, scored his second touchdown, this one from 16 yards, giving the Chargers a 22-0 lead.

“It’s great to have that energy and that confidence back,” Edmisten said. “We came out and we just dominated off the bat and proved who we are as a team.”

Edison put the contest well out of reach and triggered a running clock after a 17-yard touchdown run from backup quarterback Kellen Hairston.

The SkyHawks came into the contest ranked No. 18 in the Inland area in the Press-Enterprise rankings and had allowed seven points or fewer in four games, including three shutouts.

Edison’s three losses were against teams who are a combined 17-2, and the schedule won’t get any easier when the Chargers open play in the loaded Alpha League next week against No. 4 Mission Viejo.

“Sometimes I forget how long the season is,” Thomson said. “You’re 1-3 and it feels horrible. But there is so much of the season left. We don’t duck anybody. We schedule the best opponents.”

Other Alpha League teams include No. 6 San Clemente, No. 12 Yorba Linda, No. 16 San Juan Hills and No. 20 Los Alamitos.

​ Orange County Register 

Laguna Beach football shuts down San Pedro in nonleague win

• September 26, 2026

SAN PEDRO — The stellar, high-powered San Pedro offense couldn’t get on track and was shut out in the second half of Friday’s nonleague game against San Pedro.

Laguna Beach scored two fourth-quarter touchdowns, handing San Pedro a 21-7 loss at home, Friday.

“That’s huge for us because that’s one of the best offenses we’ve played all year long…but it was super gritty, and it’s one of those things that we’ve been really grinding to get better with a new defensive scheme going into this season, and I think it finally clicked this week,” Laguna Beach coach John Shanahan said.

Laguna Beach (2-3) only had one win entering Friday, but the record doesn’t tell the full story. The Breakers’ opponents had a 16-4 combined record coming into the week.

San Pedro (4-1) came off an unexpected bye week after its previous matchup against Palisades was canceled. The layoff showed as the offense came out sluggish.

Pirates senior quarterback Seth Solorio opened the game with a fumbled snap and four snaps later, he threw his first interception of the season off an underthrown ball that was intercepted by Laguna Beach junior defensive back Colter Steris.

“I saw my receiver, of course he went deep and just didn’t panic at all, just played my coverage, it was great, felt great after that,” Steris said.

The Breakers were able to capitalize off the turnover in just three plays. Senior quarterback Jack Hurst threw a quick pass to freshman receiver Ryder Bright who dodged a tackle and escaped an ankle swipe attempt down the sideline for a 60-yard touchdown.

After a fast start, both offenses went three-and-out before Solorio connected with senior receiver Jaxon Brown on a quick slant for a 54-yard touchdown that was allowed by great blocks to tie the game at seven in the first quarter.

Following four consecutive offensive possessions that resulted in a punt, Laguna Beach drove to San Pedro’s 26 before middle linebacker Ethan Zamudio forced a fumble. San Pedro’s offense was then stopped on a fourth-and-two.

The first half ended with Brown intercepting a Hurst pass, sending the teams into halftime tied at 7-7.

Hurst didn’t start the second half after a hand injury but later came back in.

“We thought he was done, he had this big grapefruit-sized bubble on his hand…but he’s an unbelievably tough kid,” Shanahan said.

The game remained tied at 7-7 heading into the fourth quarter. Laguna Beach broke the tie with Hurst connecting with senior receiver Brady Stringham on a five-yard curl route touchdown catch to take the lead 14-7 with eight minutes remaining.

“We just had to wait our turn, you know we had to wait all night to get two,” Hurst said. “They were double covering him [Stringham] so it was hard to get him the ball when we wanted to, but once we got down in that red zone, we saw the opportunities and he [Stringham] makes me look good.”

Solorio threw his second interception of the night and Laguna Beach capitalized on it with another touchdown pass from Hurst to Stringham to make it 21-7.

The Pirates, who averaged 43 points per game entering the game, went nine-consecutive offensive possessions without scoring.

San Pedro will open Marine League play, Friday with a Battle of the Harbor meeting with Banning. Laguna Beach will host Troy Thursday in a Delta League opener.

​ Orange County Register 

OCVarsity’s football wrap-up: Stories, scores, photos from Friday’s games

• September 26, 2026

All of OCVarsity’s stories, photos, scores and more from the Week 4 high school football games Thursday and Friday.

More Orange County football coverage coming Saturday and in the days ahead.

FRIDAY’S GAMES

SCORES

High school football: All of the scores from Friday’s Week 5 games

PHOTOS

Photos: Top shots from Friday’s Week 5 high school football games

GAME STORIES

El Modena football edges Trabuco Hills with last-second field goal

El Dorado football tops Troy with strong second-half effort

Edison football stops three-game losing streak with victory over Summit

Laguna Hills football finishes strong to beat St. Margaret’s

Damien falls to Servite, and loses quarterback to injury

Laguna Beach football shuts down San Pedro in nonleague win

THURSDAY’S GAMES

High school football: Scores from Thursday’s Week 5 games

Villa Park football races past Lakewood after bus accident delays kickoff

Bolsa Grande football’s playmakers take over against Savanna

DID YOU SEE THIS?

CIF-SS denies Huntington Beach, Crean Lutheran football players full eligibility

Crean Lutheran, La Habra to play football game at SoFi Stadium on Oct. 16

Loara football shows resiliency with fast start in Tango League

Orange County boys athlete of the week: Hayes Cloutier, JSerra

Dan Albano’s biggest revelations from Week 4 in Orange County football

Orange County football Top 25: Huntington Beach moves into Top 10

​ Orange County Register 

Servite football handles Damien

• September 26, 2026

LA VERNE — Damien lost to Servite 28-9 on Friday night to end nonleague play. But that’s not the loss the team and coach James Stewart are worried about.

Sophomore quarterback Anthony Randolph left the game with some kind of shoulder or collarbone injury early in the third quarter. His status for next week’s Baseline League opener against Chino Hills is uncertain at the moment, pending test results.

His departure came when Damien (3-3) was already without star running back Malachi McFarland who has now missed two straight games due to an upper body injury. Stewart said McFarland’s status for next week is uncertain too.

“We have to see how he progresses in terms of his recovery,” Stewart said of McFarland who rushed for 301 yards and four touchdowns in the team’s first four games.

The good news though is that McFarland is expected back in the next few weeks at least.

If Randolph can’t play next week, fellow sophomore Luke Nocero will get the start. He filled in for Randolph, completing 6 of 11 passes for 64 yards.

“I’m very proud of (Nocero) and how tough he was,” Stewart said. “He obviously got thrown into the fire very quickly against a very good team. I was happy to see him compete.”

Nocero led Damien to its only touchdown drive of the game. It came late in the fourth quarter as Damien trailed 28-3. Nocero completed all three of his passes on the drive for 43 yards. He hit senior receiver Travon Garrison for two 18-yard completions before running back Malcom Isaac ended the six-play, 64-yard drive with a 1-yard touchdown run.

Garrison had a big game, catching five passes for 106 yards.

Despite the injuries to two major offensive weapons, Damien made Servite (3-2) work. The Friars play in the powerful Trinity League with Santa Margarita, Mater Dei and St. John Bosco. Servite also played in the CIF-Southern Section Division 1 playoffs last season.

The Friars looked the part early of a commanding Division 1 team. They took a 7-0 lead on their first offensive drive in the first quarter when junior running back Jorden Wells scampered into the end zone untouched from 24 yards out on a fourth-and-2. That capped a nine-play, 76-yard drive.

But the Spartans defense held Servite scoreless for the rest of the half, trailing only 7-3 at halftime. The defense even got an interception toward the end of the second quarter when Dupri Stevenson-Dorsey intercepted a Gino Wang pass at the Damien 7 to stop Servite from scoring before halftime.

Damien’s three points came in the second quarter courtesy of a 32-yard field goal from Connor Guzman.

Damien got the ball to start the third quarter at its own 18. Two plays later, Randolph got hurt. He fumbled while getting hit during a scramble. The ball bounced to the 4 where Caleb Ota picked it up for Servite and ran it in for a touchdown to give the Friars a 14-3 lead.

Servite scored two more touchdowns to put the game out of reach, including a 14-yard scoring run from Wells. That was his second touchdown of the game. He finished with 145 rushing yards on 22 carries. Wells has offers from Arizona and Sacramento State.

Stewart said the final score doesn’t reflect how hard Damien played.

“I thought the guys competed,” he said. “It was really tough with the injuries. It rattles the team when the quarterback goes down but I was impressed with the effort.”

​ Orange County Register 

High school football: Early look at the scores from Friday’s Week 5 games

• September 26, 2026

An early look at the scores from the high school football games Friday.

Check back later for the complete list of scores.

FRIDAY’S RESULTS

Tango League

Loara 43, Magnolia 8

Foothill League

Golden Valley 49, Canyon Country Canyon 10

Hart 34, Saugus 17

Valencia 42, West Ranch 0

Ocean League

West Torrance 42, South Torrance 14

Nonleague

Servite 28, Damien 9

San Clemente 42, Murrieta Valley 13

El Modena 20, Trabuco Hills 17

Troy 26, El Dorado 12

Laguna Hills 23, St. Margaret’s 15

Edison 36, Summit 0

Rancho Alamitos 38, La Quinta 7

Anaheim 21, Buena Park 7

Laguna Beach 21, San Pedro 7

Brentwood 42, Estancia 0

Santa Ana 51, Ganesha 0

Calvary Chapel 29, Carpenteria 13

Ventura 48, Calabasas 14

Northview 21, Covina 0

Inglewood 35, Downey 7

South El Monte 37, El Monte 0

Los Altos 21, El Rancho 18

Leuzinger 42, Hawthorne 6

Rancho Cucamonga 14, Long Beach Poly 7

Long Beach Wilson 41, Compton 7

Mira Costa 28, Culver City 21

Muir 8, Redondo Union 7

Sierra Canyon 42, Oxnard Pacifica 10

Sherman Oaks Notre Dame 30, Millikan 0

Charter Oak 20, St. Francis 16

Peninsula 34, Narbonne 28

L.A. CITY

East Valley League

Sun Valley Poly 61, Grant 6

North Hollywood 43, Verdugo Hills 7

Valley Mission League

Panorama 45, Reseda 0

San Fernando 32, Van Nuys 6

Nonleague

Cleveland, 24, Crenshaw  18

​ Orange County Register