Portola football pounces on Northwood’s early mistakes, picks up victory

• September 19, 2026

IRVINE—Two mistakes, two touchdowns, too much to overcome.

In the game that was deciding the winner of the coveted Fence Post Trophy – the Irvine city champion – Northwood dug a hole and Portola filled it.

The Bulldogs scored a 34-10 victory on Friday.

The score was a bit deceiving.

Northwood’s mistakes? They were big. A bad snap on a punt gave Portola the ball at the Northwood 7-yard line, which resulted in a touchdown.

A fumble inside the 10-yard line led to Galileo Chen’s 95-yard return, the biggest play of the game that staked Portola to a 14-0 lead.

A defensive stand at midfield resulted in a turnover on downs at midfield that set up a seven-play, 53-yard scoring drive.

All that took place in the first 16 minutes of the game.

“Coming into this game I think everyone had their eyes on Northwood even through we had won a bunch of games,” Chen said. “I felt people were doubting us. All the Northwood people were saying ‘This is their house,’ (though it’s Portola’s home stadium) and it was kind of personal to us.”

Portola improved to 4-1, and Northwood fell to 3-2.

The Timberwolves are young under first-year coach Stephen Barbee and have better days ahead. Apart from the mistakes, Northwood did a good job of moving the ball, but lacked the finishing move to put the ball in the end zone in the first half

And for good measure, Portola added another big play — a 68-yard run by Gavin Morrell that finished off any Timberwolves hopes of a fourth-quarter comeback. Morrell’s dash made it 31-10 with 11:18 remaining.

“We had to have some things happen, but they were milking the clock the whole second half,” Barbee said. “We needed some stops on defense and didn’t get them.

“We’re a young team and we fell too far behind to make up ground.”

Morrell rushed 21 times for 143 yards with two scores, including a two-yard burst for a 7-0 lead. The Bulldogs gained 233 yards on the ground.

Northwood was outgained, 297-205. Caden Jacobs led the Timberwolves offense with 154 yards passing. L.J. Ulmer carried 16 times for 141 yards.

The big plays were just too much for Northwood.

Portola was the beneficiary of a snap over the punter’s head, which gave the Bulldogs’ offense possession at the Northwood 7. Three plays later, Morrell busted up the middle for a lead less than seven minutes into the game.

Northwood drove from its 32 to the Portola 10, but a tie score wasn’t going to happen. A fumble at the five-yard line was returned 95 yards by Chen, who had no trouble finding the end zone in a sprint that was never really challenged.

Portola’s defense held on fourth down to give the Bulldogs possession at their 47. The defending CIF champion drove the necessary 53 yards in seven plays, with Chen catching Orion Suttle’s pass for a 10-yard touchdown pass. Andrew Chea’s third PAT of the half made it 21-0 at 8:31 in the second quarter.

Northwood got on the scoreboard on its next possession, settling for a 30-yard field goal from Dillan Low after an impressive drive petered out at the eight-yard line. Portola led, 21-3.

“That’s what we asked our guys to do, get out there and do their jobs,” Portola coach Peter Abe said. “When you get the opportunity, you have to make the play. That’s how you win these big games, and they did it.”

Northwood finally reached the end zone with a minute left in the third quarter on a picture-perfect pass from Jacobs to Elliot Kwon to make it a two-score game, 24-10.

But with 11:18 left in the game, Morrell peeled off his 68-yard response that essentially ended any comeback hopes.

​ Orange County Register 

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

• September 19, 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 4 games

PHOTOS

Photos: Top shots from Friday’s Week 4 high school football games

GAME STORIES

Mater Dei football struggles in all areas in loss to Bishop Gorman

Santa Margarita football shuts out Norco with ‘incredible’ defense

Orange Lutheran football loses to Sierra Canyon after rough start

JSerra QB Hayes Cloutier takes over in 2nd-half comeback to beat Bishop Amat

Late TD lifts Huntington Beach football to victory over Yorba Linda

Troy football routs Segerstrom behind Mason Mays’ record night

Portola football pounces on Northwood’s early mistakes, picks up victory

THURSDAY’S GAMES

High school football: Scores from Thursday’s games, Sept. 17

Corona del Mar football strikes late to beat La Serna in thriller

El Modena football finally gets offense going, beats El Dorado

Loara football pushes past La Quinta to stay unbeaten in Tango League

DID YOU SEE THIS?

Judge denies Austin Attalah’s varsity football bid at Orange Lutheran

Villa Park and Tustin to play Bravo League football game at SoFi Stadium

Extra practice paying dividends for Yorba Linda football

Orange County football Top 25: Undefeated Santa Margarita remains No. 1

Dan Albano’s biggest stunners from Week 3 in Orange County football

​ Orange County Register 

Troy football routs Segerstrom behind Mason Mays’ record night

• September 19, 2026

FULLERTON — Troy quarterback Mason Mays tied a school record by throwing five touchdown passes in a 42-0 win over Segerstrom on Friday night at Troy High.

The Warriors (3-1) also recorded their second-consecutive shutout in the victory with three turnovers and a blocked field goal in the third quarter that preserved the zero on the scoreboard.

Troy coach Michael Echaves is happy with the schematic approach and the way his team has executed thus far.

“Very proud of the effort, very proud of the attitude, the preparation that we put into this,” Echaves said. “Now it’s about winning some battles that could cost us big in the war, and so that’s what we got to focus on now.”

Echaves confirmed that Mays tied a school record for TD passes in a game, held by Rudy Alcala and Thomas Bacerra.

“He’s a special talent, and he’s proven that tonight,” Echaves said. “He’s taken what the defense has given us and he’s making them pay for it and we love it.”

Troy wasted little time getting on the board as they needed just four plays to go up 7-0 on Chandler Lieberman’s 19-yard catch.

Lieberman added a 50-yard TD reception on the Warriors next drive and Andrew Green made it 21-0 with his 43-yard touchdown grab.

Green finished with six receptions for 145 yards and two touchdowns while teammate Lieberman scored every time he touched the ball as he caught three passes for 102 yards and three TDs.

“Green is a guy that has so much talent and we’re just continuing to have him focus on the small details to get better,” Echaves said. “And he’s listening. He’s getting so much better and becoming more coachable and so that every week we feel like we’re going to see a better version of him and he’s really showing up.”

“Chandler is a baseball guy and he was considering not playing football this year and we kind of convinced him, hey, come out, man, and do it,” Echaves continued. “And he’s really made a huge impact for us and we’re very proud of him.”

The Jaguars (2-3) struggled to sustain drives. Their best scoring opportunity came on their first drive in the second half where Adrian Cervantes and Eddie Anuu led the ground attack to a first-and-goal at the Troy 9-yard line.

The drive stalled and then Joshua Martinez had his 23-yard field goal attempt blocked.

Troy will face a tough test on the road next week at El Dorado as it wraps up nonleague play

“The thing that I’m really excited about is it’s just going to be a great experience, local school with a lot of pride, a lot of tradition, and so I’m really, really excited to face them,” Echaves said of El Dorado. “La Monda does a great job over there, so it’s going to be a great game and a great test for us to prepare for the league.”

​ Orange County Register 

Orange Lutheran football loses to Sierra Canyon after rough start

• September 19, 2026

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CHATSWORTH — Orange Lutheran’s football team concluded a challenging nonleague schedule Friday with a trip to the San Fernando Valley to face its toughest opponent so far.

And if taking on Sierra Canyon wasn’t a steep enough task, the Lancers encountered former Orange Lutheran standout Marcus Fakatou.

Orange Lutheran showed its potential in the second half but fell to a fast-starting and physical Sierra Canyon 28-10 in a penalty-filled game at Sierra Canyon High.

The Trailblazers (4-0), ranked sixth in the nation by MaxPreps and third in California by hsratings, led 21-0 after the first quarter and 28-3 at halftime.

Orange Lutheran (3-2), ranked third in Orange County and eighth in the state, showed progress in the second half.

Chris Flores Jr. caught a 5-yard touchdown from Ezrah Brown on the opening possession. Anthony McClure had an interception and Cory Panapa recorded a sack.

The Lancers also committed only one penalty in the second half after going to intermission with 11 for 115 yards.

“The second half showed that we can play, for sure,” first-year Orange Lutheran coach Ray Fenton said. “The first half was just kind of like finding our legs underneath us. This is Game 5 for us as a program.”

“We did a lot really good things,” the coach added. “We did some things that really hurt us. We got two weeks to clean those things up.”

Sierra Canyon led 28-3 at halftime behind four rushing touchdowns, including two by Jaxsen Stokes.

The senior running back scored on a 13-yard touchdown run early in the first quarter after the Trailblazers recovered a muffed punt at the Lancers 13.

On the next Sierra Canyon possession, Stokes broke a season-long 73-yard touchdown run for a 14-0 lead.

Stokes, who is committed to Cal, finished the first half with 134 of his 166 yards.

The Trailblazers added a 19-yard TD run by wide receiver Sir Homer King Webb and 7-yard scoring run Faruq Muhammad.

Sierra Canyon employed defensive linemen Fakatou, Kasi Currie and Stephan Harrison as tight ends in a physical blocking scheme.

On defense, Fakatou fueled a strong pass rush that collected five sacks.

The senior, who is committed to Ohio State, contributed to Sierra Canyon’s goal-line stand on the final play of the first half.

The Lancers fumbled a run from the Trailblazers 1 and Fakatou wrapped up the ball carrier.

Fakatou finished with 1 1/2 sacks.

“They’re a Trinity (League) level team,” Fenton said of Sierra Canyon, which beat JSerra 42-21 earlier this season.

Sophomore Ryan Christianson was bright spot for Orange Lutheran. He rushed for 101 of his 127 yards in the first half en route to his third consecutive 100-yard rushing game.

Christianson had four catches for 42 yards.

Sierra Canyon finished with 15 penalties for 165 yards.

Orange Lutheran held its own against one of the most difficult nonleague schedules in the nation.

After opening with a one-point loss against Miami Central of Florida, the Lancers defeated Cathedral Catholic, Basha of Arizona and Serra.

Next week, Orange Lutheran takes its bye before opening the Trinity League against Servite on Oct. 2 at Orange Coast College.

​ Orange County Register 

Late TD lifts Huntington Beach football to victory over Yorba Linda

• September 19, 2026

HUNTINGTON BEACH — The Huntington Beach football team faced setback after setback up to and including the final drive of its nonleague game against Yorba Linda on Friday at Huntington Beach High School.

But with a quarterback the likes of Brady Edmunds and a corps of playmaking receivers, nothing is insurmountable.

Edmunds connected with Nicolas Navarette for a 26-yard touchdown in the game’s final seconds to lift the Oilers to a 29-25 victory over the Mustangs.

The real magic happened earlier in the drive when the Mustangs were ahead 25-21 and the Oilers (5-0), who are ranked No. 12 in Orange County, faced a fourth-and-19 from the Huntington Beach 29 with under a minute remaining.

That’s when Edmunds threw a perfect pass to Skyler Robinson along the right sideline for a 32-yard gain.

One play earlier, Edmunds was sacked for a 10-yard loss by Taj Lagraffe, Landon Pearson and Michael Deep.

After the 32-yard gain, Edmunds completed passes of 3 and 8 yards before delivering the game-winner to Navarette, who made some sharp moves to get a clear path to the end zone.

“Skyler and Dylan (Bruce) … everybody made big-time plays tonight,” Edmunds said. “We work these situations all the time in practice — 30 seconds, no timeouts. We do it every single day.”

Earlier in the quarter, No. 11 Yorba Linda (4-1) was trailing 21-19 when quarterback Andrew Churney guided the Mustangs on a fine drive as well.

The Mustangs drove 57 yards, with Isaiah Trujillo capping the drive with a one-yard touchdown run to give Yorba Linda the lead.

Trujillo scored all four of the Mustangs’ touchdowns and finished with 153 yards on 23 carries.

“They just believed,” Huntington Beach coach Matthew Hatchette said. “And they went out there and executed. They didn’t panic, which a lot of players would do in that situation, and they didn’t panic.”

Yorba Linda coach Richi Burrell praised his team after the game.

“You left it all on the field,” Burrell told his players. “You balled until there were zeros on the clock. Sometimes it doesn’t always go our way.”

The first-year coach said the game provided a good test for the Alpha League schedule, when opponents will include some of the county’s top teams such as Mission Viejo, Los Alamitos and San Clemente.

The Oilers will also face a tough schedule in the Delta League, where they will face off against El Modena and Dana Hills, which are both undefeated.

Huntington Beach had two touchdowns called back on holding penalties in the first half — the first was a 98-yard punt return and the second was a 33-yard pass play.

The Oilers put together long drives in the half but had them derailed by penalties and clutch defensive plays by the Mustangs.

​ Orange County Register 

Mater Dei football struggles in all areas in loss to Bishop Gorman

• September 19, 2026

SANTA ANA – Mater Dei plays its Trinity League football opener in two weeks against Santa Margarita.

Mater Dei has a lot of work to do.

The Monarchs could not jumpstart their offense, injured themselves with penalties at the worst times, surrendered a big turnover, were sloppy on special teams and their defense gave up big plays in an 18-8 loss to Bishop Gorman of Las Vegas on Friday at Santa Ana Stadium.

It was the first loss of the season for Mater Dei and it came in its final nonleague game of the season. The Monarchs do not play next week, so they have plenty of time to figure things out before they play Santa Margarita in a Trinity League opener Oct. 2 at Saddleback College.

Santa Margarita is 5-0 after a win over Norco on Friday. Santa Margarita is ranked No. 4 in the nation by MaxPreps and is No. 1 in California according to HSratings.com and CalHiSports.com.

Mater Dei is No. 13 in MaxPreps’ national rankings and No. 4 in the HSratings and CalHiSports state rankings.

Mater Dei (4-1) did not score until four minutes remained in the fourth quarter.

“We just struggled,” said Mater Dei coach Raul Lara. “We’re trying to get this thing going.

“It’s either a position messed up here or a person messed up there. These are things we need to fix.”

MaxPreps has Bishop Gorman (4-1) at No. 8 in its national rankings.

The Gaels impressed Lara.

“They’re fast,” Lara said. “They’re big. They’re good.”

Mater Dei had a poor first half. The Monarchs went into halftime with 42 yards of offense and 48 yards in penalty yardage.

Bishop Gorman on its game-opening possession got a first down on a fourth-and-2 situation when a Mater Dei defensive  player jumped offsides. The Gaels scored on a 1-yard run by running back Corey Hinton. The kick for the extra point missed, leaving Bishop Gorman with a 6-0 lead.

On Mater Dei’s following possession the Gaels’ Darian Abella made an interception on a pass tipped by teammate Kamil Loud. Abella pulled in the ball at the Mater Dei 48-yard line and returned it to the Monarchs 8-yard line. Bishop Gorman had to settle for a 29-yard field goal by Cason Clark to make it 9-0 in the first quarter.

Clark’s 30-yard field goal with 10 seconds left in the second quarter gave Bishop Gorman a 12-0 halftime lead.

Hinton scored on a 23-yard run for a touchdown and an 18-0 lead in the third quarter.

Mater Dei finally scored with 4:37 left in the game on a 9-yard touchdown pass from freshman quarterback Paytyn Guess to running back Asir Nembhard coming out of the backfield. A Guess-to-Gavin Honore pass for two points made it 18-8.

Hinton scored on a 1-yard run late in the final quarter for the final 25-8 score.

Mater Dei played without standout senior cornerback Danny Lang who was out because of a knee injury. Lang committed to USC. He was No. 11 on the Register’s “Hot 150” ranking of Orange County football players.

Bishop Gorman beat the Trinity League’s St. John Bosco, 38-28, on Aug. 21 in Las Vegas. The Gaels’ next game is a 5A Southern League home game on Friday against Faith Lutheran of Las Vegas.

Mater Dei went into the game with wins over Utah teams American Fork and Orem, Valor Christian of Colorado and, last week, Corona Centennial.

​ Orange County Register 

Dodgers turn tight game into a blowout with 4 homers in 8th inning

• September 19, 2026

LOS ANGELES — With the empty champagne bottles disposed of and another NL West title secured, the Dodgers got back to baseball on Friday night.

The Dodgers celebrated with a bit of bubbly after clinching their 13th division title in the past 14 years on Thursday in Cincinnati before heading home to face the San Francisco Giants in the opener of a six-game homestand.

“We want to just keep them focused on playing good baseball. We still have a lot of work to do to try to get one of these top two seeds, which I do think is important,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said before Friday’s game. “Our guys understand that. So, winning the division is great, but like I said the other day, it’s like I still think our best baseball is in front of us.”

The Dodgers kept pace with the Milwaukee Brewers and Atlanta Braves in the three-team race for the top two seeds. Milwaukee (96-58) still sits two games in front of the Dodgers (94-60) for the top seed and owns the head-to-head tiebreaker, but the Dodgers remain four games ahead of Atlanta (90-64) with eight games left in the regular season.

The Dodgers kept their foot on the gas Friday, getting a strong start from right-hander Tyler Glasnow and four home runs in the eighth inning to turn a one-run lead into an 8-2 victory over the Giants. Mookie Betts homered twice, the second one coming during the eighth-inning barrage, which included blasts from Max Muncy, Kyle Tucker and Will Smith.

Edwin Diaz then struck out two in a scoreless ninth inning in his return from the injured list.

Glasnow (5-1) limited the Giants to two runs and three hits over six innings, striking out 10 before giving way to Kris Bubic.

The Dodgers took the lead in the bottom of the sixth on a two-out RBI double from rookie Josue De Paula that scored Tucker, then they provided Diaz with plenty of cushion with their late power display.

Muncy, pinch-hitting for Miguel Rojas, got the home run derby started with a towering blast to right-center field. Tucker followed with his 17th home run of the season – and his fifth in the past nine games – for a 5-2 lead. Betts made it 7-2 with a two-run shot to left-center field for his third multi-homer game of the season.

Smith closed the scoring with his eighth homer of the season.

Glasnow gave the Dodgers a boost with his strong performance.

Glasnow had trouble with his command in his previous outing a week ago against the Miami Marlins, suffering his first loss, and hasn’t been sharp in his past two starts (eight runs allowed in 10 innings).

He flew back from Miami, skipping the series in Cincinnati so he wouldn’t have to sit through two flights and aggravate a nagging back.

“I know he wants to pitch well. We want him to pitch well,” Roberts said. “So, this is an important start and he knows it. It’s certainly not do or die, but I think the momentum he had built going into those last couple starts has been great. And so just to kind of get back feeling good and throwing the baseball well.”

The Dodgers got on the scoreboard early with Betts’ 21st homer of the season. He lofted the second pitch of the night from left-hander Cesar Perdomo high over the center field wall to give the Dodgers a 1-0 lead in the first inning.

Betts has had a streaky season, with injuries and inconsistency at the plate, a shortcoming he acknowledged after the Dodgers clinched the division.

“Thank you for sticking with me. I know it was hard. I make it hard sometimes, but thank you for sticking by my side, by our side. We’ve got something special coming,” he told SportsNet LA.

The Giants tied the score on a solo home run by right fielder Jung Hoo Lee in the second and took a 2-1 lead in the third on an RBI single by Jonah Cox.

Glasnow settled down and struck out three of the next five batters.

The Dodgers tied the score at 2-2 in the fifth inning. De Paula, who was making his Dodger Stadium debut, singled to right, reached second on Betts’ second hit of the game, then advanced to third on Smith’s fly out to center before scoring on a single to right by Teoscar Hernandez.

More to come on this story.

​ Orange County Register 

High school football: Early list of scores from Friday’s Week 4 games

• September 19, 2026

The scores from the Week 4 high school football games Friday, Sept. 19.

Check back a bit later tonight for the complete list of scores.

FRIDAY’S RESULTS

Bishop Gorman 25, Mater Dei 8

Sierra Canyon 28, Orange Lutheran 10

Huntington Beach 29, Yorba Linda 25

Santa Margarita 34, Norco 0

Portola 31, Northwood 10

Troy 42, Segerstrom 0

Sonora 14, Sunny Hills 0

JSerra 37, Bishop Amat 28

Summit 17, El Toro 7

Foothill 21, Cypress 7

Tustin 28, Westlake 21

Mission Viejo 42, Pittsburg 35

Pacifica 35, Aliso Niguel 14

Orange 35, Etiwanda 28

Dana Hills 70, Mayfair 7

San Juan Hills 63, Mira Costa 21

Crean Lutheran 38, Oakdale 21

La Habra 36, Orange Vista 7

Capistrano Valley 40, Venice 0

El Cajon Granite Hills 35, Los Alamitos 7

Anaheim 28, Garden Grove 13

Newport Harbor 42, Colony 0

Canyon 58, Diamond Bar 16

Brea Olinda 2, Victor Valley 0 (Victor Valley forfeit)

Irvine 48, Kennedy 7

Woodbridge 29, University 22

Corona 42, Costa Mesa 3

Westminster 48, Saddleback 6

St. Margaret’s 49, Capistrano Valley Christian 14

Godinez 34, Savanna 26

Tesoro 35, Redlands East Valley 27

Ocean View 19, Gahr 9

South Torrance 42, Adelanto 20

Alemany 48, Bishop Diego 44

Corona Santiago 38, Bishop Montgomery 6

Nogales 47, Covina 22

La Mirada 19, El Rancho 18

Los Altos 48, Wilson/HH 12

St. Francis 49, La Canada 19

Crespi 40, Oak Park 0

Culver City 54, Warren 51 (OT)

Inglewood 36, Long Beach Poly 10

Cathedral 21, Loyola 16

Newbury Park 21, Muir 18

Serra 41, Oaks Christian 0

West Torrance 35, Peninsula 6

Centennial 41, Rancho Cucamonga 7

Redondo Union 27, St. Paul 7

Rubidoux 62, Pomona 21

South Hills 29, Santa Fe 22

Bonita 35, Schurr 6

Cerritos Valley Christian 47, St. Anthony 22

Torrance 38, Lakewood 13

Carson 48, North Torrance 14

Compton 34, Narbonne 6

Alhambra 42, L.A. Wilson 21

Palos Verdes 34, Banning 0

Foothill League

West Ranch 26, Canyon Country Canyon 20

Valencia 69, Castaic 7

​ Orange County Register