All 9 people aboard a jet that crashed in Florida have died, transportation secretary says

• November 2, 2026

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — A business jet carrying nine people nose-dived into a South Florida neighborhood Sunday and erupted into a giant fireball that appeared to just miss homes before crashing near a busy roadway. Everyone on board was killed, the nation’s transportation secretary said.

Video recorded by people inside their cars captured the terrifying moment the Bahamas-bound aircraft plunged from the sky, before striking near the roadway and exploding. Flames flickered around chunks of pavement lining the crater as people milled about, expressing shock that it landed only feet from homes and inches from passing vehicles. Thick black smoke engulfed the crash site.

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy posted on X that the Learjet 60 crashed in Palm Beach County at 12:50 p.m. and called it a “horrific tragedy.” The Federal Aviation Administration is sending a team to support the National Transportation Safety Board’s investigation, he said.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said there were no immediate reports of anyone on the ground injured or killed.

“It was a cataclysmic plane crash,” DeSantis told reporters at the scene. “It looked like a missile going down and left a big crater on the side of the road.”

Rain pounded the region on Sunday. A flood watch due to excessive rainfall was in effect through Monday afternoon, the National Weather Service said.

The aircraft had departed Austin-Bergstrom International Airport in Texas and was headed to the Bahamas, according to the Federal Aviation Administration. Authorities did not immediately say what caused the jet to go down or who was on it.

The plane was heading east at 35,000 feet (about 11 kilometers) when pilots reported turbulence, icing and precipitation and requested to climb 2,000 feet (about 610 meters).

Moments later, the plane entered a steep dive, first 10,000 feet per minute, then 20,000 feet per minute and up to 30,000 feet per minute, speeding the plane beyond its design limits, according to air traffic control recordings and flight tracking data.

A pilot declared an emergency and issued distress calls. The plane banked sharply to the right before it crashed steeply into the ground.

Minutes before the crash, the pilot reported ice accumulating on the jet and turbulence that was jolting it by as much as 700 feet, according to air traffic control recordings captured by LiveATC.net.

“We have light, clear ice that is manageable and moderate turbulence,” the pilot told controllers.

But the situation rapidly deteriorated. After encountering precipitation and requesting to climb, the pilot declared an emergency as the aircraft began losing altitude at an alarming rate.

“We’re descending 8,000 – mayday, mayday – we’re descending 10,000 feet per minute,” the pilot radioed.

“We are in an overspeed condition descending 20,000 feet per minute,” the pilot radioed, before delivering a devastating acknowledgment of what was about to happen. “We’re going to crash into the ground.”

Jim Reynolds, a spokesperson for Austin-Bergstrom International Airport, said the jet was a private aircraft. He could not immediately provide details about who was on the flight.

Palm Beach County authorities are evacuating about 600 people from a nearby mobile home community while federal officials investigate the crash. The road will be closed until further notice, county officials said.

The crash occurred in Greenacres, Florida, according to Palm Beach County sheriff’s officials. The city of 45,000 people is about 7 miles (11 kilometers) southwest of West Palm Beach.

​ Orange County Register 

High school football: Orange County stat leaders for Week 10

• November 2, 2026

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The top performances from the Orange County high school football games in Week 10.

The leaders are based on the stats schools publish on MaxPreps.com.

WEEK 10 LEADERS

Passing yards

C. Jones, Crean Lutheran                     401

P. Armstrong, San Juan Hills                 381

S. Thomas III, Orange                           289

M. Nguyễn, Bolsa Grande                     289

K. Phillips, Canyon                                277

J. Hurst, Laguna Beach                        275

G. Nicholson, Brea Olinda                    254

H. Shaddow, El Dorado                         251

C. Anderson, Dana Hills                        249

J. Spigarelli, Newport Harbor                220

P. Guess, Mater Dei                              214

J. Hall, Cypress                                     157

J. Vanderbeek, Laguna Hills                  152

L. Santos, Sonora                                  150

J. David Annett, Corona del Mar            145

J. Hansen, Tesoro                                  143

E. Sorenson, El Modena                        142

C. Flores Jr., Orange Lutheran               138

I. Combs, Fountain Valley                      128

M. Coverick, Marina                               122

B. Edmunds, Huntington Beach             118

F. Jamieson, Foothill                              106

B. Bernhard, Pacifica                               97

Rushing yards

C. Aviles, Fullerton                        328

A. Cervantes, Segerstrom             242

T. Vaivao, Ocean View                  214

C. Carter, Loara                            196

P. Tena, Newport Harbor               180

K. Leidholdt, Canyon                    171

G. Garza, Costa Mesa                  153

A. Hopwood, Westminster            145

A. Faraj, Foothill                            141

G. Morrell, Portola                         139

N. Bernal, Westminster                 129

M. Norman, San Clemente            119

J. Vanderbeek, Laguna Hills         112

J. Allen, Valencia                           111

J. Dunklin, Orange                        111

B. Ramos, Marina                         101

D. Garcia, Anaheim                        96

K. Cuellar, Anaheim                        95

S. Thomas III, Orange                     92

D. Miller, Huntington Beach            89

D. Selway, El Dorado                      88

T. Nixon, Corona del Mar                88

E. Ledesma, Segerstrom                87

A. Correa, El Modena                     86

L. Quiroz, Anaheim                         79

E. Owens, Tesoro                           76

J. Rex, San Clemente                    76

R. Brundage, Tesoro                      71

G. Gates, Ocean View                    70

J. Bagsic, Cypress                          66

K. Crump, Huntington Beach          65

A. Nembhard, Mater Dei                 65

C. Spurgeon, Sonora                      62

A. Bell, Bolsa Grande                     60

G. Burgos, Sonora                          57

J. Kenney, San Clemente               57

A. Petero, Santa Margarita             50

L. Moore, Fullerton                         50

Receiving yards

B. Ross, Crean Lutheran                 240

J. Karg, El Dorado                           186

T. Le, Bolsa Grande                        150

Z. Lachman, Canyon                       145

D. Stone, Orange                            137

W. Kimball, Laguna Beach              117

J. Norman, Dana Hills                     111

B. Stringham, Laguna Beach          110

C. Chila, San Juan Hills                  108

L. Frith, San Juan Hills                    106

T. Brown, Mater Dei                        104

B. Booher, Canyon                          102

G. Honore, Mater Dei                       97

E. Rivas Melendez, Brea Olinda      93

T. Kim, Brea Olinda                          92

M. Felix, Cypress                             89

J. Ramos, El Modena                      85

C. Hunnicutt, Marina                       82

R. Palmer, Newport Harbor            82

S. Kennedy, Tesoro                        77

A. Johnson, Orange Lutheran       75

M. Valles, Dana Hills                      72

N. Scott, Corona del Mar               71

M. Allen, Orange                           70

N. Medina, Laguna Hills                69

D. Hall, Crean Lutheran                69

M. Marquis, Laguna Hills              61

T. Nicholson, Loara                       58

K. Owens, San Juan Hills             58

A. Diaz, Bolsa Grande                  58

C. Spurgeon, Sonora                    57

J. Stremick, Newport Harbor         57

T. Murray, Corona del Mar            57

R. Dillon Jr., Fountain Valley         56

Z. Dickison, Pacifica                     56

G. Mosley, Santa Margarita         54

S. McKibbin, Newport Harbor      52

G. Gates, Ocean View                 50

J. Downs, Trabuco Hills               50

Total tackles

C. Nguyễn, Portola                     24

V. Bresnahan, Laguna Hills        14

N. Howell, San Juan Hills           14

J. Catalan-Stokes, Bolsa Grd     14

D. Higgins, Portola                      13

G. Morrell, Portola                       12

N. Carter, Dana Hills                   12

S. Reda, Dana Hills                    12

I. Garza, Fullerton                      12

L. Yoast, Laguna Hills                 11

L. Druckrey, Laguna Hills            11

E. Lopez, Segerstrom                 11

A. Ashcraft, Cypress                   11

L. Zack, Trabuco Hills                 11

W. Bogdan, Laguna Beach         11

X. Bennett, Costa Mesa              11

C. Hladek, San Juan Hills           11

A. Vargas, Bolsa Grande            11

M. Cavalluzzi, El Dorado            10

G. Hernandez Pastrana, Loara   10

I. Harrison, Orange                     10

T. Gailey, Foothill                         10

R. Blake, Dana Hills                    10

X. Atkinson, Huntington Beach   10

N. Vejar, Fullerton                       10

D. Clanton, Mater Dei                 10

J. Faraimo, Loara                          9

A. Medina, Loara                           9

D. Burnett, Laguna Hills                9

M. Langley, Portola                        9

J. Hernandez, Segerstrom             9

T. Roberts, Crean Lutheran           9

J. Terry, Crean Lutheran                9

B. Mason, Foothill                          9

N. Rothman, Corona del Mar         9

C. Dickerson, Corona del Mar        9

D. Bruce, Huntington Beach           9

J. Waltman, Fullerton                     9

M. Davis, Mater Dei                       9

M. Porter, San Juan Hills               9

​ Orange County Register 

Angel City FC caps best regular season with win over Boston Legacy

• November 2, 2026

CARSON — Angel City Football Club closed the books on its best regular season Sunday.

Angel City capped off a 4-1 win over Boston Legacy FC at Dignity Health Sports Park with a first-half goal from Nealy Martin and second-half goals from Evelyn Shores, Sviendis Jónsdóttir and Claire Emslie.

The game moved to Carson because of a scheduling conflict with LAFC, who had an MLS home game scheduled for the evening.

The win extends Angel City’s unbeaten streak to 10 consecutive games (8-0-2), and it’s the best way to send the club into the second-ever playoff appearance.

Angel City (15-8-7) finished the season on 52 points, good enough for fifth place, but not good enough for the team to start the playoffs with a home game.

The final day of the season is called Decision Day, but with that comes a bit of the chaos. All eight games were being played simultaneously, with the live standings operator and web pages getting an extra workout.

By halftime, Angel City was still in the fifth spot, and with the Kansas City Current and Washington Spirit recording their wins, that’s where Angel City would remain in the final standings.

Kansas City Current ended up defeating Racing Louisville 2-0 and the Spirit defeated Chicago 2-0. That left Kansas City in fourth place and the first playoff opponent for Angel City in next week’s quarterfinal round.

Shores scored the go-ahead goal in the 17th minute, knocking in a header of a free kick from Jónsdóttir. In the 72nd minute, Taylor Suarez set up Jónsdóttir, sliding across a ball from the left wing, which Jónsdóttir put into the back of the net. The goal was the 10th of the season for Jónsdóttir, making her the first double-digit goalscorer for Angel City in its history.

Riley Tiernan set the individual goal-scoring record last season with eight.

Claire Emslie capped the scoring in the 84th minute.

Angel City will start the playoffs Saturday at CPKC Stadium against the Current at 9 a.m. Angel City won the first meeting May 20, 2-1 at home and the second one, Aug. 1, in Kansas City, ended in a 1-1 draw. The Current have a 32-game consecutive home unbeaten streak still intact.

This will be Angel City’s second playoff appearance. The first came in its second year, 2023. That year, Angel City finished fifth in a 22-game regular season.

The first meeting against Boston, Aug. 31, was the kickoff to Angel City’s current nine-game unbeaten streak. Angel City won that game 5-2.

​ Orange County Register 

CIF-SS football playoffs: Orange County schedule for the first round

• November 2, 2026

The schedule for the first round of the CIF-SS football playoffs on Friday, Nov. 6.

Division 1 is the only football division that starts the playoffs on Nov. 13.

Dates, sites and times are subject to change. Please send schedule changes or updates to preps@ocregister.com.

FOOTBALL PLAYOFFS 

FRIDAY

First round, 7 p.m. unless noted.

DIVISION 2

Orange at Chaparral

Notre Dame/SO at Capistrano Valley

Rancho Cucamonga at Crean Lutheran

Tustin at San Juan Hills

Huntington Beach at Inglewood

Chaminade vs. Corona del Mar at TBD

DIVISION 3

Apple Valley at Villa Park, 7:30 pm

El Modena at Newport Harbor

Edison at Oak Hills

DIVISION 4

Westlake at Dana Hills

Cypress at Cathedral

Etiwanda at La Habra

DIVISION 5

Trabuco Hills at Moorpark

Simi Valley vs. El Dorado

DIVISION 6

Lancaster at Laguna Beach

Foothill at Hesperia

Brea Olinda at Beaumont

Fullerton at Santa Barbara

DIVISION 7

Laguna Hills at Desert Christian Academy

Barstow vs. Pacifica at Bolsa Grande HS, Thursday

DIVISION 8

South Pasadena at Segerstrom

Irvine at Fillmore

Canyon at El Rancho

Portola at Santa Monica

DIVISION 9

Ocean View at Lawndale

Marina at JW North

La Salle at Fountain Valley

Northwood at Liberty

DIVISION 10

Desert Hot Springs vs. Sonora at TBD

DIVISION 11

Nordhoff at Los Amigos

Westminster at Schurr

DIVISION 12

Costa Mesa vs. Rancho Alamitos at Bolsa Grande HS

Loara at Rubidoux

DIVISION 13

Twentynine Palms at University

Bolsa Grande at Whittier

La Sierra at Whittier Christian

Garden Grove at Anaheim

DIVISION 14

La Quinta at Santa Ana Valley

​ Orange County Register 

Sheila Chepkirui, Andreas Almgren win New York City Marathon

• November 2, 2026

NEW YORK — Sheila Chepkirui of Kenya won the women’s race of the New York City Marathon for the second time in three years on Sunday while Andreas Almgren of Sweden was victorious in his debut in the distance.

Chepkirui pulled away from defending champion Hellen Obiri in the final 150 meters to seal the victory in 2 hours, 24 minutes and 36.

“The last mile was really tricky,” said Chepkirui, who also won in 2024. “I had to be patient because I knew Hellen was really strong, so I had to really push up to the finish line.”

What Chepkirui didn’t know was that American Jessica McClain had been gaining on both of the Kenyans in the final 800 meters of the race. McClain finished 6 seconds behind Chepkirui after passing Obiri — a two-time winner who set the course record in 2025 — in the final few strides. It was the first time a U.S. woman finished in the top three since 2018.

“It was a really fun, magical day out there. New York, you never know what to expect and I honestly didn’t feel like amazing through (Mile) 18, and just kind of had to stick in it and adjust as I went,” McClain said. “Top five was top of mind, then podium. I was just like, stick with it. And then all of a sudden Hellen was coming back to me, so I don’t really know what happened, but I couldn’t be happier right now.”

Almgren was making his debut at 26.2 miles after a successful career running half-marathons. He pulled away from Yemaneberhan Crippa of Italy in the final mile to take the victory in 2:6.1.

“This is my first marathon. I didn’t know how I was supposed to feel,” said Almgren.

Crippa finished 13 seconds behind Almgren. Kamohelo Mofolo of Lesotho was third, edging out defending champion Benson Kipruto.

Almgren’s time was the third fastest in the course’s 50-year history, and six runners went under 2:07 to finish in the top 10 all-time times.

“I just tried to stay up at front and see what happened and see how the race developed,” Almgren said. “I didn’t think it was going to be that quick of a finish, but I didn’t really know anything about that. One of the reasons I choose to race New York is that you don’t care about the time but just get as good a position as possible.”

He became the first marathoner to win his debut in the event since Gebre Gebremariam of Ethiopia won the 2010 race. American Zouhair Talbi finished sixth on Sunday and ran the fastest time ever by a U.S. runner in the event.

It was the 50th time that the race has run through all five boroughs of the city. There were just over 2,000 competitors in 1976, the seventh running of the race, including only 88 women. About 60,000 runners stepped up to the starting line Sunday, with nearly half of them women.

There were runners from more than 140 countries competing, including defending men’s champion Kipruto. He won in thrilling fashion last year, edging Alexander Mutiso by three-hundredths of a second.

The New York City Marathon began in 1970, and the first six years it was run entirely inside Central Park, with runners doing loops. The race was moved out of Central Park in celebration of the U.S. bicentennial and to help uplift the city, which was struggling. It ended up turning into one of the marquee events in New York.

Course tweak

For the first time in 15 years, there was a minor change in the course. The runners took a slightly different route at Mile 20 when the race entered the Bronx. The move was made to reduce the number of turns in the borough from seven to five and ease some of the street closures in the area.

Eight-time winner

Marcel Hug won the men’s wheelchair race for the eighth time, edging Daniel Romanchuk by just over a second. Romanchuk made a move to take over the lead in the last mile as the pair entered Central Park for the final time. Hug passed him in the final 100 meters to win.

Hug’s Swiss countrymate Catherine Debrunner pulled away from the field early to win the women’s wheelchair race, finishing in 1:40:02. It was the second-fastest time in race history, trailing her own mark by about 30 seconds from 2023. Two-time defending champion Susannah Scaroni finished third, three months after giving birth to her first child, more than eight minutes behind Debrunner.

​ Orange County Register 

Santa Margarita football No. 1 seed in CIF-SS Division 1 playoff bracket

• November 2, 2026

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Some things looked different at the top of the CIF Southern Section Division 1 football playoff bracket. Other things looked the same with an ultra-competitive field.

The continued rise of Santa Margarita and the size of the bracket highlighted the release of the Division 1 pairings on Sunday.

Trinity League champion Santa Margarita (10-0) earned the No. 1 seed to become the first school other than Mater Dei or St. John Bosco to grab the pole position in the premier grouping in the section since 2015.

“That is a pretty shocking statistic,” CIF-SS assistant commissioner Joe Hoggatt said. “(The Eagles) have had a pretty remarkable season for sure.”

Santa Margarita, ranked No. 1 in the nation by the USA Today Super 25, opens the Division 1 playoffs by playing host San Clemente (8-1) on Nov. 13. The Eagles have played their home games at Saddleback College this fall.

Orange County’s Mater Dei (8-2), Orange Lutheran (5-5) and Mission Viejo (8-1) also were selected to Division 1.

Third-seeded Mater Dei plays host to Centennial (7-3). Orange Lutheran will play at No. 4 St. John Bosco (7-3) in the first round for the second consecutive year. And Mission Viejo will travel to No. 2 Sierra Canyon (10-0).

Santa Margarita began to flip the script last season under coach Carson Palmer. In their first campaign under the USC Heisman Trophy winner and former NFL All-Pro, the Eagles won the Division 1 championship.

That was the first time since top-seeded Centennial won the Pac-5 Division title in 2015 that neither Mater Dei or St. John Bosco didn’t claim the Division 1 championship.

This fall, Santa Margarita has maintained its dominance by winning the Trinity League title outright. It’s the first time since Servite in 2011 that a team other than Mater Dei and St. John Bosco went undefeated in the Trinity League.

“It’s where we want to be as a program, as a school,” Palmer said after the Eagles defeated St. John Bosco 21-7 on Oct. 16.

Santa Margarita has pushed its winning streak to 16 games by mixing returners with several young players, including four standout freshmen.

Freshman wide receiver Kiyan Callis leads the team in receptions (41). Freshman linebacker Aydan Steen paces the defense in tackles (74) and shares the lead for sacks (eight). Freshman safety Jayden Jack shares the lead in interceptions with three.

“We have a lot of freshmen playing who are surrounded by great leaders,” Palmer said.

Santa Margarita completed its first undefeated regular season since 1997, Palmer’s senior season at the school.

The size of the Division 1 bracket remained eight for second consecutive year.

Hoggatt said the section looked at “a bunch of different factors”, including three results that pointed toward the need for an eight-team division. The division was again constructed by using the power ratings by HSratings.com.

He spotlighted San Clemente’s 32-20 win at Chaparral on Sept. 4. The Tritons are ranked No. 8 in the section by HSratings.com, one spot ahead of No. 9 Chaparral – the top seed in Division 2.

Hoggatt spotlighted No. 2 seeded Sierra Canyon’s 56-7 win last week against Bishop Amat, the No. 10-ranked team in the section by HSratings.com.

He also pointed to JSerra. The Lions (4-6) were 11th in the final section ratings, went a combined 0-5 against Division 1 teams and lost last week to Division 2 candidate Servite 38-35.

“I didn’t see how extending the bracket further (than eight teams) or placing those teams in that bracket served competitive equity,” Hoggatt said.

JSerra entered Week 10 ranked ninth in the section. If the Lions would have defeated Servite and held their position at No. 9, they would have created an “interesting” question about the size of Division 1, Hoggatt said.

“It would have been an interesting conversation because (the Lions) were the ninth team going into the week,” he said. “Would they have stayed at nine? That would have been an interesting argument for extending the bracket at least one more. I don’t know. All I know is what happened and what it turned out to be.”

Hoggatt also mentioned that at No. 9, JSerra — which finished last in the Trinity League — could not been seeded first for Division 2. At-large teams can’t start a division, according to section rules.

Keeping with the Division 2’s “ties” to Division 1, Hoggatt also cited San Juan Hills’ 16-0 victory against San Clemente in Week 9 in the Alpha League.

That was the Tritons’ first game after the Norte fire erupted in San Clemente.

San Clemente played that game against Division 2 qualifier San Juan Hills without quarterback Preston Beck, wide receiver Ryan Matheson and running back Darion Ranuga, Tritons coach Jaime Ortiz confirmed.

“There’s some extenuating circumstances with that game but that wasn’t a reason to go all the way to 14 (teams in Division 1) and lump in a lot of other teams,” Hoggatt said.

The CIF-SS Division 1 championship game is scheduled for Nov. 27 at the Coliseum at 7 p.m.

​ Orange County Register 

Fryer: Finish first? Hit the road. Finish last? Start the CIF-SS playoffs at home

• November 2, 2026

The Huntington Beach and Orange football teams each went 10-0 during the regular season.

Both are league champions. Huntington Beach went 5-0 in the Delta League. Orange went 5-0 in the Foxtrot League.

La Habra was 0-5 in the Bravo League and finished in last place.

In the first round of the CIF Southern Section playoffs that begin Friday, Huntington Beach and Orange will be visiting teams while La Habra will be home for its first-round game.

The CIF Southern Section uses ratings by the HSratings.com website to place teams in the playoff divisions and to seed teams. That produces the first-round matchups in each division.

The ratings placed Orange and Huntington Beach in Division 2 and La Habra in Division 4. The CIF-SS requires that when two football teams meet in the first round of the playoffs the team with the higher rating in the division is the home team.

Of the 16 teams placed in Division 2, Orange is the No. 16 team. A No. 16 seed, by bracketing rules, plays at the No. 1 seed. Orange will play at Division 2’s No. 1 seed, Chaparral (6-4) of Temecula, in the first round.

Huntington Beach is the No. 14 team in Division 2. Huntington Beach plays at Division 2’s No. 3 team, Inglewood (9-1), in the first round.

La Habra is the No. 6 team in Division 4. The Highlanders (5-5) have a first-round home game against Etiwanda (5-5).

According to HSratings.com’s California rankings, Chaparral is the No. 14 team in the state. Orange is No. 53 in those rankings.

“Does it (stink) not getting a home game?” said Orange coach Robert Pedroza. “Yeah, it does. But being in Division 2 is a huge honor for our program.”

DIVISION 1 GOES WITH 8 TEAMS

Going into Sunday’s brackets release, most of the buzz on social media was about the size and composition of Division 1. Would it be an eight-team group? What about 10 or 12 teams? Or maybe a 16-team group?

CIF-SS assistant commissioner Joe Hoggatt, who is in charge of the section’s management of the football playoffs, with input from the football coaches advisory committee, decided an eight-team Division 1 works best. The decision weighed many things, including how an eight-team Division 1 would affect the other divisions.

Hoggatt agonized over it as teams went into Friday’s final regular-season games. He second-guessed himself all week; as a former baseball coach, self-second guessing is in the DNA.

No decision was going to be approved by everyone.

The top eight teams in the final HSratings.com rankings were placed in Division 1. That group starts with No. 1 Santa Margarita. The Eagles are 10-0 and champion of the Trinity League, which is widely labeled the best high school football league in the USA. San Clemente (8-1), the third-place team from the six-team Alpha League, is the No. 8 team in Division 1. San Clemente gets to play Santa Margarita in the opening round (quarterfinals) on Nov. 13.

Orange Lutheran (5-5), the Trinity League’s fourth-place team, is the only at-large team in Division 1. (An at-large team is a team that did not finish high enough in its league’s final standings to be an automatic qualifier for the playoffs). The Lancers play at Trinity League third-place finisher St. John Bosco (7-3) on Nov. 13.

Orange Lutheran lost to St. John Bosco, 28-14, in a league game Oct. 9. Lancers coach Ray Fenton just might want to remind his team’s players that Orange Lutheran lost to St. John Bosco in a league game last year and then beat Bosco in the playoffs.

Another Division 1 rematch is Big West North League champion Corona Centennial (7-3) against Trinity League second-place finisher Mater Dei (8-2) at Santa Ana Stadium on Nov. 13. Mater Dei beat Centennial, 10-9, at Santa Ana Stadium on Sept. 11. Mater Dei played Centennial twice last season, too, losing in the regular season and in the playoffs, by one point.

Alpha League champion Mission Viejo (8-1) plays at undefeated Mission League champion Sierra Canyon (10-0) on Nov. 13. Mission Viejo lost Division 1 first-round playoff games in 2025 and 2024.

Servite (4-6) and JSerra (4-6) finished fifth and sixth, respectively, in the Trinity League and were eligible for the Division 2 playoffs. But neither was given an at-large berth. CIF-SS at-large rules give teams that have overall records of .500 or better priority, so although Servite and JSerra had the higher ratings in Division 2, the division’s three at-large berths went to Sherman Oaks Notre Dame (7-3), Chaminade (7-3) and Tustin (6-4).

Those of us who vote in the weekly Orange County Top 25 rankings agree that Servite and JSerra are better than Tustin. Last week’s poll had JSerra at No. 5, Servite at No. 9 (that will change, given Servite’s win over JSerra this past Friday) and Tustin at No. 16. So in our view, an Orange County team inferior to two other Orange County teams is in the playoffs instead of the two superior teams.

Those are the rules. Rules that make a last-place team a first-round playoff home team  and undefeated league champions first-round playoff visiting teams.

​ Orange County Register 

Visit to Mount Wilson Observatory is a walk through history of cosmology

• November 2, 2026

The road to get there is long and winding, but the views are spectacular, the air is fresh, and on a clear you can almost see forever.

The Mount Wilson Observatory boasts a long and illustrious history in the world of astronomy. The mountaintop location sits in the San Gabriel range at 5,770 feet and offers a premier site for stargazing due to its proximity to the ocean and the breezes that clear debris from the air.

It was originally a Tongva Native American site, later named Wilson’s Peak after the second mayor of Los Angeles and grandfather of Gen. George Patton.

At one time, a hotel and its recreational activities occupied the site, but in 1904, astronomer George Ellery Hale decided to place a telescope atop the mountain. He was able to convince philanthropist Andrew Carnegie – who was fascinated by Hale’s spectroscopic study of the sun – to fund the establishment of a solar telescope.

The Mount Wilson Observatory complex came to include what were two of the world’s largest telescopes at the time – a 60-inch and a 100-inch reflecting telescope as well as the state-of-the art solar telescope, Hale’s first and fondest love.

“Every piece of legacy material came up here on the backs of donkeys between 1904 and 1917,” said one of the docents, pointing out a mule trail cut into the side of the mountain that provided slow and tedious access to the site.

The thought of those donkeys carting all that monumentally heavy equipment up the switchbacks was mind-boggling as the group visited a succession of enormous domes and telescope housings that weighed hundreds of tons.

Both of the reflecting telescopes for viewing the night sky were massive in scope. In the first half of the 20th century, they represented the “new astronomy” that sought to answer questions about the universe and Earth’s place in it rather than just to record observations.

The 60-inch reflector telescope provided a prototype of the telescopes that followed.

“Every large telescope in the world today is a technological descendant of the innovative telescopes of Mount Wilson Observatory, and scientific discoveries made here remain at the forefront of modern cosmology and astrophysics,” proudly declares an informational sign at the entrance to the grounds.

Both telescopes can be viewed inside their domes, which were cool and quiet after the heat outside. The domes can be opened at night and rotated so that the massive telescopes can record their views of the heavens.

They’re available for rent by individuals or groups that want to spend a half or full night in discovery mode.

The telescope that intrigued the most was the solar telescope, which daily records sunspots, areas on the sun with lower temperatures caused by magnetic winds.

The dome for this one is at the top of a 150-foot tower that is climbed each morning by the technician who opens it for the day. Then he descends the ladder (there is also an elevator, we were told) to a small room inside the tower at ground level, where he draws a daily map of sunspot activity.

We saw only a few black dots, but activity these days is reduced because we are in the waning days of one of the recurrent 11-year sunspot cycles.

I found this display and recording interesting because I could somewhat understand what the technician was doing, and I could see the reflected sunspots with my own eyes. The dedication of the sunspot meister was inspiring as he has been performing his tasks for many years and has the courage to climb that tower every day.

Much of the equipment is now antiquated and no longer cutting-edge, so the facility is used for educational and teaching purposes as well as for concerts, lectures and community activities.

That, however, does not diminish the importance and respect the site still carries in the annals of modern astronomy.

Knowing that we were walking in the path of history, in the steps of Einstein, who visited in the 1930s, and Stephen Hawking, who came later, was a thrill. Photographs of their visits hang on the wall of the small museum on site.

Even more impressive is the fact that Edwin Hubble and other astronomers used the observatory equipment to view the spiral nebulae of the Milky Way Galaxy and to make the discovery that the universe is ever-expanding.

And breathing the clear mountain air made the outing just a bit more heavenly.

Access to Mount Wilson is via the Angeles Crest Highway (CA Highway 2) from the 210 Freeway at La Canada Flintridge. A U.S. Forest Service Adventure Pass is required to park at the observatory.

Current hours are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily. Docent-led walking tours are at 11:30 a.m. and 1 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays through the fall, with limited tours in the winter. There are also self-guided and private tours as well as private stargazing tours at night.

Concerts, lectures and other activities are scheduled per the website. There is an on-site café and gift shop.

For information, visit mtwilson.edu.

​ Orange County Register