Huntington Beach football pulls out victory over El Modena with late TD

• October 3, 2026

HUNTINGTON BEACH — Huntington Beach quarterback Brady Edmunds always seems to find a way to make plays during crunch time for the Oilers.

Edmunds connected with Dylan Bruce for a 5-yard touchdown with 15 seconds remaining, giving the Oilers a 24-21 victory over El Modena in the Delta League opener for both teams Friday at Huntington Beach High School.

The Oilers (6-0, 1-0), ranked No. 10 in Orange County, and the No. 22 Vanguards (5-1, 0-1) both entered the contest undefeated.

Almost three minutes earlier, Aiden Sullivan’s 1-yard touchdown run capped an eight-minute, 13-play drive that gave the Vanguards a 21-17 lead.

El Modena’s assistant coaches, after seeing a replay of Bruce’s touchdown on a tablet, said the pass skipped off the turf in the end zone before Bruce cradled it.

After the officials conferred, the initial touchdown call was confirmed.

“The pass looked like it bounced,” El Modena coach Matt Mitchell said. “It is what it is. It’s a game and we’ve got to deal with it.”

Bruce said he made the catch.

“Great play by Brucey there at the end,” Huntington Beach coach Matthew Hatchette said. “If this was the NFL, we would have had instant replays. This is high school, so we get the benefit of the doubt on that call.”

Hatchette credited his players for being in the game-winning situation to begin with, and he praised Bruce for a 40-yard kickoff return that gave the Oilers possession at the 50 after El Modena’s touchdown.

The clutch finish mirrored the Oilers’ 29-25 victory over Yorba Linda on Sept. 19, when Edmunds connected with Bruce for a 26-yard touchdown in the game’s final seconds.

“I think our players are starting to understand that it’s not just go up and down the field and score touchdowns,” Hatchette said. “You have to play in a football game. You just never know what situation you are going to be in.”

On the game’s first play from scrimmage, Edmunds’ pass was intercepted — only the third interception of the season for the Ohio State commit — by Isaac Perez.

One play later, El Modena quarterback Ethan Sorenson ran for a 75-yard touchdown, giving the Vanguards a 7-0 lead 20 seconds into the contest.

On the ensuing possession, Edmunds led the Oilers on one of his signature drives, a 10-play, 69-yard march capped by his 6-yard scoring pass to Dallas Miller to tie the score.

It was 14-14 at halftime, and the score remained that way until a 25-yard field goal by Malachi Newmaster gave the Oilers a 17-14 lead early in the fourth.

The field goal capped a nine-minute, 20-play drive that started at the Huntington Beach 8.

Sullivan broke up and nearly intercepted a third-down pass, forcing the Oilers to settle for the field goal.

Sorenson rushed for 105 yards and a touchdown and threw a 48-yard touchdown pass to Jason Ramos.

“We’ve been in the Delta League, so we kind of know what to expect,” Mitchell said of the tight battle. “We played hard and played as a team tonight, and that is the most important part.”

​ Orange County Register 

Orange Lutheran football overwhelms Servite in Trinity League opener

• October 3, 2026

COSTA MESA – Servite played without its most important offensive and defensive football players Friday night.

That might not have mattered, though, given how well Orange Lutheran played.

Orange Lutheran cruised to a 56-21 win over Servite at Orange Coast College in the Trinity League opener for both teams.

The Lancers improved to 4-2 overall. Servite is 3-3.

Orange Lutheran sophomore running back Ryan Christianson rushed for 115 yards and four touchdowns on 26 carries. It was Christianson’s fourth straight game of more than 100 rushing yards

Lancers senior quarterback Reagon Toki completed 13 of 18 passes for 250 yards and three touchdowns.

Toki usually shares game time with sophomore quarterback Ezrah Brown, but Brown was unable to play Friday because of a broken pinkie on his left hand. Brown is right-handed.

Orange Lutheran sophomore receiver Raiden Velasquez had 153 yards on four receptions, three of which were for touchdowns. Velasquez also had a 2-point conversion reception.

Various injuries kept Servite junior running back Jorden Wells and Friars junior linebacker Cinco Kennett out of Friday’s game. Wells is Servite’s leading rusher, averaging 129 yards a game. Kennett through five games was tied for the team lead in total tackles and was the Friars’ sacks leader.

Also missing because of injury was Servite starting safety Jace Wells, a junior who was fifth in total tackles coming into this week.

Orange Lutheran coach Ray Fenton was quick to acknowledge after the game that his team had defeated a shorthanded opponent.

“They were missing some really good guys,” Fenton said.

He did like what he saw from his group, including the running back. Christianson (5-9, 190) can push the pile between the tackles, can turn a corner like a cat from some breakaway yardage and will drag tacklers for more.

“He’s a ‘YAC’ guy, right?” Fenton said. “‘Yards After Contact.’”

Orange Lutheran scored on its game-opening possession that started at the Servite 45-yard line. Christianson carried the ball on five of the drive’s seven plays, scoring on a 2-yard run. The point-after kick was wide, leaving the Lancers with a 6-0 lead.

Fenton was happy to see the Lancers offense so crisp on that opening drive, with the team having not played last week.

“It was good to see us come off the bye week and play pretty sharp,” said Fenton after getting a victory in his first Trinity League game, having been hired as Orange Lutheran Coach earlier this year after leading Los Alamitos to the CIF Southern Section Division 2 championship last season.

“Take the opening kickoff and go down and score right? That’s pretty hard to do coming off the bye week,” Fenton said.

Servite responded quickly, with the quick Benjamin Harris scoring on a 78-yard run. Harris, last track season’s CIF State champion in the 100, cut to the right sideline and pulled away from everyone once he got there. The kick by Eli Gonzalez was on target, giving the Friars a brief 7-6 lead.

The Lancers took the lead for good with 47 seconds to go in the first quarter on a 5-yard touchdown pass from Toki to Nico Bland. Toki connected with Hudson Ploog on a two-point conversion pass to put Orange Lutheran on top 14-7. Ploog, a transfer from Troy, became eligible this week upon the expiration of the sit-out period required for transfers who do not make the residence change that grants immediate athletic eligibility.

Christianson’s 4-yard touchdown run midway through the second quarter stretched the Lancers lead to 21-7. He added a 5-yard touchdown run with 2:11 to go in the half ; again the point-after kick was no good, keeping the Orange Lutheran lead to 27-7.

The Lancers scored another touchdown less than one minute later. Orange Lutheran receiver Raiden Velasquez was wide open at the left sideline when the Servite cornerback fell, so Toki made the easy toss to Velasquez for a 38-yard scoring play. Bland caught a two-point conversion pass from Toki for a 35-7 lead, which would be the halftime score.The lead expanded to 41-7 on Christian’s 10-yard touchdown run in the third quarter. Servite’s Parker Covin scored on a 5-yard run to make it 41-14.

On the Lancers first offensive play after that Toki and Velasquez connected on a 68-yard touchdown completion and Velasquez the two-point conversion pass for a 49-14 lead 46 seconds into the fourth quarter. With a 35-point margin in place, as required by rule the remainder of the fourth quarter was played with a running clock.

Orange Lutheran’s James Tuia stripped the ball from a Servite ball carrier and returned it 55 yards for a touchdown and a 56-14 lead. Servite quarterback Gino Wang scored on a 1-yard sneak late in the fourth quarter.

Servite already has enough wins to get into the playoffs. Teams that do not finish high enough in their league’s finals standing can still get a playoff berth if their overall record is .300 or better. With three wins, Servite will finish at .300 at least. A lot has to happen for Servite to get into the playoffs, but a playoff berth remains attainable for the Friars.

Orange Lutheran plays at St. John Bosco in a league game next Friday. St. John Bosco defeated JSerra on Friday.

Fenton was looking forward to that and other league games.

“There’s a lot of teaching we still have to do,” he said. “And we’re in the process of doing it. These guys have responded really well every time we’ve given them direction.”

Orange Lutheran has previous wins over Basha when Basha was the No. 1-ranked team in Arizona. San Diego’s Cathedral Catholic and Serra of Gardena. The Lancers lost to Sierra Canyon, No. 2 in the HSratings.com state rankings, and to Central of Miami, Fla. which is the No. 23 team in the HSratings.com national rankings.

Servite’s other losses are to Corona Centennial and to Centennial of Peoria, Ariz. They have defeated St. Paul, Murrieta Valley and Damien.

The Friars play Orange County No. 1-ranked Santa Margarita next Friday at Saddleback College.

Orange Lutheran is No. 3 in the Orange County Top 25 that has Servite at No. 7. In the HSratings.com rankings of CIF-SS teams, Orange Lutheran is No. 6 and Servite is No. 10.

​ Orange County Register 

San Clemente football roughs up Yorba Linda in Alpha League debut

• October 3, 2026

SAN CLEMENTE — San Clemente’s football gave Yorba Linda an unpleasant welcome to the Alpha League on Friday night as the Tritons beat the Mustangs 28-0 at San Clemente High.

The Tritons have finished second place in the Alpha League standings each of the last two seasons while Yorba Linda (0-6, 0-1) won the Bravo League last season.

It was the second shutout of the season for San Clemente (6-1, 1-0), with both coming in home games. The Tritons shut out Tustin 17-0 in Week 0.

“I thought our kids did a good job preparing this week,” San Clemente coach Jaime Ortiz said. “To keep a team from scoring a touchdown is big. For me, it was the individual plays the kids made and that becomes a whole. As long as we can do that, we’ll be in a good position.”

It was the first time Yorba Linda has been shut out since 2015.

It was announced Wednesday that Yorba Linda had to forfeit four wins due to CIF-SS violations that involved administrative oversight and undue influence per the Placentia-Yorba Linda Unified School District.

The Mustangs were held to 186 yards of total offense and reached the redzone twice. Yorba Linda missed a 42-yard field goal attempt and also had a turnover on downs in the third quarter.

San Clemente’s offense played well in its limited possessions due to Yorba Linda using up a lot of clock on its offensive drives. Preston Beck completed 14 of 19 passes for 237 yards with three touchdowns.

BYU commit Jaxson Rex caught three passes for 89 yards with a touchdown for the Tritons and added a rushing touchdown.

“We had limited chances because they ran the ball a lot so while we didn’t have many chances, we took advantage of what we had,” Rex said.

Darion Ranuga ran for 89 yards on 14 carries and converted some big third downs to extend drives for the Tritons. The Tritons were playing without sophomore running back Charlie Bunker, who ran for a career-high 126 yards last week in a win over Murrieta Valley, due to injury.

After a scoreless first quarter, San Clemente scored on a 16-yard touchdown pass from Beck to Ryan Matheson to give the Tritons a 7-0 lead midway through the second quarter.

On its last possession of the first half, Beck threw a screen pass to Rex who broke multiple tackles for a 53-yard touchdown to extend the lead to 14-0 at halftime.

San Clemente opened the second half with a six-play, 68-yard scoring drive capped by a 26-yard touchdown pass from Beck to Jett Wright.

Rex ran for a 2-yard touchdown early in the fourth quarter to extend San Clemente’s lead to 28-0.

Yorba Linda rotated Noah Trujillo and Andrew Churney at quarterback. Trujillo threw for 61 yards and Churney threw for 53.

Dylan Newsom and Mattias Girgis had sacks for the Mustangs and Taj LaGraffe had an interception on a tipped pass.

Jack Weller had a sack for San Clemente and Jackson Branch recovered a fumble.

San Clemente plays Los Alamitos next Friday, Oct. 9, who lost to San Juan Hills Friday 61-10. The Tritons beat Los Alamitos in the regular season last year but lost to the Griffins in the CIF-SS Division 2 championship game.

“I think our kids will be ready for that game,” Ortiz said of Los Alamitos.

​ Orange County Register 

Orange football knocks off El Dorado with big game from Star Thomas III

• October 3, 2026

PLACENTIA — Quarterback Star Thomas III led the Orange football team to victory over El Dorado, 42-14, on Friday night in a Foxtrot League opener at Valencia High School.

The Panthers scored 28 consecutive points to pull away for the win.

Thomas threw for 305 yards, had four touchdown passes and also ran for two scores.

“I’m so fortunate that I get to watch him every day, sometimes I forget that there’s a game going on because I just focus on him because he’s so fun to watch,” Orange coach Robert Pedroza said of Thomas. “But it’s not just that he’s an incredible quarterback. What he does from Saturday to Friday with film and his work ethic and what he does all day. He’s a natural leader and he’s the hardest working, you know, one of the hardest working kids I’ve coached.

“So, everything that’s coming his way is well deserved. He’s unreal. There’s nobody better.”

Orange (6-0, 1-0) jumped out to a quick 7-0 lead, needing just two plays to score as Thomas  tossed a 7-yard TD pass to Malahki Allen.

El Dorado (4-2, 0-1) leaned on its ground game, using wide receiver Justin Karg in the backfield on its first scoring drive.

Golden Hawks running back Darius Selway gained tough yards on the ground, including a 53-yard TD run that made it 14-14.

Selway finished with 14 carries and 117 yards and one score.

Orange scored just before halftime on an 18-yard catch by Dylan Stone to give the Panthers a 21-14 advantage.

“I think we started slow tonight and we can’t do that in league when we’re playing good opponents,” Pedroza said. “We finally got clicking on defense, kind of made a couple adjustments to help us out in the run game and taking things away in the pass game, and they finally got some (turnovers) three interceptions there in the second half.”

Panthers running back Jeremiah Dunklin rushed for 124 yards and the defense collected three interceptions. Karsten Hardiman, Isaac Harrison and KJ Woodbury each recorded a takeaway.

Stone caught two touchdown passes and Woodbury hauled in six passes for 147 yards and a touchdown, including a 69-yard strike in the second quarter.

Thomas also connected with Woodbury on a 48-yard completion which led to Thomas’ final rushing TD of the night.

“It’s so fun to watch kids like that who love football,” Pedroza said. “They just love playing football. They’re passionate about it. And it’s not just on Friday nights. It’s Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday. You watch them play and practice and you don’t have to tell them to practice hard because they love it so much.”

The Panthers face Segerstrom next week.

​ Orange County Register 

Corona del Mar football shuts down Villa Park with its stout defense

• October 3, 2026

ORANGE — Corona del Mar got the better of another high-powered offense on Friday night, shutting down Villa Park 24-10 in the Bravo League opener at El Modena High.

Villa Park (5-1, 0-1) had scored at least 51 points in each of its first five victories, but the Spartans were up against a defense that had held Edison (27-7) and Newport Harbor (16-6) to single digits this season.

Villa Park made it to double figures against the Sea Kings, but didn’t reach the end zone until the fourth quarter, when it already trailed by three touchdowns.

“A bunch of guys who are really good, and we do a lot of good stuff,” Corona del Mar coach Kevin Hettig said of his stout defensive unit.

The Sea Kings (6-0, 1-0) forced two turnovers and stuffed the Spartans twice on fourth-and-1.

“We took our first little adversity and we got into a battle,” Villa Park coach Dusan Ancich said. “We needed to perform and we didn’t. It’s frustrating. It’s hard to swallow right now.”

Both teams were without key two-way players at wide receiver and defensive back.

Tucker Murray was a late scratch for the Sea Kings because of a leg injury sustained in a 30-24 win against La Serna on Sept. 17, and the Spartans were without Alex Samuel, who sustained a shoulder injury in a 51-0 win against Lakewood a week earlier.

Hudson Zinone filled in for Murray after missing the La Serna game with an injury and performed well at cornerback. Hettig also credited fellow defensive backs Henry Birchard and Nate Rothman, who snared the 11th interception of the season for Corona del Mar.

“Tucker is one of our best players,” Hettig said. “Our other guys stepped up and played really good D without him.”

Nolan Scott also made key plays on both sides of the ball. He intercepted a pass and returned it deep into Villa Park territory late in the first half, but the play was nullified because the Sea Kings had just 10 players on defense.

“We ran a guy on late,” Hettig said. “I thought he got on the field, but they said he was still on the sidelines. … (Scott) made a great play on that, for naught.”

Corona del Mar made its first big play on its second defensive series, forcing a fumble near midfield and then scoring on a 4-yard shuffle pass from JD Annett to Trejan Nixon for a 7-0 lead with 10:27 left in the first half.

Dalton Lang booted a 55-yard field goal for Villa Park to cut it to 7-3, but Corona del Mar quickly answered with a 64-yard touchdown run by Nixon to make it 14-3 with 5:18 left in the half.

“That offensive line is a young group,” Hettig said. “There’s four juniors in that group, and they’re starting to get their feet under them a little bit.”

The Sea Kings tacked on a 45-yard field goal by Mateo Akerman as the first half expired to extend the advantage to 17-3, and then took the second half kickoff and went 80 yards in 15 plays, scoring on a 1-yard run by Scott out of the Wildcat to make it 24-3.

The defense didn’t let up, as Rothman ended Villa Park’s next possession by stepping in front of a receiver for an interception.

“They were challenging Nate, our sophomore, and he stepped up,” Hettig said.

​ Orange County Register 

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

• October 3, 2026

The scores from the high school football games Friday.

Check back later for our complete list of scores.

FRIDAY’S RESULTS

CIF-SS

Trinity League

St. John Bosco 40, JSerra 14

Santa Margarita 14, Mater Dei 7

Orange Lutheran 56, Servite 21

Alpha League

Mission Viejo 42, Edison 14

San Clemente 28, Yorba Linda 0

Angelus League

Cathedral 21, St. Francis 18

Paraclete 56, St. Paul 36

Bay League

Redondo Union 42, Leuzinger 0

Boulder League

San Marino 18, Crescenta Valley 14

South Pasadena 42, Burroughs 7

Bravo League

Corona del Mar 24, Villa Park 10

Crean Lutheran 21, Tustin 7

Capistrano Valley 42, La Habra 20

Del Rey League

Alemany 56, St. Anthony 7

Salesian 35, Harvard-Westlake 28

Crespi 51, La Salle 3

Delta League

Huntington Beach 24, El Modena 21

Epsilon League

Trabuco Hills 28, Brea Olinda 14

Newport Harbor 48, Foothill 7

Aliso Niguel 23, Tesoro 10

Foothill League

Castaic 42, Canyon Country Canyon 7

Valencia 62, Saugus 28

Gano League

Walnut 29, Chaffey 12

Nogales 34, Montclair 7

Don Lugo 14, Rowland 7

Gateway League

La Mirada 49, Cerritos 14

La Serna 27, Warren 3

Downey 42, Mayfair 12

Hacienda League

Baldwin Park 55, Diamond Bar 14

South Hills 47, Covina 26

Los Altos 41, West Covina 28

Hub City League

Compton Early College at Centennial

Compton 30, Dominguez 6

Iota League

Cypress 14, Pacifica 11

Laguna Hills 48, Kennedy 14

Lambda League

Fountain Valley 20, Sonora 14

Marmonte League

Oaks Christian at Oxnard Pacifica

St. Bonaventure 44, Simi Valley 37

Mission League

Bishop Amat 27, Serra 26

Sierra Canyon 41, Loyola 0

Notre Dame 28, Chaminade 21

Moore League

Long Beach Poly 55, Lakewood 0

Long Beach Wilson 35, Long Beach Jordan 8

Ocean League

Lawndale 49, Beverly Hills 0

Peninsula 42, Hawthorne 6

L.A. CITY

East Valley League

Fulton 36, Grant 0

Verdugo Hills 54, Monroe 47

Valley Mission League

Kennedy 35, Panorama 22

Sylmar 33, Van Nuys 3

Western League

Palisades 29, Venice 26

West Valley League

Taft 32, Chatsworth 27

Cleveland 14 Birmingham 9

Granada Hills 29,  El Camino Real 0

​ Orange County Register 

Ducks hold off Golden Knights for season-opening win

• October 3, 2026

LAS VEGAS — The Ducks opened their 2026-27 season with a little bit of payback.

Leo Carlsson had a goal and an assist, Lukas Dostal made 27 saves and the Ducks opened the season by holding off the Vegas Golden Knights, 4-3, on Friday night, defeating the team that ended their playoff run last spring.

Beckett Sennecke, Alex Killorn and Jeff Malott also scored goals for the Ducks.

Shea Theodore, Tomas Hertl and Braeden Bowman scored goals and Jack Eichel had two assists for Vegas, which lost in regulation for just the fourth time (15-4-1) in 20 regular-season games against the Ducks at T-Mobile Arena. Carter Hart finished with 16 saves for the Golden Knights.

The Ducks took a 1-0 lead with eight second left in the first period on a breakaway goal by Sennecke. Carlsson picked up the primary assist on the play with a highlight-reel stretch pass from deep in his own zone to Sennecke, who snuck behind a pair of Vegas defenders and then beat Hart with a wrist shot on his glove side.

The Ducks extended their lead to 4-0 in the second period, scoring twice in the span of 55 seconds early in the frame.

Killorn, stationed in the slot, made it 2-0 at the 1:33 mark when he redirected Noah Warren’s wrist shot from the right point over Hart’s right shoulder. Warren, making his NHL debut, picked up an assist for his first career point.

Malott followed with a goal on a double deflection. Jackson LaCombe fired a shot from the left point that Tim Washe deflected off Malott’s skate and under Hart’s pads.

Carlsson made it a four-goal lead at the 7:03 mark when he found himself wide open and slammed in a rebound in the slot after Hart had turned away shots by Cutter Gauthier and A.J. Greer.

Theodore kickstarted Vegas’ rally early in the third period when he snapped a wrist shot from the middle of the right circle over Dostal’s left shoulder. The Ducks unsuccessfully challenged that Brett Howden was offside earlier in the play, earning the Ducks a two-minute delay of game penalty when the goal stood.

Hertl then scored on the ensuing power play with a wrist shot in the slot off pass from Mitch Marner.

Bowman then cut the deficit to 4-3 when he scored on a rebound of a Victor Olofsson shot with 2:50 remaining.

Vegas pulled Hart for an extra attacker with 2:15 left, but Dostal turned away three shots during that final stretch.

The teams met in the second round of the Western Conference playoffs last spring, with Vegas winning in six games before eventually reaching the Stanley Cup Final.

Vegas had cruised to a 5-2 victory over the Chicago Blackhawks in its season opener on Tuesday night in Ryan Craig’s debut as head coach.

UP NEXT

The Ducks host Florida in their home opener on Sunday at 5 p.m.

More to come on this story.

​ Orange County Register 

St. John Bosco football starts fast in big win over JSerra in league play

• October 3, 2026

BELLFLOWER — The St. John Bosco football team was hoping for a quick start against JSerra in a Trinity League opener.

The Braves got that and more, thanks largely to senior running back Maliq Allen’s three touchdowns in the first half.

Bosco led 34-0 at halftime and cruised to a 40-14 home victory over JSerra in a Trinity League opener Friday night.

Allen finished the game with 239 yards of total offense and four touchdowns. He ran for 169 yards and three rushing touchdowns on 20 carries and had four receptions for 70 yards and one receiving touchdown.

“I had to step up in a big way,” Allen said. “I know I had a big load on my shoulders, so I know I have to work every day and lead by example, work hard and show it in the game and step up to opportunities.”

The Braves improved to 5-1 overall and 1-0 in the Trinity League. Bosco finished the game with 541 yards of total offense, including 292 rushing yards.

“He’s so dynamic in both the run game and the pass game and then we’re much better upfront I think this year on the offensive line,” St. John Bosco coach Jason Negro said when asked to assess Allen’s impact.

JSerra (4-2, 0-1) only mustered 45 yards of total offense before halftime. Lions senior quarterback Hayes Cloutier completed 5 of 12 passes for 20 yards with one interception in the first half. Cloutier played well in the second half, and by the end of the game he had completed 18 of 29 passes for 230 yards, two touchdowns and three interceptions.

St. John Bosco junior quarterback Koa Malau’ulu completed 18 of 25 passes for 249 yards, two touchdowns and one interception, starting the game with a 35-yard designed run. He finished off the 9-play, 80-yard opening drive with an 8-yard touchdown pass to Allen. The Braves led 7-0 with 7:43 left in the first quarter.

Bosco’s offense kept rolling and took a 14-0 lead with a 25-yard reverse run by sophomore receiver David Plunkett III late in the first.

The Braves’ defense held the Lions to eight total yards of offense in the first quarter.

JSerra forced Bosco’s first punt of the game early in the second quarter. However, Cloutier threw an interception to senior defensive back Dillon Davis (Vanderbilt commit) at the Bosco 40.

Allen’s 22-yard touchdown run made it 20-0 early in the second. The PAT was blocked.

Malau’ulu’s 6-yard touchdown pass to junior receiver DJ Tubbs made it 27-0 and Allen’s 1-yard touchdown run pushed it 34-0 before halftime.

Cloutier threw an 11-yard touchdown pass to junior receiver Luca Deleon, which made it 34-7 with 8:17 left in the third quarter.

JSerra senior defensive back Dylan Brown intercepted Malau’ulu’s pass at his own 23 with 7:09 left in the third.

JSerra faced a fourth-and-1 at the Bosco 4 but Cloutier threw an interception in the end zone to senior defensive back Dorian Franklin, who is committed to Harvard.

The Lions’ defense forced a turnover on downs inside the red zone to begin the fourth quarter.

JSerra capitalized with an 80-yard scoring drive, capped off by Cloutier’s 2-yard touchdown pass to senior receiver Clark Cokley. Bosco led 34-14 with 8:02 left in the fourth.

“We’re just going to play hard,” JSerra first-year coach Hardy Nickerson, a 5-time NFL Pro Bowl linebacker with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, said before the game. “We’re going to be tough. We’re going to be resilient. That’s what we hang our hat on, and that’s a standard.”

Allen’s 11-yard touchdown run made it 40-14 with 2:22 to go. The PAT was blocked.

Bosco sophomore defensive back Kingston Fatu’s interception sealed the 40-14 victory with 45 seconds to go.

St. John Bosco plays at home against Orange Lutheran (4-2, 1-0) in another Trinity League game on Oct. 9. JSerra plays a Trinity League game at home next Friday against Mater Dei (4-2, 0-1) in San Juan Capistrano.

St. John Bosco football head coach Jason Negro on his team’s 40-14 win over JSerra. @boscofootball finished the game with 541 yards of total offense, including 292 rushing yards.

2027 RB Maliq Allen had 239 total yards and four touchdowns. pic.twitter.com/9wOSp8PKS7

— John W. Davis (@johnwdavis) October 3, 2026

St. John Bosco senior running back Maliq Allen finished with 239 yards of total offense and four touchdowns in a 40-14 victory over JSerra to open Trinity League play.

Allen explained why he’s keen on stepping up this season. pic.twitter.com/fysv4lK72L

— John W. Davis (@johnwdavis) October 3, 2026

PREGAME: JSerra football head coach Hardy Nickerson on his teammate mentality heading into a Trinity League opener against St. John Bosco. pic.twitter.com/6zUvr3KxxM

— John W. Davis (@johnwdavis) October 3, 2026

​ Orange County Register