MaxPreps Top 25 high school football scores: No. 12 Santa Margarita and Orange Lutheran pull upsets in CIF Southern Section Division 1 bracket

The Southern Section Division 1 playoff bracket is the toughest in America and it wasn’t easy for anyone.

No. 12 Santa Margarita (Rancho Santa Margarita) knocked off No. 9 Sierra Canyon (Chatsworth) 21-9 and Orange Lutheran (Orange) pulled a mammoth upset by taking down No. 4 St. John Bosco (Bellflower) 20-19.

In his first year as Santa Margarita head coach, Carson Palmer orchestrated upsets over Centennial, Mater Dei and now Sierra Canyon. Trace Johnson hit Ryan Clark for two touchdowns, including a late second half touchdown. 

St. John Bosco led 13-7 before Orange Lutheran quarterback Reagan Toki hit Nico Bland on a 67-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter. On the ensuing St. John Bosco possession, Santa Margarita sophomore King Rich Johnson intercepted a Koa Malau'ulu pass and returned it for a touchdown to give the Lancers a 20-13 lead.



Bosco wasn’t done. With under two minutes left the Braves blocked an Orange Lutheran punt, then scored as Malal’ulu hit Madden Williams for a touchdown. But the extra point was missed and Orange Lutheran got the 20-19 win.

Orange Lutheran will take on Santa Margarita in the semifinals next week.  

No. 6 Mater Dei (Santa Ana) won 20-0 over Mission Viejo. Malachi Roby scored two rushing touchdowns and Kennie Leggett ran in another. 

The Monarchs will take on No. 5 Centennial (Corona) next week. The Huskies had no problem with Servite (Anaheim) and won 41-6 tonight. Malaki Davis had two rushing touchdowns and quarterback Dominick Catalano also had one. Centennial put the game away when Jaden Walk-Green intercepted a Servite pass and returned it for a touchdown. 

Georgia's AAAAAA playoff bracket checked in at No. 2 in our top 10 list and it features three MaxPreps Top 25 teams in No. 2 Grayson (Loganville), No. 9 Buford and No. 13 Carrollton, all of which won tonight. 

Grayson took down Norcross 44-7 and five-star Tyler Atkinson dominated defensively and forced a safety. 

Buford won 45-0 over Richmond Hill as Nebraska commit Dayton Raiola tossed four touchdowns.

Carrollton scored 30 first half points and took down North Forsyth 58-17 to advance. The Trojans could meet Grayson in the quarterfinals in two weeks.

No. 11 Southlake Carroll (Southlake, Texas) kicked off its quest to win its first state title since 2011 with a 35-0 win over Crowley on Thursday. The win sets up the Dragons with San Angelo Central (San Angelo, Texas) next week in the second round of the Conference 6A Division 2 bracket.

Senior quarterback Angelo Renda led the way for the Dragons with a 33-yard touchdown run and two scoring throws. Blake Gunter caught the first touchdown throw while Ohio State commit Brock Boyd hauled in the second scoring toss. Boyd returned a punt for a touchdown with four minutes left as Southlake Carroll improved to 11-0.

No. 14 DeMatha (Hyattsville, Md.) advanced to the WCAC final by defeating St. John’s 42-0. The opponent will be either Gonzaga (Washington, District of Columbia) or Our Lady of Good Counsel (Olney, Md.).

Dematha junior quarterback Tristan Sabb threw for a touchdown and ran for two more. Senior running back Elijah Lee also ran for two touchdowns. 

In Michigan, No. 21 Cass Tech (Detroit) extended its winning streak to 22 after knocking off Saline in the Division 1 quarterfinals 42-28. 

Cass Tech five-star sophomore quarterback Donald Tabron II threw three touchdowns, all of which went to four-star senior C.J. Sadler Jr. Sadler also dominated on defense with two interceptions, one of which he took to the house.

Senior Tommy Carr led the way for Saline with three passing scores and a receiving touchdown on a trick play from Cruz Hanson. Additionally, Hanson caught two touchdowns. 

• • 7
    Norcross
  • 44
    Grayson

  11/14 Final

• • 20
    Orange Lutheran
  • 19
    St. John Bosco

  11/14 Final

• • 6
    Servite
  • 41
    Centennial

  11/14 Final

• • 0
    Mission Viejo
  • 20
    Mater Dei

  11/14 Final

• • 21
    Santa Margarita
  • 9
    Sierra Canyon

  11/14 Final

• • 6
    Foothill
  • 56
    Bishop Gorman

  11/14 Final

• • 0
    Richmond Hill
  • 45
    Buford

  11/14 Final

• • 0
    Crowley
  • 35
    Southlake Carroll

  11/13 Final

• • 17
    North Forsyth
  • 58
    Carrollton

  11/14 Final

• • 7
    Heritage
  • 58
    St. Thomas Aquinas

  11/14 Final

• • 0
    St. John's
  • 42
    DeMatha

  11/14 Final

• • 7
    West Cabarrus
  • 42
    Grimsley

  11/14 Final

• • 0
    San Ramon Valley
  • 42
    De La Salle

  11/14 Final

• • 0
    St. John Paul II Academy
  • 63
    Chaminade-Madonna

  11/14 Final

• • 42
    Cass Tech
  • 28
    Saline

  11/14 Final

• • 7
    Knoxville Catholic
  • 35
    Baylor

  11/14 Final

• • 7
    Gadsden City
  • 44
    Clay-Chalkville

  11/14 Final

• • 0
    Somerset Academy
  • 70
    Northwestern

  11/13 Final

• • 7
    Seton Hall Prep
  • 42
    Don Bosco Prep

  11/14 Final