Santa Margarita has won five straight games at home (dating back to last season), while Orange Lutheran has won five straight on the road also dating back to last season, but those streaks won't matter much on Thursday. The Eagles will square off against the Lancers at 5:45 p.m. The two teams have allowed few points on average (Santa Margarita 11.3, Orange Lutheran 6) so any points scored will be well earned.
Santa Margarita is coming in fresh off a high-stakes matchup with another one of California's top teams: Mater Dei, who was ranked 15th at the time (Santa Margarita was ranked sixth). The Eagles breezed past the Monarchs to the tune of 37-8 on Tuesday. The result was nothing new for the Eagles, who have now won nine matchups by 20 points or more so far this season.

Madi Lam
| 09/30/25 @ Mater Dei | 63 |
| 09/18/25 vs Centennial | 38 |
| 09/16/25 vs Dana Hills | 24 |
| 09/13/25 vs Camarillo | 14 |
| 09/13/25 vs Classical Academy | 9 |
| + 10 more games |
Madi Lam had another great game (as she tends to do), throwing for 303 yards and four TDs while completing 77.1% of her passes, and also rushing for 63 yards and one touchdown on only five carries. That's the most rushing yards she has posted since back in August. A healthy portion of Lam's aerial production (96 yards to be exact) went to Gwen Julianel.
Santa Margarita didn't go easy on the quarterback and picked off two passes before the game was over. The picks came courtesy of Lam and Sophia Duarte. Lam is also on a roll when it comes to passing touchdowns, as she's now passed for three or more in each of the last four games she's played.
Meanwhile, after some red-hot attacks on offense in their last three contests, Orange Lutheran finally came back down to earth on Tuesday. They took an 18-7 hit to the loss column at the hands of JSerra Catholic. The game marked the Lancers' lowest-scoring matchup so far this season.
Santa Margarita's victory bumped their record up to 18-4. As for Orange Lutheran, their defeat was their first of the season and makes their record 18-1.
Thursday's contest will pit two of the most dominant signal callers against one another: Lam and Makena Cook. Lam just won't slow down this season and has thrown 58 touchdowns while averaging 203.4 passing yards per game. Cook has been a dominant force too and has thrown 73 touchdowns (and and only 11 picks) while averaging 263.2 passing yards per game.
Santa Margarita ended up a good deal behind Orange Lutheran when the teams last played back in October of 2024, losing 32-14. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of Cook, who threw for 303 yards and five touchdowns while completing 75% of her passes. Now that the Eagles know the damage she can cause, will they be able to stop her this time? There's only one way to find out.