The wait is over. High school football is back for the 2025 season.
This is the first Friday night under the lights in Orange County.
There are several good matchups on the schedule, starting with Mission Viejo vs. Santa Margarita — led by new coach Carson Palmer. The game will be played at Trabuco Hills High at 7 p.m.
Most of the other games Friday also are scheduled to begin at 7 p.m., although there is a chance that some games will start 20-30 minutes or more later because of the extreme heat in areas.
PREGAME PREP
Check out Dan Albano’s story on Carson Palmer, who, after winning the Heisman Trophy at USC and starring in the NFL, is now starting his first season as the head coach at his high school alma mater.
Santa Margarita football coach Carson Palmer focused on ‘gratitude’ for his debut
The game is receiving a lot of attention, Steve Fryer writes, because of Palmer but also because it’s a matchup between the No. 2 Diablos and the No. 3 Eagles.
Fryer on Football: Previews and predictions for Week 0’s top games
Michael Huntley writes about the interesting storylines in this week’s games:
Orange County football: Week 0 storylines a mix of oldest and youngest
PREDICTIONS VIDEO
Video: Steve Fryer and Dan Albano make their Week 0 football predictions
Full schedule of Orange County games Friday:
Mission Viejo vs. Santa Margarita at Trabuco Hills HS
San Clemente at Tustin
Chaparral at San Juan Hills
Upland at La Habra
Laguna Hills vs. Canyon at El Modena HS
El Modena vs. Troy at Fullerton HS
Tesoro at El Toro
Pacifica vs. Kennedy at Western HS
Long Beach Wilson at Portola
Sonora at Brea Olinda
Sunny Hills at Westminster
Northwood at Irvine
Magnolia at Costa Mesa
Santa Ana Valley at Katella
Santiago at Saddleback
Loara at Godinez
Garden Grove vs. Los Amigos at Bolsa Grande HS
Woodbridge vs. Calvary Chapel at Segerstrom HS
Clovis West at Edison
Barstow vs. Capistrano Valley at Saddleback College
Mullen (Colo.) at Crean Lutheran
Desert Oasis at Dana Hills
Rancho Verde vs. Corona del Mar at Newport Harbor HS
Arlington at St. Margaret’s
Servite at Corona Centennial
JSerra at Sierra Canyon
Cypress vs. Cerritos at Gahr HS
Santa Ana at Bellflower
Don Lugo at Buena Park
Segerstrom at Palm Springs
Capistrano Valley Christian at Claremont
Los Alamitos at Kapolei (Hawaii)
GAME TIME: UPDATES & SCORES
We’ll have reporters at several games, providing regular updates via X/Twitter. Click on the name to get updates from that game.
Dan Albano: Mission Viejo vs. Santa Margarita
Steve Fryer: San Clemente at Tustin
Michael Huntley: Chaparral at San Juan Hills
Lou Ponsi: Upland at La Habra
Dan Arritt: Laguna Hills vs. Canyon at El Modena HS
David Delgado: El Modena vs. Troy at Fullerton HS
Zach Cavanagh: Tesoro at El Toro
Steve Dulas: Pacifica vs. Kennedy at Western HS
Martin Henderson: Long Beach Wilson at Portola
POSTGAME PLANS
Stick around after the games to check out our stories, see the photos and get all of the scores.
And then come back Monday and we’ll have the leaders from Week 0 games and the updated Orange County Top 25.