The summer 7-on-7 high school football passing tournament season concluded last Saturday.
Practices for the 2025 football season are ready to begin.
In the CIF Southern Section, teams that open their season in Week 0 (Aug. 21-23) can start practice Monday. Teams that open their season the following week, labeled Week 1, can start practices on Aug. 4.
The practice period begins with a five-day “acclimatization period.” During the first three days of that period helmets are the only protective equipment allowed. During the following two days shoulder pads can also be worn.
Also during the acclimatization period teams are limited to one on-field practice a day and no on-field activity shall last longer than two hours. Blocking and tackling are forbidden during the acclimatization period.
Week 0 teams can practice in full gear beginning Aug. 2. Week 1 starters can practice in full gear beginning Aug. 9.
A two-week “dead period,” during which no school-organized, coach-run practice can occur, can be taken any time from the end of the academic school year to the first day of school in the fall. The dead period must be 14 consecutive days.
A football team cannot play its first game until it has had at least 14 days of practice. A player must participate in at least 10 days of practice before the player can participate in a game.
The Week 0 games include Mission Viejo vs. Santa Margarita at Trabuco Hills High on Aug. 22.
That game will be the high school coaching debut for Santa Margarita’s new head coach, Carson Palmer, who played at Santa Margarita, won the Heisman Trophy at USC and went on to a 14-season career in the NFL.
Santa Margarita finished 5-7 last year. The Eagles defeated Inglewood in the first round of the CIF-SS Division 1 playoffs and lost in the quarterfinals to St. John Bosco 31-29.
Mission Viejo went 10-0 in the regular season before losing to Centennial 25-20 in the Division 1 quarterfinals.
Mater Dei is No. 1 in the MaxPreps.com national preseason rankings. The Monarchs open the season in Florida on Aug. 23 against St. Thomas Aquinas of Ft. Lauderdale. St. Thomas Aquinas is No. 10 in the MaxPreps national rankings. That game will be the second game of the season for St. Thomas Aquinas, which plays Sarasota Cardinal Mooney on Aug. 15.
Mater Dei won CIF-SS and CIF State championships last season.
Other Trinity League teams playing on Aug. 22 are JSerra, which plays at Sierra Canyon, and Servite, which is at Centennial. Orange Lutheran is at Miami Northwestern on Aug. 23.
In other Week 0 games on Aug. 22: San Clemente is at Tustin; Tesoro is at El Toro; Northwood is at Irvine to launch the city’s Toohey Fence Post series (Northwood won it last year); 2024 CIF State champion Edison plays Clovis West at Huntington Beach High. Villa Park plays Inglewood at El Modena High on Aug. 23.
MaxPreps’ national preseason rankings have Trinity League teams Mater Dei at No. 1 and St. John Bosco at No. 2. Mission Viejo is No. 14, Santa Margarita is No. 16, Orange Lutheran is No. 55, Servite is No. 81 and JSerra is No. 92.