San Juan Hills’ football team will forfeit nine games after an investigation into transfer players, a spokesperson for the Capistrano Unified School District confirmed Friday.
The Stallions completed their regular season Thursday by defeating Tesoro 41-7 to improve to 8-2 overall, including 4-1 in the Bravo League for a share of the title.
The forfeitures drop the San Juan Hills overall record to 1-9. The Stallions are 1-4 in the Bravo League. Instead of being part of a three-way league championship, with Corona del Mar and Yorba Linda, San Juan Hills is the league’s No. 4 team.
The top three finishers in a six-team league like the Bravo League are automatic qualifiers for the CIF Southern Section playoffs. The Bravo’s three automatic qualifiers are Corona del Mar, Yorba Linda and Villa Park.
San Juan Hills still could qualify for the playoffs as an at-large team.
The Stallions’ ranking in the Southern Section likely places them in the group of teams in Division 2, which appears to have two or three at-large berths in its 16-team bracket. At-large candidates that have overall records of .500 or better get first priority for at-large berths. After that, the top-rated sub-.500 team is next in line for at-large berth consideration.
San Juan Hills has the highest rating of the sub-.500 teams in the Division 2 group.
On Friday, San Juan Hills self-reported the transfer case to the CIF Southern Section, the district stated in a statement released by Ryan Burris, communications chief and public engagement officer for the district.
“This week, the administration at San Juan Hills High School received information alleging potential CIF violations related to athletic transfers into our football program,” the district stated. “Following a preliminary internal investigation, we identified possible violations of CIF Southern Section bylaws. Prior to this investigation, the SJHHS administration was unaware of any infractions; however, the evidence presented was significant.”
“In accordance with CIF-Southern Section protocols, SJHHS formally self-reported the matter on Friday,” the statement added. “As a result of the violations to CIF rules, the school will forfeit nine varsity football games from the current 2025 season. While this outcome is extremely discouraging for our student-athletes, we recognize the importance of upholding CIF bylaws and maintaining the integrity of high school athletics.”
“San Juan Hills High School is committed to the highest standards of conduct and will continue to follow all policies and procedures in our pursuit of victory with honor.”
This is a breaking story. More updates to come.