Sports
It’s high school football playoff time, with new teams trying to crash the championship party
For the first time in years, the Southern Section and City Section football playoffs will start with a hint of uncertainty as to which team finishes as champion in the highest divisions.
Since 2016, every Southern Section Division 1 championship game has been won by St. John Bosco or Mater Dei. This season, Mater Dei has losses to Corona Centennial and Santa Margarita. St. John Bosco’s invincibility was punctured with a 35-31 regular-season finale loss to Mater Dei.
“We have to pick ourselves up. We’re still a good football team,” St. John Bosco coach Jason Negro said.
Then there’s Sierra Canyon, which is 10-0, has the best defense anywhere with five shutouts and still gets ranked No. 4 by a computer that decides Southern Section playoff pairings. Do you think the Trailblazers have something to prove?
“We’re kind of the new kids on the block,” coach Jon Ellinghouse said. “We’ve gained some valuable experience. We have a team that belongs on the stage.”
Sierra Canyon is opening the playoffs in two weeks, hosting Santa Margarita as part of an eight-team Division 1 bracket released on Sunday. St. John Bosco is seeded No. 1, Corona Centennial No. 2, Mater Dei No. 3. The championship game is set for Friday, Nov. 28, at the Rose Bowl.
Sierra Canyon will be facing a gauntlet of Trinity League teams, something it has prepared for in the last two seasons by playing Trinity teams in nonleague and playoff games. That Santa Margarita matchup features perhaps the two best defenses in the Southland and six of the players in the game are USC commits.
Don’t forget the best quarterback in Southern California comes from No. 6-seeded Mission Viejo. Ohio State commit Luke Fahey passed for a school-record 569 yards this past week against Los Alamitos. And the Diablos have wins over Santa Margarita and San Diego Lincoln as part of a 9-1 record but injury problems on defense will make it a tough task to get by defending champion Mater Dei.
And Centennial coach Matt Logan, who has passed the 300-win plateau, has his team ready for the big games ahead with an offense that has scored 59 and 60 points, respectively, the past two weeks. His team plays Servite at home, a team it beat 42-14 in August. St. John Bosco hosts Orange Lutheran, a team it beat 48-0.
In the City Section, Birmingham will take a 54-game unbeaten streak against City opponents into the Open Division playoffs as the No. 2 seed, but Carson is the No. 1 seed after winning the Marine League and making weekly improvement behind junior quarterback Chris Fields III.
There’s lots of intriguing City Section story lines. Palisades is 10-0 after its campus was shut down because of the Palisades fire, with coach Dylen Smith having to scramble to form a team without a weight room or home field and players losing homes. The team has won a series of close games with a dynamic passing attack featuring quarterback Jack Thomas, who has 42 touchdown passes.
Crenshaw won the Coliseum League title even though its veteran coach, Robert Garrett, has been on administrative leave all season. He has 298 career victories. Interim coach Terrance Whitehead will send his team against San Pedro.
The 11-time City champion Colts will open against King/Drew, which lost to Crenshaw in the Coliseum League title decider but wanted to play in the Open Division. Be careful what you wish for.
Birmingham coach Jim Rose is so busy coaching his team and the school’s flag football team in next week’s Division II playoffs that he’s teaching everyone how to multi-task. Last week, after the flag team won a game, they wanted to stop the bus at Chick-fil-A.
“No, the boys have practice,” Rose said.
It’s been a strange season with more than 40 transfer players declared ineligible for two years for violating CIF rule 202, which bans providing false information to the Southern Section on transfer paperwork. This past week, Norco forfeited six victories when an investigation found a violation of CIF rule 510, which bans undue influence with prior contact before enrolling several players. San Juan Hills forfeited nine games but received an at-large berth to the Division 2 playoffs. Long Beach Poly, which had six players declared ineligible, decided not to enter the playoffs despite finishing second in the Moore League.
Then, on Saturday, JSerra announced it is parting ways with third-year coach Victor Santa Cruz following an 0-5 Trinity League record. JSerra’s season is over after not receiving an at-large berth.
It’s been a season of unusual happenings, so prepare for a postseason of the same.
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The Las Vegas Raiders and the Baltimore Ravens made a blockbuster trade ahead of the start of NFL free agency.
Las Vegas is trading five-time Pro Bowl edge rusher Maxx Crosby to the Baltimore Ravens, per multiple reports.
Las Vegas Raiders defensive end Maxx Crosby (98) against the Arizona Cardinals during a preseason NFL game at State Farm Stadium on Aug. 23, 2025. (Mark J. Rebilas/Imagn Images)
The Raiders will receive two first-round picks from the Ravens, including the No. 14 overall pick in next month’s NFL draft, one report said.
The 28-year-old Crosby had 10 sacks last season and has reached double digits four times in his seven seasons.
Las Vegas Raiders defensive tackle Jonah Laulu (96) and defensive end Maxx Crosby (98) celebrate during the second half of an NFL football game against the Houston Texans in Houston, Texas, on Dec. 21, 2025. (Ashley Landis/AP Photo)
The Raiders last appeared in the playoffs back in 2021 but have gone 7-27 over the past two seasons. They have the No. 1 pick in the 2026 draft, which is expected to land them Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza.
The Ravens, meanwhile, are entering a new era, after firing longtime head coach John Harbaugh and replacing him with former Chargers defensive coordinator Jesse Minter.
Maxx Crosby of the Las Vegas Raiders sniffs smelling salts during an NFL game between the Las Vegas Raiders and Denver Broncos at Empower Field At Mile High on November 20, 2022 in Denver, Colorado. (Michael Owens/Getty Images)
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The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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Two top City Section baseball teams, El Camino Real and San Fernando, faced off Friday in a pitcher’s duel that went eight innings.
Senior Ray Pelayo of San Fernando kept throwing strikes, keeping El Camino Real off balance for 7⅔ scoreless innings with eight strikeouts and one walk. But then came a balk that scored the winning run in El Camino Real’s 1-0 victory.
Hudson December threw six scoreless innings for El Camino Real and Andrew Katzman struck out three in two scoreless innings.
South Torrance 4, El Segundo 3: In a battle of unbeaten Pioneer League teams, South Torrance (6-0) received a walk-off single from Owen Rhodes in the bottom of the seventh. El Segundo tied it 3-3 in the top of the seventh on a two-out, three-run home run by Chase Mattoon. Issac Orozco struck out nine in five innings and also homered for the Spartans.
Crespi 3, Saugus 2: Justin Kim had two RBIs for the Celts.
Sylmar 7, Legacy 1: Rickee Luevano threw a two-hitter with nine strikeouts.
Sierra Canyon 12, West Ranch 1: Isaias Tirado hit a three-run home run and four pitchers combined to give up five hits.
Mater Dei 15, Rockwall-Heath (Texas) 1: Ezekiel Lara had three hits and five RBIs in Texas. Earlier, the Monarchs gave up seven runs in the third inning of an 8-1 loss to Rockwall-Heath.
St. John Bosco 1, Gahr 0: Star closer Jack Champlin got a strikeout to end the game, finishing two shutout innings of relief. Champlin drove in the game’s only run with an RBI double in the sixth inning. Julian Garcia struck out six with no walks in five innings for St. John Bosco.
San Juan Hills 11, Cypress 0: Garrett Gandolfo threw five scoreless innings with seven strikeouts and Clay Riggs contributed three RBIs for San Juan Hills.
Santa Margarita 1, Damien 0: Warren Gravely IV had the only RBI in the Eagles’ win. Tyler Unter struck out six in five shutout innings.
Garfield 9, Cleveland 7: Omar Martinez had three hits and Victor Alvarez drove in three runs for Garfield. Joshua Pearlstein finished with three hits for Cleveland.
Palos Verdes 8, West Torrance 0: Kai Van Scoyoc struck out nine in five innings and Asher Friedman had a home run and a double for Palos Verdes.
Valencia 12, Chatsworth 0: An eight-run second inning helped lead the Vikings to a five-inning win.
Bishop Amat 13, Gardena Serra 2: Joaquin Ortiz finished with three hits and four RBIs.
Corona Centennial 19, Eastvale Roosevelt 3: Devin Bishop and Emiliano Castaneda each hit home runs for Centennial.
Servite 6, Anaheim Canyon 1: Mickey Cabral went three for four and Cole Grothues struck out three in 2⅓ innings of scoreless relief.
Corona Santiago 5, Crean Lutheran 4: Jonathan Thorton delivered three hits and two RBIs for the Sharks.
Fullerton 1, Chaparral 0: Garrett Wrightman threw four innings of scoreless relief and Caleb Brown had an RBI double in the third inning for Fullerton.
Edison 11, Tesoro 7: Ben Wilson hit a grand slam and finished with five RBIs for Edison.
El Dorado 10, Granada Hills 4: Lorenzo Favela hit a three-run home run to lead El Dorado.
Ayala 7, San Dimas 1: Caleb Trugman struck out nine with zero walks in a complete game.
Loyola 14, Venice 1: Wyatt Clougherty had three hits and Luca Marucci contributed three RBIs for Loyola.
Softball
Norco 5, Torrance 0: Coral Williams struck out 10 in six innings. Leighton Gray and Rae Logue hit home runs.
Garden Grove Pacifica 4, Anaheim Canyon 2: Natalia Amezquita had a two-run single for Pacifica.
Orange Lutheran 7, Perry 1: Mia Scott had four RBIs for the Lancers.
Sherman Oaks Notre Dame 15, Culver City 0: Ellayne Tellez-Perez had three hits and five RBIs.
Sports
Chargers’ Justin Herbert gushes over Madison Beer in heartfelt birthday tribute: ‘Changed my life forever’
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Los Angeles Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert gushed over 27-year-old singer Madison Beer in a heartfelt birthday tribute on social media, offering fans a rare glimpse into the couple’s relationship.
The two-time Pro Bowl quarterback, who normally shies away from the public eye, posted a series of photos to his Instagram Stories on Thursday.
Justin Herbert of the Los Angeles Chargers warms up prior to a game against the Philadelphia Eagles at SoFi Stadium on Dec. 8, 2025 in Inglewood, California. (Katelyn Mulcahy/Getty Images)
“Happy birthday to my favorite person of all time,” Herbert wrote in a post that showed the couple on the sidelines of one of his NFL games. “I love you so much. You’ve changed my life forever.”
In another photo appearing to show the couple out to dinner, Herbert wrote, “I am the luckiest guy alive…”
Herbert, who turns 28 later this month, shared another photo of the “Make You Mine” artist petting goats and captioned the photo, “My goats.”
The couple was first linked together in August when they were spotted together on the set of one of Beer’s music videos in Los Angeles. Herbert and Beer were photographed in October on the sidelines of a Chargers game at SoFi Stadium, seemingly confirming the dating rumors.
Quarterback Justin Herbert of the Los Angeles Chargers and singer Madison Beer attend an NBA game between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Minnesota Timberwolves at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, California, on Oct. 24, 2025. (Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images)
The same month, Herbert went viral after blocking a rogue basketball from hitting Beer when the two sat courtside at a Los Angeles Lakers game.
Herbert signed a five-year, $262.5 million extension with the Chargers in July 2023. Despite proving himself to be one of the elite young quarterbacks in the NFL, Los Angeles’ offensive struggles have seen the team fall short in back-to-back playoff appearances.
Quarterback Justin Herbert (10) of the Los Angeles Chargers blocks a basketball from hitting Madison Beer as they attend a basketball game between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Minnesota Timberwolves at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, California, on Oct. 24, 2025. (Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images)
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The team’s offensive coordinator, Greg Roman, was fired in January and replaced with former Miami Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel, who is regarded as one of the top offensive minds in football.
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