Top High School Football Games This Weekend: Centennial at Mater Dei Headlines a Loaded Sept. 11-12 Slate
By RepMax Staff
Mater Dei spent an entire offseason living with two scores: 43-36 and 28-27. Both belonged to Corona Centennial, and the second one ended the Monarchs' 2025 season in the CIF Southern Section Division 1 semifinals (MaxPreps). Friday night at the Santa Ana Bowl, they get the rematch.
That game leads the top high school football games this weekend, and the undercard is stacked. St. John Bosco hosts Hawaii power Kahuku. De La Salle welcomes Saint Francis. No. 1 Santa Margarita closes the weekend Saturday night. Out East, the best team in Tennessee visits the best team in Kentucky, which gives West Coast fans a 4 p.m. appetizer before the SoCal main event.
Every featured game below streams live on the NFHS Network, with the watch link right under each preview.
Rankings reference the MaxPreps national Top 25 and the MaxPreps California rankings. All times Pacific.
California's Must-Watch Games
1. No. 13 Centennial (Corona) at No. 14 Mater Dei (Santa Ana)
MaxPreps Game of the Week
Game DetailsDateFriday, September 11, 2026Kickoff7:00 p.m. PTLocationSanta Ana Bowl, Santa Ana, CABroadcast teamJeff Kurtz, Zack PoffStreamingNFHS Network (subscription required)
▶ WATCH LIVE / SUBSCRIBE ON NFHS NETWORK
Centennial swept the 2025 series. The Huskies won a 43-36 shootout in September, then beat Mater Dei 28-27 in the November semifinal that ended the Monarchs' season. Those two wins snapped a seven-game Mater Dei winning streak in the series and helped push Centennial to a No. 8 national finish (MaxPreps). This year's Huskies arrive at 1-1 and carrying a scar.
They opened by handling Servite 41-21, then lost 21-20 to Santa Margarita when a blocked extra point and a Caron Williams pick-six swung the night (MaxPreps recap). One point. That loss dropped Centennial to 1-2 across its last three games after a 10-game winning streak (MaxPreps).
Matt Logan has run the Huskies since 1997 and entered this season with 307 career wins, 12th all-time in California (MaxPreps). His offense runs through a connection that arrived as a package deal. Quarterback Jaden Jefferson (Hawaii commit) and four-star USC commit Quentin Hale both transferred in from Los Angeles Cathedral (2026 transfer tracker via AOL), and Jefferson has already found Hale for three touchdowns. Two came in the opener against Servite (On3). The third came against Santa Margarita, when Jefferson scrambled left under pressure and Hale went up for a leaping grab in the back left corner of the end zone (High School On SI). Hale is averaging 128 receiving yards per game (MaxPreps), with a three-man rotation at running back doing the dirty work (MaxPreps).
Mater Dei is 3-0 under third-year coach Raul Lara and has scored 30-plus in every game: 31-11 over American Fork, 32-26 at Orem and 38-22 over Valor Christian of Colorado last week (MaxPreps). The Monarchs have rotated three different passers through three games (On3), so the steady hand has been sophomore running back Asir Nembhard, who already has six rushing touchdowns (MaxPreps) and is averaging 128 rushing yards per game (MaxPreps). Win or lose, the Monarchs get no breather. Bishop Gorman comes to town next Friday (MaxPreps).
The matchup to lock in on: Hale against four-star Mater Dei cornerback Danny Lang. They are future USC teammates, and Friday they could spend four quarters trying to embarrass each other (MaxPreps).
College commits on the field: Mater Dei counters with UCLA pledges Montana Toilolo and Michael Davis, Oregon commit Lex Mailangi and Washington commit Matamatagi Uiagalelei. Centennial brings Washington safety commit Jaden Walk-Green and Cal defensive end commit Miles Schirmer (MaxPreps).
Will's call: Mater Dei 27, Centennial 24. Nembhard keeps the chains moving, Hale stays on the sideline longer than Centennial wants, and the Monarchs finally flip the script at home.
2. Kahuku (Hawaii) at No. 3 St. John Bosco (Bellflower)
Friday, Sept. 11 | 7 p.m. PT ▶ Watch live on NFHS Network
This one opens a two-week Hawaii double for the Braves, who travel to Saint Louis on Sept. 19 (MaxPreps). St. John Bosco sits at 2-1 after grinding out a 26-14 road win at Pittsburg last week, and its résumé already includes a win over Pennsylvania's Roman Catholic (MaxPreps).
Kahuku crosses the Pacific at 3-1 (MaxPreps), with a 16-10 win over island rival Punahou on the ledger (MaxPreps). The Red Raiders win ugly. That travels.
The Braves go as 2028 quarterback Koa Malau'ulu goes. As a freshman last fall he threw for 2,361 yards and 33 touchdowns against just five interceptions (High School On SI).
3. Saint Francis (Mountain View) at No. 8 De La Salle (Concord)
Friday, Sept. 11 | 7:30 p.m. PT ▶ Watch live on NFHS Network
NorCal's marquee Friday game features a De La Salle team that has saved its best for last. The 2-0 Spartans are averaging 38.5 points per game and 14 of those come in the fourth quarter alone, per MaxPreps' matchup data (MaxPreps). Quarterback Jaxon Loftin is throwing for just over 200 yards per game.
Saint Francis (1-1) has a true dual threat in quarterback Drew Cumby, who is averaging 106 rushing yards and 169 passing yards per game (MaxPreps). If the Lancers want to steal this one on the road, Cumby has to keep De La Salle's defense chasing him sideline to sideline before that fourth-quarter hammer drops.
4. No. 9 Orange Lutheran at Serra (Gardena)
Friday, Sept. 11 | 7 p.m. PT ▶ Watch live on NFHS Network
Orange Lutheran is one point away from perfect. The Lancers dropped a 23-22 heartbreaker to Miami Central in the opener (On3), then went out and knocked off Arizona's Basha, ranked No. 12 nationally at the time, 23-17 (MaxPreps). Serra enters at 2-1 (MaxPreps) and gets a nationally tested opponent on its own field.
5. Inderkum (Sacramento) vs. No. 1 Santa Margarita
Saturday, Sept. 12 | 8:10 p.m. PT ▶ Watch live on NFHS Network
Your Saturday nightcap stars the defending Open Division state champions (MaxPreps). Santa Margarita is 3-0 and holds the top spot in the MaxPreps California rankings, while Inderkum comes south at 1-1 (MaxPreps). Watch the Eagles' defense. It already won a game on its own against Centennial.
National Games Worth Your Screen Time
No. 11 Baylor (Chattanooga, Tenn.) at No. 23 Trinity (Louisville, Ky.)
Friday, Sept. 11 | 4 p.m. PT (7 p.m. ET) ▶ Watch live on NFHS Network
Two unbeatens. Two state kings. MaxPreps frames it as the top-ranked team in Tennessee against the top-ranked team in Kentucky (MaxPreps).
Baylor (3-0) rides five-star Tennessee commit David Gabriel Georges, the reigning MaxPreps National Player of the Year, who has piled up nearly 500 yards and seven touchdowns and scored three times in last week's 51-33 win. Ole Miss quarterback commit Keegan Croucher and four-star junior Antwaun Adams give the Red Raiders a 42-point-per-game offense (MaxPreps). The reigning TSSAA Division II-AAA champs have won 15 straight (On3).
Trinity (3-0) answers with 47 points per game and a 31-14 statement win over Ohio power Archbishop Moeller. Senior back Jamaurion Berry is ripping off 8.4 yards per carry (MaxPreps), and Buffalo commit Zane Johnson has been under center for each of the Shamrocks' last three state title runs (On3).
Will's call: Gabriel Georges goes for 150-plus on the ground and Baylor leaves Louisville with win No. 16 in a row.
No. 25 Lee County (Leesburg, Ga.) at Colquitt County (Ga.)
Friday, Sept. 11 | 4:30 p.m. PT (7:30 p.m. ET) ▶ Watch live on NFHS Network
Lee County walks in at 3-0 with Colquitt County at 2-1 (MaxPreps). The Trojans erased an 11-point deficit in the final two minutes to win 43-32 last week (MaxPreps). Keep an eye on quarterback Cohen Lawson connecting with 6-foot-3 receiver Jaden Upshaw (MaxPreps).
Bellevue (Wash.) at Puyallup (Wash.)
Saturday, Sept. 12 | 7 p.m. PT ▶ Watch live on NFHS Network
A Pacific Northwest collision between two 1-0 programs that cracked MaxPreps' national top 10 games list. Bellevue brings quarterback Kason Carta and athlete R.J. Ward, while Puyallup counters with 6-foot-5 receiver J'Isaiah Mitchell and 300-pound defensive tackle Kitiona Tupua (MaxPreps).
More Games on the Radar
Texas gets a heavyweight Saturday at the Cotton Bowl when reigning 6A Division I champion North Shore meets South Oak Cliff, a program that has played in five straight state title games and beat North Shore 41-31 in last year's opener (High School Football America). In Tennessee, Friday's Milton (Ga.) at Battle Ground Academy duel pits Tennessee quarterback commit Derrick Baker against BGA's Bo Bryan, who has completed 47 of 59 passes for 885 yards and 13 touchdowns (On3). Back home, No. 6 Folsom takes its 2-0 record to unbeaten Sacred Heart Cathedral in San Francisco on Friday (MaxPreps) fresh off avenging its only 2025 loss against Mission Viejo (MaxPreps).
Weekend Watch Guide: NFHS Network Links
GameDay / Time (PT)WatchCentennial at Mater DeiFri 7:00 p.m.Watch / SubscribeKahuku at St. John BoscoFri 7:00 p.m.NFHS NetworkSaint Francis at De La SalleFri 7:30 p.m.NFHS NetworkOrange Lutheran at SerraFri 7:00 p.m.NFHS NetworkInderkum vs. Santa MargaritaSat 8:10 p.m.NFHS NetworkBaylor at TrinityFri 4:00 p.m.NFHS NetworkLee County at Colquitt CountyFri 4:30 p.m.NFHS NetworkBellevue at PuyallupSat 7:00 p.m.NFHS Network
Your Call
I've got Mater Dei by three. Tell me I'm wrong. Drop your final score for Centennial at Mater Dei in the comments before Friday's kickoff, and tag the Huskies or Monarchs fan who needs to see it.
Athletes and parents chasing the next level: the players in these games are proving it on film every Friday. Build your recruiting profile and put your own film in front of coaches at RepMax.io.
Comments (0)