Thursday Night SoCal High School Football: Orange Goes 9-0, Norco Outlasts Vista Murrieta

Star Thomas III throws six touchdowns, two Orange County league races tighten into Week 10 title games, and three national Top 25 teams cruise on a busy Thursday.

By W. League | Friday, Oct. 23, 2026

Orange has never started a season like this. On Thursday night, the Panthers made sure nobody forgets it.

Star Thomas III threw for 423 yards and six touchdowns, and Orange routed Irvine 55-17 to move to 9-0 and lock up at least a share of the Foxtrot League title. Thomas hit KJ Woodbury for a 79-yard score on the very first snap. On the next possession they connected again, this time from 72 yards.

That set the tone for a Thursday slate with 54 California games on the board, and several of them in Southern California carried real league-title weight.

Top Games of the Night

1. Orange 55, Irvine 17 (Foxtrot League)

Thomas completed 16 of 21 passes. Woodbury, a junior, caught five balls for 210 yards and three touchdowns, including a leaping 37-yarder with 45 seconds left before the half, then added an interception on defense. Freshman running back Jeremiah Dunklin ran for 131 yards and a score. The defense, led up front by Jayden Bracamontes and Sebastian Castro, held Irvine's Seamus Hoffman to 65 yards on 17 carries. The Register reports the Panthers' start could land them in Division 3 for the CIF-SS playoffs.

My call: Orange wins the Foxtrot outright next Friday at El Toro and finishes 10-0. Put it on the record.

2. Newport Harbor 34, Brea Olinda 7 (Epsilon League)

Jordan Spigarelli completed 13 of 15 passes for 203 yards and five touchdowns, three of them to Shane McKibbin, his target since fifth grade. Pepe Tena carried 20 times for 160 yards. Brea Olinda opened with a surprise onside kick that failed, and the Sailors turned the short field into a seven-play touchdown drive. Spigarelli has 11 touchdown passes in his last two games. Newport Harbor (7-2, 4-0) hosts Trabuco Hills on Oct. 30 with the league crown in play.

3. Norco 42, Vista Murrieta 30 (Big West League)

Norco built a 28-10 halftime lead with 14 points in each of the first two quarters, then matched Vista Murrieta's 14 in the third to stay clear. The Broncos won the fourth quarter 6-0, but the gap was already too wide. Norco moved to 6-3.

The Sigma League Just Got Its Title Game

Ocean View rolled Katella 53-13 behind Trevor Vaivao, the county's leading rusher, who scored on runs of 64 and 80 yards and finished with 146 yards. Sophomore Elijah Stokley returned two interceptions for touchdowns in the first quarter, giving him six defensive scores this season and a new school career record. Meanwhile, Rancho Alamitos edged Anaheim 10-7 to stay perfect. That sets up Ocean View (8-1, 4-0) against Rancho Alamitos (9-0, 4-0) on Oct. 30 for the outright Sigma League title.

Top 25 Check-In

• No. 13 North Crowley (Texas) beat Skyline (Dallas) 75-3, its second straight game with 75 or more points, and moved to 8-0.

• No. 18 Chaminade-Madonna (Fla.) beat Cardinal Gibbons 41-6. A win next week clinches an FHSAA Open Division playoff spot.

• No. 24 Edna Karr (La.) beat Chalmette 48-14 for its 35th straight win. Tre Garrison carried 41 times for 183 yards and a touchdown.

• SoCal Top 25 watch: None of Southern California's four national Top 25 teams (No. 2 Santa Margarita, No. 4 Sierra Canyon, No. 11 St. John Bosco, No. 19 Mater Dei) played Thursday. All four play Friday.

Thursday Quick Hits

• La Salle 47, Harvard-Westlake 30 (Del Rey)

• Huntington Beach 37, Troy 22 (Delta)

• Tustin 34, La Habra 20 (Bravo)

• St. Margaret's 34, Esperanza 14 (Kappa)

• Eastvale Roosevelt 35, Corona Santiago 0 (Big West)

• Citrus Valley 56, Redlands 7 (Citrus Belt)

• Beaumont 62, Yucaipa 0 (Citrus Belt)

• Simi Valley 40, Bishop Diego 14 (Marmonte)

• Quartz Hill 48, Palmdale 0 (Golden)

• Nogales 38, Don Lugo 17 (Gano)

• San Gabriel 20, Alhambra 14 (Alliance)

• La Canada 28, Monrovia 14 (Arroyo)

• Muir 28, Burbank 0 (Arroyo)

• Gahr 40, Santa Fe 32 (Mid-Cities)

• Artesia 34, Whittier 14 (Rio Vista)

• Valley View 38, Paloma Valley 28 (Sunbelt)

• Tahquitz 21, Temescal Canyon 14 (Mountain Pass)

• Ramona 42, Patriot 20 (River Valley)

• Apple Valley 56, Serrano 28 (Mojave River)

What Thursday Sets Up

Friday belongs to the heavyweights. No. 19 Mater Dei hosts Orange Lutheran, No. 4 Sierra Canyon visits Notre Dame (Sherman Oaks), No. 11 St. John Bosco goes to Servite, and No. 2 Santa Margarita hosts JSerra. Then Oct. 30 turns Orange County into a title-game factory: Ocean View vs. Rancho Alamitos for the Sigma, Newport Harbor vs. Trabuco Hills in the Epsilon, and Orange chasing an outright Foxtrot crown at El Toro. Seeding talk starts now.

Your turn: Ocean View or Rancho Alamitos for the Sigma League title? Make your pick in the comments, and tag the player you think decides it.