Local teams shook off the rust last week and now return for the second week of the high school football season on the Central Coast.
Bishop Diego and Dos Pueblos will return home to face off against West Ranch and Buena, respectively, after opening-week road games, while Carpinteria High is set to open its season on its home field against Royal.
Meanwhile, Santa Barbara High will head south to clash with Corona Del Mar and San Marcos will be in Oxnard taking on Del Sol.
Here is a quick preview and prediction for each of this week’s games. Last week, my picks went 3-1.
West Ranch (0-1) @ Bishop Diego (1-0)
The Cardinals opened their season with a bang last week, utilizing a strong rushing attack and strong second-half defense to secure a 37-24 road victory over Paso Robles.
Bishop Diego leaned on junior Samuel Boeddeker in the run game (162 rush yards), and the trend of sticking to a ground-and-pound system will likely continue into this week behind the team’s veteran offensive line.
On the other sideline, West Ranch is coming off a 38-7 loss at the hands of Harvard Westlake in which it totaled just 159 yards of offense.
The Wildcats have finished below .500 in each of the last two seasons, and Bishop Diego routed them in last year’s matchup by a score of 42-6.
I expect the Cardinals to control the line of scrimmage and, as a result, the flow of the game to secure a win in their home opener.
The Pick: Bishop Diego
Buena (0-1) @ Dos Pueblos (0-1)
The Chargers dropped a defensive battle with Santa Ynez High last week, scoring two touchdowns in the second half before falling 21-14.
Dos Pueblos wideout Soren Smedley had an impressive season debut with 99 receiving yards and a pair of touchdowns, while the strong defensive performance was headlined by 14 tackles and one interception by Patrick Sullivan.
Buena struggled to contain Castaic High in its season opener last week, falling 40-27 and giving up a whopping 547 total yards of offense.
Meanwhile, the Bulldogs played a pair of quarterbacks and featured Christopher Slate as their lead back, who finished with 52 rushing yards and two touchdowns.
This could be a tight matchup between former Channel League foes, but I see the Chargers carrying their passing game momentum from their opener into this week to take advantage of the Buena secondary.
The Pick: Dos Pueblos
Santa Barbara (0-1) @ Corona Del Mar (1-0)
The Dons went toe-to-toe with Camarillo High last week but fell in the final seconds by a score of 17-16 in front of a packed Peabody Stadium.
Santa Barbara will now be on the road coming off a game where it struggled to find a rhythm in the rushing attack (65 total yards), but shined on the defensive end by forcing several turnovers on downs and making multiple red-zone stands.
Corona Del Mar has developed into one of the top football programs in the CIF Southern Section, winning at least eight games in four of the last five seasons.
The Sea Kings routed Lakewood in their opener for a 48-3 victory, including five passing touchdowns by junior Luca Dinapoli and three defensive interceptions.
While this was a nail-biter matchup at Peabody Stadium last season, I believe Corona Del Mar has the upper hand this year, especially given its home-field advantage.
The Pick: Corona Del Mar
San Marcos (0-1) @ Del Sol (0-1)
The Royals had a tough start to their 2026 campaign, dropping their matchup with a strong and much more experienced Dana Hills squad, 56-10.
San Marcos will look to bounce back in what should be a more competitive contest, with the Royals hoping the senior offensive trio of Hayden Feleay, Tommy Diaz and Isaac Murillo can power an increase in production.
Del Sol had a tough draw to begin its second season as a program, falling to powerhouse Pacifica by a score of 52-6 last week in Oxnard.
The Jaguars return the entirety of their team from last season’s 1-9 squad, which was just the third year of the school’s existence.
The Royals won this matchup handily (35-0) last year, and I expect a similar outcome this week to give Isaiah Veal his first win as the San Marcos head coach.
The Pick: San Marcos
Royal (1-0) @ Carpinteria High (0-0)
The Warriors will begin their season this Friday at Carpinteria Valley Memorial Stadium, hosting Royal High coming off a 3-6 season a year ago.
Carpinteria High is returning the majority of its starters on the offensive line, although the run game this season may be complemented by an uptick in passing behind returning quarterback Isaac Neri.
Read the Carpinteria High Football Season Preview here.
Royal High dominated its season opener last week, cruising to a 62-0 rout of Monroe High behind 441 total rushing yards.
The senior duo of Landon Shaffer and Josh Salazar led the way with 171 and 139 yards on the ground, respectively. Salazar scored three touchdowns and Shaffer found the end zone twice.
This feels like a battle of two teams wanting to dominate the ground game. I’ll give the edge to Royal, who has a pair of solidified backs to manage their workloads compared to the majority of Carpinteria’s standouts having to play both sides of the ball.
The Pick: Royal
