Orange County football’s Alpha League was a four-team league for its first two years of existence, the 2024 and ‘25 seasons.
For the 2026 season and next season, the Alpha League will be a six-team group. San Juan Hills and Yorba Linda have been added to the holdover set of Edison, Los Alamitos, Mission Viejo and San Clemente.
That is among the changes to the Orange County football leagues for the upcoming season that begins the week of Aug. 20-22.
Orange County football leagues adjust membership every two seasons. Team ratings prepared by HSratings.com are used to group teams into leagues.
The Alpha League contains the six highest-rated Orange County teams that are not Trinity League teams. San Juan Hills and Yorba Linda were in the Bravo League the past two seasons.
Yorba Linda quarterback Noah Trujillo, right, celebrates with running back Isaiah Trujillo, center, after Isaiah scored a touchdown against Corona del Mar in a Delta League football game in Yorba Linda on Thursday, Oct. 30, 2025. (Photo by Paul Rodriguez, Contributing Photographer)
Being in a four-team league can be difficult for scheduling nonleague games. Most CIF-SS leagues are six-team leagues, and some are larger, so when those leagues are playing league games the teams in four-team leagues have difficulty finding a CIF-SS team that also still is in the nonleague portion of its season.
Mission Viejo coach Chad Johnson is relieved that he no longer has to look all over the nation to fill what was a seven-game nonleague schedule for the Diablos. Last year they played a game in Tennessee.
“Oh, it’s great,” Johnson said. “Scheduling is so much easier now.”
The Bravo League now consists of Capistrano Valley, Corona del Mar, Crean Lutheran, La Habra, Tustin and Villa Park. Corona del Mar and Villa Park are the only remaining teams from last year’s Bravo League grouping.
The Zeta League no longer exists. It was the county’s lowest-rated league the past two seasons. That is now the Tango League, the county’s only nine-team team league that has Bolsa Grande, Century, Godinez, La Quinta, Loara, Magnolia, Santa Ana Valley and Savanna.
The Trinity League remains unchanged. Its members are JSerra, Mater Dei, Orange Lutheran, St. John Bosco, Santa Margarita and Servite.
All of the Orange County league memberships for 2026 and 2027 can be found here.
PLAYOFF CHANGES
In seasons past, a team had to have an overall record of .500 or better to be considered for an at-large berth into the football playoffs.
That threshold has been lowered to .300 or better.
The CIF-SS Council, the rule-making and rule-changing legislative body for CIF-SS that is made up of league representatives, approved the change in its meeting in April by a vote of 78-5.
CIF-SS assistant commissioner Joe Hoggatt said the Southern Section again will group teams into its 14 playoff divisions according to the teams’ ratings that are compiled by HSratings.com.
Division 1 again will be an eight-team playoff division.
Hoggatt said the Southern Section always is examining other options for rating its football teams. HSratings.com is the best for that now.
“They’ve been good partners for us,” said Hoggatt, a former Canyon and Bishop Amat baseball coach who is going into his second school year as a CIF-SS assistant commissioner. “We’re always looking for a better mousetrap, so to speak.”
Hoggatt said the section office has begun its efforts to secure venues for its championship football games.
COACHING CHANGES
Several Orange County teams will have new coaches this season.
Ray Fenton, who coached Los Alamitos to the CIF-SS Division 2 championship last season, has replaced Rod Sherman at Orange Lutheran. Former Santa Ana coach Rory Schoonmaker has replaced Fenton at Los Alamitos.
Ray Fenton is the new football head coach at Orange Lutheran High School. He previously was the head coach at Cypress, Fountain Valley and Los Alamitos high schools in Orange County. (Photo by Steve Fryer, The Orange County Register/SCNG)
Longtime NFL linebacker Hardy Nickerson is now the head coach at JSerra, where he succeeds Victor Santa Cruz. Nickerson coached Oakland’s Bishop O’Dowd to a CIF State championship last year.
Rick Garretson returns to Servite as head the coach, replacing Chris Reinert. Garretson was an assistant coach at Servite before becoming a coach in Arizona, where he won a state championship.
Yorba Linda promoted John Domen from assistant coach to head coach. He replaced Jeff Bailey, who left to come the head coach at Beverly Hills.
RULE CHANGES
There are no major changes this season to the high school football rules.
There are two minor changes.
Players now may wear play plates on their belts similar to the play plates players have worn on their wrists in the past.
A rule that made it illegal for an offensive lineman to head slap a defensive player has been expanded to prohibit a defensive lineman from head slapping an offensive player.
Orange County football officials will continue to enforce the uniform requirement that a knee pad must cover the kneecap. Players who do not follow the requirement will be sent off of the field until the requirement is followed.
TV UPDATE
Spectrum will continue to provide live TV coverage of CIF-SS football. The first Spectrum telecast of the 2026 season is Aug. 21, Chaparral at Mission Viejo.