The early part of the football season had been sunshine and rainbows for San Juan Hills entering Friday’s home game against Chino Hills.

San Juan Hills opened the season with an impressive win over a good Chaparral team and a rout of Roosevelt of Eastvale.

The Stallions faced some adversity in Week 2 and trailed Chino Hills 14-3 in the first quarter and 14-10 at halftime.

“It was definitely a wake up call,” San Juan Hills coach Rob Frith said. “Chino Hills had a great game plan on both sides of the ball and executed it very well. I believe we only ran 17 offensive plays in the first half.”

“At halftime, the staff made our adjustments and preached to our players to stick together, be resilient and play inspired in the second half.”

The Stallions did just that and scored 32 unanswered points to beat Chino Hills 42-21.

Three-year starting quarterback Timmy Herr completed 12 of 15 passes for 304 yards with five touchdowns. Herr, who has offers from Western Michigan, Portland State and Eastern Carolina, has completed 76 percent of his passes for 245 yards per game with 11 touchdowns and one interception.

“He’s like having a coach on the field,” Frith said of Herr. “He brings tremendous leadership and passion to our group. He executes the offense better than any quarterback before him and never forgets to credit his teammates when things go well.”

Things have been going well frequently for Herr and the Stallions. In Friday’s game against Chino Hills, three of his touchdowns were to receiver Luke Frith, who had 185 yards on just four catches.

San Juan Hills is in Rockwall, Texas, this week playing Rockwall-Heath High on Friday. The Stallions will visit the JFK Museum, attend the TCU football game and are attending a high school football game on Thursday.

“This trip allows our players to experience a once in a lifetime opportunity, bond as teammates and represent California football in the great state of Texas,” Frith said.

WHAT HAPPENED?

Perhaps the most shocking result of Week 2 was Western losing to Huntington Beach 48-7.

Western was coming off an impressive win over VIlla Park, a Bravo League team, in Week 1 and had been gelling on offense though the first two games.

Darby Warren (18), left, of Huntington Beach tackles Western quarterback Chance Thomas (1) forcing a fumble in the first quarter of a game at Huntington Beach High School in Huntington Beach on Thursday, Sept. 4, 2025. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)

“They came in more focused than we did and executed at a higher level than us,” Western coach Dan Davidson said. “That’s tough because that falls back on me. I have to do a better job at preparing our guys and have a game plan that fits more of our style of success.”

Western has the offensive firepower to bounce back from last week’s loss. UNLV commit and former Santa Margarita running back Skylar Lendsey is averaging 94 rushing yards per game.

Junior quarterback Chance Thomas is averaging 217 yards per game and his top receiver Maxwell Young, a Sacramento State commit, averages 134 yards per game with four touchdowns.

“Chance and Maxwell spend a lot of time perfecting their craft,” Davidson said. “They stay after practice, watch film and look at different ways to get the ball to Maxwell to help us move the chains during crucial moments. It’s a lot of fun to watch them grow as football players.”

Western hosts La Mirada on Thursday. La Mirada is 1-1 against county opponents this season with a 24-21 win over Troy and a 17-5 loss to Tesoro last week.

“I like how the guys have approached the week in preparation,” Davidson said. “They (La Mirada) are a well-coached, physical team that makes you adjust to their style of play.”

STADIUM SUPREMACY

There are four games this week in which the two teams share the stadium where the game will be played.

One is Katella against Magnolia, which will be at Glover Stadium. But Glover residents playing each other is more common than these other matchups.

El Dorado and Valencia will play in one of the numerous “Battle for the Bell” rivalries in Orange County. The Golden Hawks (2-1) feature sophomore quarterback Hudson Shaddow who averages 179 yards per game with eight touchdowns and two interceptions. Valencia running back Louis Galvan has run for 270 yards in two games with four touchdowns.

Godinez and Santa Ana Valley both play at Santa Ana Valley High. The Grizzlies won their first game of the season but have been shut out the last two weeks. Damian Navarro has two rushing touchdowns for Godinez.

Santa Ana Valley tied Century last week to snap a 13-game losing streak for the Falcons. The Falcons lost to Godinez last season but won the previous four games dating back to 2019.

Yorba Linda running back Isaiah Trujillo breaks away from Edison defender Caden Lo in a non-league football game at Huntington Beach High School. (Photo by Sam Gangwer/Contributing Photographer)

Esperanza and Yorba Linda both play at Yorba Linda High. Yorba Linda is 3-0 and sophomore Isaiah Trujillo has five rushing touchdowns.

The Aztecs are coming off a blowout loss at the hands of Dana Hills. Travis Frazier is averaging 261 yards per game with six touchdowns and one interception. Eddie Matthews has 254 yards receiving in two games with four touchdowns.

Yorba Linda is 8-1 all-time against Esperanza.

Related Articles