High School

Final: No. 6 Sierra Canyon Puts on Defensive Clinic, Shuts Out No. 13 JSerra Catholic in California opener

Jaxsen Stokes scored 3 TDs, Lions never reached the red zone as Trailblazers pitch a shutout in season opener

Levi Payton

Sierra Canyon defensive back Myles Baker was a catalyst in helping the Trailblazers pitch a shutout against No. 13 JSerra Catholic in Friday's regular season opener.
Sierra Canyon defensive back Myles Baker was a catalyst in helping the Trailblazers pitch a shutout against No. 13 JSerra Catholic in Friday's regular season opener. / Photo: Rene Morales

Two of California’s top high school football programs meet Friday night when No. 13 JSerra Catholic hosts No. 6 Sierra Canyon to open the 2025 season. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. local time (10 p.m. ET).

Sierra Canyon finished 8-4 last year in the CIF Southern Section’s Division 1, rallying late with six wins in its final seven games. The Trailblazers return key playmakers in receiver Massiah Mingo (614 yards, four TDs) and junior Jaxsen Stokes, who added 348 receiving yards, 542 rushing yards and nine touchdowns. On defense, senior Ronan Zamorano anchored the unit with 113 tackles, while Mikhal Johnson (16 tackles for loss) and Richard Wesley (nine sacks) bring pressure up front. Senior Jonah Nadley added 7.5 sacks, giving Sierra Canyon one of the most disruptive defensive lines in the section. In the secondary, Madden Riordan (10 interceptions), Myles Baker, and Havon Finney Jr. (four picks) highlight a deep group of playmakers in the defensive secondary.

One of the top EDGE recruits in the county, Wesley is a five-star who is committed to Texas. Finney is a four-star senior cornerback headed to LSU, Riordan (a three-star senior) and Myles Baker (four-star junior) are both safeties bound for USC and Stokes is a three-star junior running back with multiple Power Four offers.

Loaded all over the field, Sierra Canyon also flexes four-star recruits Brandon Lockhart (CB, sr., USC), Kasi Currie (DL, jr., multiple Power Four offers), Lance Ciechanowski (OT, soph. multiple Power Four offers) and three-star prospects Ja’Myron Baker (senior, USC), Faruq Muhammad (S, jr., multiple offers) and Jerod Terry (ATH, sr., Sacramento State).

JSerra Catholic went 6-5 in 2024, starting 5-0 before fading down the stretch. Junior quarterback Ryan Hopkins passed for 1,111 yards with 13 touchdowns against five interceptions and added 483 rushing yards and eight scores, but he has transferred to Mater Dei for his senior year, leaving junior Koa Smith-Mayall to fill his shoes. The Lions’ defense is led by Sawyer Thomson, who had four interceptions in 2024.

The Lions also boast three-star senior offensive tackle Josh Haney, who is committed to Fresno State, and junior wide receiver Clark Cokley, who holds offers from San Diego State, Syracuse, Colorado State and Sacramento State, respectively.

The matchup is a rematch of last season’s opener, when JSerra stunned Sierra Canyon 35-7.

Fans can check back often once the game begins for live scoring, highlights and other updates in the expandable space at the bottom of this page.

Live Updates: No. 13 JSerra Catholic vs. No. 6 Sierra Canyon

Teams

Q1

Q2

Q3

Q4

FINAL

JSerra Catholic

0

0

0

0

0

Sierra Canyon

0

14

14

7

35

Live Updates

Pregame

It's a hot day in the San Fernando Valley. Sierra Canyon will kick off to begin the game.

First Quarter

JSerra began the first drive of the game at its own 29 with Koa Smith-Mayall, but the Lions went three-and-out.

Following a punt and a short return, Sierra Canyon and senior quarterback Laird Finkel began their first possession at their own 38 with 10:25 left in the first quarter.

The Trailblazers pushed the ball into enemy territory before consecutive negative plays forced them to punt it back to JSerra with 7:31 to go in the first quarter. The Lions's second drive began at their own 14.

Havon Finley returned a punt to the JSerra 48 to set up Sierra Canyon's second possession with 5:51 to go in the first quarter. The Trailblazers managed to ove the ball to the 42 before being forced to punt it away.

Another JSerra punt gave the ball back to Sierra Canyon at the Trailblazers' 36 with 2:21 left in the first quarter.

The punt-a-thon continued, as Sierra Canyon was forced to punt it back to the Lions on the final play of the first quarter. JSerra would begin the second quarter at its own 25.

End 1, Sierra Canyon 0, JSerra Catholic 0

Second Quarter

Second verse was the same as the first, as the Lions went three-and-out to open the second quarter and were forced to punt.

BIG PLAY! One of the defenses finally blinked, as Sierra Canyon running back Jaxsen Stokes broke free on a 30-yard run up the middle. The last line of defense managed to trip him up with an ankle tackle. If he would have survived that hit, he would have had a 60-yard touchdown.

TOUCHDOWN! Sierra Canyon struck first on a 1-yard run by senior running back De'Markus Barnes out of the Wildcat formation. Julian Katz booted the PAT. Sierra Canyon 7, JSerra Catholic 0, 7:39 left in the second quarter.

Things unraveled a bit for the Lions on their ensuing possession after the Trailblazers' touchdown. They went backwards and were forced to punt again while facing fourth-and-19 with 6:31 left in the first half, giving Sierra Canyon possession at the Trailblazers' 33.

TOUCHDOWN! Jaxsen Stokes scored on a 1-yard run. The play was set up by a De'Markus Barnes getting it down to the 1 on a reverse one play before Stokes walked in untouched. Julian Katz booted the PAT. Sierra Canyon 14, JSerra Catholic 0, 3:59 left in the second quarter.

BIG PLAY! Richard Wesley, one of the top EDGE rushers in the country, sacked Koa Smith-Mayall for a loss of six yards, pinning the Lions at their own 19. The Texas commit got a clean release and Smith-Mayall was could not get away.

BIG PLAY! Havon Finney just absolutely de-cleated wide receiver Clark Cokley for a two-yard loss a quick pass. Finney, an LSU commit, leveled a Division I hit on that play.

Two plays after Finney's big hit, JSerra Catholic punted it back to Sierra Canyon with 28 seconds left in the first half.

Sierra Canyon kneeled it to end the half.

Halftime: Sierra Canyon 14, JSerra Catholic 0

Third Quarter

BIG PLAY! Jaxsen Stokes returned the opening kick of the second half 48 yards to the Trailblazers' 47 yard line.

TOUCHDOWN! The first minute of the third quarter was the Jaxsen Stokes show, as two plays after his long kick return, he took a handoff and raced 39 yards for the TD. Julian Katz kicked the PAT. Sierra Canyon 21, JSerra Catholic 0, 11:19 left in the third quarter.

BIG PLAY! JSerra Catholic caught a big break with 9:12 left in the third quarter. Being forced to punt from its own 39, a big break. Sierra Canyon's Havon Finney fielded the punt and was in the midst of a nice return when he fumbled and the Lions jumped back on the ball at the Trailblazers' 44 - earning a new set of downs on the turnover.

TURNOVER ON DOWNS! The Lions' incomplete pass on fourth-and-10 at the Trailblazers' 41 was behind the receiver and Sierra Canyon regained possession there with 7:17 left in the third quarter. The Trailblazers began bringing in some reserves following the change of possession.

BIG PLAY! Having been gifted an extra possession when Sierra Canyon fumbled on a punt return, JSerra Catholic returned the favor, muffing a punt inside the 10-yard line that the Trailblazers recovered at the Lions' 9-yard line to set up first-and-goal with 5:28 left in the third quarter.

TURNOVER ON DOWNS! An intentional grounding penalty pushed Sierra Canyon back from the 9 to its own 28. They only managed to make it back to the 5 on fourth down. The Lions weren't hurt by the special teams miscue after all.

TURNOVER ON DOWNS! A host of Sierra Canyon defensive penalties helped the Lions move the ball down to the Trailblazers' 34 with 2:23 left in the third quarter, but a deep shot on fourth down fell incomplete and gave the ball back to the Trailblazers.

BIG PLAY! Senior wide receiver Dino Scordia made an acrobatic catch on a pass from quarterback Laird Finkel to set up first-and-goal for Sierra Canyon at the 2-yard line.

TOUCHDOWN! Jaxsen Stokes scored his third touchdown, a 2-yard run, with 24 seconds left in the third quarter. Julian Katz kicked his fourth PAT of the game. Sierra Canyon 28, JSerra Catholic 0.

End 3: Sierra Canyon 28, JSerra Catholic 0

Fourth Quarter

JSerra Catholic's first possession of the fourth quarter resulted in a punt with 9:39 to go.

BIG PLAY! De'Markus Barnes, in the midst of having a huge night, makes a leaping grap over a defender to give the Trailblazers a first down at the JSerra Catholic 41.

TOUCHDOWN! One play after his 41-yard touchdown run was erased by a holding penalty, Jerod Terry Jr. raced in from 20 yards with 7:07 left in the fourth quarter. Julian Katz kicked the PAT. Sierra Canyon 35, JSerra Catholic 0.

Final: Sierra Canyon 35, JSerra Catholic 0

Recap

Sierra Canyon's loaded defense got a lot of praise entering the 2025 season, and on Friday the Trailblazers justified the hype. They never allowed the Lions' offense to reach the red zone and found multiple ways to turn the ball back over to its offense.

Speaking of the offense, the Trailblazers had to be stoked with Jaxen Stokes' performance on Friday. The 5-foot-10, 175-pound junior running back scored three rushing touchdowns and had a number of big runs throughout the evening. Likewise, senior quarterback Laird Finkel also played well in his first start with the Trailblazers, and he hooked up with senior receiver De'Markus Barnes on a numbers of chunk plays in the game to move the sticks.

Likewise, King Webb and Jerod Terry Jr. also had nice offensive showings for Sierra Canyon, along with a host of others with key contributions in the win.

Records: Sierra Canyon 1-0; JSerra Catholic 0-1.

Next: Sierra Canyon travels to Oaks Christian at 7 p.m. on Friday; JSerra Catholic hosts Damien at 7 p.m. Friday.

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Levi Payton
LEVI PAYTON

Levi’s sports journalism career began in 2005. A Missouri native, he’s won multiple Press Association awards for feature writing and has served as a writer and editor covering high school sports as well as working beats in professional baseball, NCAA football, basketball, baseball and soccer. If you have a good story, he’d love to tell it.

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