Sierra Canyon Football Sends Message, Bullies Notable Powerhouse In Florida

They came. They saw. They conquered.

Sierra Canyon flew 3,000 miles to Florida and dominated nationally-ranked Chaminade-Madonna in its own backyard 24-7 Thursday night. The Trailblazers turned the ball over four times, had a touchdown called back, and couldn't convert from the goal line twice.

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"Our team was dominant with their physicality," Sierra Canyon coach Jon Ellinghouse said. "We made some mistakes early, but I am proud our kids stayed level headed and just kept working."

Sierra Canyon got into Florida on Monday. That kind of prep before Thursday night's game paid off and gave the players a next-level feel.

"It was an amazing experience and I'm proud of this team," Ellinghouse added.

Win Sends Message

Each year, the makeup of the CIF Southern Section Division 1 playoff field is in question. How many teams will it be? Who will be in it?

It looks like Sierra Canyon (2-0) is well on its way to another monster season that could land them atop the division in November. After years of building toward being a mainstay in Division 1, Sierra Canyon's next goal is to make a deeper postseason run. Maybe, this team has the ingredients to make program history.

Sierra Canyon has never reached a Division 1 final. The Trailblazers did play in a semifinal in 2023 when the field was just eight teams, falling to Mater Dei 42-14.

The star of this year's team is the defensive line, led by Kasi Currie (Texas), Marcus Fakatou (Ohio State), and super sophomore Stephan Harrison, who had two sacks and a pick-six in Sierra Canyon's Week 0 blowout win over JSerra.

Sierra Canyon still have St. Louis of Hawaii, Orange Lutheran and Oxnard/Pacifica on its nonleague schedule. If the Trailblazers can stay unscathed through that slate, it means they're likely to win another Mission League title.

It's obvious these Trailblazers are a serious contender, along with Corona Centennial, Santa Margarita, Mater Dei and St. John Bosco.

On paper, many thought last year's Sierra Canyon team was the best its ever had. The Trailblazers went 10-0 in the regular season, led by 5-star defensive end Richie Wesley, before falling to eventually CIF Southern Section Division 1 and CIF State Open Division champion Santa Margarita in the D1 quarterfinals.

The team was loaded. Along with Wesley, Sierra Canyon boasted WR Tron Baker (USC), DB Madden Riordan (USC), DB Brandon Lockhart (USC), ATH Havon Finney (LSU), and DB Lennie Brown (Kansas).

Sierra Canyon is currently ranked No. 4 in the latest CIF Southern Section Top 25 rankings.

More On Win Over Chaminade-Madonna

The game was tied 7-7 at halftime before Sierra Canyon (2-0) scored 17 unanswered points. The scoreline might have been more lopsided if the Trailblazers didn't turn the ball over four times. It's an indicator of how good Sierra Canyon might be — to go on the road, turn the ball over so many times, and still win by three touchdowns against a nationally-ranked power.

All four turnovers were fumbles in the opening half.

After a third-quarter field goal from Carter Sobel, Myles Baker threw a touchdown pass out of the wildcat to Jaxsen Stokes to take a 17-7 lead. Baker, a defensive back committed to UCLA, ran for the team's third touchdown of the night — again, out of the wildcat.

Stokes, a Cal commit, ran for 194 yards on 26 carries to pace the Trailblazers offense.

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