Southern California's Top RBs to watch this 2025 high school football season

The top running backs to watch this upcoming 2025 high school football season.

St. John Bosco junior RB Maliq Allen is primed for a big 2025. / Photo: Dennis Lee

Possibly one of the most electrifying positions in sports is the running back.

Some want to make you miss, others want to just show off their speed, a few tailbacks want to run through you, but either way, it's a very important position when it comes to establishing a run game, of course. Afterall, a quarterback's best friend is a sound running attack.

Southern California is home to some of the best running backs in the country — many of which reside in the CIF Southern Section — but this looks at all the best RBs in SoCal.

Be sure to check back on all of High School On SI's preseason football coverage, as Senior Reporter Tarek Fattal breaks down the top players to watch and releases the preseason Top 25 rankings in the CIF Southern Section on Sunday, Aug. 10.

Here are the top SoCal running backs to watch in 2025:

(Name, school, year, college (if committed))

1. DESHONNE REDEAUX, OAKS CHRISTIAN, SR. (USC)

Running back Deshonne Redeaux finds an opening during the first quarter of Oaks Christian's 35-0 Marmonte League win over St. Bonaventure Friday night at Redell Field. / JOE LUMAYA/SPECIAL TO THE STAR / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Oaks Christian coach Charlie Collins compared Redeaux to Napoleon Kauffman. The older crowd will know that's high praise. The shifty tailback runs a 10.42 100-meter and ran for more than 1,200 yards last season. He scored 17 rushing TDs.

2. BRIAN BONNER, VALENCIA, SR. (WASHINGTON)

Bonner carried the ball 197 times for 1,493 yards and 25 TDs in 2024. He also caught 40 balls for 498 yards and four TDs. Big, strong and fast tailback.

3. VICTOR SANTINO, BISHOP MONTGOMERY, SR. (CAL)

Santino was at Inglewood, but has transferred into Bishop Montgomery. He rushed for 857 yards and eight TDs in nine games last fall.

4. SEAN MORRIS, ORANGE LUTHERAN, SR. (NORTHWESTERN)

Morris ran for 1,762 yards and 16 TDs on 298 carries in 13 games as a junior at Loyola. Now at Orange Lutheran, behind a big offensive line, Morris could be Orange County's best tailback.

5. MALIQ ALLEN, ST. JOHN BOSCO, JR.

Allen is primed for a monster junior season after making his name known as a sophomore for the Braves last year. He's a 3-star prospect with offers to Missouri, Texas A&M and UNLV. He rushed for over 1,000 yards and scored 11 TDs.

6. JAXSEN STOKES, SIERRA CANYON, JR.

Stoke has earned offers to Notre Dame, Oklahoma and Arizona State. As a sophomore behind senior Dane Dunn, Stokes ran for 542 yards and nine TDs.

7. BENJAMIN HARRIS, SERVITE, JR.

Speed. Deamon. Harris was a star on this past spring's Servite track and field team. He ran a 10.38 100-meter. The 3-star recruit has offers to Miami, Penn State and Oregon. And it's not just for football.

8. JUSTIN LEWIS, MATER DEI, SR. (UMASS)

Justin Lewis will be the next RB1 for Mater Dei, most likely. He's a transfer from Thousand Oaks where he tallied 1,306 yards and 15 TDs.

9. JOURNEE TONGA, LEUZINGER, SR.

As a junior, Tonga ran for 2,267 yards and 29 TDs on 244 carries in 11 games.

10. NOAH PENUNURI, RIO HONDO PREP. SR.

RHP was one of the best stories of high school football last fall, and Penunuri was one of the reasons. He rushed for 1,965 yards to help RHP win the CIF Southern Section Division 7 title by taking down Warren High, a public school with an enrollment of 3,600. RHP has 71 boys in it. (STORY)

OTHERS TO WATCH BY CLASS

SENIORS (2026)

• Zander Lewis, Centennial
• Jerod Terry, Sierra Canyon (Sacramento State)
• Skylar Lendsey, Western
• Ronnell Hewitt, Chaminade
• Demanie Bell, Westlake
• Vaughn Sharp, Yorba Linda
• Jeremiah Watson, Murrieta Valley
• Torry Huff, Charter Oak
• Kayne Miller, Calabasas
• Ryan Salcedo, Bishop Amat

JUNIORS (2027)

• Trevor Schneider, Chaparral
• AJ McBean, Mira Costa
• Elijah Wilson, St. Francis
• Jayden Johnson, San Diego High
• Justen Key, Westchester
• Braylin Drake, Centennial
• Kevika Martinez, La Habra
• Darian Webb, Carlsbad
• Kharlos Dews, Oak Hills
• Sam Edmisten, Edison
• Semaj Welch, Inglewood

SOPHOMORES (2028)

• Edward Rivera, South East
• Ceasar Reyes, Garfield
• Jorden Wells, Servite

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2024 CIF SOUTHERN SECTION RECAP

The CIF Southern Section is heralded as one of the most talented high school football state associations in the country, most notably because it's home to juggernaught programs like Mater Dei and St. John Bosco.

As we head into the 2025 season, here's a headline recap of what happened in the CIF Southern Section last fall.

MATER DEI GOES BACK TO BACK

The Monarchs won their second straight CIF-SS Division 1 title and second straight national title in 2024, which was anchored by an ultra-elite defense and first-year coach Raul Lara.

Mater Dei defeated St. John Bosco 31-24 in the section final before going on to thump De La Salle in the CIF State Open Division title game 37-15.

The 2024 campaign might've garnered the Monarchs their best team ever. HERE'S WHY

NEWBURY PARK STUNS D2 IN TITLE RUN

5-star QB Brady Smigiel and wideout Shane Rosenthal (now at UCLA) led the Panthers the CIF Southern Section Division 2 crown in 2024 after question marks about their soft schedule arose before the postseason.

• Newbury Park football forges improbable CIF championship run fueled by naysayers

Newbury Park defeated top tier programs like San Jacinto, San Clemente (on the road) and Yorba Linda en route to its 31-28 victory over Murrieta Valley (in Murrieta) to win the Division 2 title. It was the program's first CIF title since 1993.

JULIUS GILLICK CAN'T PLAY TITLE GAME FOR EDISON

One of the section's top runners, Julius Gillick of Edison, is ejected from the CIF Southern Section Division 3 semifinal against Vista Murrieta for two unsportsmanlike penalties. The first was due to a touchdown celebration. The second was due to 'excessive celebration'.

Despite an appeal, Gillick couldn't play in the CIF final. Despite his absence, Edison beat Simi Valley 35-21.

High School On SI reporter Tarek Fattal broke down the controversary (video below).

THE 'COMPETITIVE EQUITY' CHAMPION

St. Pius coach Devah Thomas was not shy about his team's accomplishments in 2024 ... afterall the season did result in a CIF title.

Under the new competitive equity rules that decide playoff placement, St. Pius' strength of schedule rating earned the program a berth to the Division 8 playoffs despite being 1-9 (an 0-8 start).

• How St. Pius won a CIF championship after one-win season

The Warriors ended up making a run to win the Division 8 crown over Serrano 38-19.

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