Top Games, Storylines, Predictions for Week 1 in CIF LA City Section Football

A preview of Week 1's top high school football games in the CIF LA City Section, including predicted winners of each game.

Junior Linebacker D'Elliott Jones was key in University's 27-0 win over LA Lincoln in Week 0. | Elliott Jones/Instagram

There were many action-packed games in the LA City Section last Friday. Week 1 will be no different. Friday night will see the debut of Hamilton standout, Sophomore QB Thaddeus Breaux, and University make its way to Brentwood.

Week 0 had little impact on High School On SI's Top 15 rankings after many top 15 teams handled business. Expect Week 1 to shake things up. 

• TOP PLAYERS TO WATCH IN THE CITY

Here is a look at the top games for Week 1, a quick preview of each one, and a predicted winner.

Hamilton (0-0) at Gardena Serra (0-1)

Hamilton will kick off their 2026 season this Friday and see its national recruit make his sophomore season debut. 4-Star Sophomore Quarterback Thaddues Breaux hopes to lead Hamilton to championship this season. The toughest opponent this season for Hamilton will be seen this Friday when they travel to Gardena.   

Gardena Serra is a CIF Southern Section powerhouse known for producing Division 1 talent. They narrowly lost to fellow Southern Section powerhouse, Palos Verdes, 17-14 in Week 0. Gardena Serra, on paper, should have no problem winning this game. But in High School Football, nothing is impossible. We will see Friday Night if Gardena Serra can handle business or if Hamilton can shock the world and pull off an upset.

The pick: Gardena Serra

University (1-0) at Brentwood School (1-0)

University shut out LA Lincoln 27-0 in Week 0. The Wildcats are a team that can surprise people due to their coaching and athletes. They are also positioning themselves to potentially be a high seed in Division 1 this season due to their strong strength of schedule. Arguably their toughest opponent will be this Friday when they travel to Brentwood to take on a consistently good Southern Section program, The Brentwood School. One athlete that will be key on Friday night is 6-foot-3 210 pound Junior Linebacker, D’Elliott Jones.     

The Brentwood school is a symbol of consistency and this year is no different after their Week 0 42-6 blowout of Monrovia. Brentwood has been 8-4 for the past two seasons and look to have another winning season this year. This game will be a litmus test for University. 

The pick: Brentwood School

Heritage Chrisitan (1-0 ) at El Camino Real (0-1)

El Camino gave the Hawaii team, Kauai, a challenge last week only losing 28-21. El Camino is challenging themselves with scheduling tough teams during non-league. These two teams have faced each other three seasons in a row with this matchup making it the 4th straight season that El Camino Real and Heritage Christian will face off. The odds are stacked against Elco, statistically speaking. In the last three matchups, Heritage Christian has beat them all three times by a total of 118-19. Can that change Friday night?   

Heritage Chrisitan hopes to handle business two weeks in a row after last week's 37-7 blowout of San Fernando. Heritage Christian hopes to extend its winning streak against El Camino Real to 4 years in a row.   

The pick: Heritage Christian

Palisades (0-1) at Harvard-Westlake (1-0)

Palisades returned home after 2 years and they showed that they are exceeding expectations. They tested Crenshaw all game and it took a Crenshaw last play miracle for the win to slip away from the Dolphins. Palisades proved they are a contender for Division 1 last week but tough non-league games loom.    

Harvard-Westlake is known as a basketball school but is seeing slow improvement to its football program. They are still a ways away from having the recognition that the basketball program is but they have good athletes that move the needle for the Wolverines. 

The pick: Palisades

West Torrance (0-0) at San Pedro (1-0)

San Pedro impressed in Week 0 against City Section Open Division hopeful, King/Drew. The Pirates didn’t look troubled for most of the game which can be accredited to Head Coach Corey Walsh’s gameplan and coaching. Senior RB Jaxon Brown impressed. 

West Torrance won the Ocean League last season and will be making their debut in the Pioneer league, which includes North Torrance and Culver City, this season. West will be looking to start the season off right and San Pedro will be looking to get a winning streak going. 

The pick: San Pedro