Vote: Who Was the Southern California High School Football Player of the Week? (Aug. 24-29)

Santa Margarita's Ca'ron Williams made the game-winning play to beat Centennial, but he wasn't the only star in Week 1

Ca'ron Williams' pick-six helped Santa Margarita beat Corona Centennial. | Scott Padgett

The first full week of the Southern California high school football season produced several standout performances on both sides of the ball.

Here are the High School On SI Southern California High School Football Player of the Week nominees for games played Aug. 27-29. Read about the nominees below, then cast your vote in the poll.

Voting concludes at 11:59 p.m. PT on Sept. 6. The winner will be announced in next week’s poll.

Lequand Jackson, QB, Baldwin Park 

Jackson, nicknamed “Jack Jack,” made his season debut and threw for 263 yards and five TDs as the Braves bounced back from their Week 0 loss to La Serna with a win over Rowland. Jackson also rushed for 115 yards.

Maliq Allen, RB, St. John Bosco

Allen rushed for 130 yards and three TDs and caught a TD pass in the Braves' home win against Roman Catholic (Pa.). It was the second straight big performance for the senior, who came alive in the second half of Bosco's Week 0 loss to Bishop Gorman.

Nicholas Hoang, QB, Culver City 

The senior left-hander passed for 490 yards and six TDs in a season-opening 46-26 win against King/Drew. Hoang threw for more than 2,000 yards and 20 TDs last season.

End of 3rd Qtr: Santa Margarita 21, Centennial 14

Ca’ron “Prime” Williams with the PICK 6 to End the Quarter@On3USC #FightOn pic.twitter.com/Bp2AkM6ccs

— Scott Schrader (@SchraderOn3) August 29, 2026

Jeremiah Williams, DL, Tustin

Williams, a BYU commit, recorded three sacks in the Tillers' win against Foothill.

Ryan Rakowski, QB, Palos Verdes

Rakowski completed 15-of-17 passes for 306 yards and three TDs in Palos Verdes' win against Bishop Moore (Fla.).

Jalen Flowers, DB, Palos Verdes

Flowers, a safety with offers from Georgia, Miami, Michigan and Ohio State, intercepted two passes in Palos Verdes' narrow win against Bishop Moore (Fla.).

Jason Grant Jr., WR/DB, Crenshaw

Grant, a freshman, intercepted three passes on defense in Crenshaw's win Friday after catching the game-winning TD in the previous week's game.

Jaxsen Stokes, RB, Sierra Canyon 

Stokes rushed for 177 yards in Sierra Canyon's win against Chaminade-Madonna (Fla.). The senior is committed to Cal.

Dawson Armstrong, QB, Moorpark

With a last name like that, he better be a good quarterback. Armstrong threw for 337 yards and three TDs in Moorpark's win against Camarillo.

Ca'ron Williams, DB, Santa Margarita

Williams intercepted a pass and returned it for the game-winning TD in Santa Margarita's 21-20 road win against Corona Centennial. The senior defensive back is a four-star prospect.

Dylan Fullmer, WR/DB/KR, Harvard-Westlake

Fullmer returned two kicks for TDs in Harvard-Westlake's win against Palisades, scoring on returns of 87 and 55 yards. He also scored a rushing TD.

About Our Athlete of the Week Voting

High School On SI voting polls are meant to be a fun, lighthearted way for fans to show support for their favorite athletes and teams. Our goal is to celebrate all of the players featured, regardless of the vote totals.

Sometimes one athlete will receive a very large number of votes — even thousands — and that’s okay! The polls are open to everyone and are simply a way to build excitement and community around high school sports.

Unless we specifically announce otherwise, there are no prizes or official awards for winning. The real purpose is to highlight the great performances of every athlete included in the poll.