Small schools, big moments.
Grace School enjoyed a memorable run to the CIF-State Division 6A SoCal Regional Championship as one of just three local teams to qualify for the state playoffs. Nordhoff High finished with an 8-3 record and a playoff berth, scoring a a Ventura County-leading 46.9 points per game.
The Northern Area’s fifth-tier football league will run through two of its smallest programs.
The Lancers enter the 2026 season as the defending CIF-Southern Section Division 12 champions, winners of back-to-back Citrus Coast League titles and, if you ask head coach Tom Coate, anything but frontrunners.
“Anybody can win this league,” Coate said. “Anybody.”
Grace returns senior quarterback Riley Williams, who put together one of the best seasons
in program history despite having never played the position before last year. One of the area’s most productive passers, he threw for 3,668 yards and 46 touchdowns last fall.
They also return five offensive linemen, including tone-setters in tackle Noah Nitsch and guard Grayer Gibbons.
“That is our anchor,” Coate said. “That is why we are all kind of calm at this point in the season — we know what we have up front.”
At Nordhoff, the path to a league title starts with getting healthy.
The Rangers were snakebit this preseason, losing starting running back Jaxson Kirk to an Achilles tear and lineman Adrian Torres to a knee injury. Receiver Zeke Sheets is working his back onto the field as well.
“Everyone is going to go through the injury bug at some point,” Lowen said. “It’s good to have that adversity early.
“We ask all of our guys to know every position. If you are a receiver, corner, or running back, you have to know all of them, and we are going to rotate them around.”
The reigning Citrus Coast League Most Valuable Player is Nordhoff quarterback Michael Dennie, who returns key weapons in Isaiah Giesea and Zeke Sheets and got a new one in tight end Levi Herrin.
“We are just excited,” Lowen said. “I think everybody is going to be better.”
While two of the league’s smallest teams vie for a championship, some of its largest are finding their footing.
Though his team is coming off its first playoff appearance since 2013, Channel Islands head coach Jeremiah Valoaga isn’t going to get out over his skis. The Raiders were 2-7 when they secured a thrilling, 34-21 victory over Carpinteria in the Citrus Coast League finale to clinch a playoff berth.
Valoaga knows there is more work to be done.
“We are taking steps in the right direction,” Valoaga said. “Everyone is buying into what we are trying to build.”
That includes quarterback Christian Silva, who threw for 1,193 yards, 11 TDs and 12 interceptions last season as a junior.
“Everybody looks at your quarterback as a guy to lead the team, to be the lighthouse in the middle of the sea,” Valoaga said. “He is starting to understand that, little by little.”
The second season of varsity football in Del Sol history will be its first with a senior class, made up of 27 players. The team is already growing fast, with 65 total on the roster.
“It is starting to feel like a regular football program,” head coach James Nelson said. “You have guys that, on one end they know it is going to end soon, forever, and on the other end they are excited about being the first graduating class, the big dogs on campus, the guys that have been through everything Del Sol has seen for the last four years.”
Seniors like athlete Anthony Perez, running back Hector Villasenor and quarterback Jayden Ramirez will lead the way. But the breakout candidate of the season might also be in the Class of 2027 in senior Isaiah Flores, who Nelson said has earned a big role in the backfield.
“This kid has really embraced just running downhill,” Nelson said. “He is that really old school, ‘I would rather run you over than run around you’ kind of guy.”
The storied Santa Clara High football program made its return to 11-man football last season after five years of playing 8-man.
The Saints, along with Oxnard High, were Ventura County’s only winless teams last season.
The direction for head coach David Cortez, who starred on Santa Clara’s last CIF-SS championship team in 2007, is clear.
“The only way to go is up,” Cortez said.
Top returning players
- Riley Williams, Grace: The reigning Citrus Coast League Offensive Player of the Year’s 46 passing TDs last year were a single-season program record.
- Michael Dennie, Nordhoff: Last season’s Citrus Coast League Most Valuable Player is set up for another big year.
- Charlie Martinez, Grace: The senior receiver drew Landon Cooper comparisons at summer passing tournaments and will be the No. 1 option in Grace’s pass-heavy attack.
- Hector Villasenor, Del Sol: The Jaguars running back rushed for 1,086 yards as a junior.
- Noah Nitsch, Grace: The 6-foot, 220-pound tackle will be responsible for protecting one of the top returning quarterbacks in Ventura County.
- Isaiah Giesea, Nordhoff: The senior 6-foot-1 wideout led the Rangers in receiving yards (607) and receiving TDs (6) last year.
- Andrew Chavez, Channel Islands: The senior athlete did a little bit of everything for the Raiders on offense last year.
- Jaxx Martinez, Santa Clara: The senior linebacker was the team’s leading tackler last fall.
- John Verduzco, Nordhoff: One of the area’s top returning defensive backs had five interceptions last fall.
Top newcomers and breakout candidates
- Donovan Merrill, Grace: The 6-foot-5 basketball player will be a jump-ball threat for quarterback Riley Williams.
- Isaiah Flores, Del Sol: The senior is a burgeoning playmaker for the Jaguars in the backfield.
- Levi Herrin, Nordhoff: The 6-foot-2 sophomore tight end gives the Rangers yet another downfield weapon.
- Ivan Rodriguez, Santa Clara: The sophomore transfer from Oxnard will play running back and middle linebacker after finishing his sit-out period.
- Bret Winters, Nordhoff: Alongside teammate Brody Dvortzsak, the senior running back will be thrust into the limelight with Jaxson Kirk’s injury.
- Jeyci Jimenez, Channel Islands: The 5-foot-9, 280-point defensive tackle moved to linebacker this season.
Biggest departures
- Landon Cooper, Grace: The dazzling wideout led Ventura County in points scored and touchdowns as a senior.
- Jake Williams, Grace: The reliable engine of the Lancers offense last season led the county in rushing (2,021 yards), touchdown runs (21) and carries (335).
- Jaadin Weyandt, Grace: The defensive end had seven sacks and 16 tackles for a loss as a senior.
- Desi Canfield, Nordhoff: As a running back and kicker, the senior was responsible for a county-leading 161 total points.
- Jaxson Kirk, Nordhoff: One of the Rangers’ top backfield options suffered a torn Achilles in preseason camp.
- Aidan Salazar, Channel Islands: The Raiders’ starting left guard transferred to St. Bonaventure.
Predicted order of finish
- 1. Grace: With Tom Coate calling the plays and Riley Williams throwing the passes, the Lancers are poised to make it a Citrus Coast League three-peat.
- 2. Nordhoff: The Rangers caught the injury bug in preseason camp, but if they can get healthy, this could be the group that knocks off Grace.
- 3. Channel Islands: The Raiders are coming off a breakout 2025 campaign that saw them reach the postseason for the first time since 2013.
- 4. Del Sol: The Jaguars’ first season with seniors could be a big one. Is a playoff berth in the cards?
- 5. Carpinteria: A capable offensive line will help the Warriors run the ball as they battle for a playoff spot.
- 6. Santa Clara: The Saints are eager to win after surviving a tough first year back in 11-man football.
Dominic Massimino is a staff writer for The Star. He can be reached at dominic.massimino@vcstar.com. For more coverage, follow @vcsdominic on Twitter and Instagram.
This article originally appeared on Ventura County Star: What you need to know about the Citrus Coast League football in 2026
