One of the most talent-rich regions in high school football is set to kick off its 2026 high school season.
No. 5 Centennial (Corona, CA) takes on Servite (Anaheim, CA) at 7 p.m. PT on Thursday, Aug. 20, to kick off the 2026 season for California high school football. The Huskies are coming off a CIF Southern Section Division 1 runner-up finish in 2025, but are looking dangerous as the second-ranked California team in the USA TODAY Sports Super 25.
Meanwhile, the Friars will feature a new coaching staff, as they try to avenge a pair of losses to the Huskies last year.
Here's everything you need to know about both teams and how you'll be able to watch the showdown from home:
Watch Servite vs. Centennial on NFHS Network
When is Servite vs. Centennial high school football game?
The California high school football
clash kicks off onThursday, August 20, 2026.
What time does Servite vs. Centennial high school football game start?
The game is slated to begin at 7 p.m. PT.
Watch Servite vs. Centennial high school football live
Centennial and Servite fans can watch the game live on the NFHS Network.
Centennial football: What to know
- Centennial is coming off an 11-2 2025 high school football season. The Huskies lost 42-7 to Santa Margarita in the CIF Southern Section Division 1 Championship game at the Rose Bowl.
- QB Jaden Jefferson is a Hawaii commit. He is coming off a 2025 season in which he threw for 3,348 yards, 36 passing touchdowns to just three interceptions, while completing nearly 69% of his passes. Both he and top receiver Quentin Hale join Centennial as transfers from Cathedral High School in Los Angeles.
- At running back, Braylin Drake returns healthy for his senior season, forming a duo with Malaki Davis, who is regarded as one of the top running backs in the nation.
Servite football: What to know
- The Friars are coming off a 6-5 season, which ended with a blowout 41-6 loss to the Huskies in the playoffs. Servite lost both games to Centennial by a combined 83-20 in 2025.
- Rick Garretson enters his first year as the head coach for Servite, replacing former head coach Chris Reinert, who resigned. Garretson comes from Chandler High School in Arizona, where he led the program to Open Division Championships in 2019 and 2020, while also winning 46 straight games between 2018-21.
- Junior quarterback Gino Wang, a transfer from JSerra Catholic High School, will lead the offense that is expected to be explosive this season. He threw for 1,345 yards and nine touchdowns last season, while also adding eight rushing scores.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Centennial vs Servite: How to watch California high school football
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