Football advances to CIF Championship

Alyssa S. Moore, Adviser

November 27, 2025

Hawkins offensive line working to increase their already 18 to 13 lead in Fridays semifinal CIF game against Wilson HS

After defeating Wilson High School in the semifinals on Friday, November 21, 18 to 13, number 2-ranked Hawkins HS Football advances to face the number 1-ranked Santee High School in the Division III CIF Football Championship.

Tickets are $15 for general admission, $10 for students and senior citizens, free for children 4 years and younger and are available online.

The championship game will be well worth the price as Hawkins High School played a stunning semifinal game on Friday, November 21, clawing their way to the top, maintaining their perfect home game record of six wins and zero losses. “This wasn’t our best-looking game, but with this win our core guys had to dig deep,” coach Darrell Brown said.

Hawkins High School Football 2025, from Max Preps Sports

“The offensive line couldn’t sustain drive, so as defense, we kind of knew this was going to be a defensive game,” Coach Washington said, “so we went there with the mentality that we will pick each other up.”

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Hawkins was originally scheduled to play their seminfinal home game at Hawkins High School football field, however after Thurday night’s rain storm, the game was moved to Diego Rivera football field, just east of Hawkins at Avalon and Gage.

Nonetheless, Hawkins fans like Antoine, Calloway, Curtis and Bell left the stands floating, emotionally, as the victors in last Friday’s game. And, with good reason.

Hawkins High School has not appeared in a CIF Championship since 2016; however, that game ended in scandal and both Los Angeles High and Hawkins were stripped of their titles, and the previous Hawkins HS football coaches left LAUSD to coach for Long Beach School District.

Eventually, the former shuttered Hawkins coaches ended up in the Inglewood School District, where, in November 2021, they were criticized nationally for a lopsided game, slaughtering the other team 106 to 0. Days later, Inglewood School District delivered a pubic apology.

Coaches Coltress and Brown, along with the rest of the Hawkins HS football coaching staff have worked hard to build back the integrity and reputation of Hawkins Football. It’s been a slow build, but their efforts are being rewarded as Hawkins will appear in the CIF Championship at 2:00 pm on Friday, November 28 at Birmingham Charter HS.

Max Preps and the CIF website report the game will begin at 2 pm.

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Su generosa donación apoyará a los estudiantes periodistas de la Escuela Secundaria Augustus F. Hawkins. Nos permitirá imprimir el periódico y la revista de salud mental, comprar o reparar equipos, cubrir nuestro banquete anual de premios y otros gastos.

About the Contributor

Alyssa S. Moore, Adviser

Alyssa Shepherd Moore (pronounced ah-LEE-SUH) was hired at Hawkins High School in 2014, two years after the school opened. She has been in room 228 ever since. As a graduate of her dream school, USC, she was delighted to work at the school where she had served as a volunteer giving SAT Prep classes to rising seniors through the Al Wooten Jr. Heritage Center on Western. What qualifies Ms. Moore to teach journalism? Well, Ms. Moore is a published freelance writer who has written for the R&B Report Magazine, the BRE Report, and several other entertainment magazines. She is also a member of JEA, NABJ, and ACES: The Society for Editing. And, in June 2025 she graduated from UCLA with a certificate in Journalism. In 2024, after working tirelessly over spring break and several sleepless nights during the week and weekends, she along with Ms. Rivera, yearbook teacher, chaperoned 20+ Hawkins students to their first-ever JEA NSPA National High School Journalism Conference in Kansas City, Missouri. While in Kansas, she lobbied to have Hawkins HS join the Quill and Scroll International Honor Society for High School Journalists. On May 7, 2024, Hawkins became a member and inducted 25 initial members into the honor society. [caption id="attachment_2307" align="alignleft" width="600"] Hawkins Journalism class, September 2017 with Kyle Finck of the LA Times High School Insider[/caption] With assistance from ETA, which included funding, mentorships, professional learning communities and, networking opportunities, the journalism program has grown from 17 students in 2017 to over 100 students in 2025-2026.