League play starts next week in most of the Orange County football leagues.

Here is a league-by-league look at which teams have asserted themselves as league championship contenders, and the dates of the bigger games in each league:

Alpha League: This four-team group still has a couple more weeks of nonleague games before league action begins Oct. 17. Mission Viejo’s top challenger is Los Alamitos.

Bravo League: San Juan Hills is the best team in this six-team group. Yorba Linda at San Juan Hills on Oct. 10 is going to be a doozy. Yorba Linda-Villa Park on Oct. 3 at El Modena High will be a fine league opener.

Delta League: The in-person viewing of Tustin’s wins over San Clemente and Yorba Linda were impressive. There will be a battle for second and third place with the leaders there Capistrano Valley, Trabuco Hills and Western. Capistrano Valley plays at Western on Oct. 3 in a league opener.

Epsilon League: La Habra at Crean Lutheran on Oct. 17 will be for the league championship. Huntington Beach is a dangerous team. La Habra-El Dorado next week at Valencia High is the best Epsilon opener.

Foxtrot League: Laguna Beach and Dana Hills are the best teams in the league. They play each other at Dana Hills on Oct. 24. Dana Hills has a good test in its league opener Oct. 3 at Aliso Niguel.

Iota League: El Toro, Irvine and Troy might be competitively close. Canyon will try to outscore everyone. Irvine is home against Troy on Oct. 24.

Kappa League: Segerstrom’s game at St. Margaret’s on Oct. 3 is a huge league opener.

Lambda League: It looks like Marina could go 5-0 here. The Vikings play one of their top challengers next week, Sunny Hills, at Westminster High.

Omicron League: None of the six teams in this league exit nonleague play better than .500. Which means, it’s a wild and wide-open league. Pacifica at Portola on Oct. 30 could be for the league title.

Sigma League: Calvary Chapel and Estancia are undefeated going into this week. Estancia vs. Calvary Chapel at Segerstrom High on Oct. 9 could be the big one.

Tango League: Costa Mesa went 4-1 in nonleague games and just might go 5-0 in league. Bolsa Grande could be a challenger if the Matadors can get the offense going. Bolsa plays at Costa Mesa on Oct. 17.

Trinity League: Mater Dei and St. John Bosco play each other Halloween nigh in a league finale. Orange Lutheran and Santa Margarita likely will battle for third place and the league’s final guaranteed playoff berth. But don’t overlook a Servite team that has improved immensely weekly. JSerra also is on the rise.

Zeta League: Saddleback might go 4-0 in this five-team league, as the Roadrunners did last year. Century could be their top challenger. Century at Saddleback is Oct. 24.

NOTES

• CIF Southern Section commissioner Mike West acknowledged Thursday that, yes, the CIF-SS office is taking a harder and longer look at the paperwork for transfer athletes these days. “I think it’s accurate to say we’re getting a little more aggressive this year,” West said. “We’re tired of seeing the volume that’s coming through. We’re hoping we can stem the tide.” …

• At the CIF-SS Council meeting Thursday, the Council, made up of CIF-SS league representatives, denied the league-placement appeals of five Irvine public schools (Irvine, Northwood, Portola, University and Woodbridge) and all-girls Catholic school Rosary. The Irvine schools wanted out of the Pacific Coast Conference in order to join the Coast View Athletic Association and Rosary wanted out of the PCC so it could return to the Trinity League. The only league changes made for the 2026-27 and 2027-28 school years is that Pacifica Christian, a small, private school in Newport Beach, joins the Pacific Coast group. …

• Those appeals and changes apply only to non-football leagues for those two school years. Orange County football leagues will be reconfigured for the 2026-27 and 2027-28 school years when the current season is over. One change to football leagues will be the growth of the top league, the Alpha League, from its current four-team membership to a six-team group. …

• With the Woodbridge Classic cross country meet held last weekend, Saturday’s 41st Laguna Hills Invitational is not as deep as the Woodbridge meet but it still is a strong meet. Among the Laguna Hills meet entries is San Clemente’s deep boys team that features Yohan Anderson and Mattheus Dos Santos of San Clemente. …

• Among the Orange County runners that competed in the Woodbridge Classic, the highlights were: Irvine senior Summer Wilson finished fourth in the Bob Day Sweepstakes girls race; JSerra’s girls team showed exceptional depth by winning the sweepstakes team title; and Woodbridge junior Aidan Antonio finished fifth in the Doug Speck Sweepstakes boys race. …

• Trabuco Hills freshman quarterback Jackson Verplancke completed 23 of 28 passes for 296 yards with six touchdowns last week in the Mustangs’ 43-36 win over Brea Olinda. Verplancke also is a fine pitcher. “He has great arm talent and he’s really smart,” Trabuco Hills coach Mark Nolan said. “He’s a humble, hard-working kid.” …

• Orange Lutheran’s girls flag football team is 17-0 and No. 1 in MaxPreps.com’s national rankings for the fall season. JSerra is No. 2, Newport Harbor is No. 3 and Santa Margarita is No. 5. Orange Lutheran is also No. 1 in the Orange County rankings. …

• Mater Dei’s girls volleyball team this past weekend finished in third place at the Durango Fall Classic, a prestigious national-level tournament in Las Vegas. Mater Dei junior Westley Matavao and senior Layli Ostovar were named to the all-tournament team. …

• Orange County veteran football public-address announcers: Harvey Ohman, in his 43rd season at Mission Viejo (he says this is his final season); Tim Brundige, 35 seasons at Servite; and Bob Ruddy, 29 seasons at El Modena. Three great ones.