Trinity League


The Trinity League is a high school athletic conference in Southern California, United States. In 2010 the Trinity League was named by MaxPreps as the second-toughest, high school football league in the United States. In baseball, it placed as the 168th-toughest league. It is part of the CIF Southern Section.
Kiki Mendoza served as the football coach at St. John Bosco High School for 12 years until 2010 when he was fired after the team did not make the playoffs. He was replaced by Jason Negro. Eric Sondheimer of the Los Angeles Times criticized the firing of Mendoza, stating "Yes, the Braves had trouble finishing in the upper echelon of the brutally tough Trinity League that includes Santa Ana Mater Dei, Anaheim Servite and Orange Lutheran, but who wouldn't?"

History

The Trinity League is the latest iteration of what was originally known as the Angelus League, founded in 1961. There were various early members of the Angelus league, which, in addition to Servite and Mater Dei, included St. Paul, Cantwell and Salesian. Cantwell and Salesian dropped out of the league, due to its competitiveness, and were replaced by St. John Bosco and Verbum Dei. In the late 1960s, St. John Bosco and Verbum Dei dropped out and were replaced by Bishop Amat and Pius X. This iteration became the core, blue blood members of the Angelus League. This iconic league members were: St. Paul, Mater Dei, Servite, Bishop Amat, Pius X and St. Anthony. In the late 1970s, things started to shift again. St. Anthony dropped in 1977 and was replaced by Bishop Montgomery.Pius X dropped in 1980. Bishop Montgomery in 1981. In 1982, Pius X came back a new member, Serra joined. Serra dropped in 1984 and was replaced by Bishop Montgomery again. In 1986 Pius X was gone and replaced by St. Bernard. St. Bernard only lasted two years and dropped in 1988. In 1989 Montgomery and Iconic member, St. Paul dropped and were replaced by Loyola and St. John Bosco. That was the last form of the Angelus League as it was disbanded in 1992.
In 1999, a rebirth of the Angelus league appeared under the name of the Serra League. Its core members were: Servite, Mater Dei, St. John Bosco and Santa Margarita. This lasted through 2001. The next year two new teams were added, Loyola and Bishop Amat. This lasted until 2006, when Loyola and Bishop Amat were moved to the Mission League and were replaced by Orange Lutheran and JSerra.
Five of the six teams have won a CIF-SS championship. Mater Dei, Servite, St. John Bosco, Santa Margarita and Orange Lutheran. Four of the six teams have won State championships. Mater Dei, St. John Bosco, Servite and Santa Margarita.
There is a current Angelus League which consists of the following members: Cathedral, St. Francis and Salesian and Crespi.

Members

SchoolCityFoundedEnrollmentNickname
JSerra Catholic High SchoolSan Juan Capistrano, California20031,150Lions
Mater Dei High SchoolSanta Ana, California19502,100Monarchs
Orange Lutheran High SchoolOrange, California19731,322Lancers
Rosary AcademyFullerton, California1965369Royals
Santa Margarita High SchoolRancho Santa Margarita, California19871,700Eagles
Servite High SchoolAnaheim, California1958920Friars
St. John Bosco High SchoolBellflower, California1940820Braves

Champions

Football

Notable athletic alumni

JSerra

Re'al Mitchell Led the Braves to win their second title in the 2016 CIF Southen Section Championships against De La Salle. Currently plays at Iowa State.

Santa Margarita