Sports & Recreation

Portola High School Football Team Captures First Playoff Win

image of a football game image of a football game

Three cheers for Great Park Neighborhoods’ hometown high school, which appears to be adopting some championship habits. In only its second varsity season, the Portola Bulldogs football program secured the biggest win in the school’s history by defeating Capo Valley Christian 33-19 in the opening round of the CIF Division 14 playoffs.

The playoff win is the latest in a series of major milestones for a school that is only in its fourth year. When the school first opened in August 2016, there were only 12 students in the football program. After a winless varsity season in the Pacific Coast League in 2018, they won their first-ever league game in October 2019. The team never looked back. They went undefeated in regular-season league play in 2019 and finished the season with a 9-1 record to reach the CIF playoffs for the first time ever.

Portola High School celebrated its first graduating class in June 2020 as the newest public high school within the Irvine Unified School District. It was built as part of a public-private partnership between FivePoint’s joint venture, The Irvine Company, and Irvine Unified School District.

Congratulations, Portola Bulldogs!