FRIDAY NIGHT area high school football results (Shutterstock).

About halfway through the 2023 high school football season, which team has emerged as the best in our West Orange County area?

You could make a pretty good argument that it might be Western High of Anaheim after its 35-0 victory over Garden Grove High on Friday night.

Quarterback Anthony Luna put on a passing clinic, completing 18 of 20 passes for 301 yards and two touchdowns. Joshua Faulkner made the best of just two carries, rushing for touchdowns of one and four yards.

Malachi Alatore had 62 yards on eight carries and Anthony Edwards gained 61 on eight carries.

With the win, the Pioneers are 4-1 and have won four in a row after losing a high-scoring slugfest to Los Alamitos in the opener.

The Argonauts (2-4), on the other hand, have hit a tough patch, having been shut out 76-0 over their last two games.

Meanwhile, Edison High of Huntington Beach (2-3) – the other contender for the area’s best team – defeated Wilcox High of Santa Clara 21-7 at Bakersfield.

Overall, local teams won five games and lost seven.

Ocean View improved to 4-2 with a 14-7 win over Pioneer High of Whittier on Thursday night. The Seahawks had a balanced attack with Frankie  Armenta passing for 95 yards and Jayden Trujillo rushing for 78 yards and catching one pass for 28 more.

Santiago (3-2) rolled up a 30-6 halftime lead and went on to post a 39-6 win over Gabrielino High of San Gabriel on Friday.