Helix of La Mesa players charge onto the field before their game last week in the Honor Bowl. The Highlanders moved to 4-0 with another big win this Friday. Photo: @HelixFootball / Twitter.com.
No. 2 Mater Dei, No. 23 Oak Ridge & plus St. Bonaventure and Rocklin all won on Saturday. No. 3 Centennial of Corona and No. 6 Orange Lutheran fall in out-of-state games on Friday to top national teams. Also, Long Beach Poly game at Serra (Gardena) called at halftime by local police. Plus, Servite knocks off No. 8 Los Alamitos & Helix of La Mesa posts impressive victory over San Diego Madison.
Note: Look for a brand new State Top 50 set of football rankings that won’t simply be a list on Monday night. We’ll have insights and breakdowns based on 45 years of going to Friday night games with an overview of the state’s top teams and what’s coming up that just can’t be matched. Each new set of rankings will be for Gold Club members only. The late Friday/Weekend Scoreboards will continue to be free posts and will provide snippets of info, comments and more.
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(Rankings based on previous State Top 50)
(Through reported results of Friday, Sept. 8)
(Thanks to Northern California correspondent Daniel Poulter for contributions)
1. St. John Bosco (Bellflower) 4-0
Defeated St Frances Academy (Baltimore), 37-14, on Friday at home. Caleb Sanchez had a couple of early turnovers at QB, but ended up with four TD passes in an otherwise solid outing. The Braves play their next game in Hawaii, which will be three weeks after they traveled to Florida to play St. Thomas Aquinas.
2. Mater Dei (Santa Ana) 4-0
Defeated Kahuku of Hawaii, 55-8, on Saturday night at the Santa Ana Bowl. The Monarchs led 44-8 at halftime. Elijah Brown didn’t throw seven TD passes like he did last week, but stayed hot with four. Daryus Dixson had two interceptions, one that was returned for a score. Jordon Davison also had two TD runs. Kahuku will return home and next week guess who the Red Raiders are playing? St. John Bosco is coming to them.
3. Centennial (Corona) 2-2
LOST Friday at Bishop Gorman of Las Vegas, 56-28. It looked like on ESPNU that the Gaels were looking to make a statement since Mater Dei had a 28-14 win over the Huskies to open the season. Centennial contributed to the lopsided score with three fumbles and one interception. Cornell Hatcher scored four TDs for the Huskies.
4. Serra (San Mateo) 3-0
Defeated Central Catholic (Modesto), 38-7, on Friday. It was close early, but Serra’s defense dominated another quality team and the offense showed some more flash in the passing game. NorCal’s front running team has a bye next week, then WCAL action begins.
5. Sierra Canyon (Chatsworth) 3-0
Did not play. Head coach Jon Ellinghouse’s squad has a bye on the schedule for this week. The next game is a big one vs Orange Lutheran. The winner could be a top four seed for the CIF Southern Section D1 playoffs.
6. Lutheran (Orange) 3-1
LOST Friday at Chandler, Ariz., 35-10. A pick six helped put the Lancers in an early hole and they never recovered. Chandler has been nationally ranked in recent seasons and was thought to be down a bit due to transfer losses. Instead, it was the Wolves who looked closer to the Bosco-MD level.
7. JSerra (SJ Capistrano) 3-1
Defeated Notre Dame (Sherman Oaks), 34-14, on Friday. The Lions took down a 3-0 team and will now head to Clovis next week to take on 4-0 Clovis North. Their only loss is 9-7 to Sierra Canyon.
8. Los Alamitos 3-1
LOST Friday at Cerritos College, 28-24, to Servite of Anaheim. The Griffins took the lead 24-21 with 3:12 left on a 72 yd TD run by sophomore Lenny Ibarra. Big-time recruit TE Davon Mitchell also had a TD catch.
9. Lincoln (San Diego) 4-0
Defeated Mater Dei Catholic (Chula Vista), 54-19, on Thursday. The matchup between last year’s CIF D1-AA champs and the CIF D2-AA champs wasn’t close, but it also wasn’t close when MD Catholic played Cathedral Catholic and Carlsbad in its first two games. Akili Smith Jr. threw for three TDs and ran for one.
10. Carlsbad 4-0
Defeated Casteel of Queen Creek, Ariz., 49-9. We saw one report that referred to Queen Creek as the No. 8 ranked team in Arizona.
Police officers at Long Beach Poly-Serra game on Friday in Gardena had to respond to crowd control issues outside of stadium gates. Photo: Nick Koza.
11. Long Beach Poly (Long Beach) 3-1
Defeated Serra (Gardena), 28-14, on Friday. It was a strange scene at Serra at halftime and police responded with helicopters and riot gear due to a large crowd outside the stadium that couldn’t get in because it was a sellout. After a long delay, the game was called.
12. Mission Viejo 3-1
Defeated Highland (Palmdale), 58-0. It wasn’t expected that the Bulldogs would give the Diablos much of a test and they didn’t. Next week will be Los Alamitos at home.
13. Folsom 3-1
Defeated Turlock, 49-7, on Friday in Stanislaus County. The Bulldogs have a bye next week, then host De La Salle in two weeks.
14. St. Mary’s (Stockton) 3-0
Did not play. It’s a bye week for the Rams after they opened with quality wins vs Clovis West, Central Catholic and Manteca. They play next week at De La Salle where they will be looking for their second straight win over the Spartans.
15. Santa Margarita (Rancho SM) 3-1
Defeated Bishop Amat (La Puente), 51-45, on Thursday. The Eagles got down 21-0 and in the end had to hold off the Lancers. Super soph Trent Mosley tied the school record held by Ryan Wolpin by scoring six touchdowns. Junior QB John Gazzinga sparked the comeback after just getting eligible as a transfer from Orange Lutheran.
16. Oaks Christian (Westlake Village) 2-1
Did not play. Head coach Charles Collins’ club has a bye this week. Its wins are against Chaminade and Roosevelt (Eastvale) with the loss to No. 5 Sierra Canyon. Game next week will be vs Serra (Gardena).
17. De La Salle (Concord) 1-2
Defeated St. Francis (Mountain View), 35-17. It was 21-14 and the Lancers were on the 6-yard line but the DLS defense held, the Lancers kicked a field goal, and then the DLS offense drove for a touchdown. A final TD came after the Lancers didn’t get a fourth down when they had to go for it deep in their own territory. Still, a solid win for DLS after losses to Orange Lutheran and Serra (SM) in first two games.
18. San Clemente 4-0
Defeated Corona del Mar (Newport Beach), 28-14. Aiden Rubin led the Tritons with 181 yards rushing and three TDs. The defense didn’t get another shutout, but CdM is a better squad than the last two opponents.
19. Rancho Cucamonga 4-0
Defeated Valencia, 22-20. This was a matchup of two 3-0 teams and Valencia has a win over Bishop Amat. Rancho’s previous win over Servite also will mean a jump in the next rankings since Servite just beat Los Alamitos.
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20. Liberty (Bakersfield) 3-1
Defeated Buchanan (Clovis), 35-30. Will the closer call than expected and a surging Clovis North squad that has a game next week vs JSerra change the top ranking for the CIF Central Section? We predict there will be different ways of looking at it in different rankings.
21. Pittsburg 3-0
Defeated Monterey Trail (Elk Grove), 10-7. Following last week’s 41-21 win at Granite Bay, the Pirates won a different type of game in their home opener.
22. Serra (Gardena) 2-2
LOST to Long Beach Poly, 28-14, on Friday in game called at halftime. Several reporters on Twitter and everyone inside the stadium seemed safe. There were crowd control issues outside. The Cavs’ other loss was to Orange Lutheran in the first game.
23. Oak Ridge (El Dorado Hills) 4-0
Defeated Clayton Valley (Concord), 27-0, on Saturday. The Trojans were the host school of the Saturday NorCal Honor Bowl that also featured two other games played earlier. They became the first school to win in Honor Bowl games in back-to-back weeks after they won last week in San Diego against San Diego Madison. DL Marcus Hoffman was all over the field on defense. The MVP was mighty mite RB Erick Orme Jr., who rushed for a pair of scores. Last week’s MVP, sophomore Jasen Womack, had a pick six to seal the win.
24. Helix (La Mesa) 4-0
Defeated Madison (San Diego), 53-19. All phases of the game were sizzling for the Highlanders. After their previous wins plus this one, they are clearly now a third team to watch for the top of the San Diego Section along with Lincoln and Carlsbad.
25. San Ramon Valley (Danville) 3-0
Defeated Elk Grove, 45-7. The Wolves rolled on the road. They return home next Friday for a big one vs McClymonds (Oakland).
TEAMS ON THE BUBBLE
Central Catholic (Modesto) 2-2
LOST to No. 4 Serra (San Mateo), 38-7, on Friday. The other loss was to No. 15 St. Mary’s (Stockton).
Chaminade (West Hills) 2-2
Defeated LA Cathedral, 31-14. The Eagles’ two losses are to higher ranked Oaks Christian and JSerra.
Chaparral (Temecula) 3-1
Defeated Temecula Valley (Temecula), 42-7. Blake Lowe caught a pair of TD passes and he had a game-clinching 80-yard pick six in the third quarter.
Quiad Carr has been scoring multiple touchdowns per game for Servite of Anaheim. Photo: @ServiteFootball / Twitter.com.
Clovis North (Fresno) 4-0
Defeated Central Valley Christian (Visalia), 48-14. While CVC was 3-0, it’s going to be a massive jump in competition for the Broncos when they play JSerra next Friday at home.
Clovis West (Fresno) 3-1
Defeated Bullard (Fresno), 21-20. This win was surprisingly close considering previous Bullard scores so it may cost the Golden Eagles some spots in next week’s rankings.
Edison (Huntington Beach) 1-2
LOST Friday afternoon at state-ranked Palos Verdes, 31-28. Team’s other loss to state-ranked Helix.
Grant (Sacramento) 3-1
Defeated Los Gatos, 22-21. This game was set up earlier in the week and the Pacers hit the road to Santa Clara County. They trailed for most of it, but made some plays on both sides of the ball to pull out a big win. Los Gatos was in the top 10 of the Bay Area.
Granite Hills (El Cajon) 3-0
Defeated Eastlake (Chula Vista), 35-7. Are people in San Diego circling the Oct. 20 game vs Helix? We sure have.
Madison (San Diego) 2-2
LOST to Helix (La Mesa), 53-19. This loss came on the heels of a much closer loss to Oak Ridge (El Dorado Hills) in the Honor Bowl played last week.
McClymonds (Oakland) 2-0
Defeated Bishop O’Dowd (Oakland), 45-0, on Friday. Mack won 40-0 in first game vs Bellarmine. San Ramon Valley up next.
Oak Hills (Hesperia) 4-0
Defeated Citrus Valley (Redlands), 24-19. Never mind Citrus Valley’s 1-1 record coming in. Its loss was to Mission Viejo. It was a game with four lead changes and the Bulldogs had to fall on an onside kick to clinch the win.
Palos Verdes (PV Estates) 4-0
Defeated Edison (Huntington Beach), 31-28, on Friday afternoon. Dylan Freebury booted a 27-yard field goal with one second left.
Pacifica (Oxnard) 4-0
Defeated Buena (Ventura) 24-8. The next game is against San Marcos of Santa Barbara next Friday.
Rocklin 4-0
Defeated Manteca on Saturday at the Honor Bowl in El Dorado Hills, 35-14. Reeve Slone threw for four touchdowns for the Thunder. Mavrik Collins was MVP with two of the TD catches plus he came up with a pick six on defense.
Servite (Anaheim) 3-1
Defeated Los Alamitos, 28-24, on Friday at Cerritos College. Quaid Carr scored the final two TDs for the Friars, including a 2-yd run with 44 seconds left. Team’s only loss to Rancho Cucamonga.
St. Bonaventure (Ventura) 2-2
Defeated Archbishop Riordan (San Francisco), 24-14, on Saturday in the city by the bay. The Seraphs kept the explosive Crusaders on the sidelines with ground and pound offense. Koen Glover’s 25-yard TD in the fourth quarter was the difference.
St. Francis (Mountain View) 1-2
LOST Friday to No. 17 De La Salle, 35-17. It was 7-7 and 14-14 on two Andrew Scharrenberg TD runs.
Valencia 3-1
LOST to Rancho Cucamonga, 22-20, on Friday. The Vikings battled the No. 19 team above until the end. They shouldn’t drop in any rankings that are credible.
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