History was made on Friday night in Corona with host Centennial pulling off an upset win over state No. 1 Mater Dei. Photo: @SportsRecruits / Instagram.com.
We were not going to put together a scoreboard this week with two games on the docket to see, but had to change it up with No. 1 Mater Dei of Santa Ana (also No. 1 in the nation) going down in a loss to No. 6 Corona Centennial. Go inside for a preview of how the next, new state rankings may look plus there were some other big results, such as Mission Viejo coming from behind to beat San Diego Lincoln in a matchup between the last two CIF D1-AA state champions. SATURDAY RESULTS NOW ADDED.
Note: Look for a brand new State Top 50 set of football rankings that won’t simply be a list on Monday. We’ll have insights and breakdowns based on 47 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. We will only be doing scoreboards this year on weeks in which we aren’t going to a game.
We hope you enjoy this free post on CalHiSports.com. To join our Gold Club to get all new state rankings, state record updates and all of the all-state team announcements, CLICK HERE.
FOR LAST WEEK’S FIRST 25 IN TOP 50 STATE RANKINGS, CLICK HERE.
(Rankings based on previous State Top 50)
(Through reported results of Saturday, Sept. 13)
(Check back on Saturday night for completed weekend scoreboard)
1. Mater Dei (Santa Ana) 2-1*
LOST to No. 6 Centennial (Corona) 43-36. Seven turnovers doomed the Monarchs, which is why they were behind stunningly 33-7 at halftime. They came all the way back to make a game of it in the fourth quarter and who knows what might have happened had a big play with two minutes left been called a catch for the Monarchs instead of an interception. They had a bad loss two years ago to St. John Bosco in league, but came back to win the CIF Southern Section Open Division title and then were No. 1 in the state at the end. MD plays at Bishop Gorman of Las Vegas next Friday. *Asterisk is because forfeit win vs Bishop Montgomery (Torrance) not included.
2. St. John Bosco (Bellflower) 4-0
Defeated Serra (San Mateo) 42-0. There was no letdown for the Braves after their big win from the previous week over St. Frances Academy of Baltimore. They will be moved up to No. 1 in the state and probably will take over from Mater Dei for most national rankings as well.
3. Mission Viejo 4-0
Defeated No. 8 Lincoln (San Diego) 34-24. Traveling down to San Diego had the Diablos trailing the Hornets, 24-17, entering the fourth quarter. The CIF D1-AA state champs from 2023, however, made the plays down the stretch to beat the CIF D1-AA state champs from 2022 and 2024. Mission will not be in any D1-AA state game this season as it will be in the CIF Southern Section D1 playoffs.
4. Sierra Canyon (Chatsworth) 4-0
Defeated No. 34 Downey 49-7. Despite beating a previously undefeated team with a D1 QB, the Trailblazers will likely drop a spot in the next state rankings to make room for Centennial and Santa Margarita having to go higher than Mater Dei.
5. Santa Margarita (Rancho SM) 3-1
Defeated Oaks Christian (Westlake Village) 44-14. Having a win over Corona Centennial (which just beat Mater Dei) is going to have to move up the Eagles and their loss to expected new No. 2 Mission Viejo was in a 50-50 contest.
6. Centennial (Corona) 3-1
Defeated No. 1 Mater Dei (Santa Ana) 43-36. The Huskies had a 21-14 loss to MD during the 2021 season, which was their closest to beating the Monarchs since they last beat them in 2015. That game was in the CIFSS D1 semifinals, which was followed by a win over St. John Bosco before a loss to De La Salle in the CIF Open Division state final. Assistant coach Anthony Catalano was the QB of 2015 team. His kid brother, Dominic, is the QB for this Centennial team.
7. De La Salle (Concord) 3-0
Defeated St. Francis (Mountain View) 40-0. The DLS defense still hasn’t given up a point so far this season. The only TD allowed came on a defensive touchdown by Lakeland, Florida. The Spartans will be at Grant of Sacramento next week, which is where it looks like we’ll be headed as well.
San Diego Lincoln’s David Dunn was one of three coaches last season that won a second CIF state title. Photo: Scott Kurtz.
8. Lincoln (San Diego) 3-1
LOST to No. 3 Mission Viejo 34-24. Head coach David Dunn’s squad clearly did a lot better against the Diablos than NorCal powerhouse Folsom from the previous week and we wouldn’t expect the Hornets to drop in the state rankings or in the local San Diego rankings.
9. Lutheran (Orange) 3-1
Defeated No. 22 Serra (Gardena) 35-24. Solid win for Lancers after tough loss in previous game to Arizona No. 1 Basha of Glendale.
10. Cathedral Catholic (San Diego) 3-0
Did not play. Idle this week. Head coach Sean Doyle’s squad has wins vs Mater Dei Catholic, St. Francis of Mountain View and Chandler, Ariz. It plays Helix (La Mesa) next.
11. Servite (Anaheim) 3-1
Defeated Notre Dame (Sherman Oaks) 29-23. The Friars lost in their first game to Corona Centennial and have now won three in a row, but this one was much closer than expected.
12. Folsom 2-1
Defeated Sacred Heart Cathedral (San Francisco) 49-7. QB Ryder Lyons didn’t play with a sore ankle, but Brody Rudnicki had five TD passes.
13. Los Alamitos 5-0
Defeated St. Paul (Santa Fe Springs) 48-14. Lenny Ibarra had another big night for Griffins with three touchdowns.
14. La Costa Canyon (Carlsbad) 4-0
Defeated No. 31 San Clemente 28-14. Quality win for Mavericks over CIFSS team that beat Chaparral of Temecula in its previous game.
15. San Juan Hills (SJ Capistrano) 3-1
LOST to Rockwall-Heath of Texas, 34-26. This game was played in Texas. We’ll have to dig to see if it will cost the Stallions too many ranking spots.
16. Archbishop Riordan (San Francisco) 3-0
Defeated No. 17 Pittsburg on Saturday at home 42-35. TD passes of 92 and 34 yards from Michael Mitchell to Judge Nash helped the Crusaders build a 21-0 lead. Adonyae Brown also ran for three TDs, including one from 78 yards out on the second play of the game.
17. Pittsburg 2-1
LOST to No. 16 Archbishop Riordan on Saturday in San Francisco 42-35. Sophomore QB Javale Jones tried to bring the Pirates all the way back from 21-0 and 42-21 deficits. They had a chance on the last play, but Jones’ pass in the end zone was broken up.
18. Yorba Linda 4-0
Defeated Esperanza (Anaheim) 35-7. Other wins vs Mayfair (Lakewood), Edison (HB) and San Jacinto.
19. Mission Hills (San Marcos) 4-0
Defeated No. 20 Granite Hills (El Cajon) 31-21. Pick six TDs by Xavier St. John and John Garcia keyed the win for the Grizzlies, who lost in their last two games vs the Eagles.
20. Granite Hills (El Cajon) 3-1
LOST to No. 19 Mission Hills 31-21. It’s doubtful the Eagles will fall far in the next week’s rankings.
21. Damien (La Verne) 4-0
Defeated Tustin, 24-7. The Tillers were a team we had in the No. 37 position and have a win over San Clemente.
22. Serra (Gardena) 2-2
LOST to No. 9 Lutheran (Orange), 35-14. The Cavaliers have struggling Oaks Christian next week.
23. JSerra (SJ Capistrano) 2-2
Defeated Oak Hills (Hesperia) 24-21. That’s two straight for Lions after opening with losses to Sierra Canyon and Damien.
24. Edison (Huntington Beach) 3-1
Defeated Palos Verdes (PV Estates) 21-20. A blocked field goal prevented the Sea Kings from winning in the final seconds. The Chargers were behind 13-7 at halftime in matchup of CIF state champions from last year. Edison won it in D1-A while PV got it down in D2-A.
25. Leuzinger (Lawndale) 2-0*
Did not play (idle). Olympians are facing JSerra next in a real game.
HOW SOME OF TEAMS RANKED FROM NO. 25 TO NO. 50 FARED
26. Murrieta Valley (Murrieta) 2-1
Defeated Murrieta Mesa (Murrieta) 56-6. Team has a loss to No. 11 Servite with a win over No. 33 Rancho Cucamonga.
27. Rocklin 3-0
Did not play. Thunder will start up the Sierra Foothill League schedule next week vs Folsom.
28. Oak Ridge (El Dorado Hills) 2-1
Defeated No. 29 St. Mary’s (Stockton) 56-35. After being on the road at Frontier (Bakersfield) for a win and then at No. 19 Mission Hills for a loss, the Trojans raced out to 42 points in the first half for a 42-21 lead.
30. Vista Murrieta (Murrieta) 3-0
Defeated Bishop Amat (La Puente) 29-10. Broncos had a bye in previous week and looked good in beating the Lancers, who just had a big win vs Valencia.
32. Manteca 3-0
Defeated Marin Catholic (Kentfield) 15-14 on Saturday. For those wondering about which team should be considered No. 1 in San Joaquin County, St. Mary’s of Stockton had a 28-7 win over Marin Catholic from Marin Catholic’s previous game.
35. Chaparral (Temecula) 1-2
Defeated No. 33 Rancho Cucamonga 54-42. The wild-and-crazy shootout saw the Pumas score 27 points in the second quarter. They now have a big win to go with close losses to San Juan Hills and San Clemente.
BUBBLE TEAM FROM LAST WEEK MOST LIKELY TO MOVE IN
Granite Bay 3-1
Defeated Ponderosa (Shingle Springs) 42-7. Only loss to No. 17 Pittsburg and from the same tough league as Folsom, Oak Ridge, Rocklin and more.
Mark Tennis is the co-founder and publisher of CalHiSports.com. He can be reached at markjtennis@gmail.com. Don’t forget to follow Mark on the Cal-Hi Sports Twitter handle:
3 Comments
This article provides a great overview of high school football rankings and games, highlighting some exciting comebacks and upsets. The detailed accounts of each match make it easy to follow the seasons progress. Really interesting read for any football fan!speed stars unlock
Some exciting games with a few upsets thrown in. When will the Small School Rankings come out. The all pretty much have played 4 games. Interested to see where my Sonora Wildcats land in the Small Schools.
Hoping to get those out middle of this week. Sonora good chance to be No. 1.