State TOP 25 Weekend Scoreboard

There will be a new No. 1 atop the state next week and based on what happened on Friday night in the CIF Southern Section D1 quarterfinals we’re pretty sure which team that has to be. In very stormy, rainy conditions, No. 1 and unbeaten Sierra Canyon’s loss to No. 6 Santa Margarita wasn’t that much of a shock but No. 3 St. John Bosco getting upset by No. 9 Orange Lutheran as the top seed in the CIFSS D1 bracket qualifies as an all-timer. Other teams may rise or fall multiple positions after other results from around the state. (Saturday updates now included)

Note: We hope you enjoy this free post on CalHiSports.com. The next State TOP 50 Football Rankings will be completed 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 or in which the results demand it.

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.

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(Rankings based on previous State Top 50 plus results from last week)
(Through reported results of Saturday, Nov. 8)
*Forfeit wins, losses not included.

1. Sierra Canyon (Chatsworth) 10-1
LOST to No. 6 Santa Margarita (Rancho SM) 21-9. Yes, it was the Trailblazers’ first game against one of the other top six teams from the CIFSS and perhaps an earlier game may have helped, but they did do many good things in the loss, such has outgaining the Eagles in total yards. SMC just did a much better job of throwing the ball in the rain than Sierra Canyon did. The season ends with five shutouts and a big win vs Orange Lutheran, which will be still going in next week’s semifinals.

2. Mater Dei (Santa Ana) 8-2*
Defeated No. 5 Mission Viejo 20-0. The two-time defending CIF Open Division state champs dealt with the wet turf and rainy weather in their CIFSS D1 quarterfinal game much better than the Diablos. MD was only in front 7-0 at halftime but took advantage of a punt return plus 15-yard penalty to score in the third quarter and then made it 20-0 early in the fourth quarter after scoring on a run after the Mission Viejo punter touched his knee down at the 9-yard line. Head coach Raul Lara’s squad is playing No. 4 Centennial next in the semifinals.

3. St. John Bosco (Bellflower) 9-2
LOST to No. 9 Lutheran (Orange) 20-19. Giving up a pick six touchdown really hurt the Braves in their stunning upset loss to the Lancers, a team they beat 48-0 in the regular season. They did get a TD with 1:51 left on a 13-yard TD pass from Koa Malau’ulu to Madden Williams that should have tied the score, but the extra point was missed. OLu recovered an onside kick and then ran out the clock. Head coach Jason Negro told the Long Beach Press-Telegram it is the first time since coming to the school in 2008 that his team has ever lost two straight games to end a season. The first was the 36-33 loss to Mater Dei to end the regular season.

4. Centennial (Corona) 10-1
Defeated No. 8 Servite (Anaheim) 41-6. The Huskies, who have a win over Mater Dei with a loss to Santa Margarita, had an impressive win vs the Friars and will now host Mater Dei in the semifinals next week. Junior safety Jaden Walk-Green picked off two passes and returned one of those two for a score. He now has 10 interceptions and six interception return TDs for the season.

5. Mission Viejo 9-2
LOST to No. 2 Mater Dei (Santa Ana) 20-0. The shutout loss to the Monarchs stopped a streak of consecutive games in which the Diablos have scored at 372 games since 1995. It’s the longest such streak in state history. Note that the record total of 444 by Los Alamitos also was stopped by Mater Dei with a shutout of the Griffins in 2022. Centennial now has the longest such streak in the state at 366 games since 1998.

6. Santa Margarita (Rancho SM) 8-3
Defeated No. 1 Sierra Canyon (Chatsworth) 21-9. A pair of TD passes from Trace Johnson to Ryan Clark was enough for the Eagles to knock off the Trailblazers. USC-bound Trent Mosley also had a rushing touchdown. All of the results actually worked to Santa Margarita’s advantage as the two teams from California that the Eagles have lost to — both St. John Bosco and Mission Viejo — are out of the CIFSS D1 playoffs. They’ve also had wins over the other three teams still going in the bracket — Corona Centennial, Mater Dei and Orange Lutheran. They will play OLu next in the semifinals.

7. De La Salle (Concord) 11-0
Defeated San Ramon Valley (Danville) 42-0. It went as expected in the Spartans’ first CIF North Coast Section Open/D1 playoff game. They led 28-0 at halftime. Jaden Jefferson scored on runs of 53 and 35 yards and had a 53-yard return of the opening kickoff that set up another score. DLS will now play No. 14 Pittsburg, also as expected, next Friday for the NCS Open title with the losing team dropped down to the D1 championship game for the following week.

8. Servite (Anaheim) 6-5
LOST to No. 2 Centennial (Corona) 41-6. The Friars, who had a win over Orange Lutheran in the regular season, got nothing going in the bad weather night vs the Huskies. Their only TD came in the fourth quarter on a 3-yard run by Gavin Gutierrez.

9. Lutheran (Orange) 5-6*
Defeated No. 3 St. John Bosco (Bellflower) 20-19. So how big of an upset was the Lancers’ victory over the Braves? It is the first time since 2011 that a top seed in the CIFSS top bracket has lost in a quarterfinal. The only similar one we found was in 1981 when then state No. 1 Edison of Huntington Beach lost in an opening round game and had a 32-game win streak snapped in a 14-7 loss to Servite of Anaheim, which entered the night with four losses. Servite hadn’t lost 48-0 to Edison earlier in the season, however. A 67-yard TD pass from Raegan Toki to Nico Bland and a 42-yard interception return by King Rich Johnson accounted for two of the team’s three TDs on the night.

10. Folsom 10-1
Defeated Downey (Modesto) 62-34. Isaiah Williams returned the opening kickoff for a TD, but the Knights were able to score against the Bulldogs’ defense and were ahead 20-13 at halftime in the CIF Sac-Joaquin Section D1 first round game. They also were in the game at 48-34 early in the fourth quarter. Ryder Lyons threw for four TDs for Folsom. The Bulldogs are playing Monterey Trail of Elk Grove (which has beaten them before in the playoffs) in next week’s semifinals.

11. Archbishop Riordan (San Francisco) 11-0
Defeated Salinas 42-9 on Saturday. The Crusaders are the top seed for the CIF Central Coast Section Open/D1 playoffs and advanced to next Friday’s title game vs No. 27 Serra of San Mateo. They won against the Padres, 42-35, to end the regular season.

12. Mission Hills (San Marcos) 9-2
LOST to No. 15 Cathedral Catholic (San Diego) 42-35. The top seed in the CIF San Diego Section Open Division four-team playoffs fell to the No. 4 seed, but it was not an upset as all four were close in all rankings. Troy Huhn had three TD passes for Mission Hills and one TD run, but his last-gasp drive to tie the score at the end was stopped with an interception.

13. La Costa Canyon (Carlsbad) 9-2
LOST to No. 19 Carlsbad 27-23. Cody Herman caught two TD passes from Quinn Roth to help the Grizzlies get out to a 23-14 lead at halftime, but the defense couldn’t get the Lancers off the field on several ball control drives in the second half. LCC’s season ends in the CIF San Diego Section Open Division semifinals.

14. Pittsburg 10-1
Defeated Liberty (Brentwood) 42-18. It was expected that the Pirates were going to beat Liberty in their NCS D1/Open matchup on Friday and they did. Pitt didn’t take control until the third quarter with a 14-6 halftime lead. It will now be De La Salle at Pittsburg playing once again for the NCS Open title. It was a field goal difference when the two teams played in the same game a year ago.

15. Cathedral Catholic (San Diego) 9-2
Defeated No. 12 Mission Hills (San Marcos) 42-35. Honor Fa’alave-Johnson hit paydirt on a 43-yard TD run with 50 seconds left to break a 35-35 tie and then Kevin Clark came up with his second interception of the game to stop the Grizzlies. Fa’alave-Johnson had four other TD runs on the night. The Dons will now play No. 19 Carlsbad for the Open Division title.

16. Los Alamitos 9-2
Defeated No. 31 San Juan Hills (SJ Capistrano) 35-10. After beating Yorba Linda in the first round, the Griffins won by a more comfortable margin on Friday in the CIFSS D2 playoffs. They will now play top seed Murrieta Valley in next week’s semifinals.

17. Murrieta Valley (Murrieta) 8-3
Defeated No. 18 Rancho Cucamonga 26-6. This team’s quest to get back to the CIFSS D2 championship game (they lost to Newbury Park) continued with a second straight impressive playoff outing. It followed a 35-14 win over Corona del Mar in the first round. Murrieta Valley will now play No. 16 Los Alamitos in the semifinals.

18. Rancho Cucamonga 7-4*
LOST to No. 17 Murrieta Valley (Murrieta) xxx. We had moved up the Cougars in recent weeks for winning the Baseline League title and then beating Tustin, 45-8, in the first round of the CIFSS D2 playoffs. They lost to the top seed Nighthawks on Friday in the quarterfinals.

19. Carlsbad 9-1
Defeated No. 13 La Costa Canyon (Carlsbad) 27-23. This was a huge turnaround for the Lancers in the CIF San Diego Section Open Division semifinals. They had lost to their arch-rivals 50-22 just a few weeks ago, but reversed it this time and did it by outscoring them 13-0 in the second half. Kai Brown had an 8-yard TD run for the go-ahead points in the fourth quarter. It will now be Carlsbad vs Cathedral Catholic in the Open final.

20. Lincoln (San Diego) 9-2
Defeated Poway 51-41. In their first game of the CIF San Diego Section D1 playoffs (not in the Open Division), head coach David Dunn wasn’t happy about the defense giving up so much but Junior Curtis was huge for the offense. He rushed for 307 yards on 20 carries and had three second-half TDs. Lincoln will now play San Marcos in the semifinals.

21. Leuzinger (Lawndale) 9-1*
Defeated No. 29 Chaparral (Temecula) 19-16. Journee Tonga scored on a 23-yard run with 7:57 left to give the Olympians the lead in the CIF D2 quarterfinals and then they held on after a series of fumbles by both teams in the bad weather. Chaparral missed a 39-yard field goal in the closing seconds that would have tied the score. Leuzinger will now play No. 28 San Clemente in next week’s semifinals.

22. Manteca 11-0
Defeated Tracy 43-8. The Buffaloes, who have been ranked high all year mainly for beating Cardinal Newman of Santa Rosa in that team’s first game 40-7, breezed past the Bulldogs in their CIF Sac-Joaquin Section D2 playoff opener. They will now play St. Mary’s of Stockton in the semifinals, a crazy 64-55 winner in its game vs Jesuit, in a long-awaited matchup between the top two programs in San Joaquin County.

23. Cardinal Newman (Santa Rosa) 10-1
Defeated San Marin (Novato) 21-14 in OT. Pathoumnourack Malakai had a 23-yard run for a score in overtime to give the Cardinals (has a win vs Grant of Sacramento) the win in the CIF North Coast Section Open/D1 playoffs. They will now play unbeaten Acalanes of Lafayette in a matchup to determine the opponent for the losing team in next week’s Open Division final between De La Salle and Pittsburg.

24. Grant (Sacramento) 7-4
Defeated Edison (Stockton) 35-22. The Pacers, who have handed Central East of Fresno its only loss, won in their CIF Sac-Joaquin Section D1 quarterfinal over a school they’ve played many times over the years. Grant now plays No. 34 Oak Ridge in next week’s semifinals as the Trojans scored in the final seconds to beat Central Catholic of Modesto, 14-13.

25. Central East (Fresno) 11-1
Defeated Buchanan (Clovis) 53-31. For the second straight week, an opponent has given the Bengals some nervous moments in the early going, but their offense is too unstoppable. Jelani Dippel passed for 391 yards and six TDs. Central East will now face Clovis in the Central Section D1AA championship game next Friday. The winning team will then have to wait an extra week to find out an opponent for the NorCal regional bowls. The loss to Grant likely means it won’t be in D1AA and maybe not even D1A.

HOW SOME OTHER TEAMS RANKED FROM
NO. 25 TO NO. 50 IN LAST WEEK’S RANKINGS FARED

26. Pacifica (Oxnard) 12-0
Defeated No. 32 Bishop Amat (La Puente) 28-7 in CIFSS D3 playoffs. Amat was the top seed.

27. Serra (San Mateo) 7-4
Defeated Archbishop Mitty (San Jose) 29-13 on Saturday. The Padres started the CCS Open/D1 playoffs as the No. 2 seed and will now play top seed Riordan on Friday in the title game. The losing team will play the following week for the CCS D1 title. The winning team will be qualified for the CIF NorCal regional bowl games.

28. San Clemente 8-4
Defeated No. 30 Vista Murrieta (Murrieta) 32-7. Tritons won in CIFSS D2 quarterfinals and now play No. 21 Leuzinger in semifinals.

34. Oak Ridge (El Dorado Hills) 8-3
Defeated Central Catholic (Modesto) 14-13. This was in the Sac-Joaquin Section D1 quarterfinals. Next will be No. 24 Grant (Sacramento) in the semifinals.

35. St. Mary’s (Stockton) 9-2
Defeated Jesuit (Carmichael) 58-55. This was in the SJS D2 quarterfinals. Jesuit was leading 45-36 going into the fourth quarter, but the Rams outscored the Marauders 21-10 from there. They play No. 22 Manteca next week in semifinals.

38. Granite Hills (El Cajon) 9-2
Defeated Rancho Bernardo (San Diego) 56-7. The Eagles (No. 2 seed in SD Section D1 playoffs behind Lincoln) advanced to semifinal matchup next week with No. 3 seed Mt. Miguel of Spring Valley.

41. Edison (Huntington Beach) 7-5
Defeated No. 46 Inglewood 9-7. Chargers won in CIFSS D3 quarterfinals and now get No. 42 Palos Verdes in semifinals in rematch of game Edison won earlier this season by blocking a game-winning field goal attempt.

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