CIF State FB Previews & Picks

De La Salle football players hold up CIF Open Division state title trophy the last time they won it, which was in 2015 at Sacramento State. At right, Pacifica of Oxnard players surround CIF title trophy after win in D2-A championship in 2019. Photos: Paul Muyskens & Mark Tennis.

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OPEN DIVISION
De La Salle of Concord (NCS Open) vs. Santa Margarita of Rancho SM (CIFSS D1)
Saturday, 8 p.m., Saddleback College.

Records, Rankings & History: Santa Margarita may only be 10-3, but is No. 1 in the state and climbing nationally after winning the CIF Southern Section D1 title by a 42-7 score over Centennial of Corona, which is still No. 2 based on having two wins vs Mater Dei (Open Division state champs in 2021, 2023 & 2024). The Eagles’ losses are to Mission Viejo in the first game, Bishop Gorman of Las Vegas and St. John Bosco of Bellflower. The program won its first and only CIF state title in 2011 with a win vs Bellarmine Prep of San Jose in the D1 title game. In those years, not every CIF section champion was included in the regional/state games and the CIF Southern Section didn’t have competitive equity playoffs. Santa Margarita was the Pac-Five champion of the CIFSS that year, but Westlake of Westlake Village was chosen for the Open Division and lost in the state final to De La Salle. Speaking of the Spartans, that win over Westlake also came during a four-year streak of Open Division state championships that ended in 2012. They also won CIF Open Division state titles in 2007, 2014 and 2015. They have not won in the CIF state finals since 2015 with losses in 2016 to St. John Bosco (Open), in 2017 to Mater Dei (Open), in 2018 to Mater Dei (Open), in 2019 to St. John Bosco (Open), in 2022 to San Diego Lincoln (D1), in 2023 to Mission Viejo (D1) and last year to Mater Dei (Open). The only year in which De La Salle has not earned a CIF state championship appearance since the event was restarted by the CIF in 2006 from a hiatus since 1927 was in 2021. There were no games, of course, in 2020 (pandemic). This year’s team enters perfect at 12-0 and has been at No. 5 in the overall State TOP 50 since the end of the CIFSS D1 quarterfinals. This is the first time that De La Salle and Santa Margarita have played in football. The Spartans will have now played all of the Trinity League teams at least once in their history except JSerra.

Comments: When the De La Salle players were coming off of the field after their win against Pittsburg in the CIF North Coast Section Open Division final and had seemingly clinched their spot in the state final, the final moments of the CIF Southern Section D1 semifinals between Mater Dei and Corona Centennial were unfolding. Then came Centennial’s blocked field goal that clinched the win. The players already knew that St. John Bosco had been upset the week before and once that play happened the reaction was immediate. “Great, we don’t have to play either Bosco or Mater Dei,” said one player. Almost as soon as he said that, though, a coach nearby added. “It’s not going to matter, they’re all great down there.” No one at De La Salle knew that Santa Margarita would end up doing what it did in the next week’s CIFSS D1 final, and that was record a 42-7 blowout of Centennial. The DLS coaches at the Pittsburg game also knew that their team will have to play much better in this game to even have a chance at beating the CIFSS D1 champions. We do agree that this edition of the Spartans is more explosive than last year and has a stronger defensive unit and that team really didn’t lose all that badly to Mater Dei (37-15). The issue, though, is that the passing game still doesn’t seem to work all that well. It isn’t needed to beat teams like Pittsburg, Folsom, Serra (San Mateo) and others in the north. Against the defenses of teams like Santa Margarita this year and Mater Dei last year, it sure is and that’s still a big question. We also don’t expect any kind of drop off for the Eagles after they won their big CIFSS title. The coaching staff with head coach Carson Palmer leading the way is just too professional, balanced and mentally tough to let their players slip at all. The Eagles will be ready and they will also have basically a home game. Saddleback has been Santa Margarita’s home field for many years (not this season or last) and the school is only 10 miles away.

Prediction: Santa Margarita 24, De La Salle 13

Cathedral Catholic head coach Sean Doyle and Folsom head coach Paul Doherty greet each other just seconds after the D1-AA state final in 2021. Photo: Mark Tennis.

Records, Rankings & History: This will be the third meeting between these two schools to decide a CIF state title. Folsom won in overtime in the first game, which was in the D1-AA contest in 2018. In 2021, after no games played in 2020 (pandemic), Cathedral Catholic picked up a 33-21 win (also in D1-AA). Both schools also have won CIF state titles in other seasons. Folsom won its first in 2010, added another in 2014, went back-to-back in 2017 and 2018 and made it No. 5 in 2023. The 2010 title was in the old D2 format and two years ago it was D1-A. The other three came in D1 or D1-AA. Folsom getting a sixth state title would put it just one behind De La Salle and Bakersfield with the most ever for any school (which is seven). Cathedral Catholic won its first CIF state title in 2008 and took its second in 2016. Both of those wins were against St. Mary’s of Stockton. So this will be one team going for No. 6 and the other for No. 4. In this week’s State TOP 50, Folsom moved up to No. 9 from No. 10 after its win vs Archbishop Riordan in the NorCal final. The Bulldogs (13-1) will be playing this week just 3.4 miles away from Mission Viejo High, where they lost their only game, 53-14, to the Diablos (a CIFSS D1 playoff team). Cathedral Catholic enters at 12-2 and at No. 11 in the state. The first loss for the Dons came at De La Salle on Oct. 3, 35-14, and they were hit with injuries that night as well. They had several starters out, including QB Brady Palmer and junior RB/DB Honor Fa’alave-Johnson, when they lost the next week, 14-7, to Point Loma. They were back to full strength when they played and beat San Diego Lincoln in league and then in the San Diego Section Open Division plus once again in last week’s SoCal regional title win over Los Alamitos.

Comments: Since we make an effort to see a top San Diego Section team play when it comes up north, we have seen both of these teams in person. We didn’t see Cathedral Catholic when it played De La Salle, but instead earlier when it defeated St. Francis of Mountain View. The Dons showed that they had all the pieces you’re looking for to be an elite team, but that didn’t really come together until late in the season as explained above. Folsom has had one of the top offenses in the state but tends to give up a lot on defense. The big issue is the injury suffered last week by All-American QB Ryder Lyons. We haven’t seen anything official, but it looked like it would be bad enough for multiple weeks at least to be out. Without Lyons, the Bulldogs lose a lot but junior Brody Rudnicki has often been referred to as the second-best QB in the Sac-Joaquin Section. The offense still scored twice with him playing after Ryder went out last week to earn the team the 42-38 win against Archbishop Riordan in the CIF NorCal D1-AA final. That is all true, but Brody isn’t the same as Ryder. We saw Folsom’s defense give up 42 to Serra of San Mateo in a 62-42 win, but it has been playing with more cohesion in recent weeks. Cathedral Catholic has some heavy hitters on defense, especially DE Bronx Letuligasenoa and an offensive line with USC-bound Chase Deniz. Folsom’s Vlad Dyokonov is similar to Deniz in the OL and he will be a teammate of his at USC. Folsom’s players may want to hold their breath when they drive by Mission Viejo on their way to Saddleback since they stunk up that joint so bad there earlier this season. They frankly didn’t play that well at Saddleback two years ago either against a St. Bonaventure (Ventura) team that they should have defeated by a more comfortable margin. The Bulldogs certainly have to play much better this time in Orange County or they will not beat the Dons. Palmer and Fa’alave-Johnson have been on a nice roll in recent weeks.

Prediction: Cathedral Catholic 42, Folsom 35

DIVISION 1–A
Central East of Fresno (Central Sec D1-AA) vs.
Pacifica of Oxnard (CIFSS D3)
Saturday, 3:30 p.m. Saddleback College

Records, Rankings & History: One year ago, Central East was known as Central. It’s the same program and same school, but in the spring the Central Unified School District adopted changes that split Central into two different schools. The football program led by head coach Kyle Biggs that was in this very same state final became known as Central East and the nickname switched to the Bengals. The other school is going by Central and still goes by the Grizzlies. It’s all very confusing and frankly unneccessary. For our record purposes, everything that happened as the Central Grizzlies is being counted as happening at Central East. The new Central is just that. It’s new and starting from scratch. Biggs coached the team to a 15-0 record and to a CIF D1-AA state title in 2019 with a win over Sierra Canyon. Kansas City Chiefs receiver Xavier Worthy was on that team. Last year’s team lost in this game one year ago to Edison of Huntington Beach, 21-14. This year’s team comes into this game at 13-1 and moved up to No. 14 in this week’s State TOP 50 rankings with the only loss coming in the second game to Grant of Sacramento. Pacifica’s last loss also was to Grant, but it came a year ago in the D2-AA state final. This year’s team will try to get it done in the final game but in a higher division. The Tritons, ranked No. 15 in the state this week, also are 15-0 and with a win would tie the state record of 16-0 first set in 2013 by Corona del Mar of Newport Beach and then tied later that night at the Home Depot Center in Carson by St. John Bosco of Bellflower. It’s been tied seven times since then, but not since 2019 by Corona del Mar (which like Folsom has done it twice).

Comments: We’ve seen some absolutely crazy games involving Central East (previously Central). In 2018, in the CIF D1-AA regional final, Folsom came down and couldn’t be stopped all night in a wild shootout that ended with the Bulldogs winning 84-46. Earlier this year, in the first of what would be two games vs Clovis (the other top team this year in the Central Section), the Bengals won 61-48 but were ahead 54-28 after the third quarter. This matchup vs Pacifica could be similar. The Central East offense would be hard to stop by even the top Open Division teams. And if there’s a defensive touchdown or a special teams touchdown, the onslaught can go from a small deficit to a large one in a matter of minutes. Since the first Clovis game, the Bengals have scored 46, 56, 53, 70 and 55 points. Their 55 came last week at Pittsburg in a 55-36 win, one week after the Pirates had scuttled Cardinal Newman of Santa Rosa and two weeks after they only lost to De La Salle, 24-17. They have two legitimate player of the year candidates in senior RB/DB Brandon Smith (2,047 rush yds, 37 TDs scored, 86 tackles, 4 ints plus a 99-yard fumble return) and junior QB Jelani Dippel (4,298 yds, 56 TD passes). Pacifica hasn’t exactly been in low-scoring games, either. The Tritons had their season high of 59 points in the first game and won last week in the regionals, 42-35, over Granite Hills of El Cajon. They also have a big-time two-way player in junior Isaiah Phelps, a linebacker with offers from Ohio State, USC, Notre Dame and more, but who also leads the team in rushing. And while Dippel leads the state in TD passes and yards, junior Taylor Lee of Pacifica is not far behind with 3,742 yards and 51 TDs. We’re going with Central East to win based on Pittsburg probably being a stronger opponent than Granite Hills and how much better the Bengals were in their regional game vs Pitt than the Tritons were in theirs vs the Eagles.

Prediction: Central East 49, Pacifica 42

Kenneth Moore from St. Mary’s of Stockton is one of the fastest football players in California. Photo: Hudl.com.

Records, Rankings & History: It says “Bakersfield” across the front of Bakersfield Christian’s jerseys, but this is the private school Eagles and not the Bakersfield High Drillers, who are the state’s all-time winningest school. The Eagles have played the Drillers this season in a Southwest Yosemite – Valley League game and it was their closest win in a 13-0 season so far. A last minute field goal by Cohen Peters was the difference in a 16-14 contest. Bakersfield Christian also won by three points in last week’s win vs La Habra for the CIF SoCal D2-AA title. Head coach Darren Carr, who gets help coaching the team from famous brothers David and Derek Carr, also was the head coach in 2019 when the Eagles won their first CIF state title with a win vs Sunny Hills of Fullerton in D3-A. This is the school’s third state title game appearance. When it looked like the Eagles would have a shot to win the state title in D2-AA and would have to beat a highly ranked team from the north to do it, we started moving them up much higher in the rankings. They were placed at No. 28 overall this week, up from No. 40. They also are No. 1 according to our medium schools state rankings. Previously, we were reluctant to have them higher than Central Section D1-AA runner-up Clovis. St. Mary’s moved up to No. 21 this week after its 24-17 win last Friday vs Serra of San Mateo in the CIF NorCal D2-AA final. The Rams have a 12-2 record with losses to No. 5 De La Salle and No. 20 Oak Ridge (El Dorado Hills). They have reached two CIF state title games with a loss in 2008 to Cathedral Catholic of San Diego and another loss to the Dons (in overtime) in 2016. That team in 2016 had beaten Folsom in the highest division of the Sac-Joaquin Section playoffs and was leading the entire game vs Cathedral Catholic until taking a heart-breaking loss at the finish.

Comments: Arnez Lee could be a game-wrecker for Bakersfield Christian as the senior DE/FB leads the state in reported sacks with 23. St. Mary’s loves to pass, but also can do quick throws to the wings if pass rushers aren’t paying attention. The Eagles also have shown to have excellent balance on offense with Lincoln Adame at QB (24 TD passes) and emerging junior RB Darriyon Page, who had 178 yards rushing and three TDs in the team’s Central Section title game win vs Liberty (Bakersfield). St. Mary’s has one of the state’s top WR/DB/KR combo players with Kenny Moore III (UCLA) but it’s not been a problem if opposing defenses double-up on Kenny with Ivan Huerta capable of making big plays as well. Diego Hernandez and the run game also can chew up the clock on long drives and Jaden Galvan at QB has made plays in the biggest moments. Hernandez has rushed for 1,318 yards and 23 TDs and Galvan has passed for 2,773 yards and 29 TDs. It’s too tough not to pick against the Rams in this game despite the trend of NorCal teams playing poorly at Saddleback College. Their road to get there vs teams like Manteca, Granite Bay and Serra (SM) just seems to be against a better lineup of opponents than Bakersfield Christian has faced.

Prediction: St. Mary’s 28, Bakersfield Christian 21

DIVISION 2–A
Sonora (SJS D6) vs. Rio Hondo Prep of Arcadia (CIFSS D5)
Saturday, 11:30 a.m. Saddleback College

Records, Rankings & History: Sonora is the only CIF state champion from last season that has not lost this season at 14-0 and therefore will take a 21-game win streak (longest in the state) into this matchup. That D4-A title (achieved with a 52-34 win vs St. Pius X-St. Matthias of Downey) also was the Wildcats’ first. They have been the No. 1 small school team in the state since the start of the season with almost everyone back from the 2024 squad. They also are No. 48 overall in our State TOP 50. Rio Hondo Prep came just one or two plays short of also being an unbeaten CIF state champion from last year that hasn’t lost this season. The Kares just missed winning their first state title with an overtime 42-41 loss to Vanden of Fairfield in the D3-A state final. They were moved up from D7 to D5 in the CIF Southern Section playoffs but that didn’t stop them from beating much larger schools like Thousand Oaks, La Serna of Whittier (won a CIF D2-AA state title two years ago) and Redondo in the section playoffs. Last week’s regional opponent, Santa Fe Christian of Solana Beach, is much like Rio Hondo in being considered a small school, and also came into that came with no losses. The Kares won, 26-21, and improved to 15-0. They are right behind Sonora at No. 49 in this week’s State TOP 50. They also will be the second CIFSS team during the weekend at Saddleback College that will try to finish 16-0. Pacifica of Oxnard the night before will be the first. A 16-0 record would be a tie for the state record. There are nine teams so far in California history that have accomplished that feat.

Comments: This matchup in short is one of the greatest we’ve seen or could find among two small schools in state history. There are those in the Sac-Joaquin Section that think Sonora would give even teams like St. Mary’s of Stockton or Manteca a lot of trouble. We wouldn’t rank the Wildcats that high, but we were curious if others down south thought similarly comparing Rio Hondo Prep to CIFSS D2 and D3 playoff teams like Bishop Amat, Damien and Charter Oak. The responses were that nothing would surprise anyone about anything this group of players and coaches could pull off. Both teams like to run the ball on almost every play. Cash Byington leads the Wildcats with 1,132 yards rushing and 16 TDs. QB Eli Ingalls has only passed 59 times, but does have 46 complete for 1,087 yards. The Kares are led by Noah Penunuri with 1,211 yards rushing and 22 TDs, but he has missed three games and has been banged up recently. QB Yanick Diaz has thrown more than Ingalls with 102 attempts, but that’s still not a lot for 15 games. Diaz has 1,020 yards passing and 17 TDs. The biggest difference may be on defense. We saw Woodcreek of Roseville score 54 points in the SJS D3 title game vs Oakdale, but in last week’s NorCal game the Timberwolves were held to just 14. The Rio Hondo defense allowed 21 to Santa Fe Christian, but in the final three CIFSS D5 playoff games the Kares only gave up 13 points.

Prediction: Sonora 21, Rio Hondo Prep 20

St. Ignatius players stand proud with CIF NorCal title after win last week vs Monte Vista of Danville. Photo: @SIscores / X.com.

Records, Rankings & History: We love the history with these two old schools. SI is the oldest school in California that goes back to 1849 for its beginnings. We have the first score in our files reported for 1892 with the first season with multiple scores reported for 1909. St. Ignatius is shown with its first unbeaten season at 7-0-2 for 1934. It has never won a CIF state title in football and we checked the real early years. Ventura’s first unbeaten season also is 7-0-2 and it came four years later than the Wildcats had theirs in 1938. We have the Cougars with a reported score for 1903, but it’s not until 1923 with seven games played that there is another one. They also have never won a CIF state title. SI comes from the loaded West Catholic Athletic League where most of its losses have come. That is why it is up to No. 74 in the MaxPreps’ computer rankings. Ventura is at No. 101 in the same rankings.

Comments: Ventura’s Jack Cunningham became just the 13th player in state history to reach at least 2,000 yards receiving for one season in last week’s 35-28 win vs Arroyo Grande. He’s at 2,041 and only needs to get to 2,166 to move up to No. 2 all-time. The state record of 2,464 set in 2015 by J.P. Shohfi of San Marino is safe. Cougars’ QB Derek Garcia (UNLV) also has passed for 3,369 yards and 36 TDs. The team’s top player in linebacker Tristan Phillips, a tackling phenom who has signed with Oregon. St. Ignatius has a great receiver as well in Zui Shelton and the defense played particularly well last week in the win over Monte Vista. It will have to play just as well or better this week against the more high powered Cougars.

Prediction: Ventura 24, St. Ignatius 17

DIVISION 3-A
McClymonds of Oakland (Oak Sec) vs. Kennedy of Delano (Central Sec D3)
Saturday, 7 p.m., at FUHSD Stadium

Records, Rankings & History: Head coach Michael Peters of the Warriors has won four CIF state titles and with a win in this game would move him into a tie for second on the all-time state list with Bob Ladouceur of De La Salle, who won his fifth and retired after the 2012 season. Those he’s currently tied with at four include Roger Canepa of Modesto Central Catholic, Kris Richardson of Folsom and Jason Negro of St. John Bosco. All of Mack’s four previous state titles, which came consecutively from 2017 to 2019 in 5A, 5AA and 3A and then another one in 2021, had Peters as head coach. Kennedy doesn’t quite have that kind of legacy as it is looking for its first ever CIF state title in its first appearance. Mack (11-2) has been in the regional playoffs for 11 straight seasons. It lost to Amador Valley of Pleasanton a year ago in the NorCal D3-AA final. Kennedy (12-3) comes in with a slightly higher MaxPreps computer ranking of 116 compared to 121 for the Warriors.

Comments: Kennedy will be heading down to SoCal for the second straight week and will do so with a lot of confidence after defeating the CIF L.A. City Section Open Division champions from Carson, 35-33. The Thunderbirds should feel that way, but as mentioned when the CIF regional games were announced McClymonds should have been in a higher division (clearly ahead of St. Ignatius based on all of our own rankings criteria). The Warriors have more than one D1 recruit that will be on the field, including the quarterback (Berell Staples to Cal Poly San Luis Obispo), one of the top DBs in NorCal (Rahsjon Duncan to Washington) and a 300-pound offensive lineman (Kai Taiese to San Diego State). Irshad Miles and Jessie King Jr. also can make game-changing plays. The T-Birds will counter with an explosive offense led by RB Jace Demacabalin, who has 2,513 yards rushing this season and 7,032 for his career. He not only will go into our state record book with those totals, but the career yards is now No. 1 in Kern County history. It figures to be a high-scoring matchup.

Predicted Score: McClymonds 41, Kennedy 30

DIVISION 4-AA
Sutter (SJS D5) vs Barstow (CIFSS D9)
Friday, 8 p.m., Buena Park HS

Records, Rankings & History: Neither of these schools have won a CIF state title before. Sutter finally broke through with a regional title last week after losing in five straight regional finals in earlier years. The Huskies did it by beating a Ferndale team, 21-7, that had outscored its foes by an insane 762-53 margin entering the game. They are not undefeated like the last team that Barstow played, Immanuel of Reedley, but they avenged their only loss to Casa Roble of Orangevale with a 42-27 win over the Rams in the CIF Sac-Joaquin Section finals. The Aztecs, who edged Immanuel, 13-12, also will be trying to become the first-ever team from the High Desert region of Southern California to win a CIF state football title. The Huskies (13-1) are No. 99 by the MaxPreps computer and are No. 4 in our state small schools rankings. Barstow (11-3) is medium schools and isn’t in the top 20 there, but is not far behind Sutter in the MaxPreps computer rankings at No. 114.

Comments: Sutter is not traveling the furthest for this week’s state finals in Southern California since Redding Christian is further north, but last week the Huskies had to go way up to Eureka to play Ferndale. They should be ready to play despite their own long road trip for a second straight week. Losi Asiata is Sutter’s top running back with 1,617 yards rushing and 18 TDs, but in the last few weeks Max Bringgold has been more of a game-breaker. He also makes plays on defense. Sutter also can throw the ball better than usual this season with Braden Scritchfield, who has 1,701 yards passing and 24 TDs. Barstow has its own game-breaking player with senior Kamari Maloy. If the Aztecs can play some ball control running the ball with Nicholas Gaoa (2,062 yards rushing, 29 TDs), they can win this game. This one just has the feel of a top NorCal smaller school team like St. Vincent de Paul, Ripon, Escalon, Hughson or similar playing a team from the High Desert, Low Desert or the Antelope Valley that those teams have usually been successful in those state finals.

Predicted Score: Sutter 20, Barstow 15

DIVISION 4-A
El Cerrito (NCS D3) vs Beckman of Irvine (CIFSS D8)
Saturday, 3 p.m., Buena Park HS

Records, Rankings & History: Beckman began the season 1-3, and will come into this game with an 11-game win streak at 12-3. The Patriots, who have never won a CIF state title before, are No. 169 this week in the MaxPreps’ computer rankings. They needed overtime to dispatch Brea Olinda in the CIFSS D8 finals, then won in a shootout vs Hillcrest of Riverside (46-40) to win the regional title. El Cerrito also has not won a CIF state title before. It is 11-2 not counting a forfeit win or 12-2 if it’s being counted. The Gauchos are No. 148 by the computer.

Comments: We thought El Cerrito should have been higher than Ferndale on the NorCal board based on how the team fared in the NCS D3 playoffs against teams like Rancho Cotate and Ukiah. The program was in flux just a year ago after it had to forfeit most of its games with the use of ineligible players, but came back this season and has been quietly just doing its job. Two years ago, El Cerrito was in the much higher NorCal D2-A regional final where it lost in a close game to Los Gatos. The Gauchos even played De La Salle that season. Several of the players are still there from that team, including WR/DB Gary Youngblood, DE/FB Lonzell Taylor and LB Elvis Mafuahingano. Youngblood is a dynamic player on both sides of the ball. Sophomore QB Dejuan Compton also has been outstanding. Stats aren’t easily available for El Cerrito, but they are for Beckman. Makhi Czaykowski not only has rushed for 1,845 yards and 22 touchdowns, but he also had caught 51 passes for 813 yards and 10 scores. Noah Nam also should be a problem for the El Cerrito defense. He comes into the game with 2,553 yards passing and 25 scores. Turnovers could be especially important in the matchup and Beckman gets a lot of them with sophomore Xavier Musselman-Cano, who has nine interceptions on the season. Senior LB Nathan Garcia (140 tackles) also is one to watch for the Patriots.

Prediction: El Cerrito 24, Beckman 20

Longtime NFL player Jevon Holland was a member of Oakland Bishop O’Dowd’s CIF state title team back in 2016. Photo: Willie Eashman.

Records, Rankings & History: Whether it’s current head coach Hardy Nickerson or former head coach Napoleon Kaufman, O’Dowd has had a strong connection to the NFL. Kaufman was head coach in 2016 when the Dragons won their first and so far only CIF state title with a win vs Valley View of Moreno Valley in the D5-AA final. This year’s team comes in at 10-4 with a 196 computer ranking after beating Chico last week, 23-20. When we think of Christian High’s program, we still think of the four different Jeremiah brothers who’ve played quarterback there, including Daniel, the current NFL Network on-air talent. The Patriots, looking for their first CIF state title, began with a 1-5 record this season, but have been surging down the stretch and improved to 8-7 with a win last week of 27-13 vs Valley Christian of Cerritos. They have a much higher computer ranking than the Dragons at 146.

Comments: When we noticed that O’Dowd played Mater Dei Catholic of Chula Vista early in the season and lost 31-6, we went through all of the Mater Dei Catholic scores to look for connections to Christian’s scores in the San Diego Section. There was nothing that stood out. It’s worth noting that the Dragons didn’t have dynamic junior RB Lamar Ellis for the first five games on a transfer sitout and since he came in he has rushed for 1,113 yards and 17 TDs. Sophomore LB Zay Latu (77 tackles, 2.5 sacks and 2 ints) and junior DB Victor Martinez (5 ints) lead the defense. Christian QB Kaleb Runkle has been outstanding for the Patriots. He has 2,752 yards passing and 28 TDs with 507 yards rushing and 3 TDs. He really trusts his receivers and has no trouble throwing deep balls to them in single coverage. Kai Rosier is the top receiver with 76 catches for 1,139 yards and 10 TDs. LB Hank Houston (101 tackles) also was a recent SoCal Defensive Player of the Week for us. If it’s a close game, the Dragons would have kicker who could make difference. Junior Zach Brien is the son of former NFL kicker Doug Brien.

Prediction: Christian 21, Bishop O’Dowd 17

DIVISION 5-A
Calaveras of San Andreas (SJS D7) vs Bishop Union (Central Sec D5)
Saturday, 3 p.m. at FUHSD Stadium

Records, Rankings & History: If you don’t know, Calaveras is about 30 miles north of Sonora on Highway 49 in the Gold Country of California. The Red Hawks (from Calaveras County) have not won a state title before like Sonora, but are looking to join a different Tuolumne County school, Summerville High, as a team going from the CIF Sac-Joaquin Section D7 title to a state title. The Bears did that last season in 6-A. Calaveras improved to 12-2 (11-2 not counting forfeit) with a 35-7 win in the NorCal final vs Miramonte of Orinda. The Red Hawks were No. 162 in the state in this week’s MaxPreps computer rankings. Bishop also has no CIF state titles but went to the 6-A final directly on a bye in 2019 and lost to Salesian of Richmond. The Broncos have kept going after a big win over top seed and unbeaten Liberty of Madera Ranchos in the Central Section semifinals (26-22). They won last week against South Gate, 47-28. They are more than 100 places lower than Calaveras in the computer rankings at 268.

Comments: The connection between Calaveras and Sonora extends to much more than geography. One of the top players on both sides of the ball for the Red Hawks, senior Ryan Clifton, is the nephew of Sonora head coach Kirk Clifton. Ryan’s dad, Kraig, and Kirk’s brother, was the former longtime basketball coach at Calaveras who passed away from cancer just last September after a long battle with the disease. In this game, the Red Hawks have to be a strong favorite. Their only losses are to Bradshaw Christian by one point and 38-21 to Ripon Christian (both schools are in higher Sac-Joaquin divisions). Enrique Hernandez is the leading rusher with 1,134 yards and 12 TDs. Bishop has been potent with its offense in its last two games, however. Sophomore RB Hunter Dailey has rushed for 1,380 yards and 15 TDs and senior QB Emory Dondero has passed for 2,363 yards and 30 scores.

Predicted Score: Calaveras 42, Bishop 21

DIVISION 6-AA
Lincoln of San Jose (CCS D4) vs Valley Center (SD D4)
Friday, 4 p.m. at Fullerton UHSD Stadium

Records, Rankings & History: Founded in 1942, Lincoln captured its first-ever CCS title and first-ever NorCal title with wins in its last two games vs Branham of San Jose (49-21) and Gridley (28-20). The Gridley win also was significant since the Bulldogs were 13-0. Part of the reason for those facts is that for many years until recently Lincoln skipped the CCS playoffs to continue playing its Big Bone Game rivalry with San Jose High on Thanksgiving Day. Head coach Kevin Collins has been on the job at Lincoln for 33 years and one of the best parts of competitive equity playoffs is that there are more opportunities for dedicated coaches like Collins to get the experience of a CIF state championship run. The Lions are 11-3 entering this game (with one loss by four points and another by two) and are No. 199 in the MaxPreps computer rankings. Valley Center also has not won a CIF state football title in its history. The Jaguars have one loss on their 8-6 slate that was by forfeit to San Diego Section Open Division runnerup Carlsbad. Another of their losses was to SoCal D2-A runner up Santa Fe Christian. Valley Center captured its regional title last week by beating Valley View of Moreno Valley, 30-19.

Comments: This could be a high scoring game with some of the offensive talent that will be on display. Lincoln’s Kyan Phillips has 43 touchdowns with 32 rushing, seven receiving, two on punt returns, one on a fumble return and one on a pick six. He’s also rushed for 1,688 yards. It’s more of a two-pronged attack for the Jaguars. QB Braylon Mitchell has passed for 2,995 yards and 31 TDs. RB Joeisha Ryan Tirado has rushed for 1,362 yards and 16 scores.

Prediction: Lincoln 42, Valley Center 28

Lane Brown of Winters has been a prolific rusher and passer the past two years. Photo: wintershighfootball / Instagram.com.

Records, Rankings & History: Morse is a school we covered a lot near the top of the state in the 1990s when it was led by head coach John Shacklett. The Tigers these days are playing at a different level, but this team could win the school’s first-ever CIF state title. Last week’s SoCal final win of 57-40 over Grace of Simi Valley pushed the record to 10-4, but Morse has a much lower MaxPreps computer ranking than Winters at 362 compared to 202 for the Warriors. Speaking of Winters, it is only one point from being 14-0 due to a one-point loss to Gridley (lost in D6-AA regional final to Lincoln of San Jose). The Warriors also had to beat an undefeated team, Hamilton of Hamilton City, in the Northern Section D4 final. Last year’s team at Winters was undefeated at 12-0 when it played Arcata in the regionals in this same division and lost. Arcata then won the 6-A state title with a win against Portola of Irvine. Winters won last week against Minarets of O’Neals.

Comments: Both of these teams obviously will need others to step up to win, but they have one player in the midst of a monstrous season. For Winters, QB Lane Brown has 2,069 yards passing with 22 TDs plus 1,906 yards rushing and 24 TDs. If he gets 95 yards rushing and reaches 2,000 for both, we think there’s only been three in state history to do that — Kahlil Tate of Gardena Serra in 2015, William Augenstein from Branham of San Jose in 2022 and Ethan LaSecla from Grace of Simi Valley just last season. For Morse, Superior Garror has 2,201 yards rushing with 29 TDs, 699 yards receiving with eight TDs plus 104 tackles and six interceptions on defense. Some of these lower division games are hard to predict, but the way that the Tigers have been scoring in recent weeks (38, 50 and 45 before the 57-40 win last week) has us thinking they might get an upset.

Prediction: Morse 41, Winters 38

DIVISION 7-AA
Redding Christian of Palo Cedro (Northern Sec D5) vs Woodbridge of Irvine (CIFSS D13)
Saturday, 11 a.m. at Fullerton UHSD Stadium

Records, Rankings & History: The only team with a losing record playing this weeekend is Woodbridge at 7-8 and the Warriors are playing an opponent that is 14-0. Woodbridge also has a computer ranking of 497 compared to the Lions at 219. Both teams are making their first appearances in the CIF state final. Woodbridge started 0-7, but didn’t start using its freshman QB until the fourth week. The team’s only loss since then was to Buena Park, which was a team the Warriors beat on their way to the CIFSS D13 title. They edged Montebello, 24-23, in the section final and won last week, 13-0, vs San Fernando. Redding Christian had a close game in last week’s regional game vs Middletown that it won 22-18. The school has only been playing 11-man football for three seasons. It was 8-man before that for many years.

Comments: Some of the totals for Redding Christian’s top players are on the state leader lists, especially junior QB Wyatt Shaw with 53 TD passes to go with his 3,028 yards passing. Junior Levi Putnam also has 1,515 yards rushing with 18 TDs. Brodie Ogden has 40 catches for 856 yards and 15 TDs plus 79 tackles and 12.5 sacks on defense. Teammate Brodie Ogden is among the state leaders in sacks with 19. The story at Woodbridge is youth. The freshman QB, Waylon Stone, seems to get better and better and has 1,893 yards passing with eight TDs plus 570 yards rushing and nine TDs despite not starting until later in the season. Head coach Connor McBride is only 27 years old. Redding Christian is traveling the furthest of any team this week and despite its huge edge by the computers only won last week by four points. Sorry, but the computer rankings for some of these small school teams are ridiculous such as the Lions being higher than Gridley (just lost first game).

Prediction: Woodbridge 27, Redding Christian 21

DIVISION 7-A
Balboa of San Francisco (SF Sec) vs. South El Monte (CIFSS D14)
Saturday, 11 a.m. at Buena Park HS

Records, Rankings & History: Under head coach Fred Velasquez, Balboa won the CIF state title in this same division last year, 55-27, over Pioneer of Whittier. The Bucs also have one other CIF state title on their slate. They were dominant in the San Francisco public school league this season, but they had a challenge on Turkey Day in a 54-42 win over Washington. They are 11-2 overall with a 498 computer ranking. Balboa won in last week’s regionals, 38-10, vs Piedmont Hills of San Jose. South El Monte played Pioneer in the CIFSS D14 title game, but prevented a repeat with a 14-6 win. The Eagles then swamped Santee of Los Angeles, 56-7, in last week’s regionals. They are 11-4 with a 510 computer ranking. The LA City D4 champion has been the weakest team by far on the south board for several years, however, and the CIF also doesn’t seem to ever want to match the two LA City teams (D3 & D4) at the bottom.

Comments: South El Monte shut down the state’s reported rushing leader, Santee’s Darnell Miller, in last week’s game and this week the Eagles will try to do the same to Balboa’s Mekai Smith, who leads the state in scoring. Smith’s stats are annoyingly not updated on MaxPreps sometimes for a week later, but his 190 yards rushing and three TDs in last week’s win put him at 2,227 yards rushing and 49 touchdowns scored on the season. Smith has broken the Bay Area scoring record of 46 TDs set in 2006 by Richmond Salesian’s Jahvid Best and could start to move up much higher on the state and NorCal list with another big, final game. He can score on receptions, defense and special teams. Junior QB Michael Maldonado has 1,360 yards passing and 429 rushing for South El Monte. It does look like Balboa is a strong favorite, but in our view that’s because the CIF did not move up a team that won in a rout in this same divisional state final last season.

Prediction: Balboa 35, South El Monte 20

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.