Players from Central Catholic of Modesto signify third straight CIF Sac-Joaquin Section Division IV title after win Friday over Sonora. The Raiders will now look to win third straight title in CIF Division IV state bowl game. Photo: Mark Tennis. For recap, CLICK HERE.
Biggest questions for the next rankings won’t be about teams at the top, but how high to move up Sacred Heart Prep after Saturday win over Los Gatos, St. Mary’s of Stockton (which is playing Grant) and Helix of La Mesa (which is playing Oceanside). At the same time, we wonder what to do about Mission Viejo, which has now won 11 in a row but has a head-to-head loss to Liberty of Bakersfield that could end up costing the team a CIF D1 South bowl berth.
Here is a look at scores through Saturday, Nov. 29. For the complete new rankings with writeups on every team and longer list of bubble teams, that post on Monday night will be for Gold Club members only. Please sign up to get your Gold Club pass today. For info, CLICK HERE.
1. ST. JOHN BOSCO (BELLFLOWER) 12-1
In yet another game in which the Braves roared back in the second half from a deficit, they beat No. 5 Long Beach Poly 34-21 to advance to next week’s CIF Southern Section Pac-5 Division championship at Anaheim Stadium. Poly led 21-20, but a TD pass by Josh Rosen to Joey Chenowith, then a 21-yard TD run by Sean McGrew helped St. John Bosco win. For game recap, CLICK HERE.
Devin Asiasi is 6-5, 255 and played as De La Salle’s QB in second half on Friday. Photo: Mark Tennis.
It was much closer than many expected as the Spartans defeated California of San Ramon 45-17 in the CIF North Coast Section Division I semifinals. Antoine Custer rushed for three touchdowns in the first half and despite the Spartans down to No. 3 QB Devin Asiasi for the second half they opened up a comfortable lead with two third quarter touchdown runs by Andrew Hernandez followed by Asiasi connecting with Sam Phillips for a 60 yard touchdown to make it 45-10 late in the third quarter. DLS will go for its 23rd consecutive NCS largest class title next week against Pittsburg (10-2), which defeated No. 2 seed and No. 24 Foothill of Pleasanton 10-7 on Saturday night in the other semifinal.
3. FOLSOM 13-0
As expected, it was another easy win for the Bulldogs in the CIF Sac-Joaquin Section Division I bracket, this time 56-14 against No. 12 seed Monterey Trail of Elk Grove. It was a great story that the Mustangs, with just 25 players on their roster, got this far. Jake Browning passed for six TDs to lead Folsom and broke his own Cal-Hi Sports state record of 75 and now has 77. Browning also now has 214 career TD passes and is just five off the national record, which he should get in next week’s SJS D1 final against 9-3 Tracy.
4. CENTENNIAL (CORONA) 11-2
It will be a rematch of last year’s CIF Southern California Open Division final in this year’s CIFSS Pac-5 final when the Huskies play No. 1 St. John Bosco next Saturday at Anaheim Stadium. They stamped their ticket with a 38-37 triumph over No. 8 Bishop Amat in Friday’s semifinals. Centennial almost blew a 30-10 lead, but hung on by stopping a two-point conversion by the Lancers with 32 seconds left that would have won the game. The ensuing onside kick attempt also went out of bounds.
5. LONG BEACH POLY (LONG BEACH) 11-2
The Jackrabbits are the last California team to defeat No. 1 St. John Bosco (which took place two years ago) but could not duplicate the feat and lost 34-21 in the CIFSS Pac-5 semifinals. It’s the second straight year that Poly has lost at this point of the season. For game recap, CLICK HERE.
6. OCEANSIDE 12-0
It was a 28-14 deficit early in the third quarter to No. 20 Mission Hills of San Marcos, but the Pirates stormed back with three straight touchdowns and went on to post a 38-31 win. According to the San Diego Union-Tribune, Josh Barnard had 23 carries for 141 yards, three catches for 36 yards and threw a 22-yard TD pass to Malavai Taylor for the go-ahead points. Oceanside plays No. 25 Helix of La Mesa in the second CIF San Diego Section Open Division final next Saturday at Southwest College.
7. GRANT (SACRAMENTO) 13-0
Both Deshawn Collins (144 yards) and Mike Green (116 yards) ran well as the Pacers beat Vacaville 49-26 in the CIF Sac-Joaquin Section Division II semifinals. Two turnovers helped turn the game from a back-and-forth offensive shootout into a fairly comfortable Grant win. The Pacers will now play No. 21 St. Mary’s of Stockton in next week’s section final.
8. BISHOP AMAT (LA PUENTE) 9-4
With 32 seconds left, the Lancers pulled to within 38-37 over No. 4 Centennial on a 42-yard TD pass from Ryder Ruiz to Brandon Arconado. Head coach Steve Hagerty then went for a probable game-winning two-point conversion instead of playing for overtime and the play was stuffed. Amat almost came all the way back from a 30-10 deficit.
9. JSERRA (SJ CAPISTRANO) 10-2*
Season complete. The Lions had their run in the CIFSS Pac-5 Division halted last week by No. 8 Bishop Amat.
Helix QB Michael Austin had two big TD passes and an 87-yard run vs. Cathedral Catholic. Photo: Mark Tennis.
10. MATER DEI (SANTA ANA) 9-3
Season complete. Coach Bruce Rollinson’s squad fell to No. 4 Corona Centennial in last week’s CIFSS Pac-5 Division quarterfinals. The Monarchs won early in the season, however, over the same team.
11. SERRA (GARDENA) 8-3
Season complete. Once the Cavs went to Kahlil Tate as the No. 1 QB, they started clicking. In a CIFSS Pac-5 quarterfinal loss to No. 4 Corona Centennial, however, they couldn’t stop the Huskies and lost 68-64.
12. CRESPI (ENCINO) 9-2
Season complete. Here’s the fourth of the CIFSS Pac-5 Division quarterfinal losers. For the Celts, they lost to No. 5 Long Beach Poly.
13. UPLAND 10-3
The Highlanders can never seem to get past either Vista Murrieta or Corona Centennial in the playoffs and this time it was Vista Murrieta that ended their season with a 24-14 loss in the CIFSS West Valley Division semifinals. Tyler Hilinski had a 34-yard TD pass and a one-yard TD run, but the Upland offense was kept in check by the Broncos’ defense.
14. CATHEDRAL CATHOLIC (SAN DIEGO) 10-2
Even with former Mr. Football State Player of the Year Tyler Gaffney on the sidelines (he’s currently on injured reserve with the New England Patriots), the Dons succumbed to No. 25 Helix of La Mesa 27-5 in the CIF San Diego Section Open Division semifinals. Cathedral Catholic had defeated Helix 9-7 earlier in the season.
15. WESTLAKE (WESTLAKE VILLAGE) 8-3*
Season complete. The Warriors are two weeks removed from their playoff loss, which came to No. 10 Mater Dei by 28-7 in the first round of the CIFSS Pac-5 playoffs. Their other losses are to Mater Dei (by one point) and to No. 5 Long Beach Poly.
16. MISSION VIEJO 11-2
The Diablos trailed Great Oak of Temecula 17-14 at halftime before outscoring the Wolfpack 21-7 in the third quarter on the way to the 41-36 win in the CIFSS West Valley Division semifinals. Rome Innocenzi had four touchdown runs, including the game’s winning score with under two minutes remaining. If Mission wins in the final over Vista Murrieta, however, it is going to be difficult for the team to get a CIF SoCal Division I bowl bid over the CIF Central Section champion (which will either be Liberty of Bakersfield or Edison of Fresno) due to a head-to-head loss to Liberty.
17. SANTA MARGARITA (RANCHO SM) 6-5*
Season complete. Coach Rick Curtis and team went out in the CIFSS Pac-5 playoffs in the first round to No. 12 Crespi.
18. CLAYTON VALLEY (CONCORD) 13-0
Miles Harrison broke free for a touchdown runs of over 60 yards right before halftime to make it 34-3 and the Ugly Eagles went on to beat Casa Grande of Petaluma 55-3. They will face Concord, who they defeated 48-40 earlier this season, next week in the NCS Division II championship.
One of the top players for Edison of Fresno, which is sure to move up from No. 19 in next week’s state rankings, is senior DB Tyler Horton. Photo: Student Sports.
19. EDISON (FRESNO) 11-1
It was fun to follow the tweets of @beepreps for the final quarter of the Tigers’ 21-14 win over Clovis as they scored all of their points in the final 6:14 for the come-from-behind win. Khai Williams’ two-yard touchdown run gave Edison the lead. The team will now play Liberty of Bakersfield for a chance to capture its first section large schools championship in 39 years. It also looks like the winner will get a CIF Division I South bowl bid, especially if Mission Viejo were to win the CIFSS West Valley Division crown.
20. MISSION HILLS (SAN MARCOS) 9-3
Leading No. 6 Oceanside 21-14 at halftime and 28-14 early in the third quarter, the Grizzlies gave up three touchdowns in the third quarter to fall behind and were unable to drive down to tie the game in the final minute of a 38-31 loss.
21. ST. MARY’S (STOCKTON) 12-1
According to tweets from John Hull @EGSportsCenter, it was three fumbles by Elk Grove that was key in the Herd trailing the Rams 13-0 at halftime of an eventual 23-15 win. Still, the St. Mary’s defense held down a team that had scored 69 and 59 points in its first two playoffs games. St. Mary’s will now take on No. 7 Grant of Sacramento in the Sac-Joaquin Section Division II championship.
22. VALLEY CHRISTIAN (SAN JOSE) 9-3
Kirk Johnson’s 13-yard touchdown run gave the Warriors a 18-14 lead midway through the fourth quarter but they allowed a 58-yard touchdown run with just under two minutes remaining and were unable to answer back with a score in a 21-18 loss to Bellarmine of San Jose in the CCS Open Division semifinals.
23. EL CAPITAN (LAKESIDE) 12-0
The Vaqueros’ defense allowed just two first downs in the first half and went on to throttle Brawley 34-7 in the CIF San Diego Section Division II semifinals. Brad Cagle passed for all three of El Cap’s touchdowns in the first half.
24. FOOTHILL (PLEASANTON) 9-3
The Falcons couldn’t get much going on Saturday in the NCS Division I semifinals and lost 10-7 to Pittsburg. The Pirates (10-2) will now play De La Salle in the final.
25. HELIX (LA MESA) 10-2
Never trailing in a 27-5 win against No. 14 Cathedral Catholic of San Diego in the San Diego Section Open Division semifinals, the Highlanders didn’t fall for a fake punt and then had a 19 yard touchdown pass on the next play from Michael Austin to Dashawn Keirsey to take a 13-3 lead right before halftime. Austin also had an 87-yard TD run in the second half.
Teams On The Bubble
Alemany (Mission Hills) 7-3*
Season done. CIFSS Pac-5 Division school. Didn’t make the playoffs.
Arroyo Grande 10-3
Lost to Paso Robles 28-21. CIFSS Northern Division semifinal.
Bakersfield 9-3
Lost to Liberty (Bakersfield) 41-10. Central Section D1 semifinal.
Bellarmine Prep (San Jose) 10-2
Defeated No. 22 Valley Christian (San Jose) 21-18. Central Coast Section Open Division semifinal.
San Clemente’s Sam Darnold has just scored on a 1-yard run that tied game at 21-21 vs. Capistrano Valley. The Tritons went on to win in overtime. Photo: Patrick Takkinen/OCSidelines.com.
Campolindo (Moraga) 13-0
Defeated Analy (Sebastopol) 62-46. North Coast Section D3 semifinal.
Chaminade (West Hills) 5-5*
Season done. CIFSS Pac-5 school. Not in the playoffs.
Chino Hills 8-3*
Season done. Lost in CIFSS West Valley playoffs to Great Oak.
Crescenta Valley (La Crescenta) 13-0
Defeated La Serna (Whittier) 41-36. CIFSS Southeast Division semifinal.
Granite Bay 9-4
Lost to Tracy 27-21 (OT). Sac-Joaquin Section D1 semifinal.
Great Oak (Temecula) 10-3
Lost to No. 16 Mission Viejo 41-36. CIFSS West Valley Division semifinal contest.
Heritage (Menifee) 12-1
Lost to Poly (Riverside) 28-20. CIFSS Inland Division semifinal. Had 22-game win streak snapped (which was longest in the state). Longest current win streak now held by Christian of El Cajon at 19.
Jesuit (Carmichael) 9-3*
Season done. Lost in Sac-Joaquin D1 playoffs to Tracy.
La Serna (Whittier) 10-3
Lost to Crescenta Valley (La Crescenta) 41-36. CIFSS Southeast Division.
Liberty (Bakersfield) 10-2
Defeated Bakersfield 41-10. Central Section Division I semifinal.
Los Gatos 9-3
Lost on Saturday 28-21 to Sacred Heart Prep (Atherton) in CCS Open Division semifinal.
Lutheran (Orange) 4-6*
Season done. CIFSS Pac-5 school. Didn’t qualify for playoffs.
Milpitas 10-1*
Season done. Lost to Bellarmine in first round of CCS Open Division.
Napa 9-3*
Season done. Lost in Sac-Joaquin D1 playoffs to Tracy.
Newbury Park 11-2
Defeated Atascadero 49-48. CIFSS Northern Division semifinal.
Norco 6-6*
Season done. Lost in CIFSS Pac-5 quarterfinals to No. 1 St. John Bosco.
Notre Dame (Sherman Oaks) 6-4*
Season done. CIFSS Pac-5 school. Did not qualify for playoffs.
Oaks Christian (Westlake Village) 5-5*
Season done. CIFSS Pac-5 school. Did not qualify for playoffs.
Redlands East Valley (Redlands) 12-1
Defeated Citrus Hill (Perris) 34-31. CIFSS Inland Division semifinal.
Ridgeview (Bakersfield) 11-1
Defeated Sanger 30-23. Central Section Division II semifinal.
Rocklin 9-3*
Season done. Lost in Sac-Joaquin Section D2 playoffs to No. 21 St. Mary’s of Stockton.
Sacred Heart Prep (Atherton) 12-0
Defeated Los Gatos 28-21 on Saturday in CCS Open Division semifinal. This is the week that the Gators will jump a bunch of teams in the state rankings since at 13-0 with a win in the final over Bellarmine would probably get a CIF NorCal D1 bowl bid if No. 21 St. Mary’s of Stockton were to win the Sac-Joaquin Section D2 crown over No. 7 Grant.
San Clemente 12-1
Defeated Capistrano Valley (Mission Viejo) 28-27 in OT. CIFSS Southwest Division semifinal.
San Pedro 11-2
Lost to Carson 33-30. CIF L.A. City Section Division I semifinal.
Serra (San Mateo) 7-4*
Season done. Lost in CCS Open Division playoffs to Los Gatos.
Servite (Anaheim) 4-7*
Season done. CIFSS Pac-5 school. Did not qualify for playoffs.
St. Bonaventure (Ventura) 6-5*
Season done. Lost in CIFSS Pac-5 playoffs to Norco.
St. Francis (Mountain View) 8-4
Defeated Leland (San Jose) 42-14. CCS Division II semifinal.
Tracy 10-3
Defeated Granite Bay 27-21 (OT). Sac-Joaquin Section Division I semifinal.
Vacaville 10-3
Lost to No. 7 Grant (Sacramento) 49-26. Sac-Joaquin Section Division II semifinal.
Vista Murrieta (Murrieta) 11-2
Defeated No. 13 Upland 24-14. CIFSS West Valley Division semifinal.
West (Torrance) 12-1
Lost to Palos Verdes (Palos Verdes Estates) 28-16. CIFSS Western Division semifinal.
Thanks to Paul Muyskens for contributions to this report. 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: @CalHiSports
25 Comments
Oceanside in the finals as usual. O’side vs Helix… another classic in the making. These two teams are SD football, GO PIRATES!!!
No love for Paso Robles? Win next week and they in regional bowl game and still no love?
paso plays Arroyo Grande twice and beats them both times and Paso isn’t on the bubble? That does not make any sense at all.
This is a list of how teams on the bubble fared, not updated with any new teams that will be on the bubble next week. If they beat Newbury Park and win CIFSS Northern Div title, it’ll likely be Paso Robles vs. El Capitan. We’ve mentioned that about a hundred times this season.
And likely El Capitan will smash them as well.
Well not everyone looks at the list and every comment daily.
Out of curiosity, are Folsom and DLS good enough to beat SJB and if they are, does that mean they could be at the same level as Bishop Gorman?
Lastly, if Helix wins are they a viable enough candidate to deserve to face Folsom or would there be someone else? It seems to mean Folsom needs a really high quality opponent for a true challenge.
Since Gorman won by 1 pt over Centennial and 3 vs. St. John Bosco and it looks like DLS and Folsom are at least on the same level, then yes those two are that good. Doesn’t mean either one would beat Gorman, but close toss-up style game, sure. Helix first has to win SD Open title, then another game to even get to Folsom. Seems like Helix-Oside going to be a war and winner probably is favored and would play at home for SoCal D1 game.
Jae, I agree, Folsom needs a viable candiate to play in the division I game, but I do not think Helix or Oceanside can be that suitable dance partner. Both Helix and Oceanside have great programs, but they are not at the level of Folsom this year. Helix did drag Del Oro through the mud and put a beating on them, but Folsom is in a whole different league. The only team that I think that can beat Folsom is DLS, based on past history. Plus, DLS knows that Folsom is on their doorstep ready to knock them off their lofty, but well earned perch. Bishop Gorman is good and deserves to be the #1 team in the country based on the results they have had this year, but I do think they would lose to DLS and Folsom.
Helix would have to win D-1 State playoff game and chances are they would play Folsom if DLS gets Open Bowl. Bishop Gorman is corporate football, they have the sponsors and money through UFC funding, thus they get great players from outside. I am just a fan, but in my opinion SJB, DLS, and Folsom are on same level a the corporate team.
Jazz, SJB and DLS are also corporate teams. They do serious recruiting to get the players to come to their private schools. It is a shame because I know Folsom, along with a lot of other schools, have built outstanding programs with kids in their school district.
I play for Pittsburg and we play DE LA salle for the ncs championship. They’re definitely on Gormans level DE LA barley lost to St John Bosco
Good luck to you next week and congratulations for the win over Foothill. Tough team to hold to seven points.
Mark, do you think Pitt may take Foothills place in your state top 25?
Sacred Heart Prep at 12-0 is going to have to be higher this week. Looks like if SHP beats Bells and St. Mary’s beats Grant, SHP is going to the NorCal D1 bowl game. If Grant wins, then Grant goes. Other teams lost in addition to Foothill, though, so Pitt may make an appearance.
Wouldn’t San Jose Mitty get in over Pitt? They’re playing for the CCS D-II title. Seems the NCS guys forgot that the Pirates lost to the 5th place WCAL team.
We have had it ranked that way for awhile and would only be considering it since Pitt did just get a big win and will be playing DLS next.
We know paso we’ll be in the souther div 3 bowl game if they win but ur not answering the question of why there not even on the bubble. Have to question how legit ur research or whatever u guys do to ranked these teams is. paso beat Clovis by 3 tds at Clovis and edison could barely beat them in the div 1 semis and there ranked 19. Arroyo grande beat liberty and liberty beat bakersfield twice and paso beat arroyo grande twice actually dominated the second game the defense held there offense scoreless they scored all 3 tds on int returns beside that paso dominated. I’m not sure what metric u guys use but anyone could rank sjb mater dei dls Folsom teams like that high with doing no work at all.
Yes, we did answer the question. The bubble list you are looking at is for how the teams fared. Once again, those are not updated rankings. Those will be out tomorrow and Paso will be ranked high. Not as high as the top 25 but if they win D3 state title of course and they have a shot at that right now. Not many teams still playing have a realistic chance for a state title. Bearcats do.
Thanks for the reply and all the work u guys do I love watching high school sports and u guys run a awesome website with great information so fans like myself have somewhere to get all the good info and express are opinions didn’t want to come off as a jerk sometimes are little town paso robles feels like we don’t get respect but in my opinion paso couldnt play with top 25 teams there probably between 40-50 in the state. I’ve seen Folsom,mater dei, westlake, Oceanside,helix, st Bonnie’s,cathedral catholic all play. Paso has 5-6 kids could play with any of those teams but as a whole team they couldn’t hang but with most of those teams have no business playing a school like paso Robles thanks again
I’ve seen el capitan play there very good but they wouldn’t smash paso robles. Paso has 2 6’5″ 230 lbs te/lbs don’t see how el cap would stop them no one has all year and bailey Gaither is one of the best players in the state that kid wins games by his self last year he had 360 total yds and 5 tds against hart in cif playoff game. El cap would probably win but they wouldn’t blow paso out. Paso has there hands full with newbury park anyway especially with being on there 4th string running back
I am looking forward to watching Pirates vs Highlanders again it’s a classic rivalry goes way back traditionally the most consistent programs in San Diego both won state titles before so this is a huge game next Saturday. To bad this game is not at the Murph! It’s going to be a great one. Good luck to both teams Go Pirates!! State bound Destiny!!!
Helix’s qb is not at the level of Mission Hills qb, but Stinson could run for many yards especially up the middle. Oceanside needs to prepare very well and execute. Oceanside will score, but they need to tighten up defense. Oceanside can not come out half-asleep like they did against Mission Hills.
First of all thanks for your honest opinions in regards to our high school football team. With the section championship upcoming, where does Ridgeview HS Bak Ca stand in the D2 Bowl Rankings? Were hoping to get some help in the ranking from either a win from Liberty or Edison because Ridgeview has won against Liberty and Sanger, who gave Edison their only loss.
Ridgeview is in good shape because of that Liberty win and Liberty’s win over Mission Viejo. If both Liberty and Mission win this week, don’t see how Ridgeview doesn’t get in. Could be a 14-0 team on the board, though, in Crescenta Valley and it’s hard to know how a team like that will be evaluated by 10 different people. Crescenta Valley hasn’t played as tough of a schedule as Ridgeview (or should say hasn’t beaten anyone like Liberty). To me, based on CIF’s own criteria and ours, it’s CIFSS Inland Division winner vs. Ridgeview as of this moment.