It was a foggy night in Pacifica where bubble team Serra of San Mateo and QB Hunter Bishop defeated Sacred Heart Cathedral of San Francisco 35-15. Photo: Willie Eashman.
Upset victims around the state include No. 12 Bakersfield and No. 18 Foothill of Pleasanton, but the most debate surrounds section playoff pairings (some of which were announced Saturday) especially about the at-large spots in the CIF Southern Section Pac-Five Division. No. 9 Grant of Sacramento also makes statement with big win Saturday over Jesuit.
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Here is a look at scores through Saturday, Nov. 8. Check back later this weekend for added details about section playoff seedings as they are announced. For the complete new rankings with writeups on every team and longer list of bubble teams, that post will be for Gold Club members only. Please sign up to get your Gold Club pass today. For info, CLICK HERE.
For CIF Southern Section playoff pairings breakdown, CLICK HERE.
For CIF North Coast Section playoff pairings breakdown, CLICK HERE.
For CIF Sac-Joaquin Section playoff pairings breakdown, CLICK HERE.
For CIF Central Section playoff pairings breakdown, CLICK HERE.
For CIF San Diego Section playoff pairings breakdown, CLICK HERE.
1. ST. JOHN BOSCO (BELLFLOWER) 9-1
Looking at the final score of 58-34 over No. 13 Santa Margarita (Rancho SM) you’d be stunned to know that the Braves were actually down 28-24 in the third quarter. Yes, they are that explosive and are looking quite formidable heading into the CIFSS Pac-Five Division playoffs.
2. DE LA SALLE (CONCORD) 10-0
Heading into the CIF North Coast Section playoffs and then looking further at possible rematch with St. John Bosco in CIF Open Division bowl game, the defense compared to past DLS teams has been a questionmark. That’s why second straight shutout win, this one 42-0 over California of San Ramon, is a good sign.
3. FOLSOM 10-0
Co-head coach Kris Richardson won his 100th game as either the Bulldogs’ head coach or co-coach after team swamped Woodcreek (Roseville) 71-7. On Saturday, as expected, Folsom received the top seed in CIF Sac-Joaquin Section D1 playoffs, but may not see state No. 9 Grant until the NorCal D1 bowl game since Grant is top seed in D2 for the section.
4. JSERRA (SJ CAPISTRANO) 9-1
Edward Vander’s third TD of the night helped the Lions pull away from No. 21 Servite of Anaheim 38-21. Going by the who-beat-who formula, hard to see how any other team other than the Lions will be seeded No. 2 behind St. John Bosco in CIFSS Pac-Five Division.
Frank Martin is a 6-6, 300-pound offensive tackle for Santa Ana Mater Dei. He is just a junior. Photo: Student Sports.
5. MATER DEI (SANTA ANA) 8-2
There were close games throughout the Trinity League this season, but not so much on the final night. Mater Dei looked to be in postseason form with 49-13 win against No. 22 Lutheran of Orange, a team that played everybody else (including St. John Bosco) much closer.
6. CENTENNIAL (CORONA) 8-2
In its previous game, Norco may have knocked off Corona Santiago 49-14, but against the Huskies on Thursday it was the opposite as head coach Matt Logan’s team blasted Norco 48-7 to win the Big VIII League title.
7. OCEANSIDE 10-0
In any traditional way of doing rankings, Oceanside’s 26-7 win over crosstown rival El Camino would have assured a top seed for the San Diego Section Open Division playoffs, especially with Helix losing to El Capitan and there being no other 10-0 teams that will be in the field. While the section had been touting its power rankings for many weeks, Oceanside in the end did get the No. 1 seed on Saturday and all is well.
8. LONG BEACH POLY (LONG BEACH) 9-1
Coach Antonio Pearce’s squad wrapped up another dominating Moore League title run with a 46-0 romp past Wilson (Long Beach).
9. GRANT (SACRAMENTO) 10-0
The Pacers won the Delta League title on Saturday by throttling Jesuit of Carmichael 52-14. For more on the game and Grant’s section and NorCal bowl prospects, CLICK HERE.
10. CRESPI (ENCINO) 8-1
Chris May’s interception return for a score put the capper on a 34-21 victory over No. 17 Alemany (Mission Hills). The Celts also will go into the CIFSS Pac-Five Division as the No. 1 team from the Mission League due to coin flips that were conducted late on Friday night. Both Bishop Amat and Serra of Gardena also ended the league season at 5-1.
11. WESTLAKE (WESTLAKE VILLAGE) 8-2
The Warriors made sure that Oaks Christian of Westlake Village would not make the playoffs for the first time in school history with an impressive 35-7 win over their neighborhood rivals. It also gave Westlake its second straight Marmonte League title.
12. BAKERSFIELD 8-2
According to @zewing, the Drillers lost four fumbles and dropped a 21-14 decision to Liberty of Bakersfield. It now appears to be a pick between 8-2 Liberty and 9-1 Fresno Edison for the top seed in the CIF Central Section D1 playoffs.
13. SANTA MARGARITA (RANCHO SM) 6-4
Despite a 58-34 loss to No. 1 St. John Bosco (Bellflower), the Eagles finished fourth in the Trinity League and based on numerous factors (especially owning a win over Bishop Amat) they are a shoo-in to be an at-large pick for the CIFSS Pac-Five Division playoffs.
Two of the state’s top DBs from teams that won big games on Friday were Anthony Mariscal from Liberty of Bakersfield and Stanley Norman of Gardena Serra. Photos: CentralValleyFootball.com & Student Sports.
14. BISHOP AMAT (LA PUENTE) 7-3
The Lancers maintained their late-season momentum with a 38-24 victory over No. 25 Notre Dame (Sherman Oaks). Next up will be the loaded CIFSS Pac-Five Division playoffs.
15. SERRA (GARDENA) 8-2
The Cavaliers’ offense is now humming along wth Khalil Tate at QB but the defense got tested in a 55-31 win over Loyola of Los Angeles. They had a one-point win over Crespi but a seven-point loss to Bishop Amat in the teams’ three-way tie for the Mission League title.
16. MILPITAS 9-0
There was no letdown for the Trojans after their big win from the week before over Los Gatos as they crushed Palo Alto 47-7.
17. ALEMANY (MISSION HILLS) 7-3
The Warriors lost in their regular season finale 34-21 to No. 10 Crespi and although it was 21-21 and they played hard, the buzz on Twitter on Friday night was that Servite and not them will be an at-large team for the CIFSS Pac-Five playoffs and therefore that their season is likely over.
18. FOOTHILL (PLEASANTON) 8-2
One of the big upsets of the night in Northern California was the Falcons (who had only lost before to De La Salle) falling 25-23 to their arch-rivals from Amador Valley. The loss will make it hard to seed the No. 2 team behind DLS for the North Coast Section D1 playoffs but it also shows how relatively weak the field is after the Spartans. We’ve seen several of these teams and have no doubt that a winless Trinity League team (Orange Lutheran) would fare very well against these other teams below DLS in the NCS.
19. CATHEDRAL CATHOLIC (SAN DIEGO) 9-1
The Dons did not play on Friday. They had already finished their regular season and it was speculated they had a good chance to get the top seed for the San Diego Open Division. Oceanside did get that top seed on Saturday, but Cathedral Catholic is No. 2 and wouldn’t potentially play Oceanside until the neutral field final anyway.
20. HELIX (LA MESA) 8-2
A 24-17 loss to El Capitan of Lakeside sent shockwaves throughout the San Diego Section on Friday because El Capitan – even at 10-0 – is not one of the teams that can be taken into the section’s Open Division playoffs. Helix, which lost its other game 9-7 to Cathedral Catholic, will still be in the Open Division. El Capitan has been our No. 1 team in the D3 South bowl game rankings and this win could end up being huge for the Vaqueros to get into that contest if they win the section’s D2 title.
21. SERVITE (ANAHEIM) 4-6
The Friars fell to No. 4 JSerra (SJ Capistrano) 38-21 in their Trinity League finale. Based on No. 17 Alemany losing 34-21 to Crespi, it seems to many pundits in SoCal that even at 4-6 that Servite should and will get an at-large berth over Alemany for the CIFSS Pac-Five playoffs. The Friars’ strength of schedule – they played De La Salle and Bishop Gorman in addition to the other Trinity teams – is tough to beat. They also notched a win over La Mirada, which finished 9-1 on Friday.
22. LUTHERAN (ORANGE) 4-6
It was a lackluster end to the season for the Lancers as they lost 49-13 to No. 5 Mater Dei. They finished winless in the Trinity League but only lost 52-43 to No. 1 St. John Bosco and 52-49 to No. 5 Corona Centennial.
23. UPLAND 8-2
The Highlanders possibly wrapped up the top seed for the CIFSS West Valley Division with a 45-20 triumph against Etiwanda.
24. MISSION VIEJO 8-2
The regular season already was complete for the Diablos entering Friday night. They should get a high seed in the CIFSS West Valley Division playoffs.
25. NOTRE DAME (SHERMAN OAKS) 6-4
A 38-24 loss to No. 14 Bishop Amat (La Puente) plus an earlier loss to Alemany gives the Knights no chance to get an at-large spot in the CIFSS Pac-Five playoffs.
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Teams On The Bubble
Bellarmine Prep (San Jose) 8-1
Defeated St. Francis (Mountain View) 17-14.
Campolindo (Moraga) 10-0
Defeated Acalanes (Lafayette) 48-13.
Chaminade (West Hills) 5-5
Did not play. Season over.
Chino Hills 8-2
Defeated Los Osos (Rancho Cucamonga) 38-7.
Clayton Valley (Concord) 10-0
Defeated College Park (Pleasant Hill) 56-14.
Corona del Mar (Newport Beach) 9-1
Defeated Northwood (Irvine) 14-0.
Del Oro (Loomis) 5-5
Defeated Granite Bay 20-7.
Edison (Fresno) 9-1
Defeated Bullard (Fresno) 24-7.
Granite Bay 7-3
Lost to Del Oro (Loomis) 20-7.
Hart (Newhall) 7-3
Lost to Valencia 28-27. Led 27-0.
Heritage (Menifee) 10-0
Defeated Lakeside (Lake Elsinore) 56-7. State’s longest win streak up to 25 games.
Jesuit (Carmichael) 8-2
Lost on Saturday at home 52-14 to No. 9 Grant (Sacramento). For recap, CLICK HERE.
La Mirada 9-1
Defeated Norwalk 35-21.
Los Gatos 7-2
Defeated Saratoga 41-6.
Loyola (Los Angeles) 4-6
Lost to No. 15 Serra (Gardena) 55-31.
Mission Hills (San Marcos) 8-2
Defeated previous 9-0 San Marcos 55-13.
Oaks Christian (Westlake Village) 5-5
Lost to No. 11 Westlake (Westlake Village) 35-7.
Palma (Salinas) 8-1
Lost to San Benito (Hollister) 17-13.
Redlands East Valley (Redlands) 9-1
Defeated Carter (Rialto) 45-14.
Ridgeview (Bakersfield) 9-1
Defeated Independence (Bakersfield) 41-7.
San Clemente 9-1
Defeated Aliso Niguel (Aliso Viejo) 56-15.
Serra (San Mateo) 6-3
Defeated Sacred Heart Cathedral (San Francisco) 35-15.
St. Bonaventure (Ventura) 6-4
Defeated Moorpark 47-14.
St. Francis (La Canada) 10-0
Defeated Salesian (Los Angeles) 46-15.
St. Francis (Mountain View) 5-4
Lost to Bellarmine (San Jose) 17-14.
St. Mary’s (Stockton) 9-1
Defeated Lincoln (Stockton) 45-14. 11th straight win in series for the Rams.
Tesoro (Las Flores) 8-2
Defeated San Juan Hills (San Juan Capistrano) 45-14.
Valencia 8-2
Defeated Hart (Newhall) 28-27. Trailed 27-0.
Valley Christian (San Jose) 7-2
Defeated Archbishop Mitty (San Jose) 15-14.
West (Torrance) 10-0
Defeated Torrance 31-29.
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
10 Comments
It’s going to be an exciting open division playoff in S. D.
I believe committee wants an oceanside cathedral matchup
So yeah the 1 or 2 ranking won’t matter. Is their a bye week still? For these teams.
Let’s go Pirates let’s get back to Carson and get a 3rd title!!!
Yes, there is a bye week. Glad the pairings and seedings ended up making sense.
Oceanside got #1 seed.
I have seen many of these teams and have no doubt that a couple of the NCS teams (below DLS) would go winless in the Trinity League.
I’ve seen your head up your ass Paul. The trinity league is 6 teams. The NCS is 171 teams. It’s a section so yes some teams would go winless against your 6 very good teams, like the bottom rung. Try not to make grandiose statements when you don’t know jack.
goofball- my post was a shot at ranking a team with six losses in the top 25. go back to your crayons.
Really, tell me in the NCS who is better than Orange Lutheran? After DLS, I’d take OLu against Foothill, Pitt, California, Clayton Valley, Campo, etc. NorCal is just set up so much differently than SoCal. The best NorCal teams are spread out in different sections in different divisions. In the South, other than a few exceptions (like Oceanside maybe), all of the best teams are in the Pac-Five so some of those Pac-Five teams that don’t make it into the playoffs are very, very good.
Guess you missed the sarcasm MT.
Do you keep player stats? Bishop O’Dowd High School in Oakland, CA –game with Castro Valley High School on 11-7-14???
Only at the games one of us is at and we didn’t have anyone at that game.