It was senior night for No. 17 Pittsburg, which rolled past Freedom (Oakley) to further set up a showdown in a few weeks with league rival and No. 12 Liberty of Brentwood. Photo: @JackLacyJr / Twitter.com.
All of the hoopla surrounding No. 1 Mater Dei and No. 2 St. John Bosco playing each other can begin after both teams won on Friday with the Braves coming on strong in the second half after they were tied 21-21 in the second quarter with No. 9 Orange Lutheran. It’s also going to be a No. 1 vs. No. 2 matchup for teams in just about every national ranking (although the order is different in some). There were no upsets involving State Top 25 teams on Friday, although No. 7 Mission Viejo had to survive an upset bid by Capistrano Valley.
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 more than 40 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. It’s more than 8,000 words of jam-packed info. Each new set of rankings will be for Gold Club members only. The late Friday/Weekend Scoreboards will be free posts and will provide snippets of info, comments and more.
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(Rankings based on State Top 50 released last week)
(Through reported results of Saturday, Oct. 6)
*Indicates forfeit result not included.
1. Mater Dei (Santa Ana) 7-0*
Defeated No. 19 Santa Margarita Catholic (Rancho SM) 49-7. Monarchs did their part to set up next week’s monster clash against No. 2 St. John Bosco with easy win. They broke it open in second quarter on 45-yard TD pass from Bryce Young to Bru McCoy. The Bosco game is a No. 1 vs. No. 2 in nation matchup (some have Braves No. 1) but it’s not as big as first-ever national No. 1 vs. No. 2 showdown, which was in 2001 between De La Salle and Long Beach Poly. That one was bigger because DLS had the national win streak record going and the two teams weren’t also going to play later in the season (like MD and Bosco probably will).
2. St. John Bosco (Bellflower) 6-0
Defeated No. 9 Lutheran of Orange 63-28. Kris Hutson starred for the Braves with a pair of kickoff returns, one of which happened right before halftime after the Lancers had tied the score 21-21. Bosco pulled away in the second half.
Branden Alvarez makes a play on the ball for Corona Centennial in its romp past Corona. Photo: @starrealtorr / Twitter.com.
3. Centennial (Corona) 7-0
Defeated Corona 78-0. So far in Big XIII League play, the Huskies have won 77-7, 59-6 and now 78-0. With the Mater Dei forfeit loss situation, hard to know whether it will be better for Centennial’s eventual CIF Southern Section D1 playoff seed if Bosco wins that game next week or if Monarchs win.
4. De La Salle (Concord) 7-0
Defeated Monte Vista (Danville) 55-0. The visiting Mustangs entered Friday’s game at 5-1, but were not close as the Spartans led 48-0 at halftime. Sophomore Dorian Hale threw three TD passes, two to big-time TE recruit Isaiah Foskey.
5. Oaks Christian (Westlake Village) 7-0
Defeated Newbury Park 55-0. It wasn’t 83-0 like the previous game against Bakersfield Christian, but the Lions came off of their bye week focused and determined to keep getting better.
6. Folsom 6-1
Defeated Whitney (Rocklin) 63-7. Amidst some controversy after a Sacramento Bee story quoted a couple coaches from rival schools in the Sierra Foothill League that the Bulldogs should be independent, it was just business as usual. Team’s only loss to De La Salle and it will likely stay that way through the CIF Sac-Joaquin Section D1 playoffs.
7. Mission Viejo 8-0
Defeated No. 41 Capistrano Valley (Mission Viejo) 31-24. The visiting Cougars, who were unbeaten but new to the South Coast League this season, were ahead 14-0 in the first half and nearly upset the Diablos.
8. JSerra (San Juan Capistrano) 6-1
Defeated No. 24 Servite (Anaheim) 49-6. Caden Bell threw for five TDs for the Lions, who kept up some momentum from their more than respectable 35-28 loss from the week before to St. John Bosco.
9. Lutheran (Orange) 4-3
LOST to No. 2 St. John Bosco (Bellflower) 63-28. A Ryan Hilinski TD pass made it 21-21 in the second quarter, but the depth of talent of the Braves in the second half became overwhelming.
10. Central (Fresno) 7-0
Defeated Clovis 53-14. There was no letdown for head coach Kyle Biggs’ squad following the big win from the previous week against No. 23 Buchanan of Clovis.
11. Bishop Amat (La Puente) 5-2*
Defeated Serra (Gardena) 35-14. Kenny Collins rushed for three TDs as the Lancers have now beaten both Chaminade (Mission Hills) and Serra in the Mission League. At the beginning of the season, those probably were regarded by most as the top three teams in the league.
12. Liberty (Brentwood) 8-0
Defeated Antioch 52-0. We saw Antioch get a win over Clayton Valley of Concord earlier this season, so this was about as impressive a win as the Lions could get. Sione Vaki got the night going by returning the opening kickoff for a score and later caught two TD passes from junior QB Jay Butterfield.
13. St. Francis (Mountain View) 5-1
Defeated No. 50 Valley Christian (San Jose) 7-3. The defensive slugfest was preserved by big plays by DE Josh Pakola and DB Maurice Wilmer. Both of those players committed earlier in the week — Pakola to Stanford and Wilmer to Colorado.
14. Torrey Pines (San Diego) 7-0
Defeated Mission Hills (San Marcos) 13-7. It was 0-0 at halftime but the Falcons got through without the upset. Mission Hills is the defending Avocado League champion and beat the Falcons twice last year so no matter the score it was a good win.
15. Cathedral Catholic (San Diego) 6-1
Defeated St. Augustine (San Diego) 34-14. According to Twitter reports, junior QB D.J. Ralph led the Dons with 243 yards passing and a pair of TDs.
16. Narbonne (Harbor City) 5-3
Defeated San Pedro 62-7. In the first half alone, the Gauchos held the Pirates to just 17 yards and three total first downs.
Mykah Pittman of Calabasas gets ready for his team’s Ventura/L.A. County area clash with Sierra Canyon. Photo: @CalabasasFtball / Twitter.com.
17. Pittsburg 6-2
Defeated Freedom (Oakley) 54-14. Freedom was actually in the State Top 50 a few weeks ago so the ease of the Pirates’ win was impressive. The Pirates’ upcoming matchup vs. a Liberty of Brentwood team that also has been surging in recent weeks on Oct. 19 should be something to see.
18. Calabasas 6-1
Defeated No. 36 Sierra Canyon (Chatsworth) 42-35. Coyote defenders batted away a Hail Mary pass in the end zone to preserve the win. Jaden Casey led the offense with five TD passes and one TD run.
19. Santa Margarita (Rancho SM) 2-5
LOST to No. 1 Mater Dei (Santa Ana) 49-7. Unlike the team’s other four losses, which were all to highly-ranked foes by close scores, this one wouldn’t fall into that category.
20. Upland 5-1
Defeated Los Osos of Rancho Cucamonga 45-23. The Highlanders’ only loss is to Mission Viejo and they remain a top team in the CIFSS in D2.
21. Villa Park 5-1
Defeated El Dorado (Placentia) 49-3. Since their win against Servite of Anaheim, Villa Park has won by scores of 56-6, 57-0 and now 49-3.
22. Del Oro (Loomis) 7-0
Defeated No. 48 Oak Ridge (El Dorado Hills) 56-21. Johnny “Rocket” Guzman brought back not one but two kickoffs for scores to lift the Golden Eagles. They should move up a few spots in next week’s rankings and may be in the 15-17 range by the time they face Folsom to end the regular season.
23. Buchanan (Clovis) 5-2
Defeated Clovis West (Fresno) 35-7. Head coach Matt Giordano probably liked the way his team’s defense held the Golden Eagles to just one score in a bounce-back effort following a loss to No. 10 Central of Fresno.
24. (24) Servite (Anaheim) 3-3
LOST to No. 8 JSerra Catholic (San Juan Capistrano) 49-6. The Friars still have Orange Lutheran, St. John Bosco and Santa Margarita still to play in the Trinity League.
25. Norco 6-1
Defeated Santiago (Corona) 33-22. D.J. Ford returned as the primary ball carrier and had two long TDs in the second half to spark the win. Santiago lost in its previous game 59-6 to Corona Centennial, but gave Norco a scare.
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TEAMS ON THE BUBBLE
(Taken from the next group of teams we had in our State Top 50)
(Listed alphabetically)
Alemany (Mission Hills) 6-1
Defeated Chaminade (West Hills) 31-14.
Cajon (San Bernardino) 6-1
Defeated Redlands 57-7.
Capistrano Valley (Mission Viejo) 6-1
LOST to No. 7 Mission Viejo 31-24.
Central Catholic (Modesto) 7-1
Defeated Weston Ranch (Stockton) 60-13.
Clayton Valley (Concord) 6-1
Defeated Campolindo (Moraga) 35-7.
Corona del Mar (Newport Harbor) 6-1
Defeated Fountain Valley 49-21.
Eastlake (Chula Vista) 6-1
Defeated Mater Dei Catholic (Chula Vista) 56-21.
Grace Brethren (Simi Valley) 6-2
Defeated Moorpark 39-7.
Helix (La Mesa) 4-3
Defeated Valhalla (El Cajon) 56-6.
Heritage (Menifee) 5-2
Defeated Temescal Canyon (Lake Elsinore) 28-0.
Lawndale 5-2
Defeated Culver City 34-27.
Long Beach Poly (Long Beach) 6-2
Defeated Compton 35-0.
Los Alamitos 6-1
Defeated Newport Harbor (Newport Beach) 42-7. Extended reported national record streak of scoring in a game to 400 games.
Monterey Trail (Elk Grove) 7-0
Defeated Kennedy (Sacramento) 50-0.
Notre Dame (Sherman Oaks) 5-2
Defeated Loyola (Los Angeles) 28-7.
Oak Ridge (El Dorado Hills) 5-2
LOST to No. 22 Del Oro (Loomis) 56-21.
Rancho Verde (Moreno Valley) 7-0
Defeated Elsinore (Lake Elsinore) 63-13.
Serra (Gardena) 3-4
LOST to No. 11 Bishop Amat (La Puente) 35-14.
Serra (San Mateo) 4-2
Defeated Archbishop Riordan (SF) 57-6 on Saturday.
Sierra Canyon (Chatsworth) 5-3
LOST to No. 18 Calabasas 42-35.
South Hills (West Covina) 7-0
Defeated West Covina 35-0.
St. Mary’s (Stockton) 3-4
Defeated Lodi 42-8.
Valley Christian (San Jose) 4-2
LOST to No. 15 St. Francis (Mountain View) 7-3.
Vista Murrieta (Murrieta) 5-2
Defeated Chaparral (Temecula) 55-7.
Westlake (Westlake Village) 3-3
Bye. Did not play.
Wilcox (Santa Clara) 7-0
Defeated Los Gatos 25-19.
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8 Comments
Hey Mark, thanks for all the info. This is Joe, we met in Fresno last weekend and talked about Tompkins. Part of our discussion was about how transfers really have affected the competitiveness between schools. It’s even happening in our area. You mention that Folsom’s dominance issue in the bay area was a topic of controversy covered by the Sac Bee, and then proceed to showcase them blasting another school as business as usual. I couldn’t decide if by saying that you were pointing out that Folsom is doing things right, or just reporting facts, or even being tongue in cheek with your inner thoughts on this. Here are some quotes from the Sac Bee. ” Folsom isn’t breaking rules, but Folsom has a different set of rules than the rest of us,” Oak Ridge coach Eric Cavaliere said. “The open enrollment issue is big. We can’t take any kids into our school unless they live in El Dorado Hills. I think Folsom should go independent. We’d still want to play them in a regular-season game because that’s still a big game for us. But the gap between No. 1 Folsom and the rest of the area has never been bigger — ever.”Folsom received another injection of talent from Reno this season. Chandon Pierre, a 6-3, 255-pound senior defensive end, led Nevada in sacks as a sophomore and junior at Bishop Manogue. Pierre’s family moved to Folsom in February, but because it was not deemed a full-family move, CIF transfer rules required him to sit out until the Sept. 28 game against Rocklin. Folsom’s coach said, “People on social media and everywhere else should just shut up when talking about 16- or 17-year-old kids. It’s just really dumb.”
Well, well. People are really polarized on this issue. The Folsom coach wants people to ‘shut up’ because they’re just kids? They are 1 or 2 years from being legal adults. And those ‘kids’ can make or break a teams future. You don’t need an entire team of cray cray talent to dominate. Folsom has 4 electric players, all from out of the area. All you need are scarily talented individuals in critical positions to make a huge difference. I would at LEAST allow open enrollment for all schools there so its level. Maybe I’m wrong, but I can see their point. I also see Folsom’s upsetness because they work hard too. It’s apples and oranges, I’m thinking.
I would like you to comment further on that controversy, if you’re willing.
Thanks,
Joe Lucido
Fresno, Central Grizzlies
Mr. Lucido;
Thank you for the information concerning Folsom’s “open enrollment” situation.
However, the Bulldogs are not the only program in the Sierra Foothill League that have athletes from outside their attendance area. In fact, the only very strong football program that I know of that plays entirely or nearly entirely with “neighborhood” kids” is Pittsburg. After having watched the DLS vs. Fresno Central game at Owen Owens last year, I would think Central has its share of players from outside its attendance area also. In my opinion, the Grizzlies had as much (or more) athletic talent on the field that night as Dela.
I think it’s fair to say California high school athletic eligibility rules are very much in disarray along with the differences in enforcement of them among the different sections. I also think it’s fair to say that CIF itself needs to be completely restructured: eligibility isn’t the only thing lacking in California high school athletics! However, will the California State Legislature do something about it?
The state legislature has far more important matters to deal with than high school sports.
I agree that there are a lot of inequities within the various CIF sections and a lot of us who follow it closely can get upset.
But the vast majority of kids out there at perhaps 1,000 high schools just keep on showing up to be on a team and none of it matters too much.
For what we do at Cal-Hi Sports, we want to shine a spotlight on some of them too when they have amazing accomplishments and win state titles in some of the other divisions.
I was just trying to report facts in the scoreboard, but all you had to do was look at some of the other scores to see that Folsom isn’t alone in completely wiping out its league opponents. I see it as a bigger issue with transfers in general. I do think it would be premature for Folsom to be independent like DLS (although now I see DLS is back playing league games). It was only two years ago when St. Mary’s won the SJS D1 title and Folsom did have some close games. Whether a school has open enrollment or not is not a CIF issue, it’s not a state legislative issue. Each school district decides what it wants to do. And the local control argument traditionally has been very tough to go against.
I think there seems to be this misunderstanding of open enrollment in folsom…its district wide but students still have to live in folsom. Additionally, these 4 reno players..ngata brothers and kb were at folsom freshman year so they didnt transfer in…they moved to folsom and had to compete like all others..this new guy had to sit out until 9/28 and he too moved to folsom…md sjb and dls are private so there are really no tranfer rules…folsom just happens to be really really good..now as far as independent for folsom, you would have to see a 2014 and 2018 type team for several years to consider the possibility..if folsom continues at its break neck speed and crushes all of sjs the next 3-4 years, maybe beats dls next year, beats a southern ca power or national power and wins multiple state championships then maybe you can go independent..other teans in sfl just need to find a way to match up…i love folsom football and i live in folsom and love what they are doing and if they continue then i think they could go indept but their superteams have only been 3 – 4 (2010 2014 2018, maybe 2017) out of the last 9 years ..so we need maybe a few more of these to justify consideration..and again they are a public school
Folsom unfairly getting singled out with too much bad press. Mission Viejo and Centennial are Folsom of the South. Centennial who is arguably better than Folsom based on national rankings barely lost to IMG last year, beat up solid teams non-conference and is now rolling over its league competition is not getting the same kind of wrath as Folsom because they are in a CIF section with the top 2 teams in country. Again, (attention Southern Section) Break up SSD1 into Public and Private and let Folsom play winner of MV/Centennial for Public Open state championship moving forward. Its not Folsom’s fault they get to play a cream puff in the state D2 Bowl game which just adds to the fire that they are ‘cheating’…
The Folsom argument is interesting for many reasons. First, the north differs from the south because usually the top teams will not face off against each other in the same playoff bracket. Folsom, DLS, and the smaller division powers typically go on to crush everyone in their respective brackets which allows the north to get their best teams in the state bowl games. In the south, that never happens. Only 1 top team qualifies and even though there are 4-5 other top rated national teams on the board they are left out of state bowl games weakening the south’s chances in games below the Open division. Folsom will end up playing a team from Fresno or SD and probably destroy them once again. They should be facing Corona Centennial or Oaks Christian in that game but those teams will be in the top bracket with Mater Dei and Bosco, Mission V etc. CIF needs to wake up and get things right. Put all top teams in the same division and let the lower teams battle it out.
Many top nationally ranked teams are in the top division of the Southern Section in many sports, not just football. In the other sports, the top four teams typically do play it out for a second time in the regional playoffs. In football, it’s just not possible. You can’t blame the CIF for the Southern Section setting up its own super elite division. They knew when they set it up that a lot of great teams weren’t going to win CIF state titles. They also don’t seem interested in making that top division an Open Division so that the runner-up could perhaps get a bowl game. I like the idea of a private school Open Division and public school Open Division and in football only make for any two schools that played in any section final or appears in the top 10 of our rankings or CalPreps. The problem is what would happen in those years (which was only in 2014 and 2015) when Centennial (public) was the best in the south and DLS (private) was the best in the north. Perhaps then the solution would be to create an Open Division Gold Bowl (for the two best regardless of public or private), Open Division public and Open Division private (3 separate games) with the rest of the CIF state bowl format staying the same.