According to OCVarsity.com, Servite of Anaheim QB Noah Fifita passed for 404 yards and six TDs as No. 24 Friars rolled past Villa Park on Friday. Photo: Matt Brown / @ServiteFootball.
No. 7 Narbonne turns back No. 8 Serra of Gardena in what was also a matchup of the top two teams in the South Bay region of L.A. County. That wasn’t the game of the night in the South Bay, though, as two from our State Top 50 tangled and went to two overtimes before one team won 55-52. Elsewhere, No. 2 St. John Bosco wins in Hawaii on Saturday, No. 6 Folsom survives upset bid that also almost snapped 41-game league win streak while Helix of La Mesa states its case to be in the next top 10 with a No. 1 vs. No. 2 showdown win in the San Diego Section.
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 continue to be free posts and will provide snippets of info, comments and more.
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(Rankings based on last week’s State Top 50 released last Monday)
(Through reported results of Saturday, Sept. 21)
THANKS TO NORTHERN CALIFORNIA CORRESPONDENT DANIEL POULTER FOR CONTRIBUTING TO THIS POST.
1. Mater Dei (Santa Ana) 4-0
While the long trip for St. John Bosco is this week to Hawaii, the Monarchs are on a bye and will take their long trip next week to Washington D.C. for a matchup with nationally ranked St. John’s.
2. St. John Bosco (Bellflower) 5-0
Josh Alford’s 21-yard interception return for a score also was his second of the night and helped the Braves take control in eventual 42-10 win on Saturday night in Hawaii against Mililani High. According to tweets, Mililani led 3-0 in the first quarter before Bosco scored twice on a TD pass by D.J. Uigalelei and TD run by Uigalelei. He had TD passes in the third quarter to Chedon James (41 yards) and Kris Hutson (28 yards).
JSerra running back Chris Street is shown in social media promotion for team’s game this week vs. Calabasas. Photo: @JSerraFootball / Twitter.com.
3. De La Salle (Concord) 4-1
Defeated No. 23 Buchanan (Clovis) 35-0. It was 28-0 in the first quarter as the Spartans crushed the Bears, who were more competitive in a 32-7 loss earlier this season to No. 7 Narbonne. Dorian Hale rushed and passed for the first two scores. Shamar Garrett then scored twice on runs. There was a running clock throughout the entire second half.
4. JSerra (San Juan Capistrano) 4-1
The Lions grabbed themselves a signature win in a 31-20 victory over No. 11 Calabasas. General Booty took the second play to the house on a 75-yard quarterback keeper. The junior signal caller finished with 180 rushing yards and added 150 in the air. JSerra had a 24-0 lead at halftime.
5. Mission Viejo 5-0
Ryder Fitch took the opening kickoff 98 yards to the house and Mission Viejo blasted St. Mary’s (Stockton) 63-7. The visiting Rams were down 63-0 at halftime and they get to host De La Salle next week.
6. Folsom 3-1
Defeated No. 34 Oak Ridge (El Dorado Hills) 36-33. The Bulldogs were down 33-21 in the second half, came back to take the lead and won when a last-second field goal by the Trojans that would have tied the game was no good.
7. Narbonne (Harbor City) 3-1
Defeated No. 8 Serra (Gardena) 28-21. Jake Garcia threw for three touchdowns with two of them going to Traeshon Holden, who also returned the second half kickoff for a score. Gauchos have Lawndale next week but are favored and probably won’t lose until here on out through the regular season plus CIF L.A. City Section playoffs.
8. Serra (Gardena) 3-1
LOST to No. 7 Narbonne (Harbor City) 28-21. A TD pass with 3:32 left by Doug Brumfield to Lavon Bunkley-Shelton brought the Cavaliers to a one-score deficit. They also got the ball back later with a chance to tie but had the drive stopped on fourth down.
9. Grace Brethren (Simi Valley) 4-0
The Lancers, who have a bye this week, should be moving up at least one spot in the next rankings since the two teams right in front of them from last week’s rankings are playing each other.
10. Centennial (Corona) 3-2
The Huskies jumped on Long Beach Poly early and cruised to a 57-13 victory. Centennial scored three touchdowns and grabbed a safety in the first quarter. The Jackrabbits weren’t able to muster their potential upset mojo like a the previous week against No. 8 Serra (Gardena).
11. Calabasas 3-2
The Coyotes fell 31-20 to No. 4 JSerra (SJ Capistrano). Calabasas fell behind 24-0 at the halftime break, but recovered two onside kicks in the second half to claw back into the contest. Fresno State commit Jaden Casey was 23-of-45 for 225 passing yards and added a touchdown.
Former All-Pro DB Nnamdi Asomugha (right) had his number retired at Friday’s home game at Narbonne (Harbor City) vs. Serra (Gardena). He’s standing with Narbonne fan Jerry Guardado. Photo: Twitter.com.
12. Serra (San Mateo) 3-0
It’s a week off for teams like Serra who are in the West Catholic Athletic League of the CIF Central Coast Section. The Padres resume their schedule next Friday vs. Archbishop Riordan of San Francisco.
13. Alemany (Mission Hills) 5-0
Floyd Chalk had a 64 yard touchdown run in the first quarter and that would be all Alemany would need, as it shut out Downey 37-0 in a rout.
14. Central (Fresno) 5-0
The Grizzlies made quick work of a quality Turlock side, as the top team in the Central Section pulled off a 41-13 victory. Jameson Silva had five touchdown passes for the game, but he was sacked seven times for the contest.
15. Valley Christian (San Jose) 3-0
After enjoying their weekend off, the Warriors return to action on Sept. 27 when they host St. Francis of Mountain View.
16. Norco 4-0
A winless Redlands East Valley was within 15 points during the second quarter, but Norco regained control for a 56-20 victory. Shane Illingworth had five touchdown passes and connected on a score on his first pass of the game just 13 seconds into the contest.
17. St. Augustine (San Diego) 4-1
LOST to No. 20 Helix (La Mesa) 44-38. The Saints were getting routed 44-17 in the showdown of No. 1 and No. 2 teams from the San Diego Section. To their credit, they made a game of it in the fourth quarter, but needed an onside kick at the finish that they couldn’t get.
18. Corona del Mar (Newport Beach) 4-0
Head coach Dan O’Shea’s squad has a bye this week before resuming play on September 26 against state No. 21 San Clemente at Newport Harbor. This could be one of the best games in Orange County in 2019.
19. Liberty (Brentwood) 5-0
It was another close game for the Lions, but they kept winning on Saturday night with 17-13 triumph over previously unbeaten and state No. 43 Cardinal Newman (Santa Rosa). Three of the team’s recent close wins were against opponents that also were in the State Top 50. The Lions also still look like a strong contender to be unbeaten heading into the CIF North Coast Section D1 playoffs.
20. Helix (La Mesa) 3-1
Defeated No. 16 St. Augustine 44-38 in No. 1 vs. No. 2 matchup for San Diego region. The Scotties jumped out front early on a fumble return TD by Jeremiah Fletcher. The amazing aspect of their resurgence the last two weeks (including the previous win over former state No. 5 Cathedral Catholic) is it hasn’t been just RB Elelyon Noa. It’s been everybody. And now that Helix is clearly No. 1 for San Diego and has a comparative result advantage vs. Corona Centennial, will the team jump closer to where Cathedral Catholic stood in the rankings or does that one loss to Herriman, Utah, cost more?
21. San Clemente 5-0
The Tritons stormed back from being down 14 points in the second half to hold on to defeat No. 50 Edison (Huntington Beach) 28-21. Edison was driving late in the game, when Trey Torticill snagged an interception in his own red zone with 19 seconds remaining to clinch the game.
22. Cathedral Catholic (San Diego) 4-1
After falling against Helix (La Mesa) last week, Cathedral Catholic took out some anger with a 44-7 bashing of Eastlake (Chula Vista).
23. Buchanan (Clovis) 3-2
After being close with No. 3 De La Salle (Concord) last season, this year was a different story for the Bears. Buchanan still doesn’t have RB Kendall Milton, out with a quadriceps injury. It’ll now be interesting to see if the Bears can regain some momentum for No. 14 Central of Fresno in the Tri-Rivers Athletic Conference.
24. Servite (Anaheim) 3-1
For the second week in a row, Villa Park was the sacrificial lamb for a much bigger fish, as Servite blasted its way to a 48-9 victory at Orange Coast College (OCC). Noah Fifita had a monster game under center for Servite. The sophomore signal caller was reported with 404 passing yards and threw for six touchdowns.
25. Notre Dame (Sherman Oaks) 4-0
The Knights only scored seven points in the first quarter against Birmingham of Lake Balboa, but had a 27-0 lead at halftime en route to a 43-14 victory. It’ll be Servite next week for Notre Dame in its first test of the season.
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TEAMS ON THE BUBBLE
Bishop Amat (La Puente) 4-1
The Lancers were able to deal with Cathedral of Los Angeles 45-20. Workhorse running back Damien Moore had four touchdowns.
Cardinal Newman (Santa Rosa) 3-01
LOST to No. 19 Liberty (Brentwood) 17-13 on Saturday at Freedom HS (Oakley).
Clayton Valley (Concord) 3-1
The Ugly Eagles travelled down to Vegas to square off with Canyon Springs (North Las Vegas, Nev.) and came away with a quality 35-6 victory. Tyson Vida continues his strong season with a three-touchdown evening.
Inderkum (Sacramento) 3-0
Defeated Bella Vista (Fair Oaks) 55-20. Earlier win over Del Oro (Loomis) also gained in strength with Del Oro beating Granite Bay.
La Habra 3-2
After falling in a close contest against No. 11 Calabasas last week, La Habra bounceed back with a 44-11 rout of Diamond Ranch (Pomona).
Lawndale 3-1
After a rivalry victory last week, Lawndale didn’t have a let down game, taking care of business with a 48-20 victory at Crenshaw (Los Angeles).
Liberty (Bakersfield) 4-1
After barely falling to No. 23 Buchanan, there was potential for the Patriots to have a let down against a game 3-1 Clovis squad and the Cougars gave them a scare. Liberty survived with a 43-34 victory.
Lutheran (Orange) 3-2
No. 30 Vista Murrieta fell 42-17 to a hungry No. 42 Orange Lutheran, a team that bounced back well after being blasted by No. 7 Narbonne last week.
Monte Vista (Danville) 3-1
The Mustangs had little trouble with Bishop O’Dowd (Oakland) as Monte Vista cruised to a 27-3 victory over the winless Dragons.
Murrieta Valley (Murrieta) 4-0
Defeated No. 27 Oaks Christian (Westlake Village) 39-38. Earlier wins weren’t over the greatest of competition, but this one puts Nighthawks on the map.
Oak Ridge (El Dorado Hills) 3-1
LOST to No. 6 Folsom 36-33. The Trojans nearly ended Folsom’s league win streak at 41 games but couldn’t quite hold that lead. Still, one of those outings in which a team definitely can move up in the rankings despite losing.
Oaks Christian (Westlake Village) 2-3
Murrieta Valley (Murrieta) outscored the Lions 21-10 in the fourth quarter to come back for the 39-38 victory over Oaks Christian.
Palos Verdes (PV Estates) 3-2
LOST 55-52 in double overtime to No. 47 Culver City. The Sea Kings missed a 22-yard field goal in the first overtime that would have given them the game. Culver City drove 80 yards in the last 30 seconds to force overtime. Zevi Eckhaus had 573 passing yards and seven touchdown passes for Culver City. WR Chris Miller moved into a tie for 3rd on all-time state list with six TD catches.
Pittsburg 4-1
The Pirates were down 17 points early in the fourth quarter and rallied to defeat No. 41 Wilcox (Santa Clara) 35-31. Pittsburg quarterback Jerry Johnson completed seven straight passes on the final drive to help the Pirates pull off the late victory.
Rancho Cucamonga 3-2
Jumped on Westlake (Westlake Village) early and had little trouble in a 48-24 victory.
Sierra Canyon (Chatsworth) 4-1
The Trailblazers were up 28-7 with minutes to go against St. Paul (Santa Fe Springs) and held on for a 28-20 victory. Sierra Canyon did lose promising backup quarterback Amari Powell, as the sophomore broke his ankle and will be out the rest of the year.
Upland 3-1
Did not play. Meets No. 5 Mission Viejo next Friday.
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