It’s been a rough few years for the proud program at Loyola (Los Angeles) but players at the downtown area L.A. campus hope they’ve turned a corner with a big win on Friday over state-ranked Serra of Gardena in league opener. Photo: @LoyolaFB / Twitter.com.
Southern California’s Mission League opened up on Friday with not one but two big upsets (if you can call them that) as No. 11 Serra of Gardena fell to Loyola while No. 13 Alemany was stunned in the closing seconds by defending league champion Bishop Amat. State No. 2 St. John Bosco didn’t lose, but No. 19 Servite of Anaheim came about as close as possible in a 27-26 contest. There will be a lot of movement in the next state rankings since other top-ranked teams also lost this week.
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.
We hope you enjoy this free post on CalHiSports.com. To join our Gold Club to get all new state rankings, state record updates and all-state team announcements, CLICK HERE.
(Rankings based on last week’s State Top 50 released last Monday)
(Through reported results of Saturday, Oct. 5)
THANKS TO NORTHERN CALIFORNIA CORRESPONDENT DANIEL POULTER FOR CONTRIBUTING TO THIS POST.
1. Mater Dei (Santa Ana) 6-0
Defeated No. 38 Orange Lutheran (Orange) 51-14 in Trinity League opener. Bryce Young’s three TD passes plus a pick six from Domani Jackson helped put the Monarchs ahead 35-7 at the half. They made it 42-7 after the first series of third quarter.
2. St. John Bosco (Bellflower) 6-0
Defeated No. 19 Servite (Anaheim) 27-26. More penalties and dropped passes than usual plus a blocked punt that was picked up for a score by Servite contributed to the close call for the Braves. Servite should get some credit, but everyone at Bosco knows how good Mater Dei has been looking lately.
3. De La Salle (Concord) 6-1
The Spartans had little trouble with No. 39 Monte Vista (Danville), as the green machine soldiered on for a 49-14 victory. Shamar Garrett had four touchdowns for the Spartans, with a 55-yard highlight score late in the game. Up next: 6-0 California of San Ramon Friday at Owen Owens Field.
Serra of San Mateo standout Nate Sanchez is shown after he and team played earlier this season at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara. Photo: @SerraSanMateo / Twitter.com.
4. JSerra (San Juan Capistrano) 5-1
JSerra only had a 7-3 lead at halftime over Santa Margarita (Rancho SM), but ran away with a 35-3 victory in the second half. It was a strong showing from Sammy Green, as the rusher had three touchdowns and 114 yards. Jaden Genova was key on the defensive side of the ball with seven tackles and two sacks.
5. Mission Viejo 7-0
Head coach Chad Johnson’s charges continued to roll with a 56-0 blasting of El Toro (Lake Forest).
6. Folsom 5-1
The Bulldogs made sure they wouldn’t be the victims of No. 45 Rocklin, the team that upset former State Top 25 ranked Oak Ridge (El Dorado Hills) last week, as they pulled away late to defeat the Thunder 42-20. Elijhah Badger snagged two touchdown catches and made a 1-handed 86-yard catch for Folsom. Kalen Higgins had a 50-yard pick six for the Bulldogs to clinch the game.
7. Narbonne (Harbor City) 6-1
Had little trouble in its opener of the Marine League, as the Gauchos blasted pasted previously unbeaten San Pedro 53-0. Jack Brown dominated on the ground, as the running back had 145 total yards and grabbed most of it on a 72-yard receiving score in the final quarter. Brown had four scores for the game.
8. Centennial (Corona) 3-2
Coming off of bye, the Huskies played Corona Santiago at home in their Big XIII League opener. They resumed business as usual in that league with 63-0 win and led 56-0 at halftime.
9. Helix (La Mesa) 5-1
After handling Oaks Christian (Westlake Village), the Highlanders marched past El Capitan (Lakeside) 65-14. They travel to Valhalla next week.
10. Grace Brethren (Simi Valley) 6-0
The Lancers stayed undefeated with a 42-13 victory over Bishop Diego (Santa Barbara).
11. Serra (Gardena) 4-2
Upset special as Serra lost to Loyola (Los Angeles) 24-7 in its Mission League opener. Brayden Zermeno had a 56-yard quarterback keeper and the Cubs had a 21-0 lead at halftime. Reportedly, Serra had to start a third string sophomore quarterback in his first varsity start for this game.
12. Serra (San Mateo) 5-0
We were thinking about head coach Patrick Walsh at the Wilcox-Los Gatos game since Wilcox running back Paul M. Rosa reminds us of Coach Walsh in the early 1990s when he was running wild in the De La Salle (Concord) veer. Walsh’s team on Friday beat Bellarmine (San Jose) by the same 37-0 score that Wilcox won by vs. Los Gatos.
13. Alemany (Mission Hills) 5-1
LOST to No. 35 Bishop Amat of La Puente in its Mission League opener 25-24 after failing to convert on fourth down with less than 20 seconds left. Floyd Chalk was close on the fourth down play, but was stopped short by Cal commit Damien Moore.
14. Central (Fresno) 6-0
It’s rare that one of the biggest regular season games of the season in the CIF Central Section was played on a Thursday, but it was and it was the Grizzlies coming from behind to beat No. 33 Buchanan (Clovis) 41-20. The Bears led 20-6 and lost a lot of steam when QB A.J. Stevenson went down with a shoulder injury. Central still roared back behind QB Jameson Silva and a big-time group of skill players. With the win, Central showed it likely isn’t going to lose against another section opponent and looks like a heavy favorite to win a third straight D1 section crown.
Johnny Wilson of Calabasas is one of the nation’s most highly-regarded receiver prospects for the Class of 2020. Photo: Twitter.com.
15. Calabasas 5-2
Head coach Chris Claiborne and company commenced Marmonte League activity with a shootout 54-35 victory versus Westlake (Westlake Village).
16. Valley Christian (San Jose) 5-0
The Warriors headed up to the Sunset District in San Francisco to play on Saturday against St. Ignatius and almost went home with their tails between their legs. The Wildcats took a 7-3 lead in the third quarter of the defensive slugfest, but Valley Christian scored twice later on short runs by fullback Michael Corini for a 17-7 win.
17. Cathedral Catholic (San Diego) 6-1
Point Loma of San Diego was only down 15-7 after the first quarter against San Diego power Cathedral Catholic, but the Dons scored 35 unanswered after the first frame to pull away for a 50-14 victory Friday evening.
18. Corona del Mar (Newport Beach) 6-0
CdM had little trouble with Huntington Beach, as the Sea Kings rolled for a 49-6 victory in their first game of Sunset League action. University of Washington commit Ethan Garbers threw for six touchdowns on 19-of-25 passing for 375 yards. Future Stanford Cardinal John Humphreys grabbed 147 yards on only four catches and notched two scores for Corona del Mar.
19. Servite (Anaheim) 4-2
LOST to No. 2 St. John Bosco 27-26. Obviously, about as great an outing can be for the Friars in a loss. They hung close to the mighty Braves behind sophomore QB Noah Fifita and a blocked punt that was scooped up for a score. When Servite lost to Bosco last year the score was 56-0.
20. Liberty (Brentwood) 7-0
The Lions played their first real home game in the renovated Ohmstede Field, as Liberty cruised to a 26-0 victory Antioch. Liberty scored on its first three series on offense, but overall the Oregon commit Jay Butterfield led offense wasn’t at its most lethal. Antioch lost starting quarterback Rocco Borrelli in the second quarter and ws never able to handle the Lions defense.
21. St. Augustine (San Diego) 5-1
After losing to Helix (La Mesa) two weeks ago in the battle for San Diego, St. Augustine took out its anger against a previously 4-1 Morse of San Diego in a 56-0 rout.
22. La Habra 4-2
The Highlanders were well-rested after a bye week and didn’t have any problems during a 56-8 victory over Buena Park.
23. Murrieta Valley (Murrieta) 5-1
LOST to Chaparral (Temecula) 30-27 in game played Thursday night. MV got a huge jump when it beat Oaks Christian and now Chaparral (6-0) will get similar next week. Pumas have had two impact players get eligible in recent weeks — QB Brock White and RB Hunter Roddy just this week. Roddy ran for 185 yards and two TDs vs. Nighthawks, who rallied from 30-14 deficit in fourth quarter but couldn’t come all the way back.
24. San Clemente 6-1
Used six turnovers to overpower previous 6-0 Tesoro (Las Flores) 44-28. Nick Billoups had four touchdowns under center for San Clemente and the offense scored 30 points after turnovers. Billoups also had a TD on an interception return on defense.
25. Notre Dame (Sherman Oaks) 4-2
The Knights opened Mission League play with a 35-14 loss suffered against Chaminade (West Hills). Chamindade was able to contain Notre Dame all evening and Jaylen Henderson had 119 yards on 17-of-25 passing while adding two rushing touchdowns.
TEAMS ON THE BUBBLE
Bishop Amat (La Puente) 5-1
Amat (No. 36) pulled off a 25-24 upset of No. 13 Alemany (Mission Hills). Cal commit Damien Moore led the way as he rushed for 170 yards on 27 carries and scored one touchdown. Moore also was the hero late, as he was able to stretch out his arm for the go-ahead two-point-conversion. He was also the one who stopped Alemany running back Floyd Chalk short of the first down marker with less than 30 seconds remaining.
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Buchanan (Clovis) 3-3
LOST to No. 14 Central (Fresno) 41-20 on Thursday. All-State RB Kendall Milton played, but QB A.J. Stevenson got hurt during the game.
California (San Ramon) 6-0
Moved into State Top 50 and top 25 consideration with 17-10 win against No. 28 Clayton Valley. A 4th-and-10 30-yard TD pass from Teddy Booras to Belal Alatasi with less than one-minute left was the game-winner. Guess who Cal-Hi plays next? Yep, at De La Salle.
Carlsbad 5-1
Torrey Pines (San Diego) struck first, but the Lancers scored 42 unanswered to cruise to a 42-7 victory over the Falcons.
Chaparral (Temecula) 6-0
Knocked off state No. 23 Murrieta Valley (Murrieta) 30-27. It should be big bump off the bubble in the next rankings.
Clayton Valley (Concord) 4-2
LOST to 6-0 California (San Ramon) 17-10. The Ugly Eagles hadn’t lost a league game in seven years and lost in their first East Bay Athletic League contest.
Culver City 6-0
Breezed past Santa Monica 47-7, as the Centaurs take home the Log Donkey in the opener of Ocean League play.
Inderkum (Sacramento) 6-0
The Tigers continued league play, as they blasted Woodcreek (Roseville) 71-9.
Lawndale 4-2
Jumped on Beverly Hills quickly and the Cardinals cruised to a 63-0 victory.
Liberty (Bakersfield) 5-1
Patriots have had some scares recently and avoid an upset in a 17-7 victory over Centennial (Bakersfield). Liberty shutout Centennial in the second half to hold on for the win.
Lutheran (Orange) 3-3
LOST to No. 1 Mater Dei (Santa Ana) 51-14. It’ll be hard to drop the Lancers from the next bubble list after losing by any score to MD.
McClymonds (Oakland) 4-0
Didn’t play. This was the week the Warriors were supposed to be off on a bye. They missed last week’s game against San Leandro when it wasn’t played over security issues.
Monte Vista (Danville) 4-2
Played No. 3 De La Salle (Concord) close in the first half, as the Mustangs went into the break only down 28-14, but were blanked in the second half en route to a Spartans’ 49-14 victory. Jack Stewardson was 31-of-45 for 298 passing yards and had two touchdowns in defeat.
Norco 5-1
A 35-point blitz in the second quarter helped Norco rout M.L. King (Riverside) 56-6.
Pittsburg 5-1
Freedom (Oakley) made Pittsburg sweat, but the Pirates held on for a 49-33 victory. Jerry Johnson set a new Pittsburg single season record for passing touchdowns with 22 on the year.
Rancho Cucamonga 4-2
With five minutes remaining against Chino Hills, the score was tied. Rancho Cucamonga then rallied off 24 unanswered points to defeat The Huskies 42-28.
Rancho Verde (Moreno Valley) 5-1
Temescal Canyon (Lake Elsinore) was little match for Rancho Verde, as it was dispatched 54-0.
Rocklin 5-2
Team that was able to upset Oak Ridge (El Dorado Hills) last week had the right game plan against No. 6 Folsom. The Bulldogs, however, were too much as they beat Rocklin 42-20. The Thunder forced six turnovers for the game.
Sierra Canyon (Chatsworth) 6-1
Six rushers scored seven touchdowns for the Trailblazers, as they ran past Crespi (Encino) 51-0.
Upland 4-2
In a defensive battle, Upland outlasted Damien (La Verne) 21-3. Upland forced six turnovers for the game with highly recruited prospect Justin Flowe forcing two of the six.
Wilcox (Santa Clara) 4-2
Defeated previous 5-0 Los Gatos 37-0. Team that has close losses to Valley Christian and Pittsburg looked like one of the top three teams in the CCS. Paul M. Rosa rushed for nearly 200 yards, including 61-yard TD. Okela Turituri’s TD in the first half after a blocked punt also was a big factor.
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