Mater Dei running back Raleek Brown looks to break a tackle during team’s 49-3 romp on Friday at Duncanville, Texas. The Dallas Morning News wrote, “Did it break the aura of Texas football?” Not really. It just showed how ridiculously good the Monarchs (and St. John Bosco) are compared to everyone else not just in California but everywhere else in America. Photo: dallasnews.com.
As No. 1 Mater Dei was about to begin slaughtering perhaps the best team in Texas in a big national game, many of the top teams in Northern California were in scramble mode as the air quality numbers moved into unsafe levels. Many games were cancelled, others moved to later in the weekend and others to later in the season. Corona Centennial (No. 8) also wins a statement game over No. 5 Cathedral Catholic (San Diego).
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 State Top 50 released last Monday)
(Through reported results of Saturday, Aug. 28)
1. Mater Dei (Santa Ana) 1-0
Defeated Duncanville (Texas) 45-3. Head coach Bruce Rollinson’s club ventured to the Dallas Metroplex and showed Texans what we’ve known for about the past five years. This is a monster that other than against St. John Bosco that just can’t be stopped. Domani Jackson brought back a pick six and Raleek Brown raced for a 76-yard TD on the team’s first offensive play of the season to get the party started. Duncanville was highly ranked nationally as well and has been one of the top teams in Texas for several years. The Monarchs and their entourage flew home on Saturday.
2. St. John Bosco (Bellflower) 2-0
Defeated No. 17 Alemany (Mission Hills) 24-3. The Braves didn’t get rolling right away like they did in first game vs. Miami (Fla.) Central, but the defense gave up almost nothing. Katin Hauser led the offense with 201 yards passing and one TD.
3. Servite (Anaheim) 2-0
Defeated Mission Viejo 44-7 on Thursday. The Diablos won 38-35 the last time these two Orange County powerhouses met in the 2019 CIF Southern Section D1 quarterfinals. This time, Noah Fifita threw for 295 yards and four TDs and ran for a 21-yard score.
Samarai Anderson is a 6-foot-1, 200-pound linebacker for Corona Centennial who helped team impress in big win over Cathedral Catholic. Photo: @FootballRecruit / Twitter.com.
4. De La Salle (Concord) 1-0
Defeated No. 22 St. Mary’s (Stockton) 52-16 on Saturday. This game went from Friday night at St. Mary’s to Saturday morning at St. Mary’s and finally to Saturday at 5 p.m. at De La Salle. Poor air quality in Stockton prompted the changes. On the field, the Rams matched the Spartans in big plays in the first half and would have been in a 17-17 tie were it not for a missed PAT. In the second half, it was more the way DLS coaches wanted as their team rolled to a 35-0 edge and won going away.
5. Cathedral Catholic (San Diego) 1-1
LOST to No. 8 Centennial (Corona) 57-14. The Dons gave up a TD to the Centennial offense to start the game, then fumbled, gave up a quick TD pass and never recovered. They have state-ranked Chaminade (West Hills) coming next at home as part of Honor Bowl. That’s not going to be an easy team to bounce back on.
6. Sierra Canyon (Chatsworth) 2-0
Defeated Oaks Christian (Westlake Village) 21-9. Jason Jones for 188 yards on 16 carries with one TD, but the team will have to play much better next Saturday night at the Honor Bowl in San Diego against No. 8 Corona Centennial in what will be a No. 5 vs. No. 6 matchup of state-ranked teams. Check Monday to see which team in which slot.
7. Folsom 1-0
Did not play. Scheduled game against Jesuit (Carmichael) was moved to Jesuit and then back and then time was changed. Teams were even in uniform in warm ups. But the dirty air won. It was confirmed on Saturday that the two schools will be playing on Monday night. It’ll be the only Monday game for a state-ranked team so we will not wait for it to be played before doing the next rankings.
8. Centennial (Corona) 1-0
Defeated No. 5 Cathedral Catholic (San Diego) 57-14. Izzy Carter’s running as a QB and Carson Conklin’s passing looked devastating in this big win. This is the type of Centennial team that has been third best in the CIFSS in recent seasons behind Mater Dei and Bosco.
9. Serra (San Mateo) 0-0
Did not play. Heading into Friday’s scheduled showdown at No. 11 Pittsburg, the talk was about “substantial” numbers of Serra starters who would be out due to COVID-19 issues. By the afternoon, though, smoke-filled air took over. The game was called off and then later cancelled completely (no make up date) when the schools could line up their schedules for the rest of the season.
10. Los Alamitos 2-0
Defeated No. 24 Lincoln (San Diego) 21-17. The Griffins built a lead and had to hang on with a fourth quarter fourth down stop at their own 12-yard line to clinch the win.
11. Pittsburg 0-0
Did not play. The Pirates also have Folsom coming up this season so all is not lost for them not being able to play No. 9 Serra (San Mateo) on Friday. The game was cancelled due to poor air quality.
12. Mission Viejo 1-1
LOST to No. 3 Servite (Anaheim) 44-7 on Thursday. It remains to be seen whether the Diablos still could be one of the state’s top 15 or top 25 teams or whether Servite is just that good.
13. Carlsbad 2-0
Defeated Millikan (Long Beach) 48-3. It’ll be interesting to see if San Diego folks put Carlsbad ahead of Cathedral Catholic in their rankings because Corona Centennial just might be that strong this season.
14. San Clemente 2-0
Defeated San Jacinto 15-13 on Saturday. The Tritons scheduled at San Jacinto after game vs. Torrey Pines of San Diego was called off earlier in the week. It was a closer contest than anticipated. The two-point margin ended up being from a safety after a blocked punt early in the game.
15. Norco 2-0
Defeated No. 19 Santa Margarita (Rancho SM) 40-22 on Thursday. The pass-catch combo of Kyle Crum to Grant Gray hooked up 10 times for 130 yards and two TDs, including a pair in the third quarter that helped Norco come back from a halftime deficit.
16. Long Beach Poly (Long Beach) 0-1
LOST to No. 32 Serra (Gardena) 28-27. It was a wild ending between these two teams after Darius Curry of the Jackrabbits threw a TD pass in the closing seconds that should have resulted in a tie. Instead, Poly missed on a 35-yard PAT after an unsportsmanlike penalty. The Jackrabbits then recovered an onside kick but only had time for one play and didn’t score.
Tristan Risley had a great game for the Clovis offense in its win over Bakersfield. Photo: @GabeCamarillo / Twitter.com.
17. Alemany (Mission Hills) 0-2
LOST to No. 2 St. John Bosco (Bellflower) 24-3. The Warriors didn’t have Floyd Chalk at RB and weren’t able to muster much offense. Holding Bosco to three TDs and one FG, though, is more than solid.
18. Clovis 2-0
Defeated Bakersfield 34-14. Reported by Gabe Camarillo of the Clovis Roundup that Tristan Risley of Cougars rushed for 143 yards, had 34 yards receiving and scored theee time.
19. (21) Santa Margarita (Rancho SM) 1-1
LOST to No. 15 Norco 40-22 on Thursday. Jaxson Potter led the Eagles and kept them close with a reported 247 yards passing and two TDs.
20. Chaminade (West Hills) 2-0
Defeated Birmingham (Lake Balboa) 49-7. Paul Holyfield Jr. scored three times to lead the Eagles.
21. (23) Mission Hills (San Marcos) 2-0
Defeated Palos Verdes (PV Estates) 42-7. Our friend Eric Williams tweeted the Grizzlies’ RB Santiago Salas was “a beast all night long.”
22. (22) St. Mary’s (Stockton) 0-0
Did not play. The Rams’ scheduled matchup with No. 4 De La Salle couldn’t be played on Friday due to poor air quality in the Sacramento-Stockton region. The two schools announced they would try again for Saturday morning.
23. Buchanan (Clovis) 2-0
Defeated Bullard (Fresno) 27-0. Caden Rodgers as expected is becoming the Hayden Petersen of this year’s team — a two-way standout who can get tough rushing yards.
24. Lincoln (San Diego) 1-1
LOST to No. 10 Los Alamitos 21-17. If the Hornets had gotten blown out, they’d be dropping a lot in the next rankings. They came back strong in the second half, though, so they won’t.
25. Central (Fresno) 1-0
Did not play. Grizzlies’ scheduled game at Damonte Ranch of Reno (Nev.) was moved to Fresno and then cancelled (COVID19). Damonte Ranch came to town anyway and got in a game vs. Clovis West (and lost).
TEAMS ON THE BUBBLE
Bishop Amat (La Puente) 1-0
Defeated La Habra 44-14.
Granite Bay 2-0
Defeated Davis 56-14. Rare team in Sacramento area that got to play on Friday.
Inglewood 2-0
Defeated Rio Mesa (Oxnard) 29-12. Game set up quickly after Carson had to cancel (COVID).
Loyola (Los Angeles) 1-1
Defeated Damien (La Verne) 16-14.
Lutheran (Orange) 2-0
Defeated Upland 21-10. Lancers were No. 26 in last rankings and guaranteed to go up a lot with No. 15 Long Beach Poly losing to a No. 32 Serra (Gardena) team that they beat in their first game.
Murrieta Valley (Murrieta) 1-0
Defeated Paloma Valley (Menifee) 63-21.
Oaks Christian (Westlake Village) 1-1
LOST to No. 6 Sierra Canyon (Chatsworth) 21-9. Lions were No. 35 in State Top 50 and this time had senior QB Cole Tannenbaum. They will be in the Honor Bowl as well, facing Valor Christian of Colorado.
Rocklin 1-0
Did not play. Scheduled game vs. Capital Christian (Sacramento) did not happen. TBD if it will happen later.
San Ramon Valley (Danville) 0-0
Did not play. First game vs. Vintage (Napa) was casualty on Friday of poor air.
Serra (Gardena) 1-1
Defeated No. 15 Long Beach Poly 28-27. Cavaliers, who lost first game to Orange Lutheran, will play next Saturday at the Honor Bowl in San Diego against American Fork (Utah).
Valley Christian (San Jose) 1-0
Defeated Wilcox (Santa Clara) 54-33. WR Jurrion Dickey & QB Jakson Berman put on a show.
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