Jayden Mandal and Colton O’Toole are shown after Buchanan’s 56-3 romp past Bakersfield on Friday at Veterans Stadium in Clovis. The Bears will likely go into the top 25 on Monday. Photo: Mark Tennis / Cal-Hi Sports.
With No. 2 St. John Bosco waiting to open up on a huge road trip next week in Texas, No. 1 Mater Dei did start out this week and rolled past a top team from a different state. The biggest loss on Friday may have been an injury as big-time TE Walker Lyons of Folsom suffered a broken leg in team’s win vs Monterey Trail. Saturday’s big score was from San Diego as No. 12 Cathedral Catholic topped No. 15 Mater Dei Catholic. Trinity League teams Orange Lutheran and JSerra also both nabbed huge wins.
Note: Look for a brand new State Top 50 set of football rankings that won’t simply be a list on Monday night. We’ll have insights and breakdowns based on 44 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 usually 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 preseason State Top 50)
(Through reported results of Saturday, Aug. 20)
(Thanks to Northern California correspondent Daniel Poulter for contributions)
1. Mater Dei (Santa Ana) 1-0
Defeated West (Salt Lake City, Utah) 42-0. Elijah Brown spread the ball around to a different set of receivers than last year, but the first TD of the season was to returning junior standout Jack Ressler. Brown ended with five TD passes on the night.
2. St. John Bosco (Bellflower) 0-0
Did not play. Head coach Jason Negro will take the Braves to open their season next week to the phenomenal high school football palace in Texas that is the home to the Allen High Eagles. It is Texas and it’s different, but Allen also is a public school and doesn’t get kids from all over the place like Bosco does. For the Eagles, it will be more like playing IMG Academy of Florida instead of Corona Centennial.
3. Centennial (Corona) 1-0
Defeated Santiago (Corona) 85-0. Yes, the score was 71-0 at halftime as the Huskies played a school that previously was in their same Big VIII League. The folks at Centennial know that 71-0 at halftime and 85-0 for a final is lopsided enough and always seem to do a good job of not getting to that realm of when a score gets huge negative attention (like 106-0 from last season).
Walker Lyons is the Folsom tight end who suffered a broken leg during his first game of 2022 season. His next game action will be at Stanford University. We wish him a speedy recovery. Photo: Twitter.com.
4. Mission Viejo 1-0
Did not play. The Diablos actually started out their season last Friday in Hawaii with a 34-21 victory over Mililani (one of the top teams in Hawaii). Their running game showed it could be a great balance to the passing with four rushing TDs. Mission Viejo plays its second game next Friday vs Servite (Anaheim).
5. Los Alamitos 1-0
Five-Star USC bound quarterback Malachi Nelson was 14-for-15 for 345 yards and had five touchdowns in the first half. Los Alamitos put backups in at halftime and pulled off a 41-0 victory at Garces (Bakersfield).
6. Folsom 1-0
The Bulldogs overcame an early season ending injury to four-star tight end Walker Lyons, who went out with a broken leg. They overcame a scrappy and talented Monterey Trail (Elk Grove) team 47-18. Quarterback Austin Mack had five passing touchdowns.
7. De La Salle (Concord) 0-0
Did not play. Head coach Justin Alumbaugh’s squad is starting off next week on the road at Monterey Trail of Elk Grove. They have Folsom at home later this year and play another Sac-Joaquin team on the road later on with a trip to St. Mary’s of Stockton.
8. Santa Margarita (Rancho SM) 1-0
Defeated San Juan Hills (SJ Capistrano) 18-8. Given what Orange Lutheran & JSerra did, the Eagles having trouble with the Stallions was a surprise. A late TD sneak by Jaxon Potter sealed the win. SMC led 5-0 at halftime on a 42-yard FG by Blake Wilson and a safety from Donovan Comestro.
9. Serra (San Mateo) 0-0
Did not play. Head coach Patrick Walsh likes to see what he has early in the season, which is one reason why the Padres are opening up next week at No. 6 Folsom and then will meet No. 7 De La Salle the following week.
10. Serra (Gardena) 0-1
The team started Friday’s contest against Orange Lutheran with a pick-six by speedster Rodrick Pleasant, but blew a 17-point lead in the second half and fell to No. 16 Orange Lutheran 27-26.
11. Sierra Canyon (Chatsworth) 0-1
The Trailblazers took a 17-7 lead into the halftime break against JSerra (SJ Capistrano), but they wouldn’t find the end zone again in the 31-17 upset. We had JSerra in top 35, but at just 3-8 last year needed to actually win a game on the field to move up into top 25.
12. Cathedral Catholic (San Diego) 1-0
Defeated No. 15 Mater Dei Catholic (Chula Vista) 28-14 on Saturday. The big game in San Diego to determine the first legit No. 1 ranking went to the 2021 CIF D1-AA state champs. Sophomore Madden Faraimo had two interceptions and a fumble recovery for lock down defense.
13. Pittsburg 0-0
Did not play. The Pirates do have some tests in their pre-league schedule, but probably not in the first game next Friday vs Bethel of Vallejo.
14. Long Beach Poly (Long Beach) 1-0
Defeated Clovis 56-7 on Thursday. Darius Curry passed for four touchdowns and the Jackrabbit defense was dominant in an impressive first game on Thursday that we watched in Clovis. Head coach Stephen Barbee knows it will have to be much cleaner with penalties and mistakes when the squad plays No. 10 Serra of Gardena next week.
15. Mater Dei Catholic (Chula Vista) 0-1
LOST to No. 12 Cathedral Catholic (San Diego) 28-14 on Saturday. This was a No. 1 vs. No. 2 with the Crusaders at No. 2 not just by us but also by the San Diego Union-Tribune rankings.
We met new Orange Lutheran QB T.J. Lateef last June and told him a few stories about his head coach’s father mowing the lawn and riding bikes in a Stockton neighborhood. Photo: Mark Tennis / Cal-Hi Sports.
16. Lutheran (Orange) 1-0
Sophomore quarterback TJ Lateef threw a pick-six to start the game against No. 10 Serra (Gardena), but helped rally Lutheran to a 27-26 upset over the Cavs. Lateef hit Rex Barrera on a seven yard quick pass to the right for the go ahead score with just 30 seconds left.
17. Central (Fresno) 1-0
Defeated Edison (Stockton) 28-7. Dayton Tafoya tossed a pair of TD passes that were shown on Fresno TV highlights, but he could have had more.
18. Carlsbad 0-0
Did not play. The Lancers had an early path to be No. 1 in the San Diego Section, but needed Mater Dei Catholic to beat Cathedral Catholic on Saturday. That didn’t happen so next week’s game with Carlsbad vs MD Catholic will be for No. 2.
19. Warren (Downey) 1-0
Did not play. Similar to Mission Viejo, the Bears started out last week in Hawaii and will play their second game next week. They won against a weaker team, 50-0, vs Kamehameha. Their second game coming up will be against La Serna of Whittier.
20. St. Francis (Mountain View) 0-0
Did not play. Head coach Greg Calcagno’s club begins next week at home vs Central Catholic of Modesto.
21. Bishop Amat (La Puente) 1-0
Defeated Valencia 29-6 on Thursday. Junior athlete Richie Munoz got the start and QB and threw two TD passes to Delano Franklin. Delano ended with four catches for 126 yards and two TDs and he had an interception on defense.
22. Liberty (Bakersfield) 1-0
Spanish Springs of Sparks (Nevada) held tough early, but Liberty blew past the Nevada side, 58-17.
23. Servite (Anaheim) 0-1
LOST to Rancho Cucamonga 27-7. We still wanted to start the Friars in the top 25 based on their track record and especially with what happened last season. It could be a long season for them, not just with the loss to the Cougars but with what happened with Orange Lutheran and JSerra from the Trinity League this week as well.
24. Rocklin 0-1
Turlock pulled the big upset in the Sac-Joaquin Section, as the Bulldogs led wire-to-wire in a 14-7 victory. Turlock kneeled down on the 1-yard line of Rocklin to finish the game.
25. Lincoln (San Diego) 1-0
Head coach David Dunn’s team made the long trip up to Sacramento to play Capital Christian (Sacramento) and left happy, as the San Diego Section side dominated early and often in the 56-0 victory. Capital Christian ended the game after the third quarter.
TEAMS ON THE BUBBLE
Bellarmine (San Jose) 0-0
Did not play. at Menlo-Atherton next week.
Buchanan (Clovis) 1-0
Defeated Bakersfield 56-3. QB Jayden Mandal credited some of the new stuff under new head coach Ross Wood, while Wood credited the skills of having a QB like Mandal as why the Bears showed off their offense so impressively in beating the Drillers. Mandal threw for four TDs. Senior Michael Runnels also scored on runs of 70 and 54 yards.
Central Catholic (Modesto) 0-0
Defeated Merced 42-20. The Raiders certainly wanted to build some momentum for next week’s game at St. Francis of Mountain View and they did.
Chaminade (West Hills) 1-0
It’s the first victory for Chaminade head coach David Machuca, as Chaminade held on for the 24-17 victory over Oaks Christian (Westlake Village).
Clayton Valley (Concord) 0-0
Did not play. Head coach Tim Murphy’s squad starts out with a tough contest next week vs. Salinas from the CIF Central Coast Section.
Corona del Mar (Newport Beach) 0-0
The Sea Kings held Downey to zero points in the second half and had little issues in a 41-10 victory.
Edison (Huntington Beach) 1-0
Defeated Venice 48-13. Reports are that the game was stopped early due to a serious injury suffered by a Venice player. L.A. Times reported on Saturday that Venice player was at UCLA Reagan Hospital with head injury. He had reportedly collapsed on sidelines.
Helix (La Mesa) 1-0
Defeated Mira Mesa (San Diego) 42-21. Helix led 42-7 and at that point new RB star Quincy Herron had rushed for four TDs.
Inglewood 1-0
Defeated St. Bonaventure (Ventura) 41-34. The Sentinels trailed by 13 points at halftime, but rallied for the win behind junior QB Husan Longstreet, who had four of his five TD passes in the second half.
Madison (San Diego) 1-0
Defeated Otay Ranch (Chula Vista) 47-7. The Warhawks kept pace with Lincoln and Helix (both also won Friday) as one of the top six teams in the San Diego Section.
Murrieta Valley (Murrieta) 0-0
Did not play. Team’s first game is next week vs. Great Oak (Temecula).
Norco 0-0
Did not play. Facing Santa Margarita in first game next week.
Oaks Christian (Westlake Village) 0-1
Oaks clawed back from an early two-score deficit and had a chance to pull even a few times late against Chaminade (West Hills), but the Lions fell 24-17.
Rancho Cucamonga 1-0
Defeated Servite (Anaheim) 27-7. Boise State commit C.J. Tiller reportedly passed for 215 yards and one TD for the Cougars.
Simi Valley 1-0
The Pioneers blew past Ventura 49-3. With both Oaks Christian and St. Bonaventure losing to tough opponents on Friday, Simi’s status as front runner in the newly aligned Marmonte League is confirmed.
St. Bonaventure (Ventura) 0-1
LOST to Inglewood 41-34. Delon Thompson led the Seraphs with three TDs, two of which were on passing plays. Joaquin Johnson also had two TD catches.
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:
