Dominic Kelley and Derrick Blanche are both juniors at De La Salle and both are becoming very difficult to deal with as running backs. They are shown after Spartans won at Folsom on Friday. Photo: Mark Tennis.
Saturday updates added. On Friday, leading California teams continue to win against top teams from other states, although No. 1 Mater Dei got a scare in Baltimore and No. 3 Corona Centennial needed a touchdown with 31.5 seconds left to beat the No. 1 team in Arizona. Other big winners on Friday included De La Salle of Concord over Folsom and Murrieta Valley over San Clemente.
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 45 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. 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 of the all-state team announcements, CLICK HERE.
FOR LAST WEEK’S FIRST 25 IN TOP 50 STATE RANKINGS, CLICK HERE.
(Rankings based on previous State Top 50)
(Through reported results of Saturday, Sept. 22)
(Thanks to Northern California correspondent Daniel Poulter for contributions)
1. Mater Dei (Santa Ana) 5-0
Defeated St. Frances Academy (Baltimore), 20-7, on Friday in Maryland. Two of MD’s touchdowns came on defense — a scoop and score by Nasir Wyatt and a pick six by Chuck McDonald — and while the offense was held to just one TD on a run by Elijah Brown that was enough. St. Frances Academy has played at De La Salle and two weeks ago played at St. John Bosco and lost 37-14.
2. St. John Bosco (Bellflower) 4-1
Did not play. After their upset loss last week to Kahuku of Hawaii, the Braves have a bye this week on their schedule. They come off of their bye next week to start the Trinity League at No. 15 Santa Margarita.
Seth Zamora of Corona Centennial celebrates after scoring for the Huskies in win over No. 1 team in Arizona. Photo: @Cen10Football / Twitter.com.
3. Centennial (Corona) 3-2
Defeated Liberty of Peoria, Ariz. on Friday, 42-35. The Huskies committed five turnovers and were behind 35-21 early in the fourth quarter. They rallied behind RB Cornell Hatcher Jr., who rushed for 289 yards on 30 carries and scored on a run for the lead with just 31.5 seconds left. Bryce Granger then sealed the win with an interception. Liberty has been ranked No. 1 in Arizona.
4. Sierra Canyon (Chatsworth) 5-0
Defeated Saguaro High of Arizona on Friday, 63-6. It was a 49-0 lead at halftime for the Trailblazers, who were led by junior QB Wyatt Becker. He passed for seven touchdowns and also scored once himself on a run.
5. Serra (San Mateo) 4-0
It was 14-0 after the first quarter and the Padres breeze to a 61-0 victory over Sacred Heart Cathedral of San Francisco to open West Catholic Athletic League play. Nano Latu had two of the first two touchdowns for Serra in the blowout.
6. Long Beach Poly (Long Beach) 4-1
Did not play. This week is a bye week for the Jackrabbits, who already are 1-0 in the Moore League. Their loss is to national No. 2 Bishop Gorman (Las Vegas). They have wins over Mission Viejo and Serra (Gardena). They play Long Beach Millikan next week.
7. Lincoln (San Diego) 6-0
Defeated Inglewood at home on Friday, 56-6. The visiting Sentinels came in at 3-1 with their loss by 29-6 to Carlsbad. At halftime, they were still in striking distance, down just 21-6 halftime. It was over pretty quickly in the second half.
8. Carlsbad 5-0
Did not play. While San Diego Lincoln did play this week and won’t have its bye until the last week of the regular season, the Lancers are getting theirs this week. QB Julian Sayin used the time off to take a visit to Tuscaloosa where he saw Alabama (where he’s committed) defeat Ole Miss. They play next against Mission Hills of San Marcos in their league opener.
9. Mission Viejo 4-2
LOST to St. John’s (Washington DC), 39-17, on Saturday. St. John’s improved to 3-1 with a loss in its first game to nationally ranked American Heritage (Plantation, Fla.). The Diablos trailed 27-0 at halftime.
10. Clovis North (Fresno) 5-0
Did not play. After their huge win at home last week over JSerra of the Trinity League, the Broncos had a bye on their schedule this week. Up next will be 5-0 Clovis East to start the Tri-River Athletic Conference.
11. Folsom 3-2
LOST to No. 13 De La Salle of Concord, 14-7, at home on Friday night. The only TD for head coach Paul Doherty’s team came on a 9-yard TD pass from Ryder Lyons to Abram Woodson early in the fourth quarter. The Bulldogs got the ball back as well with a chance to tie or take the lead but Lyons threw an interception.
12. Lutheran (Orange) 3-2
Did not play. It’s welcome week off on a bye for the Lancers, who’ve gotten banged up at the QB position in their last two games. They’ll look to be more at full strength next week for the start of the Trinity League in a game vs JSerra.
13. De La Salle (Concord) 3-2
Defeated No. 11 Folsom, 14-7, on Friday. The defense held down the usually potent Folsom offense while the DLS offense went on scoring drives of 12 plays (3 yd TD by Derrick Blanche) and 14 plays (1 yd TD plunge by Toa Faavae). The offense also had an 11 play drive with no points, but it ran off the final six minutes of the game after an interception by sophomore Trisshon Wright
14. Santa Margarita (Rancho SM) 4-1
Did not play. Four of the six Trinity League teams are on byes this week with the league schedule starting next week, including the Eagles. Their next game will be next Friday at home vs St. John Bosco.
Dorian Hoze is one of the top players for Murrieta Vallay. Photo: Twitter.com.
15. San Clemente 5-1
San Clemente took a 38-31 lead on a Aiden Rubin 21-yard touchdown run with seven minutes remaining versus No. 33 Murrieta Valley of Murrieta, but the Tritons couldn’t hold off the Nighthawks. Murrieta Valley burned off most of the remaining clock and punched in a 1-yard rushing score from Dorian Hoze to pull to within 37-38. Bear Bachmeier then converted the two-point-conversion with his legs for the upset 39-38 victory over San Clemente.
16. Rancho Cucamonga 6-0
Defeated Vista Murrieta of Murrieta, 34-24, on Friday. The previous 5-0 Broncos couldn’t keep up with the Cougars. Junior QB Emiliano Villareal passed for 296 yards and two TDs. Stacy Bey posted three touchdown runs.
17. JSerra (SJ Capistrano) 3-2
Did not play. The Lions are on a bye this week following their loss last week to Clovis North. Their other loss is to Sierra Canyon. They have wins over Aquinas (San Bernardino), Notre Dame (Sherman Oaks) and Cathedral Catholic (SD).
18. Helix (La Mesa) 5-0
Did not play. The Highlanders have a bye this week and return in two weeks to play West Hills of Santee.
19. Serra (Gardena) 3-2
Did not play. This is another of the top 20 teams that has a bye this week. Serra’s losses are to Orange Lutheran and Long Beach Poly with wins over Warren (Downey) and Oaks Christian. Next game will be against Chaminade (West Hills).
20. Servite (Anaheim) 4-1
The Friars dropped 20 points on St. Paul (Santa Fe Springs) after just one quarter and went on to cruise to a 34-13 victory over the Swordsmen.
21. Liberty (Bakersfield) 4-1
Did not play. Central Section’s No. 2 team has a loss to Santa Margarita and added a big win last week vs Central (Fresno) when that team came in unbeaten. The Patriots are on a bye this week.
22. Pittsburg 4-0
Did not play. There are some NorCal teams on byes this week as well and the Pirates are one of them. Three of their first four wins have been against Granite Bay, Monterey Trail and California (San Ramon). Pitt plays Los Gatos next week.
23. Oak Ridge (El Dorado Hills) 5-0
Did not play. Considering how the season began (with a well-publicized hazing incident), it’s been a great start on the field for the Trojans. They have wins over San Diego Madison, Grant of Sacramento and more are on a bye this week. Up next: Folsom.
24. San Ramon Valley (Danville) 5-0
Luke Baker left no doubt on Friday night, as the three-star quarterback had 203 passing yards and four touchdowns in the first quarter alone in a 66-12 blowout victory over Liberty (Brentwood). The Wolves may have lost star running back John Pau Mendoza, however, to a leg injury according to one social media post.
25. St. Mary’s (Stockton) 4-1
Defeated Bishop Amat (La Puente), 41-31. It was a solid road win for the Rams over a Lancers squad that fell to 1-4, but has a lot of similar losses to higher ranked teams.
Folsom players run out onto their blue turf prior to their matchup on Friday with De La Salle of Concord. Photo: Mark Tennis.
TEAMS ON THE BUBBLE
Central Catholic (Modesto) 3-2
Cal commit Brooklyn Cheek pulled in two early touchdowns and Central Catholic had little issue in a 49-7 blowout of Pleasant Valley (Chico) on Friday. Clemson baseball commit Tyler Wentworth threw for four touchdown passes and ran in one rushing score for the Raiders.
Chaminade (West Hills) 3-2
Did not play. Bye. Plays Serra (Gardena) next week.
Chaparral (Temecula) 4-1
Did not play. Bye. Opens its league schedule next week vs Corona Centennial. Only loss San Clemente.
Grant (Sacramento) 5-1
It was deja vu for the Pacers in their Thursday night game vs McClatchy of Sacramento as they won for the second straight week by the same 48-0 score.
Granite Hills (El Cajon) 5-0
Defeated Madison (San Diego), 31-0, on Friday. The Eagles only gave up 18 rushing yards to Madison, which has been as high as No. 3 in the section media poll. Zachary Benitez, a freshman QB, threw two TD passes for Granite Hills.
Los Alamitos 3-2
Did not play. It’s been awhile since the Griffins fell out of the top 25, but there were No. 26 after losses to Servite and Mission Viejo. They are on a bye this week. The Sunset League opener will be next week vs Fountain Valley.
Madison (San Diego) 2-3
LOST to Granite Hills (El Cajon), 31-0, on Friday.
Murrieta Valley (Murrieta) 4-1
This team wouldn’t be denied on Friday evening, as the Nighthawks scored with one minute remaining and top quarterback prospect Bear Bachmeier scored the following two-point-conversion to pull off a 39-38 upset victory over state No. 15 San Clemente.
Oak Hills (Hesperia) 4-1
Did not play. Team has a bye this week after losing 23-21 last week to St. Bonaventure.
Oaks Christian (Westlake Village) 3-2
The Lions held on Friday for a 31-14 victory over Loyola (Los Angeles). Oaks Christian only had a seven point lead late in the third quarter, but a 38-yard field goal by Noah LaBerge and then a Nate Bennett to Chase Farrell 48-yard touchdown pass put the game out of reach.
Palos Verdes (PV Estates) 5-0
Did not play. There is a bye for the Sea Kings this week before they open their league schedule next week vs Santa Monica.
Pacifica (Oxnard) 6-0
Defeated Dos Pueblos of Goleta, 68-7, on Thursday. The Tritons were leading 62-0 at halftime.
Rocklin 5-0
The Thunder never trailed against formerly undefeated Tracy, as the Thunder walked away with a 28-21 victory down in San Joaquin County.
St. Bonaventure (Ventura) 3-2
Did not play. The Seraphs will be on a bye this week and then the following week meets Bishop Diego (Santa Barbara) in the Marmonte League.
Upland 5-1
Defeated Charter Oak (Covina), 31-10, on Friday. Baseline League is going to be lit.
Valencia 4-1
Defeated Saugus, 48-0, on Thursday night in their Foothill League opener. Only loss 22-20 to Rancho Cucamonga.
Villa Park 5-0
Nate Lewis connected on two touchdown passes in the first quarter and that would be all that Villa Park needed in a 28-13 victory over winless Mira Costa (Manhattan Beach). The Spartans are off to Placentia next week for a non-league contest with El Dorado (Placentia).
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