On Friday night, Marquis Spiker of No. 18 Murrieta Valley caught 13 passes for 289 yards and four TDs in team’s 59-56 win over No. 9 Santa Margarita. Spiker moved his career touchdown catch total from 66 to 70 and broke the Cal-Hi Sports state record of 66 previously held by Earvin Johnson of Los Angeles Cathedral (set in 2000). Additionally, since current senior Mozes Mooney of La Jolla Bishop’s isn’t playing this weekend (first round playoff bye), Mooney’s career total remains at 62. Murrieta Valley will play Corona Centennial next week. Mooney most likely will have at least three games left. Photo: @MVNighthawkFB/Twitter.com.
Several upset alerts on Friday became upset specials as No. 7 Chaminade was knocked out in the first round of the CIF Southern Section Division I playoffs by No. 21 Orange Lutheran. Another team from the Trinity League, No. 21 Servite of Anaheim, nearly took out No. 4 Mission Viejo but the Diablos hung on after a missed field goal. No. 2 St. John Bosco and No. 3 Corona Centennial were in close games heading into the fourth quarter as well, but No. 1 Mater Dei rolled on.
Note: On Monday nights each week, look for a brand new State Top 50 set of football rankings that won’t simply be a list. 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. Each new set of rankings will be for Gold Club members only. The late Friday/Weekend Scoreboards will be free posts and will provide snippets of info, comments and more for the Top 25 teams within the Top 50.
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, Nov. 11)
1. Mater Dei (Santa Ana) 11-0
Defeated Vista Murrieta (Murrieta) 49-7. After the Monarchs fumbled on their opening snap, they scored on their next four possessions. Elias Ricks paced the defense with an interception return TD. Long Beach Poly is next. The biggest news at Mater Dei on Friday actually concerned its boys basketball team as top national center recruit Bol Bol checked out of school and transferred to Findlay Prep in Nevada.
St. John Bosco junior running back George Holani and his team had to focus after Bishop Amat scored on Friday to make the score 28-21 entering the fourth quarter. Photo: @SportsRecruits/#D1Football.com.
2. St. John Bosco (Bellflower) 9-2
Defeated No. 26 Bishop Amat (La Puente) 35-21. With 10 minutes left, the Lancers had sliced into Bosco’s 28-7 lead and had it down to 28-21 but the Braves answered with a scoring drive capped by Ryan Sheehan’s 5-yard TD run. Next up is Rancho Cucamonga.
3. Centennial (Corona) 9-1
Defeated No. 28 Serra (Gardena) 35-21. Four turnovers helped the Cavaliers get to a 21-21 tie late in the game. The Huskies then got a score, a stop and a 47-yard TD run by QB Tanner McKee with 50 seconds left for the two-TD margin.
4. Mission Viejo 11-0
Defeated No. 20 Servite (Anaheim) 38-36. In a back-and-forth CIFSS D1 matchup, the Diablos gave up a two-point conversion and were trailing by two in the final minutes. They took a 38-36 lead on a 25-yard field goal by Braden Russell and had to survive a missed Servite field goal in the final seconds.
5. De La Salle (Concord) 9-1
Did not play. The Spartans, like the other four teams in the CIF North Coast Section Open Division, don’t have their first postseason game until next week. They are hosting 8-2 Clayton Valley of Concord.
6. Folsom 11-0
Defeated River City (West Sacramento) 76-9 on Thursday. Kaiden Bennett threw for three TDs and ran for two more as Bulldogs won CIF Sac-Joaquin Section Division I playoff opener. They play 8-3 Tracy in next week’s quarterfinals.
7. Chaminade (West Hills) 9-2
LOST to No. 21 Lutheran (Orange) 28-25. The Eagles, who also were the No. 4 seed in the CIFSS D1 playoffs, saw their season end with an upset loss. They fell behind 28-10 and got the deficit down to three points on a TD pass from Ryan Stevens to Michael Wilson but that was it.
8. Upland 11-0
Defeated Tesoro (Las Flores) 59-12. Shemar Whestone picked off a pair of passes and ran of the picks back for an 80-yard TD. The Highlanders are the top seed in the CIFSS D2 playoffs.
9. Santa Margarita (Rancho SM) 7-4
LOST to No. 18 Murrieta Valley (Murrieta) 59-56. What a shootout it was between the Eagles and Murrieta Valley. Santa Margarita had a lot of success with Malone Mataele running the ball out of the Wildcat formation and matched scores all night. A late field goal was Murrieta Valley was the difference.
10. Rancho Cucamonga 10-1
Defeated No. 13 San Clemente 28-10. A strong second half helped the Cougars pull away from the Tritons. They will play No. 2 St. John Bosco next in the CIFSS D1 quarterfinals.
11. Mission Hills (San Marcos) 10-0
Did not play. The Grizzlies are the top seed in the CIF San Diego Section Open Division playoffs, which consists of eight teams and does not start until next week. The first opponent is Grossmont of La Mesa.
12. Central (Fresno) 9-1
Did not play. These Grizzlies are in a 16-team bracket of the CIF Central Section Division I playoffs, but received a first-round bye. They’re playing Bullard of Fresno next week in quarterfinals. Bullard won Friday 21-14 over Selma.
Mike Mauai’s play at running back for Long Beach Poly has been a big weapon in recent weeks. Photo: Hudl.com.
13. San Clemente 9-2
LOST to No. 10 Rancho Cucamonga 28-10. The Tritons still may not drop far in the next rankings because Rancho Cucamonga already was higher-ranked and they still have a head-to-head win over Murrieta Valley.
14. JSerra (San Juan Capistrano) 7-4
LOST to No. 29 Long Beach Poly 60-44. This may look like an upset just based on the last rankings, but Poly has been as high as No. 6 and only dropped that far back last week because it had to be behind Serra of Gardena. Aashari Crosswell had a huge outing for Poly with two rushing TDs, a punt return TD and an interception.
15. Pittsburg 7-1
Did not play. The Pirates are the No. 2 seed behind De La Salle in the NCS Open Division and will start playing in that bracket next week against No. 3 seed San Ramon Valley of Danville. Pitt’s only loss is to Corona Centennial and its win over Serra of San Mateo strengthened even more on Friday.
16. Narbonne (Harbor City) 7-3
Did not play. With the L.A. City Section Open Division starting up for the first time, the Gauchos are the top seed and were off this week. It’s an eight-team bracket similar to San Diego so all eight teams get one week off before playing. Narbonne’s first game is against San Pedro.
17. Oak Ridge (El Dorado Hills) 10-1
Defeated Lincoln (Stockton) 63-12. Matt Jenner started at QB for Marco Baldacchino but it was no problem for the Trojans. Baldacchino should be back for the SJS D1 quarterfinals next week vs. 11-0 Gregori of Modesto.
18. Murrieta Valley (Murrieta) 9-2
Defeated No. 9 Santa Margarita (Rancho SM) 59-56. Cody Williams nailed a 45-yard field goal with two seconds left as the Nighthawks avoided overtime. The win set up a long-awaited Inland Empire matchup of offensive juggernauts next week in the CIFSS quarterfinals against No. 3 Corona Centennial.
19. Oakdale 10-1
Defeated McNair (Stockton) 56-12. There shouldn’t be much for the Mustangs to worry about until the SJS Division III championship game. They get Vanden of Fairfield in next week’s game.
20. Servite (Anaheim) 6-5
LOST to No. 4 Mission Viejo 38-36. For several weeks, we had all six Trinity League teams in the top 15 of the state and Friday’s results just confirmed the league’s strength even more.
21. Lutheran (Orange) 6-5
Defeated No. 7 Chaminade (West Hills) 28-25. Although the Lancers were 0-5 in the Trinity League, they nearly won two of those games so in that context beating Chaminade wasn’t that big of an upset. And next week we might be saying the same thing when OLu meets Mission Viejo.
22. Oaks Christian (Westlake Village) 9-2
Defeated Arroyo Grande 42-13. The Eagles scored first on a field goal, but the Lions were dominant after that and led 42-6 in the third quarter. Oaks Christian will play Edison of Huntington Beach next in the CIFSS D2 quarterfinals.
23. Paraclete (Lancaster) 9-1*
Defeated Ventura 42-0. The Spirits opened up the CIFSS D5 playoffs with an easy win over the Cougars. Senior QB Brevin White tossed five TD passes.
24. Helix (La Mesa) 9-1
Did not play. Head coach Robbie Owens’ squad starts the CIF San Diego Section Open Division playoffs (8-team bracket) next week with a contest against Madison, which won last year’s CIF D2-AA state title.
25. Central Catholic (Modesto) 9-1
Defeated Stagg (Stockton) 65-18. Head coach Roger Canepa’s club bounced back from its 28-21 loss to Oakdale with an easy win over the Delta Kings in the SJS D2 playoffs. Rocklin will be next and is a team used to playing Folsom, Granite Bay, Del Oro and others in the Sierra Foothill League.
TEAMS ON THE BUBBLE
Bishop Amat (La Puente) 5-6
LOST to No. 2 St. John Bosco (Bellflower) 35-21.
Calabasas 10-1
Defeated Notre Dame (Sherman Oaks) 30-7.
Citrus Hill (Perris) 10-1
Defeated Newbury Park 56-35.
Corona del Mar (Newport Beach) 10-1
Defeated Roosevelt (Eastvale) 41-35.
Edison (Huntington Beach) 8-3
Defeated La Habra 28-27 (2 OTs).
Granite Bay 9-2
Defeated Burbank (Sacramento) 42-22.
Heritage (Menifee) 10-1
Defeated La Mirada 55-21.
Inderkum (Sacramento) 11-0
Defeated Vintage (Napa) 35-24.
La Habra 8-3*
LOST to Edison (Huntington Beach) 28-27 (2 OTs).
Lawndale 10-0
Defeated Los Osos (Rancho Cucamonga) 35-21.
Long Beach Poly (Long Beach) 9-2
Defeated No. 14 JSerra (SJ Capistrano) 60-44.
Lompoc 11-0
Defeated Camarillo 42-17.
Los Alamitos 7-4
LOST to Norco 56-34.
Milpitas 9-0*
Bye on last week of CCS regular season.
Norco 8-3
Defeated Los Alamitos 56-34.
Sacramento 9-1*
Defeated Wood (Vacaville) 55-3.
San Ramon Valley (Danville) 9-1
Did not play. NCS Open Division team.
Serra (Gardena) 6-5
LOST to No. 3 Centennial (Corona) 35-21..
Serra (San Mateo) 8-2
Defeated St. Francis (Mountain View) 31-21.
Sierra Canyon (Chatsworth) 8-3
LOST to Hart (Newhall) 21-7.
St. Francis (Mountain View) 7-3
LOST to Serra (San Mateo) 31-21.
St. Mary’s (Stockton) 9-2
Defeated Edison (Stockton) 58-20.
Tulare 11-0
Defeated Sunnyside (Fresno) 61-26.
Valencia 10-1
Defeated Great Oak (Temecula) 54-23.
Valley Christian (San Jose) 8-2
Defeated Riordan (San Francisco).
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:
5 Comments
Tulare didn’t have a bye, they smashed Sunnyside Thursday 61-26 in quarterfinals of DII.
Fixed that. Tulare was listed with a bye, but mistake was that didn’t notice everybody in the bracket had a bye so quarterfinal was moved up and championship will be Nov. 24.
LB Poly not in your top 25 nor on the bubble? You really think La Habra beats L B Poly? Hmm
Thought LB Poly was on there. Will be back near top 10 this week. Had Poly in Top 10 all year until loss to Serra.
Should have had San Ramon Valley on the bubble as well. Missed adding the two Top 25 teams from previous rankings that had dropped out.