Rashid Williams and Budha Boyd are part of a group of skill players (WRs/DBs) at No. 17 Pittsburg that rank near the top of Northern California. The Pirates topped McClymonds of Oakland on Friday. Photo: Mark Tennis.
It wasn’t as easy for Mater Dei, but the No. 1 Monarchs and No. 2 St. John Bosco both won on Friday and can now fully focus on playing each other next Friday in Santa Ana. The other big news around the state sees No. 1 rankings shift in the CIF Central Section & CIF San Diego Section with wins by Clovis West and Lincoln (San Diego).
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 previous State Top 50)
(Through reported results of Saturday, Sept.30)
(Thanks to Northern California correspondent Daniel Poulter for contributions)
1. Mater Dei (Santa Ana) 6-0
Defeated No. 18 JSerra (San Juan Capistrano) 21-13 on Friday. Head coach Bruce Rollinson called it “a wake up call” in comments to the Orange County Register after the Monarchs didn’t dominate against the Lions one week prior to their monster showdown next Friday vs No. 2 St. John Bosco. Elijah Brown passed for 240 yards and two TDs (both of which went to Marcus Harris).
2. St. John Bosco (Bellflower) 6-0
Defeated Servite (Anaheim) 49-3 on Friday. While it’s a much different roster that last year, the Braves still took a lot of pleasure of rolling over a Friars’ squad that beat them in the CIF Southern Section D1 semifinals last season. QB Pierce Clarkson threw for three TDs and caught a TD pass as Bosco looks ready to play Mater Dei next Friday. It’s also a No. 1 vs. No. 2 for the nation, but different entities have it ranked in different order. Bottom line is winner will be No. 1 in the nation and likely will stay there until the two likely play again in CIF Southern Section D1 championship.
3. Centennial (Corona) 5-1
Defeated Chaparral of Temecula 70-28 on Friday. All 28 points scored by the Pumas against the Huskies came in the first half, which usually is the case when back-ups are in during the second half. Defense will have to be much better in the postseason.
Friday night was the one time this season that portable lights were brought over to Serra of San Mateo. The Padres usually play home games on Saturday afternoons. Photo: Twitter.com.
4. Serra (San Mateo) 5-0
There was no hangover for Serra after win over St. Francis (MV) as the Padres hold formerly undefeated Archbishop Mitty (San Jose) scoreless through three quarters in a comfortable 35-7 victory over the Monarchs. Serra did have three turnovers in the first half and struggled with penalties. No super clean night, but an easy win. At Bellarmine next week.
5. Folsom 5-1
After knocking off No. 9 De La Salle (Concord) for the second time in a calendar year, the Bulldogs could have slept on No. 49 Oak Ridge (El Dorado Hills) to open Sierra Foothill League play. No trap game to be found, as the Bulldogs held the Trojans scoreless in the second half for the 42-13 victory. Notre Dame commit Nico Flores had two second half touchdowns.
6. Long Beach Poly (Long Beach) 6-0
Defeated Moore League opponent Millikan of Long Beach, 35-0, on Friday on the road after last week’s bye. Millikan has a number of D1 prospects in the skill positions, and scored 58 points last week. That’s an impressive shutout by the Poly defense. Millikan QB Myles Jackson did not play.
7. Mission Viejo 5-1
Does not play. Head coach Chad Johnson’s squad has one more non league game when it hosts No. 28 Helix (La Mesa), but that will be next week after taking a bye this week.
8. Los Alamitos 4-2
Defeated Newport Harbor (Newport Beach), 61-21, Friday on the road. This was Los Al’s Sunset League opener and featured Malachi Nelson with three TD passes and one TD run. It also was the season debut of junior DL T.A. Cunningham, one of the highest ranked Class of 2023 juniors in the nation. We plan to see the Griffins on Thursday vs Corona del Mar prior to seeing the MD-Bosco showdown on Friday.
9. De La Salle (Concord) 3-2
Does not play. The Spartans have a bye this week after their 24-20 loss from last week to No. 5 Folsom. Their other loss could have gone either way, too (24-21 to Serra of SM). DLS plays at unbeaten St. Mary’s Stockton next Friday. See bubble for Rams’ result this week.
10. Chaminade (West Hills) 6-0
The Eagles had little issues with long time rivals Alemany (Mission Hills), as the Eagles cruised to a 43-8 victory over the Warriors.
11. Santa Margarita (Rancho SM) 3-2*
LOST to No. 15 Orange Lutheran, 28-26, on Friday. The Eagles missed one PAT, had another one blocked and were stopped on a two-point conversion at the end. Emmett Mosley had his second three-TD game for SMC. Playing JSerra next.
12. Inglewood 6-0
The Wood quickly jumped out to a 23-0 lead over Hawthorne and breezed to a shutout 37-0 victory. Compton Centennial is up next.
13. Edison (Huntington Beach) 6-0
Defeated previous 4-1 Huntington Beach, 42-8, on Friday. It wasn’t much of a Surf City Showdown as the Chargers led 42-0 at halftime.
14. Bishop Amat (La Puente) 5-1
Defeated Sierra Canyon (Chatsworth), 31-28 in two OTs, in the team’s Mission League game on Friday. The Lancers were without head coach Steve Hagerty due to last week’s incident at the end of the Damien (La Verne) game. They trailed by 14 points three different times.
15. Lutheran (Orange) 5-1
Defeated No. 11 Santa Margarita, 28-26. The Lancers lost a similar game to the Eagles last season, which wound up as for fourth place in the Trinity League behind Mater Dei, St. John Bosco and Servite. This time, with a win, it could mean a third place finish. Servite is the team’s next opponent.
Josiah Cox may have turned in the play of the year so far in the San Diego Section with his 90-yard pick six for Lincoln in win this week vs Cathedral Catholic. Photo: Twitter.com.
16. Serra (Gardena) 4-2
Defeated Notre Dame (Sherman Oaks) 13-7. The Cavs won their fourth straight after starting out with losses to Orange Lutheran and Long Beach Poly. Hosts Bishop Amat next week.
17. Pittsburg 4-1
Defeated No. 44 McClymonds (Oakland) on Friday, 39-21. Mack had a chance to tie the score at 28-28 in the fourth quarter with the ball on the Pitt 12-yard line. But that’s when Budha Boyd came through with a strip of the ball and a fumble recovery. Boyd had earlier scored on a TD reception for a 29-21 lead. A 35-yard run by Elijah Bowe then set up a 4-yard TD by Cameron Clanton and the Pirates wound up with a more comfortable victory.
18. JSerra (SJ Capistrano) 3-3
LOST to No. 1 Mater Dei of Santa Ana, 21-13, Friday at home. George Perez returned the opening kickoff for a 95-yard touchdown and the Lions were only down 14-13 at halftime. At Santa Margarita next week.
19. Cathedral Catholic (San Diego) 3-4
LOST to No. 23 Lincoln of San Diego, 31-17, on Friday. This is the first loss the Dons have suffered to another San Diego team since 2019. That last one was to Lincoln as well. They will look to bounce back next week, but it won’t be easy against unbeaten Madison.
20. Buchanan (Clovis) 5-1
The magic finally ran out for Buchanan, as Clovis West (Fresno) used a 40-yard touchdown pass from Ryan Markarian to three-star prospect Marshel Sanders to pull out a 29-22 win. A couple of unsportsmanlike penalties against the Bears pushed Clovis West into range for the game winning touchdown.
21. Carlsbad 5-1
Defeated Torrey Pines (San Diego), 42-7, on Friday. Only loss to Inglewood. Plays San Marcos next Friday.
22. Monterey Trail (Elk Grove) 5-2
Defeated Burbank (Sacramento) 56-0 on Thursday. In the Mustangs’ first league game, they won 69-0. Grant (Sacramento) on Oct. 21 may be the only semi-test left for them during the rest of the regular season.
23. (23) Lincoln (San Diego) 6-1
Defeated No. 19 Cathedral Catholic (San Diego), 31-17, on Friday. Just as it looked like the Dons might score at the end as they trailed by 24-17, Josiah Cox stepped in front of a pass with less than 1:20 left and raced it back for 90-yard pick six. We’ll probably rank Lincoln No. 1 now in San Diego, but others will still be going with league rival Madison.
24. (24) Warren (Downey) 5-1
Defeated Mayfair of Lakewood, 54-7, on Friday. Nico Iamaleava passed for five TDs in the first half alone. Jeremiah Ingram also got the ball rolling with a 95-yard kickoff return to start the game.
25. (30) West Ranch (Valencia) 7-0
The Wildcats needed to recover an onside kick in the final two minutes to hold off Hart of Newhall 20-14. Plays Valencia next week.
TEAMS ON THE BUBBLE
Alemany (Mission Hills) 2-3
This team’s Mission League opener didn’t go as planned, as the Warriors fell behind 43-0 and eventually fell 43-8 to undefeated rivals No. 10 Chaminade (West Hills).
Apple Valley 5-1
Defeated Serrano (Phelan) 50-0 on Thursday. Serrano entered the game at 5-0.
Citrus Valley (Redlands) 5-1
Defeated Beaumont, 28-0, on Friday. Head coach Kurt Bruich’s team set up a big game next week against Cajon of San Bernardno.
Clovis West (Fresno) 6-0
Dark horse no longer, as Ryan Markarian connected with star wide receiver Marshel Sanders for a 40-yard touchdown pass with less than a minute left to stun No. 20 Buchanan 29-22 on Friday. Mychal Crawford then intercepted Fresno State quarterback commit Jayden Mandal’s pass to complete the upset.
Del Oro (Loomis) 6-0
The Golden Eagles only scored in the second quarter, but those 21 points were enough to overcome formerly undefeated Granite Bay 21-10 on Friday in a matchup of top 50 teams. Key play was a Thomas Graham II 55-yard punt return for a touchdown to go up 14-3 in the second quarter.
Granite Bay 5-1
Team falls from the ranks of the unbeaten, as the Grizzlies fell 21-10 to 6-0 Del Oro (Loomis) in the first game of the Sierra Foothill League.
Helix (La Mesa) 5-1
Does not play. The Highlanders have a bye this week and are playing next week at No. 8 Mission Viejo.
Madison (San Diego) 6-0
Defeated Mira Mesa of San Diego, 40-14, on Friday. The Warhawks travel to play at Cathedral Catholic next week.
Manteca 5-0
Defeated Kimball (Tracy) 55-19. Probably will be 9-0 when it plays Central Catholic of Modesto in final regular season game.
McClymonds (Oakland) 3-1
LOST to No. 17 Pittsburg, 39-21. Jaivian Thomas had a 63-yard touchdown run and had a 3-yard TD in the second half that easily could have tied the score with a two-point conversion at 22-22, but a penalty pushed the Warriors back so far that they had to kick for the one point.
Murrieta Valley (Murrieta) 5-1
Defeated Roosevelt (Eastvale), 48-17, on Friday. Sophomore QB Bear Bachmeier passed for 269 yards and four TDs and he scored once on a run.
Norco 4-2
Defeated Vista Murrieta (Murrieta), 69-28, on Thursday in first Big West Conference Upper Division contest. Losses to Santa Margarita and Citrus Valley. Win over Rancho Cucamonga.
Oak Hills (Hesperia) 6-0
Defeated Burroughs of Ridgecrest, 55-0, on Friday. The Bulldogs will have Apple Valley to deal with in their league.
Oaks Christian (Westlake Village) 4-2
The Lions won their home contest over 4-2 Calabasas 29-16. Johnny Thompson had a game high three touchdowns. Aiden Flintoft also hit a 50-yard field goal.
Rancho Cucamonga 4-2
Does not play. The Cougars, who beat Vista Murrieta 39-21 last week, are on a bye this week. They play Etiwanda next week.
Salinas 6-0
The Cowboys scored 40 or more points for the fourth time this season, as they cruised past an outmatched Santa Cruz side 55-7 on Friday.
San Clemente 5-2
Defeated Steele Canyon (Spring Valley) 35-0. Plays Mission Viejo in two weeks after a bye.
Sierra Canyon (Chatsworth) 2-4
LOST to No. 14 Bishop Amat of La Puente, 31-28, in two OTs on Friday. The Lions missed what would have been a game-winning field goal in overtime. It was their first-ever Mission League game.
St. Mary’s (Stockton) 6-0
Defeated Lodi, 35-14, on Friday on road. Head coach Tony Franks’ club was in a 14-14 tie earlier in the contest, but got some separation in the second half. St. Mary’s hosts No. 9 De La Salle next week.
Wilcox (Santa Clara) 5-0
The Chargers hit the road on Friday for their game at Mountain View and only had a 10-7 lead after the first quarter, but Wilcox would breeze to a 44-14 victory.
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:
