MaxPreps Northern California Top 25 Football Rankings

Video: Top 10 Games of the Week
No. 2 Folsom tangles with Central (Fresno) in one of the nation's top games.

All section champions have been crowned, leading to 13 Northern California CIF Regional title games this weekend. Too many?

Good luck telling unbeaten or one-loss teams that they were not good enough to advance past sectional rounds.
The CIF and its 10 sections — and the member schools that make up the state — agreed three years ago that the right thing to do was to let all section champions advance to a Regional title game. Before, the 10 section commissioners met to decide which teams advanced and which stayed home, crunching data such as strength of schedule, league and section and wins and losses.

Because the enrollments are so different in so many sections, and to get all the teams in, there are 13 divisions, starting with the prestigious CIF State Open, which is pretty much ear-marked for mega private-school heavies, to Division I-AA, Division I-A, and right on down the line to Division 6-AA and 6-A.

In some instances, section champions do not advance if these sections have an Open Division, meaning the schools and sections agreed that the best two teams advance in that division.

For example, Liberty won its first North Coast Section Division I crown but the season is over as North Coast Section Open finalist Pittsburg will take that slot. Hard to argue, since Pittsburg rolled Liberty 35-0 this season.

MaxPreps Norcal Top 25 high school football teams
1. (Last week 1) De La Salle (Concord), 11-1
Section: North Coast
League: Independent
Coach: Justin Alumbaugh
Next: vs. Mater Dei (Santa Ana), CIF State Open, Dec. 16
Update: Top ranked by the Bay Area News Group and the San Francisco Chronicle, the Spartans beat No. 3 Pittsburg 24-7 to win the North Coast Section Open Division for the program's 26th consecutive NCS crown and 30th since 1981. The Spartans are banged up and short on running backs, but the depth is remarkable. De La Salle's unbeaten streak is 289 against NorCal schools since 1992 (north of Fresno) in one of the amazing feats in state history. The Spartans lost this season to national power Bishop Gorman of Las Vegas. De La Salle is in a CIF State bowl for the 12th consecutive time, or every season since the state format started in 2006. The Spartans have gone 441-23-3 since 1982 with 21 unbeaten seasons.

2. (2) Folsom, 14-0
Section: Sac-Joaquin
League: Sierra Foothill
Coach: Kris Richardson
Next: vs. Central (Fresno), Division I-AA, Friday
Update: Top ranked by The Sacramento Bee and in The Bee's section rankings, the Bulldogs beat St. Mary's (Stockton) 50-21 to win the Sac-Joaquin Section Division I title after leading 41-7 at the half on four Kaiden Bennett touchdowns to Joe Ngata. Folsom won its sixth section this decade in its record eighth consecutive trip to the finals. Folsom is 110-9 this decade, one in which the Bulldogs won five section titles to go with two CIF State titles and two 14-0 teams that lost to De La Salle in NorCal Open title games.

3. (3) Pittsburg, 8-2
Section: North Coast
League: Bay Valley
Coach: Vic Galli
Next: vs. No. 4 Granite Bay, Division I-A, Saturday
Update: The Pirates lost to No. 1 De La Salle 24-7 in the North Coast Section Open finals in a game that felt closer than the final score. But the Pirates are still alive and will play in their first NorCal game. An earlier win was ranked Serra. Pittsburg had a game canceled due to poor air quality and extreme heat and lost its opener to national power Centennial 63-21, playing short-handed due to injury.

4. (8) Granite Bay, 12-2
Section: Sac-Joaquin
League: Sierra Foothill
Coach: Jeff Evans
Next: vs. No. 3 Pittsburg, Division 1-A, Saturday
Update: The top-seeded Grizzlies beat rival Del Oro 22-0 to win the Sac-Joaquin Section Division II title, the program's sixth as the defense shined behind Jack Powers, Ryan Fina and others. The losses were to Folsom 35-14 and Oak Ridge 14-7 in overtime. The Grizzlies won the 2012 CIF State Division I championship, have made the playoffs 19 consecutive times.

5. (5) St. Mary's (Stockton), 11-3
Section: Sac-Joaquin
League: Tri-County
Coach: Tony Franks
Next: Season complete
Update: The Rams lost to Folsom 50-21 in the Sac-Joaquin Section Division I finals, and lost a lot of steam when career rushing leader Dusty Frampton went out on the Rams' first play with a knee strain. The other losses were to national No. 1 Mater Dei (Santa Ana) 52-14 and to Central Catholic 20-7 after opening the season ranked No. 2 here. St. Mary's opened with a 41-13 rout of then-No. 4 Serra (San Mateo). The Rams were defending section Division I and NorCal Division I-AA champions.

6. (6) Serra (San Mateo), 11-2
Section: Central Coast
League: West Catholic Athletic
Coach: Patrick Walsh
Next: vs. Tulare Union, Division 2-AA, Friday
Update: The top-ranked team in the Central Coast Section, the Padres held off league rival Saint Francis 31-30 to win the Central Coast Section Open Division II title. Serra lost to No. 3 Pittsburg 35-28 and lost an opener to then-No. 2 St. Mary's. Serra started 0-4 last fall and reached the CIF State Division 2-A finals.

7. (7) Oak Ridge (El Dorado Hills), 11-2
Section: Sac-Joaquin
League: Sierra Foothill
Coach: Eric Cavaliere
Next: Season complete
Update: The second-seeded Trojans lost to No. 5 St. Mary's 38-31 in a Sac-Joaquin Section Division I semifinal, ending great prep careers by Marco Baldacchino, Nate Otto, Bryan Catchings, Austin Jarrard and scores of others. Oak Ridge in league play beat SJS Division II top seed Granite Bay 14-7 in overtime and lost 42-28 to Folsom. Oak Ridge won section banners in Division II and III and seek their first in Division I.

8. (17) Manteca, 12-2
Section: Sac-Joaquin
League: Valley Oak
Coach: Eric Reis
Next: vs. No. 14 Saint Francis, Division 2-A, Saturday
Update: The Buffaloes beat previous No. 4 Oakdale 34-17 to win the Sac-Joaquin Section Division III title in avenging an earlier league loss to their rivals behind a gritty and great effort by quarterback star Gino Campiotti. This is the program's sixth section title.

9. (4) Oakdale, 12-2
Section: Sac-Joaquin
League: Valley Oak
Coach: Trent Merzon
Next: Season complete
Update: Top ranked by The Modesto Bee all season until Friday, the Mustangs fell to rival Manteca 34-17 in the Sac-Joaquin Section Division III finals. Oakdale was the defending section and CIF State Division III-A champion that gave No. 2 Folsom a game on Sept. 8, falling 45-29.

10. (10) Del Oro (Loomis), 8-6
Section: Sac-Joaquin
League: Sierra Foothill
Coach: Jeff Walters
Next: Season complete
Update: The Golden Eagles had their whirlwind season come to an end in the Sac-Joaquin Section Division II finals, falling to rival Granite Bay 22-0. That ended a 3-0 run in the playoffs, including wins at 11-0 Inderkum and at 10-1 Central Catholic. Del Oro had been 26-2 in the the section playoffs in recent years. The Golden Eagles won a CIF State title in 2015 and nearly repeated last season

11. (11) Central Catholic (Modesto), 10-2
Section: Sac-Joaquin
League: Valley Oak
Coach: Roger Canepa
Next: Season complete
Update: The Raiders lost to Del Oro 23-12 in a Sac-Joaquin Section Division II semifinal, closing out a nice career for Dauson Booker. The other loss was in Week 10 to Oakdale, 27-21. An early win was over previous No. 8 Manteca 31-14 and 20-7 over previous No. 2 St. Mary's. A September game at Marin Catholic was canceled due to extreme heat. Central Catholic won CIF State titles in 2012, 2013 and 2015.

12. (12) Jesuit (Carmichael), 10-3
Section: Sac-Joaquin
League: Delta
Coach: Marlon Blanton
Next: Season complete
Update: The Marauders lost to Folsom 27-14 in a Sac-Joaquin Section Division I semifinal, ending the prep careers of Jason Gallagher, Josh Farr and scores of others who overcame an 0-2 start to piece together a 10-game winning streak. The other losses were to Folsom 55-9 and to Granite Bay, 31-21.

13. (13) San Ramon Valley (Danville), 9-2
Section: North Coast
League: East Bay
Coach: Aaron Becker
Next: Season complete
Update: The Wolves lost to Pittsburg 16-7 in the North Coast Section Open Division playoffs and also lost in Week 10 to De La Salle. San Ramon's best seasons include 2004 (11-2), 2006 (10-2), 2007 (12-1) and 2011 (10-4).

14. (14) Saint Francis (Mountain View), 9-4
Section: Central Coast
League: West Catholic Athletic
Coach: Greg Calcagno
Next: vs. No. 8 Manteca, Division 2-A, Saturday
Update: The Lancers lost to league rival Serra 31-30 in the Central Coast Section Open Division II finals, going for the win with a 2-point conversion late. Darrell Page rushed for 220 yards and two scores, and because the CCS wants to send its best teams to the NorCals, Saint Francis is still alive. The Lancers were in their 27th CCS title game. Coach Calcagno is the son of famed Lancers coach Ron Calcagno.

15. (15) Del Campo (Fair Oaks), 12-1
Section: Sac-Joaquin
League: Capital Valley
Coach: Mike Dimino
Next: Season complete
Update: The Cougars lost to No. 8 Granite Bay 9-7 in a Sac-Joaquin Section Division II semifinal, ending the prep careers of Greg Cabral, Tyler Dimino and Marshaun Hunter, among others. An earlier playoff win was 49-48 over Sacramento in four overtimes. Del Campo produced its first 10-0 regular season since opening in 1963. Coach Dimino has led 15 Del Campo teams to the playoffs and is the father of Tyler.

16. (16) Sacramento, 10-2
Section: Sac-Joaquin
League: Metropolitan
Coach: Joe McCray
Next: Season complete
Update: The Dragons lost to Del Campo 49-48 in four overtimes in a Sac-Joaquin Section Division II game. Sacramento lost to No. 2 Folsom 28-19 early this season a year after snapping the Bulldogs' state-leading 48-game regular-season winning streak.

18. (14) Valley Christian (San Jose), 9-3
Section: Central Coast
League: West Catholic Athletic
Coach: Mike Machado
Next: Season complete
Update: The defending NorCal Regional Division 2-AA champions lost to Serra 31-14 in a Central Coast Section Open Division II contest. It's the second time this season the Warriors lost to Serra. The other loss was a season opener to Manteca. Valley Christian has won seven section titles in 11 title-game appearances.

19. (19) Liberty (Brentwood), 11-2
Section: North Coast
League: Bay Valley
Coach: Ryan Partridge
Next: Season complete
Update: The Lions routed rival Freedom 37-0 to win the program's first North Coast Section Division I title, but because the NCS advances its two Open Division finalists, the season comes to a close in Brentwood. Pittsburg was the NCS Open runner up to De La Salle, and Pittsburg rolled Liberty earlier this season 35-0.

20. (NR) Campolindo (Moraga), 10-4
Section: North Coast
League: Diablo Foothill
Coach: Kevin Macy
Next: vs. No. 22 Milpitas, Division 4-A, Saturday
Update: The Cougars beat Granada (Livermore) 42-7 to win the program's fourth consecutive North Coast Section title, this one in Division II. Under longtime coach Macy, Campolindo won a CIF State title in 2014 with a 16-0 team and did so last season with a 12-3 team after going 14-2 in 2014 and 11-1 in 2013 and 14-1 in 2011.

21. (NR) Salinas, 11-2
Section: Central Coast
League: Monterey Bay
Coach: Steve Zenk
Next: vs. Placer, Division 4-AA, Friday
Update: The Cowboys beat top-seeded Milpitas 25-18 to win the Central Coast Section Open Division I title, avenging an earlier loss to the same team. This is the best team in years, a program that had not produced double-digit victories in years.

22. (9) Milpitas, 12-1
Section: Central Coast
League: De Anza
Coach: Kelly King
Next: vs. Campolindo, Divison 4-A, Saturday
Update: The Trojans lost to a Salinas team it rolled earlier in the season, falling 23-18 in the Central Coast Section Open Division I finals. But because the CCS sends its Open teams to the NorCals at the expense of others in the CCS, Milpitas lives on. Milpitas has won 11, 12, 10 and 10 games in each of the past four seasons and have made the playoffs 11 consecutive seasons.

23. (22) Marin Catholic (Kentfield), 12-0
Section: North Coast
League: Marin County
Coach: Mazi Moayed
Next: vs. No. 24 Shasta, Division 3-AA, Saturday
Update: The Wildcats beat Cardinal Newman 59-56 in a wild one to win the North Coast Section Division III title as Spencer Petras led the charge. Marin Catholic this decade has had teams of 13-2, 12-1, 13-1, 14-2, 12-1 and 12-2, reaching the CIF State finals in 2012.

24. (25) Shasta (Redding), 11-1
Section: Northern
League: Eastern
Coach: JC Hunsaker
Next: vs. No. 23 Marin Catholic, Division 3-AA, Saturday
Update: Top ranked in the Northern Section by a MaxPreps computer ranking, the Wolves beat Chico 63-26 in the Division II finals as Vincent Smith ran for 302 yards. It's program's first section title since 1988 and third all time (the first was in 1983 with title-game losses in 1973, 1987, 2008). Advances to the Division 3-AA title game against unbeaten Marin Catholic. Shasta's loss this season was to Damonte Ranch of Reno, 55-41, and that team went 11-1.

25. (24) Sutter, 12-1
Section: Northern
League: Butte View
Coach: Ryan Reynolds
Next: vs. Half Moon Bay, Division 3-A, Saturday
Update: Top ranked in the Northern Section in media polls, the Huskies are back in the NorCals after losing to Oakdale a year ago at this point. Sutter is coming off its 10th section title in 13 title-game appearances since 2001. The Huskies have won 13 section championships since 1974 in 17 title-game appearances. The loss came in an opener, to Utah power Orem, 34-18.

The next 15
Cardinal Newman (Santa Rosa) — 10-3
Rancho Cotate (Rohnert Park) — 10-2
McClymonds (Oakland) — 13-0
Half Moon Bay — 13-0
Christian Brothers (Sacramento) — 10-3
Placer (Auburn) — 12-1
Bishop O'Dowd (Oakland) — 9-3
Acalanes (Lafayette) — 9-2
East Nicolaus (Nicolaus) — 13-0
Inderkum (Sacramento) — 11-1
Clayton Valley Charter (Concord) — 8-3
Sheldon (Sacramento) — 9-3
Gregori (Modesto) — 11-1
Gilroy (Gilroy) — 12-0
St. Patrick-St. Vincent (Vallejo) — 11-1

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Joe Davidson has covered high school sports for The Sacramento Bee since 1988. Follow him on Twitter: @SacBee_JoeD and on Facebook: sacbeepreps and on Instagram: JoeDavidsonMedia