MaxPreps 2012 California Bowl Game Rankings

California high school football playoffs are into their second week in nine of the 10 sections in the state and open with the first round of competition in the Central Coast Section this week.

As each round progresses, more teams will be eliminated from contention for the CIF Regional Bowl Games, which are set to begin Dec. 7. This week we have changed the format to only include teams that are still in contention for the bowl games. Once a team loses in its section playoffs it is eliminated, and we therefore will not have those team anymore in the rankings regardless of their Freeman Rankings.

Visit all of our California brackets, check out the Freeman Rankings for all California teams, visit the latest professional photo galleries for California football teams and browse California football stat leaders.


South Division I
1. (3 last week) St. John Bosco (Bellflower), 7-4, 70.0
2. (2) Mission Viejo, 11-0, 69.2
3. (1) Vista Murrieta (Murrieta), 11-0, 68.0
4. (6) Santa Margarita (Rancho Santa Margarita), 9-2, 66.1
5. (4) Narbonne (Harbor City), 11-0, 65.7
6. (10) Alemany (Mission Hills), 9-2, 63.6
7. (5) Mater Dei (Santa Ana), 9-2, 63.5
8. (7) St. Bonaventure (Ventura), 10-1, 60.5
9. (8) Centennial (Corona), 10-1, 60.2
10. (10) Notre Dame (Sherman Oaks), 8-3, 60.3

Notes: The three most-likely candidates to earn a regional bowl game berth would be the winner of the Pac-5, where St. John Bosco looms as the early favorite, Vista Murrieta from the Inland Division and Narbonne from the LA City Section. Two of those teams will likely be chosen for the Open Division and two more will be chosen for the Division I game. The question is, which will be the fourth team? It could be a team not even on the list above. Will the selection committee choose a four-forfeit St. John Bosco team, should it win the Pac-5 Division, or would it bypass the Braves in order to select the section champions from the Central Section and the San Diego Section? The top Central Section team is Clovis North (Fresno) with a 9-1 record and 53.1 rating. Mission Hills (San Marcos) is the top team in the San Diego Section with a 7-2 record and a 48.4 rating. St. John Bosco is currently rated No. 1 in the nation in the Freeman Rankings.

North Division I
1. (1 last week) De La Salle (Concord), 10-0, 61.3
2. (3) Folsom, 11-0, 48.6
3. (4) Franklin (Elk Grove), 11-0, 48.5
4. (5) California (San Ramon), 8-2, 47.3
5. (6) Bellarmine (San Jose), 9-1, 47.0
6. (2) Serra (San Mateo), 8-2, 46.1
7. (7) Oak Ridge (El Dorado Hills), 10-1, 45.7
8. (10) Granite Bay, 8-3, 45.1
9. (NR) Elk Grove, 10-1, 44.0
10. (NR) Freedom (Oakley), 9-2, 43.9

Notes: The good news here is that there are only four section champs in the North. That likely means four teams will make the regional playoffs, two in the Open Division and two in the Division I regional. De La Salle seems to be a lock for one of the Open Division spots since it hasn't lost a North Coast Section playoff game since 1991. Then the choices get tougher. Folsom is rated higher than Franklin, but Folsom plays in the Sac-Joaquin Section Division II playoffs and Franklin plays in the SJS Division I playoffs. Both teams would be undefeated if they win out. Sac-Joaquin Section Commissioner Pete Saco will have a tough choice deciding which team to nominate for the Open Division. The Central Coast Section Open Division champion will likely receive the other Division I regional nod.

South Division II
1. (1 last week) Chaminade (West Hills), 10-1, 57.8
2. (4) Oceanside, 10-1, 57.4
3. (2) Edison (Huntington Beach), 10-1, 56.7
4. (3) Serra (Gardena), 9-2, 55.8
5. (5) Helix (La Mesa), 8-1, 51.9
6. (6) Tustin, 11-0, 51.0
7. (7) Cathedral Catholic (San Diego), 8-2, 49.6
8. (NR) Poway, 8-2, 48.5
9. (8) Lompoc, 11-0, 47.9
10. (9) Olympian (Chula Vista), 10-0, 46.2

Notes: This is going to be a tough one. Division II is composed of 11 different section champions. Only two teams will be picked. The top six teams in the rankings come from the Southern Section's Western Division and Southwest Division, and the San Diego Section Division II. The Western Division appears to be the toughest of the three sections giving the winner there a possible leg up on the other two. The San Diego Section, however, has performed well in the bowl games over the years so don't be surprised if a team like Oceanside gets the other spot if it wins out.

North Division II
1. (1) Rancho Cotate (Rohnert Park), 10-0, 35.7
2. (2) Oakdale, 10-1, 35.3
3. (3) Enterprise (Redding), 7-3, 35.0
4. (4) Clayton Valley (Concord), 9-1, 34.4
5. (NR) St. Francis (Mountain View), 5-5, 33.4
6. (8) Foothill (Palo Cedro), 8-3, 32.5
7. (7) Chico, 8-3, 31.2
8. (5) Paradise, 7-3, 31.0
9. (10) Vista del Lago (Folsom), 9-1, 29.2
10. (6) Inderkum (Sacramento), 9-2, 28.7

Notes: Six section champs will be represented here. Interestingly enough, the Northern Section holds four spots in the Division II ratings, so only one of those teams will be eligible. The most likely candidates are the Sac-Joaquin Section Division III champion and the North Coast Section Division II champion. However, a slip-up by the favorites in those two sections (Oakdale and Rancho Cotate, respectively) could open the door for a team like Paradise or Enterprise, both of which have fared well against out-of-section opponents this year.

South Division III
1. (1 last week) St. Augustine (San Diego), 8-2, 39.4
2. (2) Madison (San Diego), 9-1, 33.9
2. (3) Nordhoff (Ojai), 9-1, 33.9
4. (4) Wasco, 10-0, 31.1
5. (10) North (Torrance), 9-2, 28.6
6. (6) Paraclete (Lancaster), 10-1, 28.5
7. (8) Valley Center, 6-4, 27.7
8. (5) Monrovia, 9-2, 26.1
9. (NR) Mission Oak (Tulare), 8-2, 24.3
10. (7) San Dimas, 10-1, 23.5

Notes: Two teams will be chosen from 10 section champs. This could be a spot for a Central Section team since Wasco is undefeated and could win the Division IV championship in that section. St. Augustine and Madison occupy the top two spots in the rankings, but only one of those two teams will be eligible since they would face off in the San Diego Division IV playoffs.

North Division III
1. (1 last week) Placer (Auburn), 11-0, 41.0
2. (3) Sutter, 11-0, 37.2
3. (4) Marin Catholic (Kentfield), 10-1, 36.9
4. (2) El Cerrito, 11-0, 34.3
5. (5) Cardinal Newman (Santa Rosa), 10-1, 33.0
6. (NR) Valley Christian (San Jose), 4-6, 32.8
7. (7) Argonaut (Jackson), 10-0, 30.3
8. (NR) Analy (Sebastopol), 11-0, 30.3
9. (6) Ripon, 11-0, 30.2
10. (9) Center (Antelope), 9-2, 29.5

Notes: By placing Placer in the Sac-Joaquin Section Division IV playoffs, the SJS greatly diminished any chance it had of qualifying a team for the Division IV bowl game. Placer had been the top North Division II regional candidate for most of the season until it was placed in the SJS Division IV playoffs. Division IV teams in the SJS qualify for the North Division III regional. However if Placer wins out, that means Central Catholic, the No. 1-rated team in the North Division IV rankings, will not qualify. The Northern Section could also get a regional qualifying team here, like unbeaten Sutter, especially if a one-loss team from the North Coast Section wins out, like Cardinal Newman or Marin Catholic.

South Division IV
1. (1 last week) Bishop Diego (Santa Barbara), 11-0, 33.9
2. (6) Ontario Christian, 11-0, 25.0
3. (3) Santa Fe Christian (Solana Beach), 7-3, 23.0
4. (2) Mission Prep (San Luis Obispo), 9-1, 21.8
5. (4) Sierra Canyon (Chatsworth), 10-1, 22.4
6. (5) Rio Hondo Prep (Arcadia,), 9-1, 18.2
7. (8) St. Margaret's (San Juan Capistrano), 10-1, 16.5
8. (7) Bakersfield Christian (Bakersfield), 9-2, 14.3
9. (9) Parker (San Diego), 6-4, 11.5
10. (10) Christian (El Cajon), 7-3, 10.0

Notes: South Division IV qualifiers are always tricky because it's possible that a team with an enrollment higher than 500 will win each of the sections that qualify a team for the Division IV bowl game. Defending champ Sierra Canyon must get past Monrovia and then likely Paraclete to qualify in the Mid-Valley Division. Salesian or Bishop could prevent teams like Boron, Mission Prep or Rio Hondo Prep from qualifying in the Northeast. Nordhoff could eliminate Bishop Diego in the Northwest. Ontario Christian needs to get past Banning or Rim of the World in the East Valley Division. So there are no guaranteed Division IV qualifiers from the Southern Section. The Central Section is no better as a non-Division IV qualifying team could win the Division IV, V and VI playoffs in that section as well. Even the San Diego Section will face this dilemma if Bishop's were to win out. If there are no teams with an enrollment less than 500 that qualify, the section champions with the smallest enrollments will be chosen.

North Division IV
1. (1 last week) Central Catholic (Modesto), 9-2, 37.0
2. (6) Capital Christian (Sacramento), 10-1, 19.4
3. (3) McClymonds (Oakland), 7-3, 18.8
4. (4) Ferndale, 10-1, 14.6
5. (7) Pierce (Arbuckle), 11-0, 6.9
6. (8) Portola, 9-1, 5.0
7. (9) Le Grand, 9-2, 2.0
8. (NR) St. Vincent de Paul (Petaluma), 9-2, 0.7
9. (10) Chester, 8-1, 0.0
10. (10) Brookside Christian (Stockton), 8-2, -0.4

Notes: The top two contenders, Central Catholic and Capital Christian, could both be eliminated by Placer in the Sac-Joaquin Section Division IV playoffs. That opens the possibility of Oakland having its first representative in bowl game competition with McClymonds. The most likely opponent would be Ferndale from the North Coast Section. The last time those teams met, Ferndale defeated McClymonds 25-8 last year.