Video: Top 25 high school football rankings Zack Poff breaks down the Top25 after St. John Bosco handled Mater Dei.
None of the top seven teams lost, but one will for sure this week when No. 3 Liberty takes on No. 7 Pittsburg in a showcase of North Coast Section powers bearing down on the Bay Valley League championship. Both programs would relish a shot at top-ranked De La Salle in the NCS Open playoffs.
No. 2 Folsom and No. 4 Del Oro will meet in Week 10 to decide the Sierra Foothill League championship. Then it's the playoffs.
MaxPreps Northern California Top 25 High School Football Rankings
Dawson Hurst, Del Oro
Photo by Gary Jones
North Coast
League: East Bay Athletic
Coach: Justin Alumbaugh
Next: vs. San Ramon Valley
Update: The top-ranked team by the Bay Area News Group and the San Francisco Chronicle, the Spartans rolled Foothill 55-10 as
Shamar Garrett ran for two scores, tossed a scoring pass and had a pick-6.
Andrew Jones tossed two touchdowns. De La Salle last lost a league game in 1989 — and spent several years as a fully Independent team. The league winning streak is 92. De La Salle's unbeaten NorCal streak against teams north of Fresno is 296, dating back to 1991. The Spartans are a remarkable 379-5-2 against NorCal teams since 1984 and 449-25-3 overall since 1982 with 26 consecutive NCS titles and 30 since 1981 with a record 12 consecutive CIF State title-game appearances. Earlier wins this season include 27-21 over Bishop Gorman of Las Vegas, 14-0 over Sac-Joaquin Section No. 1 Folsom and 33-15 over Central Coast Section No. 1 Saint Francis.
2. (2) Folsom, 7-1Section: Sac-Joaquin
League: Sierra Foothill
Coach: Kris Richardson
Next: vs. Grant
Update: The top-ranked team by The Sacramento Bee for all but one week since the start of the 2012 season, the Bulldogs beat Granite Bay 63-7 as
Elijhah Badger returned two punts for scores and caught two of the six touchdowns that
Kaiden Bennett tossed. The loss was 14-0 to De La Salle in a season opener. Folsom is 120-10 this decade with six section and three CIF State title teams (and two 14-1 teams that lost to De La Salle in the 2012 and 2013 NorCal Open finals, since dropped).
3. (3) Liberty (Brentwood), 8-0Section: North Coast
League: Bay Valley
Coach: Ryan Partridge
Next: vs. Pittsburg
Update: The Lions had a bye. The showdown with Pittsburg goes beyond league-title bragging rights. Liberty is coming off of its first NCS championship in program history in 2017.
4. (4) Del Oro (Loomis), 8-0Section: Sac-Joaquin
League: Sierra Foothill
Coach: Jeff Walters
Next: vs. Rocklin
Update: The Golden Eagles beat Grant 22-21, thanks to a last-second missed extra point by the Pacers.
Sheldon Conde had two touchdowns for the winners, who were pushed to the end for the first time this season. Del Oro reached a section final for the 18th time since 1989 last season, having won five since 2005. Eighteen starters returned for another run.
5. (5) Saint Francis (Mountain View), 7-1Section: Central Coast
League: West Catholic Athletic
Coach: Greg Calcagno
Next: vs. Bellarmine
Update: The Lancers beat Riordan 38-0 behind
Ryan Daly,
Opeti Fangupo,
Thomas Whitenight and
Maurice Wilmer. An earlier win was 7-3 over Valley Christian. The loss was to De La Salle 33-15. This is the top team in the Central Coast Section, winners of 17 section titles. Saint Francis is the defending CIF State Division I-A champion.
6. (6) Clayton Valley Charter (Concord), 7-1Section: North Coast
League: Diablo Foothill
Coach: Tim Murphy
Next: vs. Alhambra
Update: The Ugly Eagles beat Miramonte 49-14 to all but secure the league title behind
Cade Carter. The loss was early to Antioch, 35-34. An early win was 38-31 over Pittsburg. The Ugly Eagles have emerged as a power of late, going 12-1 in 2008, 12-2 in 2012, 11-2 in 2013, 15-1 in 2015 and 13-2 in 2016.
7. (7) Pittsburg, 6-2Section: North Coast
League: Bay Valley
Coach: Vic Galli
Next: vs. Liberty
Update: The Pirates had a bye to prepare for Liberty this week. An earlier win was over Serra 44-35. One loss was to state power Centennial 35-7 and the other was in overtime to Clayton Valley Charter, 38-31. Pittsburg played for the CIF State Division I title last season and is the last NorCal team to beat De La Salle, in the 1991 NCS finals.
8. (9) Monterey Trail (Elk Grove), 8-0Section: Sac-Joaquin
League: Metropolitan
Coach: TJ Ewing
Next: vs. Laguna Creek
Update: The Mustangs rolled Burbank 41-6 as
Zach Larrier and
Marcus Jones Jr. led the way. Big wins include Sacramento Bee-ranked Sheldon, 41-6, and Bay Area-ranked San Ramon Valley, 27-7. Monterey Trail has twice reached Section Division I title games.
9. (10) Placer (Auburn), 8-0Section: Sac-Joaquin
League: Foothill Valley
Coach: Joey Montoya
Next: vs. Ponderosa
Update: The Hillmen rolled Oakmont 45-20, leading 42-0 at one point.
Marshall Chapman has now scored 22 rushing touchdowns. Seventeen starters are back from a CIF state finalist. This was a state-wide power in the 1970s.
10. (11) Central Catholic (Modesto), 7-1Section: Sac-Joaquin
League: Valley Oak
Coach: Roger Canepa
Next: vs. Oakdale
Update: The top-ranked team by The Modesto Bee, the Raiders had a bye. An earlier win was 33-20 over St. Mary's. The loss was to De La Salle 35-7 after trailing by just 14 in the third quarter. Coach Canepa won CIF state titles here in 2012, 2013 and 2015.
11. (12) Wilcox (Santa Clara), 8-0Section: Central Coast
League: De Anza
Coach: Paul Rosa
Next: vs. Milpitas
Update: The Chargers beat Homestead 42-7 as
Gabe Herrera rushed for 198 yards and four touchdowns and
Paul Rosa went for 136 and a score. With Saint Francis and Serra likely slotted for the Central Coast Section Open Division II playoffs, Wilcox could emerge as the No. 1 CCS Division I Open seed. An earlier win was 10-6 over Valley Christian. Wilcox has made the playoffs nine of the last 10 seasons.
12. (13) Valley Christian (San Jose), 5-2Section: Central Coast
League: West Catholic Athletic
Coach: Mike Machado
Next: vs. Mitty
Update: The Warriors beat Serra 37-6 as
D'Von Lang rushed for 171 yards and three touchdowns. The losses were to Saint Francis 7-3 and 10-6 to Wilcox. Valley Christian went 12-1 in 2004, 12-1 in 2005, 11-2 in 2010 and 13-2 in 2016.
13. (14) Inderkum (Sacramento), 8-0Section: Sac-Joaquin
League: Capital Valley
Coach: Terry Stark
Next: vs. Yuba City
Update: The Tigers beat Antelope 37-28 in finally getting a close game.
Savien Pressley rushed for 111 yards and a touchdown and
Raymond Brown went for 85 and a score. This has been a section power under coach Stark since 2006, winning 10 or more games 12 successive seasons with seasons of 12-2, 12-1, 11-3 and 11-1 in recent years.
14. (8) Serra (San Mateo), 4-3Section: Central Coast
League: West Catholic Athletic
Coach: Patrick Walsh
Next: vs. St. Ignatius
Update: The Padres lost to Valley Christian 37-6. Another loss was to Pittsburg, 44-35. Last season, Serra won the WCAL, CCS, NorCal and CIF State titles, and it takes a 13-game WCAL winning streak into league play.
15. (15) Cardinal Newman (Santa Rosa), 7-1Section: North Coast
League: North Bay
Coach: Paul Cronin
Next: vs. Maria Carrillo
Update: The Cardinals beat Windsor 45-7 as
Jackson Pavitt passed for 264 yards and two touchdowns and ran for one, and
Shane Moran ran for two scores. The loss was to No. 3 Liberty, 31-14. This has been a power since the 1970s. Cardinal Newman has won 11 or more games nine times since 2006.
16. (16) Oak Ridge (El Dorado Hills), 6-2Section: Sac-Joaquin
League: Sierra Foothill
Coach: Eric Cavaliere
Next: vs. Granite Bay
Update: The Trojans beat Whitney 49-6 as
Matt Jenner passed for 238 yards and four touchdowns, two to
Avant Jacobs, and
Mitch Anderson rushed for two scores. The losses were to Sacramento Bee No. 1 Folsom and No. 2 Del Oro. The Trojans have won four section Division II titles since 1998 and reached the D-I finals twice since 2012.
17. (17) Palo Alto, 7-1
Section: Central Coast
League: De Anza
Coach: Nelson Gifford
Next: vs. Los Gatos
Update: The Vikings beat Fremont 47-10 as
Aiden Chang rushed for 113 yards and three touchdowns and
Jackson Chryst tossed two scoring passes. The loss was to Wilcox, 35-21. The Vikings have won five section titles since 2004 and a state title in 2010 with a 14-0 team.
18. (18) Capital Christian (Sacramento), 8-0Section: Sac-Joaquin
League: Capital Athletic
Coach: Casey Taylor
Next: vs. Rio Americano
Update: The Cougars had a bye. Capital Christian has been a small-school power this decade and is now in Division III. A statement win early was 43-12 over storied Grant.
19. (19) Freedom (Oakley), 5-3Section: North Coast
League: Bay Valley
Coach: Andrew Coakley
Next: vs. Heritage
Update: The Falcons had a bye. Two losses were to Pittsburg and Liberty. Earlier wins include 14-7 over Antioch and 37-24 over San Ramon Valley. The Falcons went 10-2 in 2011, 11-2 in 2016 and 9-3 in 2017.
20. (20) Antioch, 6-2Section: North Coast
League: Bay Valley
Coach: John Lucido
Next: vs. Deer Valley
Update: The Panthers had a bye. One loss was to Liberty and the other to Freedom. An earlier win was 35-34 over Clayton Valley Charter. The Panthers have had roller coaster runs, going 1-19 from 2004 and 2005, 1-9 in 2010 and 2013 and 11-1 in 2015.
21. (21) Eureka, 7-0Section: North Coast
League: Humboldt Del Norte
Coach: Jason White
Next: vs. Del Norte
Update: The Loggers beat St. Bernard's 54-21 as the team rushed 43 times for 486 yards.
Lamarie Dunn and
Ryan Sylvia each rushed for two touchdowns. This has been a power from the northern part of the state, having gone 12-2 in 2009 and 11-1 last season.
22. (22) St. Mary's (Stockton), 4-4Section: Sac-Joaquin
League: Tri-City Athletic
Coach: Tony Franks
Next: vs. Tokay
Update: The Rams beat Tracy 42-20 as
Noah May passed for 198 yards and a touchdown, and
William Brown and
Tyrei Washington each ran for two scores. Losses include Central Catholic, Pittsburg and Mater Dei and a big win was 44-20 over Bishop O'Dowd. St. Mary's went 13-1 in 2004, 12-2 in 2007, 12-3 in 2008, 11-1 in 2009, 11-2 in 2010, 12-2 in 2014 and 14-2 in 2016.
23. (23) Bishop O'Dowd (Oakland), 6-2Section: North Coast
League: West Alameda
Coach: Napolean Kaufman
Next: vs. Castro Valley
Update: The Dragons beat Piedmont 37-7 as
Austin Jones ran for three scores and
Moe Flynn passed for two to remain unbeaten in league play. The losses were to De La Salle and St. Mary's of Stockton. The Dragons have been a power of late with record success.
24. (24) Monte Vista (Danville), 6-2Section: North Coast
League: East Bay
Coach: Matt Russi
Next: vs. Foothill
Update: The Mustangs beat Granada 27-7 to remain in the playoff hunt. The losses were to De La Salle and Bishop O'Dowd. Monte Vista went 11-1 in 2005 and 12-1 in 2016.
25. (25) California (San Ramon), 6-2Section: North Coast
League: East Bay
Coach: Paul Cronin
Next: vs. Dublin
Update: The Grizzlies beat San Ramon Valley 21-17 to remain a game behind De La Salle in the league race. The losses were 23-13 to Monte Vista and 37-27 to Antioch. This program has been strong for years, going 11-2 in 2007, 12-2 in 2010 and 11-3 in 2013.
The Next 10 26. Rancho Cotate (Rohnert Park) — 7-1
27. Jesuit (Carmichael) — 6-2
28. Sheldon (Sacramento) — 7-1
29. Campolindo (Moraga) — 6-2
30. Palma (Salinas) — 6-1
31. Menlo-Atherton (Atherton) — 5-2
32. Las Lomas (Walnut Creek) — 9-0
33. McClymonds (Oakland) — 5-2
34. Moreau Catholic (Hayward) — 8-0
35. Sacred Heart Prep (Atherton) — 7-0The Sacramento Bee on storylines to ponder as the regular season winds to a close ...
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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
