Video: Xcellent 25 high school football rankings Zack Poff breaks down the Top 25, including De La Salle and Folsom.
The second week of the high school football season brought more games and refreshingly cool conditions, given these are supposed to be the hot August nights stretch.
Concord teams occupy two of the top three spots with De La Salle and Clayton Valley Charter with rising-fast program Liberty inching up to No. 4.
MaxPreps Northern California Top 25 high school football rankings
Photo by Darren Yamashita
Saint Francis climbs to No. 7 after a win over Notre Dame of Sherman Oaks.
1. (Last week 1) De La Salle (Concord), 2-0North Coast
League: Independent
Coach: Justin Alumbaugh
Next: vs. Bishop O'Dowd
Update: The Spartans beat Central Catholic 35-7 in allowing seven points in two games against two of the elite programs in the Sac-Joaquin Section (beating Folsom 14-0 in the opener).
Shamar Garrett rushed for 140 yards and three touchdowns as De La Salle extended its unbeaten streak against Northern California teams north of Fresno to 292, dating back to 1992. The Spartans are a remarkable 375-5-2 against NorCal teams since 1984 and 443-25-3 overall since 1982 with 26 consecutive NCS titles and 30 since 1981 with a record 12 consecutive CIF State title-game appearances.
2. (2) Folsom, 1-1Section: Sac-Joaquin
League: Sierra Foothill
Coach: Kris Richardson
Next: vs. Antelope
Update: The Bulldogs bounced back from an opening 14-0 loss to De La Salle to blast previous No. 3 Jesuit 51-14 as
Kaiden Bennett tossed four first-half touchdowns, two to
Joe Ngata.
Daniyel Ngata had two scores and
CJ Hutton returned a kickoff 95 yards for a touchdown. Folsom is 114-10 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. (5) Clayton Valley Charter (Concord), 2-0Section: North Coast
League: Diablo Foothill
Coach: Tim Murphy
Next: vs. Concord
Update: The Ugly Eagles beat Stellar Prep of Oakland 56-0 as
Makhi Gervais had two rushing touchdowns. CVC opened the season with a 38-31 double overtime win over preseason No. 3 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.
4. (6) Liberty (Brentwood), 2-0Section: North Coast
League: Bay Valley
Coach: Ryan Partridge
Next: vs. McClymonds
Update: The Lions beat Gilroy — 13-0 last season — in the Honor Bowl 57-0 as
Jay Butterfield had 205 yards passing and four touchdowns. Liberty beat Vacaville 35-10 in its opener. Liberty is coming off of its first NCS championship in program history.
5. (7) Pittsburg, 1-1Section: North Coast
League: Bay Valley
Coach: Vic Galli
Next: vs. Centennial (Corona)
Update: The Pirates rolled highly touted St. Mary's of Stockton 48-7, leading 27-0 after the first quarter.
Trey Turner passed for 173 yards and three touchdowns. Pittsburg lost its opener to Clayton Valley Charter 38-31 in double overtime. Pittsburg lost to De La Salle in the NCS finals last season, beat Granite Bay in a NorCal final and nearly won the CIF State Division I title.
6. (5) Serra (San Mateo), 0-1Section: Central Coast
League: West Catholic Athletic
Coach: Patrick Walsh
Next: vs. Elk Grove
Update: The Padres lost to Serra of Gardena 41-22 in an Honor Bowl showcase after opening with a bye. Last season, Serra won the WCAL, CCS, NorCal and CIF State titles.
7. (9) Saint Francis (Mountain View), 1-0Section: Central Coast
League: West Catholic Athletic
Coach: Greg Calcagno
Next: vs. Oak Grove
Update: The Lancers beat Notre Dame of Sherman Oaks 23-12 behind the efforts of
Opeti Fangupo and
Evan Williams. Saint Francis is the defending CIF State Division I-A champion. This program has won 17 section titles.
8. (10) Oak Ridge (El Dorado Hills), 2-0Section: Sac-Joaquin
League: Sierra Foothill
Coach: Eric Cavaliere
Next: vs. Reed (Reno, Nev.)
Update: The Trojans beat Vacaville 42-0 behind
Matt Jenner,
Avant Jacobs and a host of others. The Trojans have won four section Division II titles since 1998 and reached the D-I finals twice since 2012.
9. (11) Del Oro (Loomis), 2-0Section: Sac-Joaquin
League: Sierra Foothill
Coach: Jeff Walters
Next: vs. Windsor
Update: The Golden Eagles beat Oak Grove of San Jose 58-20 in an Honor Bowl showcase behind big plays from
Johnny Guzman and
Kal Lunders. Del Oro reached a section final for the 18th time last season, having won five since 2005. Eighteen starters return for another run.
10. (13) Freedom (Oakley), 2-0Section: North Coast
League: Bay Valley
Coach: Andrew Coakley
Next: vs. California
Update: The Falcons rolled Windsor 68-0 as
Giles Jackson scored three touchdowns. Freedom beat Turlock 42-35 in its opener. The Falcons went 10-2 in 2011, 11-2 in 2016 and 9-3 in 2017.
11. (14) Placer (Auburn), 2-0Section: Sac-Joaquin
League: Foothill Valley
Coach: Joey Montoya
Next: vs. Bishop Manogue (Reno, Nev.)
Update: The Hillmen beat Whitney 42-28 after leading 42-14 in the fourth quarter.
Hans Grassman and
Marshall Chapman combined to rush for five touchdowns as coach Montoya won his 100th game at his alma mater. Seventeen starters are back from a CIF state finalist.
12. (3) Jesuit (Carmichael), 0-1
Section: Sac-Joaquin
League: Delta
Coach: Marlon Blanton
Next: vs. Granite Bay
Update: The Marauders fell to Folsom 51-14 after taking an early 7-0 lead behind
Jackson Canaan. Folsom beat Jesuit twice last season. Jesuit has been a power since 1992.
13. (8) St. Mary's (Stockton,), 0-1Section: Sac-Joaquin
League: Tri-County
Coach: Tony Franks
Next: vs. Central Catholic
Update: The Rams lost to Pittsburg 48-7 after trailing after the first quarter 27-0. St. Mary's plays Central Catholic in one of the great rivalry series in Northern California.
14. (15) Menlo-Atherton (Atherton), 1-0Section: Central Coast
League: Peninsula
Coach: Adhir Ravipati
Next: vs. Mitty
Update: The Bears beat Bellarmine 28-0 as
Justin Anderson had two touchdowns and the defense allowed just 97 yards. Menlo-Atherton reached the CIF 3-AA title game two years ago.
15. (NR) Archbishop Mitty (San Jose), 1-0Section: Central Coast
League: West Catholic Athletic
Coach: Sione Taufoou
Next: vs. Menlo-Atherton
Update: The Monarchs rolled Sac-Joaquin Section power Oakdale 42-14 as
Shamir Bey accounted for four touchdowns. Mitty went 9-1-1 in 2009 and 11-2 in 2013.
16. (NR) Wilcox (Santa Clara), 1-0Section: Central Coast
League: De Anza
Coach: Paul Rosa
Next: vs. San Benito (Hollister)
Update: The Chargers beat Valley Christian 10-6 as
Paul Rosa — son of the coach of the same name — rushed for a score in a rousing season opener. Wilcox has made the playoffs nine of the past 10 seasons.
17. (12) Valley Christian (San Jose), 0-1Section: Central Coast
League: West Catholic Athletic
Coach: Mike Machado
Next: vs. Pleasant Valley (Chico)
Update: The Warriors lost to Wilcox 10-6 as the offense sputtered. Two losses last season were to Serra, which went on to win a state title. Valley Christian went 12-1 in 2004, 12-1 in 2005, 11-2 in 2010 and 13-2 in 2016.
18. (16) Central Catholic (Modesto), 1-1Section: Sac-Joaquin
League: Valley Oak
Coach: Roger Canepa
Next: vs. St. Mary's
Update: The Raiders lost to top-ranked De La Salle 35-7 after trailing by 14 in the third quarter. Coach Canepa won CIF state titles here in 2012, 2013 and 2015.
19. (NR) Monterey Trail (Elk Grove), 2-0Section: Sac-Joaquin
League: Metropolitan
Coach: TJ Ewing
Next: vs. Spanish Springs
Update: The Mustangs posted an impressive 27-7 win at San Ramon Valley as team leader
Zach Larrier accounted for 246 yards of total offense and scored three times. Monterey Trail has twice reached Section Divison I title games.
20. (19) Shasta (Redding), 1-0Section: Northern
League: Eastern
Coach: JC Hunsaker
Next: vs. Elk Grove, Sept. 7
Update: The Wolves beat Corning 28-24 as
James Weaver ran for a touchdown and caught one and
Brayden Coon scored on the ground and on a kickoff. Shasta last season won its first section title since 1989 and third overall, advancing to the CIF State 3-AA finals.
21. (20) Cardinal Newman (Santa Rosa), 2-0Section: North Coast
League: North Bay
Coach: Paul Cronin
Next: vs. Summit Academy
Update: The Cardinals beat Northern Section powerhouse Sutter 24-0 as
Jackson Pavitt passed for 267 yards and three touchdowns, two to
Jake Woods. This has been a powerhouse program since the 1970s, when the Cardinals once held the state record for consecutive wins at 47.
22. (21) Campolindo (Moraga), 1-0Section: North Coast
League: Diablo
Coach: Kevin Macy
Next: vs. St. Ignatius
Update: The Cougars were idle. They beat previously ranked Marin Catholic 35-21 in an opener as
Grant Harper passed for 366 yards and five touchdowns, four to
Max Schoenberger. Campolindo won state titles in 2014 and 2016.
23. (23) Monte Vista (Danville), 2-0Section: North Coast
League: East Bay
Coach: Matt Russi
Next: vs. Analy
Update: The Mustangs beat San Leandro 44-9 as
Jack Stewardson passed for 233 yards and four touchdowns. Monte Vista beat then-ranked Granite Bay 9-3 in an opener. Monte Vista went 11-1 in 2005 and 12-1 in 2016.
24. (25) McClymonds (Oakland), 1-0Section: Oakland
League: OAL
Coach: Michael Peters
Next: vs. Liberty
Update: The Warriors beat storied Marin Catholic 26-0 to extend their state-leading winning streak to 26 as
Jarmar Julien and
Adi Anderson had big games. These are the two-time defending CIF State 5-AA champions.
25. (25) Bishop O'Dowd (Oakland), 1-0Section: North Coast
League: West Alameda
Coach: Napolean Kaufman
Next: vs. De La Salle
Update: The Dragons accepted a forfeit as a game against Kennedy of Fremont was not played due to poor air quality and Kennedy unable to reschedule. O'Dowd is led by Stanford commit running back
Austin Jones, who has 4,897 yards and 62 scores in his prep career.
The Next 1026. Inderkum (Sacramento) — 2-0
27. El Cerrito — 1-0
28. Antioch — 2-0
29. Downey (Modesto) — 2-0
30. San Ramon Valley (Danville) — 1-1
31. Rancho Cotate (Rohnert Park) — 2-0
32. Oakdale — 1-1
33. Aragon (San Mateo) — 0-0
34. Los Gatos — 1-0
35. California (San Ramon) — 1-1The Sacramento Bee on a Bay Area native leading a rising power in the Sac-Joaquin Section ...
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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
