MaxPreps California Top 25 high school football rankings: Section playoffs begin this week

Video: Highlights of Mater Dei vs. JSerra Catholic

For most of California, the playoffs have arrived.

The final week of the regular season — either last week or the coming week — won't or didn't have much effect on the field.

There was a monumental development off the field in the Los Angeles City Section that changed its complete landscape, and also significantly effected this week's California Top 25 rankings.

Previous sixth-ranked Narbonne (Harbor City), on the cusp of being ranked nationally, was banned from the 2019 and 2020 section playoffs and forced to forfeit all nine wins this season (the team was 9-0 before Friday) for using multiple ineligible players, the City Section determined. See story

The Gauchos Friday night game with Banning (Los Angeles) — on Senior Night — was also cancelled, and they were stripped of their 2018 section crown. Narbonne plans to appeal the sanctions. Due to its now 0-9 record and not knowing the extent of ineligible players used, we've dropped the Gauchos from these rankings, and moved all teams below up a place or two.

There were four other teams from last week's ranking that went down to defeat, but three were to other ranked squads. The one big shocker was No. 7 Cathedral Catholic (San Diego) losing to un-ranked but always capable Lincoln (San Diego) 24-19. Cathedral Catholic dropped 11 places.

Previous 13th-ranked JSerra Catholic (No. 1 Mater Dei), previous No. 19 Valley Christian (No. 20 Serra) and No. 25 Camarillo (No. 12 Grace Brethren) all dropped competitive games and remained in the Top 25.

Previous No. 14 Calabasas had its game with un-ranked St. Bonaventure (Ventura) cancelled due to the Southern California wildfires. Calabasas then found out Sunday it got pulled up to the Southern Section Division I bracket and opens with the nation's No. 1 team, Mater Dei.

The rest of the Southern Section playoffs were announced Sunday and the DI bracket may be the toughest in the nation. All those teams will get a one-week break with play opening Nov. 15. The rest of those brackets open Friday.

The biggest game in Northern California last week saw then No. 20 Serra record a 10-0 victory over visiting and No. 19 Valley Christian. It was the first shutout in the history of the 20-game history of the two West Catholic Athletic League powers. Serra can clinch an outright WCAL title with a win at St. Ignatius (7-2) on Saturday.

As if national and California Player of the Year favorite Bryce Young could do any more, he completed all 17 passes he threw, breaking his own school record of 16, for 373 yards while accounting for five touchdowns in a 41-17 win over JSerra Catholic. He did all of his passing in the first half.

He finished the regular season with 220 completions in 298 attempts (74 percent) for 3,219 yards, 39 touchdowns and just three interceptions against the nation's toughest schedule. He also rushed for 342 yards and nine scores.

Second-ranked Bosco, which lost last week to Mater Dei 38-24, rebounded with a convincing 56-10 Trinity League win over Santa Margarita as DJ Uiagalelei threw for four touchdowns. Top 25 California high school football rankings