MaxPreps Northern California Top 25 high school football rankings

Top-ranked De La Salle (Concord) was pushed to the brink in Week 1, slipping past Serra (San Mateo) by a touchdown, but the Spartans unloaded on a good St. Mary's (Stockton) team 40-13 to flex some of that familiar muscle.

Not afraid to challenge his team, De La Salle coach Justin Alumbaugh said too many good teams loom to not take every game seriously.

"We were a soulless, gutless team last week, to be honest, and in a lot of ways the week before, too," Alumbaugh said. "The reason why is we didn't practice well and we weren't coming together as a team. Serra made our guys realize we're only as good as we practice. We have a lot of potential but we can be taken down by any of the teams that we're playing on our schedule."

The Spartans, 240-0-2 against Northern California teams since 1991 and 321-5-2 against the North since 1984, plays Sac-Joaquin Section power Del Oro (Loomis) on Friday.

MaxPreps Northern California Top 25 Football Rankings

1. (1) De La Salle (Concord) (3-0)
If the Spartans needed a wake-up, they got it against Serra. They woke up grouchy against St. Mary's, rolling to a 33-0 lead before prevailing 40-13 to extend their unbeaten streak against Northern California foes to 239 games. John Velasco rushed for 142 yards and two touchdowns and sophomore Antoine Custer went for 117 and two scores as the lines again dominated.
Next: No. 11 Del Oro (Loomis), Friday

2. (2) Folsom (3-0)
Jake Browning passed for 371 yards and seven touchdowns with no interceptions, hitting Will McClure four times, to rout previous No. 17 Roseville 56-23. Browning also hit Tristan Santos, Troy Knox and Tre Green for scoring strikes. It was 42-7 at the half as the defense again played well behind DE Lukas Hendricks and LB Eddie Flores.
Next: San Ramon Valley, Friday

3. (3) Bellarmine (San Jose) 2-0
K.J. Carta-Samuels passed for two touchdowns and ran for one in a 31-21 victory over San Leandro. The Bells allowed just 30 yards rushing and recorded four sacks.
Next: Piedmont Hills (San Jose), Friday

4. (4) Palo Alto (1-0)
The Vikings beat San Benito (Hollister) 28-7 as longtime coach Earl Handen welcomed 1982 Paly graduate Jim Harbaugh for a ceremonial coin toss to break in the new-look stadium. Keller Chryst passed for 181 yards and two touchdowns.
Next: No. 18 Mitty (San Jose), Saturday

5. (5) Elk Grove (3-0)
Wadus Parker rushed for 202 yards and three touchdowns and the defense allowed little in belting previous No. 22 Del Campo (Fair Oaks) 38-13. Tommy Arnold hit Ryan Robards for a 50-yard touchdown, and Noah Letuligasenoa Ta'amu had 2.5 of his team's six sacks.
Next: Sheldon (Sacramento), Friday

6. (6) Serra (San Mateo) (1-1)
The Padres were idle, and still seething over their 21-14 loss to De La Salle. Serra is getting healthier by the day.
Next: Encinal (Alameda), Friday

7. (7) Pleasant Grove (Elk Grove) (3-0)
The Eagles rolled Nevada Union (Grass Valley) 62-7, leading 55-0 in the third in handing the longtime powers their poorest home loss ever. Demaree Morris rushed for 151 yards and three touchdowns, Brandon Lewis went for 81 and two touchdowns, and Deaundre Terrell hit Wyatt Demps for a 60-yard touchdown strike.
Next: No. 10 Inderkum (Sacramento), Friday

8. (8) El Cerrito (3-1)
The Gauchos beat previous No. 19 Cardinal Newman (Santa Rosa) 35-7, out-gaining the hosts 456-186. Adarius Pickett blocked a field goal and returned it for a score and Jalen Harvey rushed for a touchdown and played superb defense.
Next: Campolindo (Moraga), Friday

9. (9) Oak Ridge (El Dorado Hills) (3-0)
Ian Book passed for 172 yards and three touchdowns, two to Justin Priest, including a nifty 68-yarder, to beat No. 14 Franklin (Elk Grove) 21-13. Jacob Sipes and James Portilla had interceptions for the Trojans.
Next: No. 5 Grant (Sacramento), Friday

10. (10) Granite Bay (1-1)
The Grizzlies beat Freedom (Oakley) 47-20 as Tony Ellison rushed for four touchdowns. Josh Neal played well at QB, hitting Dylan Keeney for a touchdown, and the defense held standout RB Joe Mixon mostly in check.
Next: No. 8 Vacaville, Friday

11. (12) Del Oro (Loomis) (1-1)
The Golden Eagles were idle, though coaches did watch De La Salle dispatch St. Mary's 40-13. Del Oro plays both teams in the coming weeks, needing to establish a ground game to negate prolific offenses.
Next: De La Salle (Concord), Friday

12. (13) Marin Catholic (Kentfield) (3-0)
MC rolled Heritage (Brentwood) 42-7 as Andrew Celis returned the opening kickoff 99 yards for a touchdown. Morgan Mahalak passed for 268 yards as his club rolled up nearly 470 yards of offense.
Next: Tamalpais (Mill Valley), Saturday

13. (14) Grant (Sacramento) (3-0)
The Pacers rushed 32 times for 303 yards to control the game in beating rival and previous No. 8 Burbank (Sacramento) 28-14. Deandre Whittington-Grays powered for 131 yards, and Zay Cato and TieNeal Martin also ran well.
Next: No. 4 Oak Ridge (El Dorado Hills), Friday

14. (16) Vacaville (2-0)
The Bulldogs beat a good Lincoln (Stockton) club 56-35, leading 28-7 at the half, as the run game again set the tone. David Mewborn rushed for three scores and Chad Hekking tossed two touchdown passes.
Next: No. 7 Granite Bay, Friday

15. (11) St. Mary's (Stockton) (2-1)
The Rams pushed De La Salle a year ago in a close game but were pushed around in the rematch, falling behind 33-0 and losing 40-13. St. Mary's wasn't able to get inside the DLS 20 until eight minutes remained.
Next: Lincoln (Stockton), Friday

16. (18) Clayton Valley Charter (Concord) (1-1)
The loss was to De La Salle in a competitive opener. The win was a 66-6 rout of Castlemont (Oakland).
Next: Independence (San Jose), Friday

17. (22) Pittsburg (2-1)
Harris Ross rushed for a school-record 464 yards and seven touchdowns in a 49-29 victory over Monte Vista (Danville). In the second half alone, he had 361 yards and six touchdowns on 10 carries, a week after scooting for 233 yards and four scores in a 35-33 win over California.
Next: Berkeley, Friday

18. (23) Archbishop Mitty (San Jose) (2-0)
The Monarchs rolled Leland (San Jose) 35-14 behind QB Trent Scharrenberg, who hit three different receivers for touchdowns in passing for 195 yards to set up a showdown with Palo Alto.
Next: No. 4 Palo Alto, Friday

19. (24) Foothill (Pleasanton) (3-0)
The Falcons have speed to burn, including Isaiah Langley, who had 152 yards receiving and a score and ran for a touchdown in a 31-6 win over Las Lomas. Kyle Kearns passed fro 316 yards.
Next: Vintage (Napa), Friday

20. (25) California (San Ramon) (2-1)
The Grizzlies outlasted Castro Valley 48-31 as Blake Bierwith rushed for 208 yards and five touchdowns and QB Cameron Owen accounted for two scores.
Next: Granada (Livermore), Sept. 27

21. (25) Valley Christian (San Jose) (1-1)
The Warriors rolled Bishop O'Dowd (Oakland) 38-10 as Kirk Johnson and Mark Quinby rushed for a total of 334 yards and three touchdowns. The loss was a late one to Vacaville.
Next: Milpitas, Sept. 27

22. (NR) Deer Valley (Antioch) (3-0)
Nsimba Webster rushed for three touchdowns and passed for another in a 49-18 rout of College Park (Pleasanton). The Wolverines are led by Malik Hutchings on defense.
Next: Santa Rosa, Friday

23. (15) Burbank (Sacramento) (1-2)
The Titans lost to No. 5 Grant (Sacramento), 28-14, in a great rivalry series that showcases city football at its best. Ernest Jenkins scored on runs of 61 and 69 yards for Burbank, expected to roll to another Metropolitan Conference title.
Next: Johnson (Sacramento), Friday

24. (NR) Logan (Union City) (2-1)
The Colts opened with a loss at No. 11 Del Oro (Loomis) and are now rolling defensively after beating prolific San Ramon Valley 21-18. Ahki Muhammad rushed for 112 yards and two touchdowns and Christian Leota hit Kavion Augustine for a 4th-down touchdown.
Next: Heritage (Brentwood), Friday

(TIE) 25. (25) Central Catholic (Modesto) (2-1)
The Raiders beat McClymonds (Oakland) 38-24 in a rematch of the NorCal D-III title game, also won by Central Catholic. Matt Ringer rushed 40 times for 272 yards and four touchdowns and Reggie Bland had 15 tackles.
Next: Downey (Modesto), Friday

(TIE) 25. (NR) Pitman (Turlock) (3-0)
The home of Colin Kaepernick, the Pride could have a powerhouse team with a test looming against No. 3 Pleasant Grove soon. Earlier wins include Enochs (Modesto) 68-8 and Lincoln (Stockton) 43-36.
Next: Oakland Tech, Friday

See The Sacramento Bee regional Top 20

Read Joe Davidson's column on the staying power of De La Salle

See Joe Davidson in The Bee's weekly Preps Plus Insiders breaking down the section, including De La Salle vs. Del Oro

Joe Davidson has covered high school sports at The Sacramento Bee since 1988. Follow him on Twitter @SacBee_JoeD and on www.sacbee.com.