MaxPreps Northern California Top 25 high school football rankings

Northern California Top 25 Football Rankings

1. De La Salle (Concord) (1) 6-0
Beat Foothill (Pleasanton) 34-17 behind running back Tiapepe Vitale (149 yards and four touchdowns) and more strong defense. It was the most points De La Salle has allowed this season. This is testament to a spirited Foothill club as teams come amped to play the Spartans, who have a 17-game winning streak and are defending CIF Open Bowl champions. At Amador Valley (Pleasanton) on Friday.

2. Elk Grove (2) 6-0
Beat Laguna Creek 52-7 in a Delta Valley Conference opener as backs Wadus Parker and Robert Frazier ran wild. Tommy Arnold also passed for three scores. Showdown looming against Franklin (Elk Grove) on Oct. 19, but first it's a tough test at Grant on Friday. The Herd has a 17-game regular-season winning streak.

3. Franklin (Elk Grove) (3) 6-0
Beat Grant (Sacramento) 34-26 in a Delta Valley Conference game on a last-play blocked field goal by Robert Sanders that was returned for a touchdown by Dionte Young for the Wildcats' first win over the Pacers. Veteran team continues to make strides but was held to just one touchdown in second half. Kyran Harris rushed for four scores and 146 yards. Host Davis on Friday.

4. Serra (San Mateo) (5) 5-0
Fresh off a spirited win over Mitty to open West Catholic Athletic League play, the Padres routed Riordon (San Francisco) 56-0 as seven different players scored. Showdown home game on Saturday against Bellarmine for early league positioning looms.

5. Bellarmine (San Jose) (4) 4-1
Beat rival Mitty (San Jose) 14-10 on a late touchdown strike from K.J. Carta-Samuels to Jared Vallner on the road. Carta-Samuels also had a 1-yard scoring run. This was the seventh win in the last nine meetings against Mitty, with a tie, in your typical West Catholic Athletic League rumble. At Serra (San Mateo) on Saturday for yet another one. Loss was to De La Salle in an opener.

6. Folsom (8) 6-0
Routed previous No. 6 Oak Ridge 49-21 in a Delta River League opener in leading 35-14 at the half. A young offensive line allowed one sack and lots of time for sophomore Jake Browning to pass for 353 yards and six touchdowns. He was not intercepted. At Jesuit on Saturday.

7. Deer Valley (Antioch) (12) 5-1
The Wolverines followed their 55-35 rout of Vacaville with a 49-13 triumph of 5-0 Antioch as Nsimba Webster tossed three first-half touchdowns and ran for one to claim the Mayor's Cup in a battle of East Bay rivals in a Bay Valley Athletic League game. Only loss was a shootout at Folsom which could help come bowl selection time down the road. At Liberty (Brentwood) on Friday.

8. Burbank (Sacramento) (7) 6-0
Beat Florin (Sacramento) 67-12 in a Metro Conference contest in a game that was moved from Friday to Saturday over concerns of a nearby shooting from the last home game. Home games have otherwise been safe and festive for the Titans, enjoying their second-year football facility and the program's best start since 1978. Host Valley (Sacramento) on Friday.

9. Placer (Auburn) (10) 6-0
Beat Foothill (Sacramento) 68-14 in a Pioneer Valley League homecoming effort. The Hillmen led 41-0 after the first quarter. Isaac Brahce scored two touchdowns and Peter Denham had two early touchdown passes on just seven attempts. Host 6-0 Bear River on Friday.

10. Logan (Union City) (13) 5-1
How's this for odd: The Colts had a bye and lost their last game 20-13 in overtime to Del Oro, which is a few bounces away from being 5-1, and they move up three spots. That's what happens when teams in front of you lose. Host Newark Memorial on Friday.

11. St. Mary's (Stockton) (16) 3-2
Idle. Host Tokay (Lodi) on Friday. Still grinning after bombing Lincoln (Stockton) with late surge for 51-18 win. Has an earlier 21-13 loss to DLS in gutty effort.

12. Buhach Colony (Atwater) (14) 4-2
Beat Pitman (Turlock) 28-7 in Central California Conference tilt to hand the Pride their first loss. Buhach's stronger schedule paid off here, having lost only to unbeatens Serra (San Mateo) and Clovis North, and its dominating line play and run game had its best outing. At Merced on Friday.

13. Marin Catholic (Kentfield) (15) 6-1
Beat Novato 49-7 as Cal-bound quarterback Jared Goff passed for 189 yards and three first-half touchdowns and finished with 270 and five. Lone loss was to Vacaville in a nonleague thriller before the wheels started to buckle for the Bulldogs. Marin Catholic a contender for Division III bowl game.

14. Central Catholic (Modesto) (16) 5-2
Beat Pacheco (Los Banos) 55-15 in Western League contest. Rey Vega rushed for 150 yards and scored four total touchdowns in his first game for the Raiders. Vega had to sit out the early part of the season due to a transfer. Wins include St. Mary's. At Livingston on Oct. 19.

15. Monte Vista (Danville) (NR) 5-1
Routed unbeaten and previous No. 9 California (San Ramon) 44-26 in East Bay Athletic League play and also have a 44-14 rout of Pittsburg, which edged Granite Bay on a two-point conversion this season. The lone loss is a 21-14 setback to Foothill (Pleasanton), which just battled De La Salle admirably but lost handily to California, so one can sense how nutty it is to sort all of these teams accordingly.

16. Oak Grove (San Jose) (18) 5-0
Beat Willow Glen (San Jose) 34-14 in Mount Hamilton action by rushing for 342 yards and passing for 109 on just eight attempts by Ray Cruz. Nick Bernardo had two touchdowns and the defense recorded nine sacks. Host Piedmont Hills (San Jose) on Friday.

17. Granite Bay (20) 3-3
Beat Roseville 45-6 in a Sierra Foothill League opener with Grant Caraway completing 9 of 11 passes for three touchdowns. At Rocklin on Friday in what is suddenly shaping up to be a classic given Rocklin's rise. Losses to Westlake, Oaks Christian and Pittsburg (Antioch).

18. Oak Ridge (El Dorado Hills) (6) 5-1
Lost to rival Folsom 49-21 in Delta River League opener despite three touchdown passes from Jason Samuels. After dominating on defense for most of the season, the Trojans were a step slow in trying to keep up with Folsom's spread offense. Play Sheldon (Sacramento) next.

19. St. Ignatius (San Francisco) (NR) 4-1
The Wildcats have won four straight with a prolific offense since losing an opener at Marin Catholic 28-21. In beating Sacred Heart 35-21 in yet another West Catholic Athletic League affair, Jack Stinn passed for 170 yards and two touchdowns. Elijah Dale had 184 yards rushing and a score and Albert Waters went for 136 and two. At St. Francis-Mountain View on Friday.

20. Oakdale (24) 5-1
Beat Lathrop 42-0 in a Valley Oak League contest behind more dominant defense and running, including five rushing scores. Host East Union (Manteca) on Friday. Lost only to San Diego-area No. 1 Oceanside in SoCal showcase.

21. California (San Ramon) (9) 5-1
Lost to Monte Vista 44-26 after storming to early season start. It's how the Grizzlies recover that will determine any bowl hopes. For now, California wants to rediscover its defense. At San Ramon Valley (Danville) on Friday.

22. El Cerrito (23) 7-0
In a Tri-County Athletic League contest, the Gouchos had two touchdowns in the first minute of the game, sparked by an 88-yard opening kickoff by Marcellus Pippins, to rout Berean Christian 59-6. It was 59-0 at the half.

23. Pleasant Grove (Elk Grove) (25) 4-2
Routed Sheldon (Sacramento) 55-20 in a Delta River League opener as Isaiah Saunders rushed for 268 yards and six touchdowns in giving the Eagles a balanced attack with emerging quarterback Dre Terrell. At Ponderosa (Shingle Springs) on Friday. Ponderosa is 5-1 after beating Jesuit 17-3.

24. Archbishop Mitty (San Jose) (8) 3-2
Monarchs lost a crusher to rival Bellarmine, 14-10, on a late touchdown pass in an otherwise superb defensive showing to fall to 0-2 in the brutal West Catholic Athletic League. Other loss was to Serra (San Mateo) 30-21. At Riordon-San Francisco on Saturday.

25. Merced (NR) 4-2
Beat Turlock 19-14 in a Central California Conference contest that was iced when Eli Gutierrez hit Bradley Adamson for a touchdown, setting up a showdown this Friday against Buhach Colony. One win includes 45-41 effort over Downey (Modesto), which beat Central Catholic, which beat St. Mary's. Losses are to Fresno foes Edison and Clovis North, teams that are a combined 8-2.

NorCal news and notes...

* In the most balanced showing yet this season, these rankings feature 13 teams from the Sac-Joaquin Section and 12 from the Bay Area, with the Bay Area holding the edge in the top spots.

* Concord, Nevada Union (Grass Valley) and Inderkum (Sacramento) all fell from the Top 25 after suffering surprising league losses to Northgate, Yuba City and Rocklin, respectively. Concord and NU had been mainstays in the rankings since the start.

* Northgate's (Walnut Creek) 28-20 victory over Concord in Diablo Valley Athletic League play elevated its record to 5-1 and put the Minutemen in urgency mode to scramble back into the CIF bowl picture. Joe Pelletier had two touchdowns for Northgate, which held Concord superback Olito Thompson to 62 yards rushing.

* Another stunner was Monte Vista (Danville) pounding California (San Ramon). It wasn't so much that Monte Vista — a good program — prevailed, it was how easily it moved the ball, piling up nearly 600 yards. Monte Vista features brothers in quarterback Nikita and receiver Marco Zamora. Nikita passed for 302 yards, hitting Marco 14 times for 205.

* Folsom beat Oak Ridge 49-21 in the big Sac-Joaquin Section showdown of the week in El Dorado Hills in a meeting of 5-0 teams with visions of winning the Delta River League championship. Jake Browning passed for 353 yards and six touchdowns to outduel Jason Samuels, who tossed three touchdowns. Working behind a relatively new line, Browning was sacked just once and had no interceptions. Here is a follow-up story that details how Folsom returned virtually no varsity line experience.

* Max Miller turned in strolls on the beaches in Hawaii and golf experiences with a Tahoe backdrop to return to coaching in Sacramento. The winningest coach in Sac-Joaquin Section history with 258 victories took over at Rio Americano, where he got his regional coaching start in 1976, amid crisis at a program that was about to buckle. Eleven seniors left the team for a day in support of a teammate who was told by the previous coach that he could not participate in a baseball showcase that would cause him to miss a football game. When Rio administration removed Christian Mahaffey as coach, in came Miller. Miller won his first game back, beating Cordova 30-6, the same school where he had his most success. Here is a Sacramento Bee story on Miller's return.

* California School for the Deaf beat Tomales 17-14 to halt the Braves' 39-game North Central Bay League winning streak. CSD is 5-1.

Joe Davidson has covered high schools with The Sacramento Bee since 1988. Follow him on Twitter: @SacBee_JoeD; on Facebook: sacbeepreps; and online: sacbee.com/preps; and radio podcasts: ESPN1320.net.