MaxPreps 2012 California Bowl Game Rankings

Playoff upsets have knocked some of the top contenders out of contention for the CIF Regional Bowl Games, including North Division III frontrunner Placer and South Division I powerhouse Mission Viejo.

The biggest shakeup comes in North Division III, where Placer's absence now opens the door for Central Catholic to potentially choose between the Division III or Division IV regional berth since it qualifies for both.

As each round progresses, more teams will be eliminated from contention for the CIF Regional Bowl Games, which are set to begin Dec. 7. Once a team loses in its section playoffs it is eliminated, and we therefore will not have those teams in the rankings anymore, regardless of their Freeman Rankings.

The first teams to guarantee themselves consideration will be the Northern Section champs from Divisions III and IV, as they play their title games Wednesday. And the San Francisco Section plays its final on Thanksgiving Day. The Northern Section teams will be in the State Bowl Division III group while the San Francisco Section champ will be in Bowl Division II.

Visit all of our California brackets, check out the Freeman Rankings for all California teams, visit the latest professional photo galleries for California football teams and browse California football stat leaders.


South Division I
1. (1 last week) St. John Bosco (Bellflower), 8-4, 72.1, SS Pac-5
2. (5) Narbonne (Harbor City), 12-0, 68.1, LAS D-I
3. (3) Vista Murrieta (Murrieta), 12-0, 67.3, SS Inland
4. (7) Mater Dei (Santa Ana), 10-2, 66.8, SS Pac-5
5. (8) St. Bonaventure (Ventura), 11-1, 66.2, SS Pac-5
6. (9) Centennial (Corona), 11-1, 65.0, SS Inland
7. (NR) Long Beach Poly, 9-3, 57.0, SS Pac-5
8. (NR) Upland, 12-0, 56.2, SS Inland
9. (NR) Clovis North (Fresno), 10-1, 55.4, CS D-I
10. (NR) Rancho Cucamonga, 10-2, 52.9, SS Inland

Notes: It will be a tough call, but we see the committee choosing Narbonne and Vista Murrieta for the Open Division spots if they win out. St. John Bosco and Clovis North would be the Division I opponents.

North Division I
1. (1 last week) De La Salle (Concord), 11-0, 62.6, NCS D-I
2. (2) Folsom, 12-0, 52.5, SJS D-II
3. (3) Franklin (Elk Grove), 12-0, 52.2, SJS D-I
4. (4) California (San Ramon), 9-2, 50.7, NCS D-I
5. (8) Granite Bay, 9-3, 47.9, SJS D-I
6. (6) Serra (San Mateo), 9-2, 47.5, CCS Open
7. (5) Bellarmine (San Jose), 10-1, 46.7, CCS Open
8. (9) Elk Grove, 11-1, 46.2, SJS D-II
9. (NR) Logan (Union City), 11-1, 45.7, NCS D-I
10. (7) Oak Ridge (El Dorado Hills), 11-1, 45.6, SJS D-I

Notes: No real changes here. De La Salle likely gets an Open Division regional bid along with possibly Franklin. Folsom and either Bellarmine or Serra are the most likely Division I candidates.

South Division II
1. (1 last week) Chaminade (West Hills), 11-1, 59.3, SS Western
2. (4) Serra (Gardena), 10-2, 58.5, SS Western
3. (3) Edison (Huntington Beach), 11-1, 57.2, SS Southwest
4. (2) Oceanside, 10-1, 55.6, SDS D-II
5. (6) Tustin, 12-0, 54.5, SS Southwest
6. (5) Helix (La Mesa), 10-0, 53.9, SDS D-II
7. (8) Poway, 9-2, 50.0, SDS D-II
8. (NR) Palos Verdes (Palos Verdes Estates), 9-3, 49.6, SS Northern
9. (9) Lompoc, 12-0, 48.6, SS Western
10. (10) Olympian (Chula Vista), 11-0, 45.9, SDS D-III

Notes: The Western Division champion will likely receive one of the regional bids. Oceanside has the best chance of gaining the other bid at this point, unless Edison knocks off an unbeaten Tustin.

North Division II
1. (8 last week) Paradise, 8-3, 39.5, NS D-I
2. (3) Enterprise (Redding), 8-3, 37.3, NS D-I
3. (2) Oakdale, 11-1, 36.9, SJS D-III
4. (1) Rancho Cotate (Rohnert Park), 11-0, 35.4, NCS D-II
5. (4) Clayton Valley (Concord), 9-1, 34.4, NCS D-II
6. (NR) Inderkum (Sacramento), 10-2, 31.8, SJS D-III
7. (NR) American Canyon, 11-1, 31.2, SJS D-III
8. (5) St. Francis (Mountain View), 6-5, 31.1, CCS D-II
9. (NR) Concord, 10-2, 31.0, NCS D-II
10. (9) Vista del Lago (Folsom), 10-1, 29.1, SJS D-III

Notes: Paradise and Enterprise square off in Redding on Saturday in the Northern Section Division I championship and the winner there could receive one of the North Division II nods. Oakdale has the best chance of winning the other bid, although an undefeated Rancho Cotate team would be hard to deny.

South Division III
1. (1 last week) St. Augustine (San Diego), 10-1, 41.3, SDS D-IV
2. (2) Madison (San Diego), 10-1, 35.0, SDS D-IV
3. (4) Wasco, 11-0, 33.1, CS D-IV
4. (6) Paraclete (Lancaster), 11-1, 31.4, SS MID-VALLEY
5. (3) Nordhoff (Ojai), 11-1, 29.4, SS NORTHWEST
6. (7) Valley Center, 7-4, 29.0, SDS D-IV
7. (5) North (Torrance), 10-2, 28.4, SS NORTHWEST
8. (8) Monrovia, 10-2, 27.5, SS MID-VALLEY
9. (10) San Dimas, 11-1, 26.0, SS MID-VALLEY
10. (NR) Brawley, 10-1, 25.8, SDS D-IV

Notes: If St. Augustine and Madison win their semifinal matchups, they will square to likely gain one of the South Division III regional spots. Wasco still has a shot at the other regional spot, however Paraclete would also be hard to deny if it wins the Mid-Valley Division.

North Division III
1. (3 last week) Marin Catholic (Kentfield), 11-1, 41.0, NCS D-III
2. (2) Sutter, 12-0, 37.7, NS D-II
3. (5) Cardinal Newman (Santa Rosa), 11-1, 35.0, NCS D-III
4. (8) Analy (Sebastopol), 12-0, 33.5, NCS D-III
5. (4) El Cerrito, 12-0, 33.3, NCS D-III
6. (NR) Los Banos, 11-1, 32.9, SJS D-IV
7. (6) Valley Christian (San Jose), 5-6, 32.7, CCS D-III
8. (NR) Escalon, 10-2, 31.9, SJS D-IV
9. (10) Center (Antelope), 10-2, 31.2, SJS D-IV
10. (NR) West Valley (Cottonwood), 11-1, 29.8, NS D-II

Notes: The North Coast Section Division III quarterfinals are tough with only two losses among the four teams involved. Look for the winner there to receive one of the regional bids. With Placer knocked out of the Sac-Joaquin Section Division IV playoffs, Sutter has a chance to receive the other regional spot. Don't count out Central Catholic, which would qualify for the Division III regional even though it also qualifies for the Division IV regional due to its enrollment.

South Division IV
1. (1 last week) Bishop Diego (Santa Barbara), 12-0, 31.7, SS NORTHWEST
2. (2) Ontario Christian, 12-0, 23.8, SS EAST VALLEY
3. (5) Sierra Canyon (Chatsworth), 11-1, 22.7, SS MID-VALLEY
4. (3) Santa Fe Christian (Solana Beach), 8-3, 22.2, SDS D-V
5. (4) Mission Prep (San Luis Obispo), 10-1, 21.3, SS NORTHEAST
6. (6) Rio Hondo Prep (Arcadia), 10-1, 17.1, SS NORTHEAST
7. (8) Bakersfield Christian, 9-2, 15.1, CS D-IV
8. (9) Parker (San Diego), 7-4, 13.3, SDS D-V
9. (10) Christian (El Cajon), 8-3, 12.9, SDS D-V
10. (NR) Horizon (San Diego), 8-3, 10.3, SDS D-V

Notes: This one could come down to the San Diego Section Division V championship. The winner there should land one of the South Division IV regional spots. All of the Southern Section teams in the ratings must defeat a non-Division IV qualifying team to automatically qualify for selection.

North Division IV
1. (1 last week) Central Catholic (Modesto), 10-2, 38.5, SJS D-IV
2. (3) McClymonds (Oakland), 8-3, 17.7, OS
3. (4) Ferndale, 11-1, 14.3, NCS D-V
4. (6) Portola, 9-1, 7.2, NS D-IV
5. (8) St. Vincent de Paul (Petaluma), 10-2, 3.4, NCS D-V
6. (7) Le Grand, 10-2, 3.0, SJS D-V
7. (NR) Willows, 8-4, 2.5, NS D-III
8. (9) Chester, 9-1, 0.5, NS D-IV
9. (10) Brookside Christian (Stockton), 9-2, 0.2, SJS D-VI
10. (NR) St. Bernard's (Eureka), 7-5, -0.8, NCS D-V

Notes: Placer's loss was Central Catholic's gain. The Raiders are now the clear favorite to win the Sac-Joaquin Section Division IV championship. That would give the Raiders one of the Division IV bowl nods, however Central Catholic also qualifies for the Division III bowl game and could be chosen for that regional if it is the top qualifier. If the Raiders stay in the Division IV bowl, McClymonds likely gets the other regional spot. If Central Catholic moves up to Division III, Ferndale joins McClymonds in the Division IV regional.