(After games of Saturday, Oct. 31)

(Previous ranking in parentheses)

In the splitting hairs environment of the CIF state bowl game selection process, even though the Lions continue to do what they need to do, their chances for the open division took a hit when the best team they've played, Skyline of Sammamish, Wash., was upset in a game up in Washington last week by Bothell. Skyline could still bounce back and win a state title, but it would be more convincing to a CIF section commissioner if the Spartans' only loss was to the Lions. Oh well, the chips will fall where they fall and all the Oaks Christian players can do is beat the teams on their schedule. In last Friday's matchup, the Lions obliterated Oak Park of Agoura Hills, 59-0, for their 29th straight win. Jordan Payton caught four passes for 133 yards and three TDs, all from Nick Montana. In limited action, Montana went 6 of 10 for 176 yards. Malcolm Jones also didn't play very long and had seven carries for 113 yards and three TDs. This week, the Lions are on the road at Santa Clara of Oxnard.

It was a bye week for the Pacers, who will come into their game on Saturday at McClatchy of Sacramento with seven shutouts and just one touchdown allowed for the season. The blowout wins haven't prevented standout running back Devontae Butler to put up strong numbers with just a handful of second-half carries. Butler and the rest of the Pacers are still looking like the favorites for the Sac-Joaquin Section Div. II title, but it's also looking more and more like it will be a two-team battle involving St. Mary's of Stockton. The teams in the Sierra Foothill League (Rocklin, Del Oro, Granite Bay, etc.) just don't seem to be quite on the same level as Grant or St. Mary's.

Strange things can happen when the Cougars and their rivals from Dorsey get together and those two will face off this Friday at Crenshaw. There was no pre-Halloween scare for Crenshaw when it played Locke last Friday. The Shaw ended up with its highest scoring game yet in a 76-14 triumph. The Saints had no answer to slow down Crenshaw senior Geno Hall. He returned a kickoff 86 for a touchdown, threw a 68-yard touchdown pass and caught a 36-yard scoring pass. Marquis Thompson also did well as he threw three TD passes.

 

We have to admit that it is getting harder and harder to keep the Pirates in front of Edison. As the Chargers keep beating top-level opponents (such as Los Alamitos last week and perhaps unbeaten Fountain Valley this week), Oceanside is just strolling through the Valley League. The latest non-test occurred last Friday in a 57-0 mauling of Escondido Orange Glen. Rene Siluano had a strong game for the Pirates with six carries for 90 yards and three TDs. DeMario Coleman had a TD run as well and caught four passes for 83 yards and another score. QB Quentis Clark completed 10 of 17 passes for 172 yards, including a TD to Coleman. This week, Oceanside will try to keep on winning with a game at Valley Center.

The rivalry between the Chargers and Fountain Valley is one of the best in SoCal and this year's game on Friday at Cal-State Fullerton should be spine-tingling. Edison has been getting the bulk of the headlines and deservedly so, but the Barons have quietly won all of their games as well. In last weekend's game vs. Los Alamitos, the vaunted Charger offense was shut down to just 56 yards rushing and not that much more passing. Still, the team found new ways to win in a 27-10 victory. Markus Trujillo kicked field goals of 30 and 23 yards, Steven Malone went 37 yards for a touchdown on a fumble recovery and Luke Eddy returned a blocked field goal 82 yards for a score. 

While the Lancers didn't move up in the state rankings, they did go into this week's ESPN RISE FAB 50 national honor roll due to teams losing in Washington, Texas and Georgia. Lakewood's latest win was by 60-7 over a Millikan of Long Beach squad that was coming into the night after beating Long Beach Poly in its previous outing.  USC-bound QB Jesse Scroggins found the time to pass for 208 yards and three TDs. Terrance Woods grabbed one of those TD passes and also rushed for two scores. Rashad Wadood also shined with seven carries for 111 yards and three TDs. Lakewood has a bye on the schedule this week and then ends its regular season on Friday, Nov. 13 vs. Wilson of Long Beach.

It was a rocking-chair victory for the Spartans in a 56-0 whitewashing of Livermore. Terron Ward barely broke a sweat, carrying the ball a mere seven times, but finding paydirt on three of the rushes. He finished with 162 yards in two quarters of action. Coach Bob Ladouceur's boys continue their march towards another possible CIF bowl game appearance with a road game this week at up and down Pleasanton Foothill. 

 

The Rams' streak of five straight weeks scoring more points than the week before came to an end but it was more than enough to beat a struggling McNair of Stockton team, 66-0. Josh Harper finally returned a punt for a touchdown that wasn't called back due to a penalty on a 67-yard return while also scoring two receiving touchdowns and carrying one in for six points from 65 yards out. On the year, the Rams have scored 432 points, good for a 54 point per game average, while allowing an average of 14 points per game. Up next for St. Mary's is a home game this week against Tokay of Lodi.

One week after vanquishing the ghosts of last year's South Coast League loss to Tesoro with a resounding 60-14 victory, the Diablos showed no signs of a letdown against Aliso Niguel of Aliso Viejo. Dallas Kessman led the charge with three touchdowns and 144 yards rushing on only six carries as Mission Viejo led 56-0 at halftime en route to a 70-7 victory. According to the Orange County Register, the 70 points was a reported singe game school record. The only setback of the game for coach Bob Johnson's club occurred at the beginning of the game when defensive backs Jake Staszak of Mission Viejo and Anthony Robinson of Aliso Niguel were injured. Robinson was helped off on his own feet, but Staszak had a serious medical condition and encountered breathing difficulties. Staszak reportedly had a concussion and a possible fractured vertebra and it was difficult for the crowd to get into the game after that scary moment. Next up for Mission is a battle with longtime South Coast League nemesis San Clemente, which checks in with a 5-3 record.

The Friars were in a similar situation to Mission Viejo last week in that they were coming off an emotional victory over a rival and quickly had to regroup. In the case of Servite, it was following up its first victory over Mater Dei since 1988 with a solid showing against Santa Margarita. The Friars answered the call with a 48-26 victory in which a majority of the Eagles' 275 total yards were amassed after the game was already decided. Quarterback Cody Fajardo completed 13 of 15 passes for 195 yards and three different runners hit paydirt twice to set up next week's Trinity League showdown with Orange Lutheran. The Lancers are 5-3, but both teams are now 3-0 in league play and with the league's four other clubs all coming into week nine with at least two losses, the game will decide the Trinity League title. Since the league formed, no team has ever went through the rugged loop undefeated. 

It looked like the Musketeers were in good shape in the fourth quarter of their Marmonte League matchup last Friday against Thousand Oaks. A two touchdown lead, however, quickly disintegrated. The Lancers forced overtime, but it wasn't enough as Austin Edmonson's 25-yard run gave Moorpark a 28-21 victory. Edmonson ended with 20 carries for 144 yards and two TDs. Brody Rohach also completed 12 of 21 passes for 132 yards for the Musketeers. Moorpark takes on Agoura of Agoura Hills in this week's game and then it will be a likely showdown vs. unbeaten Westlake of Westlake Village for the Marmonte League title. 

With just one second left, Eric Solis made a 51-yard field goal to give the Knights a thrilling 23-21 win over Crespi of Encino. The Celts had just taken the lead themselves on a touchdown with 57 seconds remaining, but that was enough time for Notre Dame QB Ryan Kasdorf to complete four passes and get his team within Solis' range. For the game, Kasdorf hit on 17 of 25 passes for 245 yards and two TDs. Kenny Boggs also had a strong outing with 102 yards rushing. Head coach Kevin Rooney's team gets always-tough Loyola of Los Angeles this week. A win would set up a possible showdown against unbeaten Bishop Amat for the Serra League title.

Since a 26-20 overtime victory over Taft of Woodland Hills on October 9, the Cavaliers have been rolling in Del Rey League play, with St. Bernard of Playa del Rey being the latest victim. The Vikings didn't have much of a chance in this one as Serra needed just 14 offensive plays in the first half to score seven touchdowns en route to a 63-13 victory. Transfer receiver Paul Richardson Jr. had two touchdown catches from QB Connor Preston, who completed eight of nine passes for 221 yards and four touchdowns in one half of play. Serra hopes to keep the positive momentum going this week against 4-4 Bosco Tech of Rosemead before a league showdown with still unbeaten Cathedral of Los Angeles to close out the regular season.

The No. 1 team in the San Gabriel Valley region continues to find a way to pull out victories. The latest one came last Friday night in its 27-24 overtime Serra League victory over a fired-up squad from L.A. Loyola. The Cubs' Jerry Neuheisel shredded Amat's defense alive, completing 20 of 24 passes for 256 yards. One of the main reasons was his protection, as the Cubs did not yield a sack in regulation. In overtime, however, Amat's Davis Cazares sacked Neuheisel to force Loyola to boot a 34-yard field goal. That was the opening Amat needed, as QB Jerry McClanahan hit sophomore Rio Ruiz on a 14-yard touchdown to help Amat move to 8-0 for the first time since 1998. Amat actually tied the game up at 21 with one minute left in regulation on a one-yard touchdown run by Jay Anderson, who finished with 61 yards rushing. In '98, Amat defeated St, John Bosco, 41-20, to move to 9-0 and the Lancers' faithful is hoping history will repeat itself when the team takes on a talented 4-4 Crespi of Encino team that is battling for its playoff life.

The Seraphs keep moving up one spot a time since their overtime loss to Bishop Amat. They do it again this week after previous No. 15 Del Oro of Loomis drops out and their own 35-7 victory against Ventura High. Logan Meyer led the offense with 208 yards passing and three TDs. Devon Blackledge went over the 100-yard mark once again as well with 119 on the ground and one score. Coach Todd Therrien's squad should keep winning its final two regular season outings, including this week at home against Santa Barbara.

A.J. Fernandez once again showcased his versatility with 22 carries for 160 yards and two TDs plus a 19-yard TD catch in a 41-14 blitz of Rialto Carter. Newly committed QB Tyler Shreve (Colorado State) also completed 9 of 17 passes for 156 yards and a pair of scores. REV does have a quality win over Orange Lutheran, but there hasn't been much else to go on in order to move up in the rankings. The next two weeks, first with A.B. Miller of Fontana this week and then arch-rival Redlands, will be telling.

Escondido's Ricky Seale became the CIF San Diego Section's career rushing leader during his team's game against the Mavericks last Friday, but other than that it was a myriad of LCC highlights. The team's 44-24 win was impressive and should pay off with a much higher ranking in the coming weeks as a few of the teams above will be playing in showdown games. The running game was the key against the Cougars as Weston Manor piled up 166 yards and three TDs on 16 carries and Seth Hanson had 163 yards and one score on 14 attempts. The Mavericks host Fallbrook in this week's game.

The Central Section's top-ranked team continues its perfect season and gets a one-spot bump after a 28-7 win on the road against cross-town Tri-River Athletic Conference rival Clovis. Big, bruising 6-0, 215-pound senior running back Nigel Simmons had all four of the Bears' touchdowns and rushed for 127 yards on 14 carries. Simmons now has 15 rushing TDs this season. Coach Mike Vogt's squad makes another cross-town trip this week to play 3-5 Clovis East.

Either Hart of Newhall is not what it used to be or Valencia is more than a pretty good football team. That's what one could deduce after the Vikings' topped the Indians, 56-7, last Friday in a Foothill League contest. It's probably a little of both, but what is true is Valencia's Steven Manfro is becoming a major standout. For the second straight week, Manfro scored five TDs in a game. In this game, he rushed for four and caught a fifth. Alex Bishop also shined with 230 passing yards and three TDs plus 13 carries for 72 yards and another score. Up next for the Vikings is Saugus.

Kelsey Young joined Deantre Lewis as part of a big-time 1-2 rushing punch as the Cougars beat M.L. King of Riverside, 32-13. Lewis has been the primary threat for coach Todd Gerhart this season and did have 187 yards rushing and two TDs against King. Young just did better with 20 carries for 223 yards. The win set up Norco nicely for its Big VIII League showdown this week at Centennial of Corona. 

In order to put the Huskies and Norco right next to each other in this week's rankings prior to their Friday meeting, we left Norco at No. 20 and moved up Centennial to No. 21. The Huskies might be one spot lower for now, but arguably should be favored to beat Norco based on how they've done in recent weeks. Last Friday, for example, Centennial faced a Santiago of Corona team that gave Norco a close game and it was no contest, 52-21. Defensive end Lee Adams was the star for the Huskies with two interceptions and three sacks. One of the picks was run back for a touchdown. Michael Arredondo completed 7 of 8 passes for 129 yards and two TDs while Dion Bass had 24 carries for 130 yards and one score.

The Broncos stayed hot in the Southwestern League with a 45-7 win against Temecula Valley of Temecula. The play of the game was a 99-yard kickoff return to start the second half by Jovonte Slater, who earlier scored on a 23-yard scamper. QB Derrick Brown directed an offense that ran for 267 yards and also threw a TD pass. This week, Vista Murrieta will take on Great Oak of Temecula.

With CalHiSports.com roaming the sidelines, the visiting Dons started a little sluggish, trailing 10-0 early before waking up to take a 35-16 victory from host Danville San Ramon, in a game played Saturday afternoon after being re-scheduled when lights failed on Friday night. Rock-solid 5-11, 190-pound senior dual threat quarterback Kean Stancil showed why he's one of the Bay Area's most exciting players. He scored the Dons' first touchdown on an explosive 45-yard run up the gut and also passed for two TDs. Matt Banahan had a punt return and an interception return for scores and had two additional interceptions. Since an East Bay Athletic League opening loss to De La Salle, veteran Coach Rick Sira's squad has won four-straight in league, and last week made its first appearance in the state rankings since 2004. Next up is a home game against last-place Livermore.

What a week for the Barons to jump into the top 25 as they take on No. 5 Edison in the most highly-anticipated "Battle for the Bell" game in many years. Fountain Valley kept pace with its fierce rival from nearby Huntington Beach with a 37-32 victory last week over always-tough Newport Harbor. The Barons were able to overcome a series of penalties and mishaps to pull out the victory behind RB Kyle Middlebrooks and QB Dominic Ragland. The speedy Middlebrooks rushed for 139 yards and scored two touchdowns while Ragland added 108 yards and two scores on the ground. Ragland added 102 yards passing to help offset eight penalties and four points allowed on two safeties. The "Battle for the Bell" game was born in 1969 when Edison, without seniors, beat a heavily favored Barons team to knock them from the playoffs. In 1980, Edison went 14-0 and beat Fountain Valley, 15-14, on a two-point conversion and again in the CIF Southern Section Big Five finals before nearly 30,000 fans at Anaheim Stadium. This year's sold-out contest will be played at Cal-State Fullerton and if Fountain Valley is to have any chance, it will have to play a smarter game than they did last week.

It wasn't easy, but the Knights held off host Sanger, and held onto the final spot with a 20-14 victory at Tom Flores Stadium over the upset-minded Apaches, emboldened by an upset the week before over Fresno Edison. Bullard scored all its points in the second half and trailed 14-6 in the third quarter. The two TDs that sealed the deal came in the fourth quarter with Jordan Jones running in one from 28 yards and Devan Mack capping it off with a 2-yard plunge with 5:16 left to play. Next up is 5-3 Edison, coached by former San Francisco 49er Tim McDonald.

Dropped Out: Previous No. 15 Del Oro (Loomis)

Archbishop Mitty (San Jose) 7-0-1, Bellarmine (San Jose) 6-1-1, Berkeley 8-0, Citrus Hill (Perris) 8-0, Dana Hills (Dana Point) 7-1, Del Oro (Loomis) 7-1, Granite Bay 6-2, Mission Bay (San Diego) 8-0, Oakdale 8-0, Rocklin 8-0, Tulare 8-0, Westlake (Westlake Village) 8-0.

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