By Mark Tennis, Ronnie Flores & Steve Brand

This is the 30th year in which CalHiSports.com has been providing weekly state rankings. At the end of the season, we will be releasing final rankings according to our traditional five divisions based on league and playoff strength. Check this site on Wednesdays during the current season for updates.
*Indicates team's season is over and will not be eligible for bowl game consideration.
**Indicates team has won section title and is now eligible for bowl game consideration.
    
Division I North
1. (1) De La Salle (Concord) 10-1
2. (3) Grant (Sacramento) 11-0
3. (4) Bellarmine Prep (San Jose) 11-1
4. (2) Oak Grove (San Jose) 11-1*
5. (7) Pittsburg 10-1
6. (5) Junipero Serra (San Mateo) 8-4*
7. (8) Foothill (Pleasanton) 9-2
8. (9) Merced 11-1
9. (nr) San Ramon Valley (Danville) 8-3
10. (6) Monte Vista (Danville) 8-3*
Others: California (San Ramon) 7-5*, Freedom (Oakley) 10-2*, Granite Bay 9-2*, Laguna Creek (Elk Grove) 9-3, Lincoln (Stockton) 10-2*, North Salinas (Salinas) 9-2*, Pleasant Grove (Elk Grove) 10-2.
Rundown: De La Salle, Grant, Bellarmine Prep. The three front-runners for the Northern California Open and Division I State Championship Bowl berths will be squaring off against teams they have already beaten this weekend and for two of them it will be for a section title. If Grant can repeat or even better its 35-13 win over Burbank of Sacramento Friday in the Sac-Joaquin Division II championships at Folsom High and Bellarmine Prep can stop a Valley Christian team it edged earlier, 27-16, in Friday's Central Coast Open Division championship at San Jose City College, the two will conclude their seasons and turn their attention to De La Salle. The Spartans host Foothill of Pleasanton, a team they crushed 63-7 in East Bay Athletic League play, but still have a North Coast Section Division I title match Dec. 12 at Dublin High. If all three win out, one will end up on the outside looking in when bowl berths are determined Dec. 14. Bellarmine Prep's 25-7 victory in the grudge game against Junipero Serra of San Mateo last week puts the Bells right back into the big picture. Keep an eye on Pitt as well. The Pirates could be the ones to play DLS in that NCS final and if they were to pull off the upset they'd be bowl eligible with just one loss and that loss came on a last-second field goal to Monte Vista of Danville.

Division I South
1. (1) Poly (Long Beach) 12-0
2. (2) Centennial (Corona) 12-0
3. (3) Tesoro (Las Flores) 12-0
4. (4) Chaparral (Temecula) 11-1
5. (nr) Lakewood 10-2
6. (8) Rancho Cucamonga 11-0-1
7. (9) Narbonne (Harbor City) 11-1
8. (6) Mission Viejo 10-2*
9. (13) Clovis West (Fresno) 9-3
10. (nr) Saugus 9-3
11. (14) San Pedro 11-1
12. (nr) Murrieta Valley (Murrieta) 9-3
13. (nr) Clovis East (Clovis) 9-3
14. (5)  A.B. Miller (Fontana) 11-1*
15. (12) Esperanza (Anaheim) 8-4*
Others: Buchanan (Clovis) 9-3*, Edison (Huntington Beach) 7-3*, La Costa Canyon (Carlsbad) 9-2, Los Osos (Rancho Cucamonga) 10-2, Los Alamitos 8-3*, Loyola (Los Angeles) 6-4*, Norco 8-4, Redlands East Valley (Redlands) 10-2*, San Clemente 8-3*, Taft (Woodland Hills) 11-1, Thousand Oaks 10-2*.
Rundown: Fast-rising Lakewood is making a nice late-season run and gets another shot at top-ranked Long Beach Poly after losing to the Jackrabbits, 32-15, during Moore League play. The Lancers are clearly a spoiler with not much hope for a bowl bid because while their above record indicates what they have accomplished on the field, the Lancers have four forfeit losses which the CIF section commissioners would not overlook. Still, it should be fun Friday because Lakewood has the home field advantage and Poly certainly isn't rolling over its opponents in the post-season. The other Pac-5 game is for the unofficial Orange County championship. Unbeaten Tesoro of Las Flores, which is new to this level of playoff pressure, must travel to the Santa Ana Bowl to play a Lutheran crew that won the first state Division II Bowl Championship two years ago and is coming off a huge 24-14 win over Notre Dame of Sherman Oaks at the same venue. That win was so impressive, the Lancers leapfrogged Cathedral Catholic of San Diego into the driver's seat in Div. II South and should Tesoro win out No. 2 Centennial will have to look awfully impressive in the CIFSS Inland Division playoffs to hold off the Titans.

Division II North
1. (2) Valley Christian (San Jose) 10-2
2. (1) Casa Roble (Orangevale) 12-0
3. (3) St. Mary's (Stockton) 10-2
4. (4) Whitney (Rocklin) 11-0
5. (5) Novato 10-2
6. (6) Campolindo (Moraga) 10-1
7. (7) Inderkum (Sacramento) 11-1
8. (8) Paradise 11-1**
9. (9) Miramonte (Orinda) 10-2
10. (10) Encinal (Alameda) 11-0
Others: Dixon 9-2, Escalon 11-1*, Las Lomas (Walnut Creek) 9-3, Pioneer (San Jose) 10-2*; Sacred Heart Cathedral (San Francisco) 7-5.
Rundown: In both Division II races, teams jumped others that won. Here's how that works while the state is adamant that they will not count margin of victory, that applies if one team rolls up a score on another. However, if one team scores an impressive win, like Valley Christian of San Jose edging previous Division I No. 2 Oak Grove, 23-20, and the No. 1 team does not play as strong an opponent, movement can, and does, happen. The stay, however, could be short as Valley Christian seeks to reverse a 27-16 loss to Bellarmine Prep Friday night at San Jose CC in the Central Coast Section Open championships. Casa Roble won't have it easy against No. 7 Inderkum in the Sac-Joaquin Division III championships Saturday afternoon at Oakmont High. Still, if Valley Christian beats Bellarmine, it's hard to see how any other team can get this berth. Even if St. Mary's of Stockton were to win the Sac-Joaquin Section Div. I title, the Rams would clearly be behind Valley Christian due to the common opponent factor involving Bellarmine. With a Valley Christian loss and a St. Mary's title, though, the pick between St. Mary's and Casa Roble could then potentially get real interesting. It's not as clear-cut as Casa Roble vs. Valley Christian, but from strength of schedule standpoint St. Mary's might have slight edge. Now it has been a month since any team in this division's Top 10 has lost. That ends this week because teams will be playing each other but it must be some kind of record. We also have to mention Sacred Heart Cathedral, which won a coin flip at 5-5 in the regular season to get into the CCS small school division. Why a team from the West Catholic Athletic League got put into any small school division is a mystery, but the Irish so far have rolled through that division and play Sacred Heart Prep of Atherton in the final. If the Irish win, as expected, they would become bowl eligible in this division and they are the other team besides Bellarmine to pin a loss against Valley Christian. It's possible the section commissioners could go strictly by their head-to-head criteria and would then pick Sacred Heart Cathedral possibly ahead of Valley Christian. That, of course, would be hard to believe, similar to Oregon State still being able to go to the Rose Bowl because of its head-to-head win over USC. That's because Rose Bowl berths and CIF bowl berths have and should have league standings as even more of a criteria than head-to-head. While SHC did beat Valley Christian, the Irish also got rocked three times in league play and finished behind the Warriors in final league standings.

Division II South
1. (3) Lutheran (Orange) 10-2
2. (1) Notre Dame (Sherman Oaks) 11-1*
3. (2) Cathedral Catholic (San Diego) 11-0
4. (4) Oceanside 10-0-1
5. (5) Moorpark 11-1
6. (7) Alemany (Mission Hills) 11-1
7. (6) Mater Dei (Santa Ana) 8-4*
8. (8) Servite (Anaheim) 7-4*
9. (9) Tulare Union 12-0
10. (10) Citrus Hill (Perris) 12-0
11. (13) Helix (La Mesa) 9-1-1
12. (12) Bishop Amat (La Puente) 8-3*
13. (14) Edison (Fresno) 9-2
14. (11) Atascadero 9-3*
15.  (nr) Charter Oak (Covina) 11-0-1
Others: Barstow 9-3, Crespi (Encino) 6-4*, El Diamante (Visalia) 10-1, Hanford 10-1, Laguna Hills 11-0, Paso Robles 9-3*, St. John Bosco (Bellflower) 7-3*.
Rundown: The noise you hear are the Cathedral Catholic of San Diego faithful wondering how the Dons could beat Point Loma of San Diego, a team they pounded for the section title a year ago, 20-14, and not only not take over the No. 1 spot, but drop one position. The answer is relatively easy as Lutheran of Orange scored an impressive 24-14 win over front-running and previously unbeaten Notre Dame of Sherman Oaks, a team rated as high as No. 2 in the nation in some polls. Notre Dame, in turn, didn't lose big enough to drop very far, so for this week the Knights are ranked in front of Cathedral but of course are no longer bowl eligible as noted. This week, Div. I South contender Tesoro has a couple thousand new fans as Cathedral would love to see Lutheran fall to the Las Flores school in an all-Orange County Pac-5 showdown. Although Lutheran is ahead of Cathedral Catholic this week, winning its last two games to become bowl eligible will be a very difficult task and should they accomplish that, the Lancers overall resume would be very strong despite losses to Bishop Amat of La Puente and Servite of Anaheim during the regular season. In its own backyard, Cathedral has Oceanside looking very strong again after blanking a talented Lincoln of San Diego team, 41-0. When the Pirates suffered their tie against Ramona, the reason it looked like Cathedral Catholic might have the edge is because the Dons might have been able to post a win over Ramona in the playoffs. That now won't happen since Ramona lost last week. Throw in the 41-0 and 20-14 scores from last week and the Oceanside vs. Cathedral Catholic debate may have flipped among many in San Diego toward the Pirates.

Division III North
1. (1) Cardinal Newman (Santa Rosa) 11-0
2. (2) Central Catholic (Modesto) 11-1
3. (3) Sutter 10-1**
4. (4) Palma (Salinas) 8-3*
5. (5) Marin Catholic (Kentfield) 9-2
6. (7) Sacred Heart Prep (Atherton) 11-0-1
7. (9) Hilmar 11-1
8. (6) West Valley (Cottonwood) 9-3*
9. (8) King's Academy (Sunnyvale) 10-1-1*
10. (10) Carmel 8-2*
Others: Colfax 6-4*, Justin-Siena (Napa) 8-4, Menlo School (Atherton) 6-5*, Piedmont 7-3*, Willows 10-2*.
Rundown: It was a strong win of 38-6 by Central Catholic of Modesto over highly-regarded Division II Escalon, but barring a Cardinal Newman loss to either Campolindo of Moraga Friday in the North Coast Section Division II semifinals or in the championship game, the Cardinals would appear to be a lock to be going back to Carson for the second time in three years. The commissioners should thank their lucky stars that Central Catholic and Cardinal Newman play each other every season. Also, congratulations to retiring Sutter head coach Scott Turner, who goes out after a 12-7 win over West Valley in the Northern Section Div. II final. It's not completely official that Turner has coached his last game, but the odds of both Cardinal Newman and Central Catholic losing in the next two weeks are about the same as the Earth being hit by an asteroid.

Division III South
1. (1) St. Bonaventure (Ventura) 11-1
2. (2) Oaks Christian (Westlake Village) 12-0
3. (3) Serra (Gardena) 12-0
4. (4) Bakersfield Christian 10-1
5. (7) Corcoran 11-0
6. (9) Chowchilla 10-1
7. (10) Paraclete (Lancaster) 9-3
8.  (nr) Twentynine Palms 9-3
9.  (6)  St. Joseph (Santa Maria) 10-2*
10. (nr) Fowler 10-1
Others: Coronado 9-2, Exeter 9-2*, Harvard-Westlake (N. Hollywood) 8-3-1*, Maranatha (Sierra Madre) 11-1, Morro Bay 8-4, St. Paul (Santa Fe Springs) 4-6*.
Rundown: The CIF commissioners are going to have real fun with this division. Remember, St. Bonaventure¹s only loss was to overall state No. 1 Long Beach Poly, 12-7, and the Jackrabbits have positioned themselves for a berth in the Open or Div. I bowl game. Season-long No. 2 Oaks Christian had hoped Poly would drop another game or lose early in the CIFSS Pac-5 playoffs, taking some glimmer off the Seraphs' close loss. And what about Serra of Gardena? If it can defeat Oaks Christian in the CIFSS Northwest Division title game they too would have a strong resume, especially if Taft of Woodland Hills advances to the L.A. City Section title game. There still is potentially two big games to be played by the above-mentioned teams so these bowl game scenarios still need to be played out.
    
Small Schools North
1. (2) Hamilton (Hamilton City) 10-2**
2. (3) Modoc (Alturas) 12-0**
3. (4) St. Vincent (Petaluma) 10-1
4. (1) Ferndale 10-1
5. (nr) St. Elizabeth (Oakland) 8-4
Others: Bradshaw Christian (Sacramento) 10-2**, Capital Christian (Sacramento) 5-6*, Fall River (McArthur) 10-2*, Modesto Christian 9-2*, Portola 10-2*, Rio Vista 10-2*, Vacaville Christian 9-2*.
Rundown: Eight weeks ago, Hamilton of Hamilton City lost its second game of the season and dropped out of the elite Top 5. But the Braves won their last seven, including the 21-14 overtime victory over Willows for the Northern Section Div. III title on Thanksgiving Day, and now will have to wait to see if they get that Northern California Small School bid. Modoc, of the same section, has a pretty good argument, too, as these Braves beat Fall River of McArthur during the regular season and Fall River went on to win the Northern Division V title. Hamilton would seem to have a strength of schedule edge and a slight edge looking at common opponents Mt. Shasta and Portola. We also like the fact that Hamilton played Menlo School of Atherton to a 21-17 loss compared to a 29-17 loss that Justin-Siena of Napa had against the same team. Justin-Siena, which plays in the same league as Novato and Marin Catholic, was the team that just knocked off front-running small school Ferndale in the North Coast Section Division IV playoffs. Even fast-finishing St. Vincent of Petaluma could make an argument if it beats St. Elizabeth in the North Coast Section title game this week.

Small Schools South
1.    (1.) St. Margaret's (San Juan Capistrano) 12-0
2.    (2.) Francis Parker (San Diego) 10-1
3.    (4.) Central Valley Christian (Visalia) 9-2
4.    (5) Christian (El Cajon) 10-1
5.    (nr) Mission Prep (San Luis Obispo) 9-1
Others: Aquinas (San Bernardino) 10-2*, Brentwood (Los Angeles) 10-2*, Linfield Christian (Temecula) 10-2, Rio Hondo Prep (Arcadia) 8-3, Santa Clara (Oxnard) 9-2*, Santa Fe Christian (Solana Beach) 6-5*.
Rundown: Top-ranked St. Margaret's has been running roughshod over every opponent, so the rest of this division can take heart after Yucca Valley played the Tartans fairly close before falling, 17-6, in the CIFSS East Valley Division playoffs. When the playoffs started, many thought Aquinas of San Bernardino would be the team to challenge Harry Welch's club, but Div. III South club Twentynine Palms' 40-0 rout of the Falcons suddenly thrusts the Wildcats into the spoiler role in the East Valley Division. First up for St. Margaret's will be a strong Maranatha of Sierra Madre team this Friday. Looking ahead, a highly anticipated rematch between Parker and Christian of El Cajon would take place in the CIFSDS Div. V finals should both win semifinal games this week. Parker would have a strong resume with two more wins, but St. Margaret's would break the Orange County record of 41 consecutive victories should it win its division title so it will be a close call in this division.

Comments or corrections? Email mark@studentsports.com and make sure to leave a comment so others can check out what you have to say.