Best 15 teams from the north and top 20 from the south are pegged in order, according to system that has been utilized for 30 years. Cathedral Catholic and Berkeley among those on the way up.

By Mark Tennis, Executive Editor

(After games of Saturday, Sept. 26)
(Previous ranking in parentheses)

Note: For the second straight year, we are forced to cut off the North and the South with the CIF Central Section schools in the South. This matches the CIF Open Division bowl game format which pits the top teams from each region against each other regardless of school enrollment. We continue to maintain that due to population factors that the Central Section should be in the north and have always split teams in our rankings that way. We will continue to include Central Section in the north whenever possible.

Northern California Overall Top 15
(CIF North Open Division)

1. (1) Grant (Sacramento) 4-0
2. (2) De La Salle (Concord) 1-2
3. (3) Monte Vista (Danville) 3-0
4. (4) St. Mary's (Stockton) 3-0
5. (5) Granite Bay 3-0
6. (6) Serra (San Mateo) 2-1
7. (7) Foothill (Pleasanton) 3-0
8. (8) Del Oro (Loomis) 3-0
9. (10) Lincoln (Stockton) 3-0
10. (11) Pleasant Grove (Elk Grove) 2-1
11. (13) Central Catholic (Modesto) 3-0
12. (14) Palma (Salinas) 2-1
13. (15) St. Francis (Mountain View) 3-1
14. (NR) Milpitas 3-0
15. (NR) Berkeley 3-0

Rundown: Del Oro will be the next team from the north to go into the state overall top 25. The Golden Eagles followed up their big win against Cardinal Newman of Santa Rosa in which Bryce Pratt scored six touchdowns with a 62-12 romp past Franklin of Elk Grove. The best team in Elk Grove, Pleasant Grove, which played in the CIF Sac-Joaquin Section Div. I final last year, rolled over Laguna Creek, 48-7, and has come back strongly from its opening 29-28 loss to Lincoln of Stockton. The Trojans have ridden that win up to No. 9 this week, but reality may set in on Friday when they play St. Mary's. Of the newcomers, Berkeley went in by beating previous No. 12 Pittsburg, 18-16. The Yellowjackets now are likely to go 10-0 for the regular season and secure a fairly high seed in the North Coast Section Div. I playoffs.

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With Del Oro going up to the top in D2 North, all three No. 1 teams from Northern California in D1, D2 and D3 are from the Sac-Joaquin Section. They are all likely to be in the same section playoffs, too, meaning only one will be eligible for the CIF bowl games.

By Mark Tennis & Steve Brand
Contributing: Paul Muyskens, Harold Abend, Ronnie Flores

(Previous ranking in parentheses)
(After games of Saturday, Sept. 19)
(Listed with result of most recent game)

Division I South
1. (2) Oceanside 3-0 def. Mira Mesa (San Diego), 38-0
2. (3) Lakewood 2-1 def. Mayfair (Lakewood) 35-7
3. (4) Edison (Huntington Beach) 3-0 def. Dana Hills (Dana Point) 34-17
4. (5) Mission Viejo 3-0 def. Corona 45-14
5. (8) Rancho Cucamonga 3-0 def. Carter (Rialto) 49-18
6. (9) Redlands East Valley (Redlands) 2-0 def. San Gorgonio 56-10
7. (12) La Costa Canyon (Carlsbad) 3-0 Chula Vista 38-21
8. (14) Carson 1-1 lost to Serra (Gardena) 27-17
9. (1) Centennial (Corona) 2-1 lost to Mater Dei (Santa Ana) 31-13
10. (7) Chaparral (Temecula) 1-1 def. Paloma Valley, 40-14
11. (6) Taft (Woodland Hills) 1-1 lost to Notre Dame (SO) 45-27
12. (10) Valencia 2-0 def. Birmingham (Van Nuys) 56-31
13. (11) Bullard (Fresno) 3-0 def. Clovis 48-14
14. (13) Escondido 3-0 def. El Camino (Oceanside) 31-7
15. (15) Buchanan (Clovis) 2-0 def. Redwood (Visalia) 43-21
16. (16) Los Alamitos 2-0 def. Fremont (L.A.) 55-0
17. (17) Fountain Valley 3-0 def. Temescal Canyon 34-10
18. (18) Poly (Long Beach) 1-2 def. Narbonne (Harbor City) 28-14
19. (19) Vista Murrieta (Murrieta) 2-0 def. Santiago (Corona) 35-7
20. (20) Cajon (San Bernardino) 3-0 def. Sultana (Hesperia) 41-0

On the bubble: Compton 2-0, Dana Hills (Dana Point) 2-1, El Camino Real Woodland Hills) 3-0, Etiwanda 2-1, Hart (Newhall) 2-1, Roosevelt (Corona) 2-0, Narbonne (Harbor City) 1-1, Newport Harbor (Newport Beach) 2-0, Upland 3-0, Vista 2-0, Westlake (Westlake Village) 2-0.

Breakdown: Corona Centennial's shockingly lopsided loss (31-13) to Mater Dei of Santa Ana drops the Huskies seven spots, which is still better than they fared in the State Top 25. Now the focus turns to Oceanside, a Division II powerhouse that moved up when the state redrew the CBED lines. The Pirates haven't lost a game in their last 28 starts (one tie) and captured the state Division II bowl title two seasons ago. It won't take long to see if Oceanside, the first San Diego Section team to lead this division in decades, deserves the lofty rating as it hosts Long Beach Poly Friday. A loss would not be shocking, as the Pirates are the smallest of the small in this division but loaded with talent. The Jackrabbits' two losses, remember, are to St. Bonaventure of Ventura and Servite of Anaheim. There are really very few DI vs. DI headliners this week but some great cross division games like No. 4 Edison (Huntington Beach) vs. DII No. 1 Servite (Anaheim) Friday at Huntington Beach High, DII Alemany (Mission Hills) is at No. 6 Taft (Woodland Hills) and DII No. 9 Charter Oak (Covina) hosts No. 9 Rancho Cucamonga among the Top 10 teams.

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Check this post as well for our pick of who's hot and who's not and get a sense of how this week's best prep football teams in the state stack up next to each other.

1. Oaks Christian (Westlake Village) 3-0 def. Skyline (Samammish, Wash.), 28-25
2. St. Bonaventure (Ventura) 3-0 def. Jordan of Los Angeles, 42-21
3. Grant (Sacramento) 3-0 def. Bellevue (Wash.), 14-0
4. Servite (Anaheim) 3-0 def. No. 18 Crespi of Encino, 38-28
5. Crenshaw (Los Angeles) 3-0 def. A.B. Miller of Fontana, 59-12
6. Centennial (Corona) 1-1 lost to Mater Dei of Santa Ana, 31-13
7. Oceanside 3-0 def. Mira Mesa of San Diego, 38-0
8. Lakewood 2-1 def. Mayfair of Lakewood, 35-7
9. De La Salle (Concord) 1-1 idle
10. Monte Vista (Danville) 2-0 def. Pittsburg, 45-25
11. Edison (Huntington Beach) 3-0 def. Dana Hills of Dana Pointe) 34-17
12. St. Mary's (Stockton) 2-0 def. Bellarmine of San Jose, 34-10
13. Mission Viejo 3-0 def. Corona, 45-14
14. Moorpark 3-0 def. Ventura, 31-7
15. Notre Dame (Sherman Oaks) 2-1 def. Taft of Woodland Hills, 45-27
16. Granite Bay 2-0 def. Burbank of Sacramento, 22-6
17. Serra (Gardena) 3-0 def. Carson, 27-17
18. Crespi (Encino) 2-1 lost to No. 4 Servite of Anaheim, 38-28
19. Taft (Woodland Hills) 1-1 lost to No. 15 Notre Dame of Sherman Oaks, 45-27
20. Lutheran (Orange) 1-1 def. Tustin, 46-20
21. Chaparral (Temecula) 1-1 def. Paloma Valley of Menifee, 40-14
22. Alemany (Mission Hills) 2-1 def. Knight of Palmdale, 45-16
23. Rancho Cucamonga 3-0 def. Carter of Rialto, 49-18
24. Serra (San Mateo) 2-1 def. Encinal of Alameda, 28-13
25. Redlands East Valley (Redlands) 2-0 def. San Gorgonio of San Bernardino, 56-10

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Here are the top highlights from a day that began at Jesuit High in Carmichael for the opening minutes of the host Marauders' football game against state-ranked St. Mary's of Stockton. It ended by catching most of the action at the first Battle at the Capital held at Folsom High's Prairie City Stadium.

By Mark Tennis, Executive Editor

Best Player of the Day: Josh Harper (St. Mary's, Stockton)
The Cal-bound wideout grabbed a two-yard TD pass from Marcus McDade to get the Rams going on their eventual 48-3 romp past Jesuit. Just a few minutes later, he had a sizzling punt return called back on a penalty in which he was ruled out-of-bounds at the one-yard line. Harper shows no effects of his ankle injury from last season and leads a contingent of offensive weapons at St. Mary's that has no equal in Northern California.

Second Best Player of the Day: Erick Dargan (Pittsburg)
The returning all-state underclass player scored on a 19-yard run, set up another score with some punishing runs on the Pirates' second scoring drive and made plays all over the field as a defensive back. Dargan has become much more powerful as a senior at 6-0, 205 pounds without losing quickness or speed. He looks like a sure-fire Pac-10 level recruit possibly at safety and maybe even as a running back.

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Outstanding play at the quarterback position shouldn't be a problem at Orange Lutheran, which is the feature team in today's latest installment of this preseason football series. For the other three schools featured – Vanden of Travis AFB, Paloma Valley of Menifee and Del Oro of Loomis – the quarterback will need to come through for those teams to go far in the playoffs.

Note: A coach or representative of the school should email or fax in a questionnaire in order for that school's team to be included in this feature. You can CLICK HERE to print out a questionnaire or make a photo copy of the one printed in the back of the seventh edition of the ESPN RISE CalHiSports.com Record Book and Almanac we sent to schools last March. If you can't print a questionnaire, review the categories below and simply fill in the blanks. We will add our own comments and analysis. Please fax completed questionnaire to (209) 463-1219 or email info to mark@studentsports.com.

Team Name: Lutheran (Orange)
Head Coach: Jim Kunau (165-38-3 overall)
Last Year's Records: 10-3, 5-5 for J.V.
Returning Starters: 7 (5 offense, 2 defense)
Players Most Deserving of Preseason Honors: LB/RB Garret Gilliland, OL/DL Sean McEvilly, K/P Parker Flynn
Newcomers Who Could Make An Impact: OLB Lorenzo Devers and OL/DL Christian Licciardi
Coach's General Outlook: We should have a good core of linebackers and good experience at the skill positions on offense. We will have to replace three offensive linemen and the entire secondary from last year's team.
Other Teams To Watch From The Area (listed by coach): Servite (Anaheim)
All-league level players with GPAs above 3.50: LB/RB Garret Gilliland, QB Bobby Wheatley, RB Damani Wilson
CalHiSports.com Comments: Kunau has established himself as one of the most creative coaches in Southern California and he should be creative this year with Wheatley returning at quarterback. This year's team also should benefit greatly by having its "quarterback” returning on defense as Gilliland ranks as one of the best linebackers in Orange County. The loss of transfer running back Exavier Edwards to Mission Viejo will hurt the depth, but Wilson is super-quick and he should help make up for that loss on the front end of the rushing attack. The Lancers will be one of the first teams in the state to open the season this year with a game on Saturday, Aug. 30 against Central Pickerington of Ohio.

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Still No. 1 heading into the crazy week of section finals are Long Beach Poly (D1), Mater Dei (D2), Sacred Heart Cathedral (D3), Bishop's of La Jolla (D4) and Bell-Jeff of Burbank (D5).

By Steve Brand & Mark Tennis

Selection Sunday for the California Interscholastic Federation in basketball isn't quite the same as it is in football.

In basketball, especially on the girls side, there aren't too many difficult choices over which teams should be seeded higher due to head-to-head results, strength of schedule and other factors.

This year's seeding meeting for both the Northern and Southern California regional playoffs will take place this Sunday with games being played in Division I the next evening.

Unlike the boys state divisional rankings, the girls this week were much more stable with only six new teams despite the section playoffs going into later rounds.

The only top five team to lose was No. 3 Troy of Fullerton in Division I, but the Warriors' loss was to No. 1 Long Beach Poly. This week, the Jackrabbits play No. 2 Cajon in the CIFSS Division I final.

One new team going into the Division I rankings this week is Poway of the San Diego Section. The Titans won their 21st straight game with a 71-38 victory over Grossmont in the section quarterfinals last week and improved to 28-2.

Another newly-ranked team is 25-1 Del Oro of Loomis in Division III. The Golden Eagles have been an outstanding team in the Sac-Joaquin Section for the last several seasons, but are always in the shadow of Stockton St. Mary's and Sacramento, which also are in that division. Del Oro was scheduled to play Sac High in the semifinals this week. In the team's 43-32 win over El Camino of Sacramento in the quarterfinals, Katie Pulliam led in scoring with 12 points. She leads a balanced team with 10.4 ppg.

(Rankings based on results through Saturday, Feb. 28; previous ranking in parentheses; *indicates season complete; **indicates team has lost in its section playoffs but could still be placed in regional bracket.)

Division I
1.   (1)   Poly (Long Beach) 27-2
2.   (2)   Cajon (San Bernardino) 29-2
3.   (4)    Clovis West (Fresno) 22-5
4.   (5)    Monte Vista (Danville) 23-2
5.   (3)    Troy (Fullerton) 28-2*
6.   (6)    Berkeley  22-5
7.   (9)    Deer Valley (Antioch) 21-6
8.   (10)  Canyon Springs (Moreno Valley) 24-6
9.   (8)    Colony (Ontario) 26-3
10. (nr)   Poway  28-2
Bubble: Ayala (Chino Hills) 22-8*, Chatsworth 22-8, Etiwanda (Rancho Cucamonga) 21-8*, Kennedy (Sacramento) 23-6, Millikan (Long Beach) 23-6*, Santa Monica 23-7*, Ventura 22-7*.

Division II
1.   (1)    Mater Dei (Santa Ana) 29-0
2.   (2)    Brea Olinda (Brea) 28-2
3.   (3)    Hanford   23-4
4.   (4)    Oak Ridge (El Dorado Hills) 25-3
5.   (5)    Carondelet (Concord) 24-3
6.   (8)    Edison (Huntington Beach) 24-4
7.   (9)    Pinole Valley (Pinole)  21-5
8.   (nr)   Beverly Hills  24-8
9.   (nr)   Mount Miguel (Spring Valley) 24-5
10. (nr)   Northgate (Walnut Creek) 23-3
Bubble: Archbishop Mitty (San Jose) 19-8, Garces (Bakersfield) 28-1, Gunn (Palo Alto) 27-0, Mira Costa (Manhattan Beach) 22-7*, Norco 24-5*, Pleasant Valley (Chico) 19-7*, Summit (Fontana) 26-5*, Vista del Lago (Moreno Valley) 25-3.

Division III
1.   (1)   Sacred Heart Cathedral (SF) 23-1
2.   (2)   St. Mary's (Stockton) 23-3
3.   (3)   Foothill (Tustin)  28-1
4.   (4)   Bishop O'Dowd (Oakland) 25-2
5.   (10)  Sacramento  20-8
6.   (5)    Inglewood  28-3***
7.   (6)    Woodbridge (Irvine) 26-3
8.   (7)    Valley Christian (San Jose)  22-6
9.   (10)  St. Ignatius (San Francisco) 19-6
10.  (nr)  Del Oro (Loomis) 25-1
***Indicates losses by forfeit not included.
Bubble: Agoura (Agoura Hills) 25-4*, East Union (Manteca) 25-2, Las Plumas (Oroville) 24-2, Muir (Pasadena) 22-4*, Northgate (Walnut Creek) 23-3, Roosevelt (Fresno) 25-2, Vanden (Travis AFB) 24-3*.

Division IV
1.   (1)   Bishop's (La Jolla) 26-2
2.   (2)   Mater Dei (Chula Vista) 25-2
3.   (3)   St. Mary's (Berkeley) 25-4
4.   (4)   La Jolla Country Day  19-9
5.   (5)   Lutheran (Orange) 25-3
6.   (6)   Marin Catholic (Kentfield) 23-6
7.   (7)   Modesto Christian  21-7
8.   (8)   St. Joseph (Santa Maria) 27-2
9.   (9)   Pacific Hills (Los Angeles) 22-9
10. (10) Christian Brothers (Sacramento) 22-6
Bubble: Bishop Montgomery (Torrance) 21-9*, LACES (Los Angeles) 21-8, Moreau Catholic (Hayward) 22-5, Santa Cruz 24-3, St. Paul (Santa Fe Springs) 19-10, Windward (Los Angeles) 20-8*.

Division V
1.    (1)   Bellarmine-Jefferson (Burbank)  28-2
2.    (2)   Branson (Ross) 26-3
3.    (3)   Pinewood (Los Altos) 26-4
4.    (4)   Santa Clara (Oxnard) 24-3
5.    (6)   Bradshaw Christian (Sacramento) 24-4
6.    (7)   Fresno Christian  20-5
7.    (8)   Head-Royce (Oakland) 25-4
8.    (nr)  View Park Prep (Los Angeles) 25-8
9.    (10)  St. Joseph (Alameda) 21-7
10.   (5)   Montclair Prep (Van Nuys) 21-7*
Bubble: Chadwick (Palos Verdes) 23-4*, Christian Life (Escondido) 20-7, Convent of the Sacred Heart (S.F.) 19-6*, Urban (San Francisco) 20-10, Vincent Memorial (Calexico) 19-4, Wilton Christian (Wilton) 25-1.

Corrections or comments? Email mark@studentsports.com and be sure to leave a comment so others can check out what you have to say.

In this second installment of a series looking at some of the top squads in the state, we check out Del Oro, Oceanside, Bishop O'Dowd, and Notre Dame of Sherman Oaks. All four made the postseason last year, with one finishing as a section runner-up and the other taking home the Division II state championship.

Posted By Assistant Editor Paul Muyskens

Note: All information that follows came from a questionnaire that was sent in by the head coach. We did not add or delete any names. If your school isn't included in this series, it is because we were not sent the information. If you want your school included, send info in the categories listed to mark@studentsports.com.

Team Name: Del Oro (Loomis)
Head Coach: Casey Taylor (62-12 at school)
Last Year's Records: 11-2, 9-1 for J.V.
Returning Starters: 8 (6 Offense, 2 Defense)
Players Most Deserving of Preseason Honors: LB Joe Brunet, OL Cole La Bar and QB Mason Magelby.
Newcomers Who Could Make An Impact: RB Bryce Pratt, LB Blake Landry and WR/DB Freddie Cargile.
Coach's General Outlook: This will be the strongest and fastest team we have with Magelby leading an offense that should be explosive. Our defense will be fast but a bit inexperienced with just two returning players.
Other Teams To Watch From The Area: Granite Bay, Elk Grove, Cardinal Newman, Merced.
All-league level players with GPAs above 3.50: None Listed
CalHiSports.com Comments: The Golden Eagles were one win shy of finishing off a golden season last year, making the Sac-Joaquin Section Division II championship game before falling to Granite Bay in the title game. Both of Del Oro's losses came against the Grizzlies. With most of their offense returning, they look to put up more points on the board this year. Granite Bay, though, comes into the season as more of a local favorite when in recent years it's been Del Oro in that role.

Team Name: Oceanside
Head Coach: John Carroll (167-64-1 at school)
Last Year's Records: 12-1, 6-4 for J.V.
Returning Starters: 10 (5 Offense, 5 Defense)
Players Most Deserving of Preseason Honors: QB Jordan Wynn, WR-DB J.J. Whittaker, LB Jake Fely, King Holder, OL-DL Brian Schwenke and Rene Siluano.
Newcomers Who Could Make An Impact: Tommy Worden, RB Elijah Latham and WR Demario Coleman.
Coach's General Outlook: We have an excellent returning QB and have good skill players on both sides of the ball. We do need to work on our development along both sides of the line.
Other Teams To Watch From The Area: Helix, Vista, El Camino.
All-league level players with GPAs above 3.50: Osmond Nicholas, Jordan Wynn, Brian Schwenke and Justin Vaeena.
CalHiSports.com Comments: After a rocky start to the season, it was smooth sailing the rest of the way for the Pirates as they won their last 12 games including a 28-14 win over Novato at the Home Depot Center in Carson to capture the Division II state championship. Colorado commit Jordan Wynn returns to lead an offense that averaged 35 points a game last year and with five returnees from a defense that allowed an average of 14.5 points a game the Pirates are serious threats to find themselves back in Carson to defend their title. They probably still need a team with a Div. I enrollment like Long Beach Poly, though, to win the Southern Section Pac-Five Division title.

Team Name: Bishop O'Dowd (Oakland)
Head Coach: Paul Perenon (195-67-1 at school)
Last Year's Records: 8-3, 9-1 for J.V.
Returning Starters: 14 (7 Offense, 7 Defense)
Players Most Deserving of Preseason Honors: Cherod Simpson, Kevin Cooper, Stefan Perri, Chris Martin and Mario Brown.
Newcomers Who Could Make An Impact: QB Matt Balich and TE/DL Tyrone Ward.
Coach's General Outlook: We have plenty of experience along both sides of the line which should help us offset being young at some of the other key positions.
Other Teams To Watch From The Area: De La Salle, San Leandro, San Ramon Valley.
All-league level players with GPAs above 3.50: None Listed.
CalHiSports.com Comments: O'Dowd didn't lose a game by more than seven points last year with the season coming to an early end in the first round of the North Coast Section 3-A East Bay playoffs by a 21-14 score against Ygnacio Valley. With so many returning starters on both sides of the ball, those close losses last year may turn into Dragons' wins this year and a deep postseason run.

Team Name: Notre Dame (Sherman Oaks)
Head Coach: Kevin Rooney (238-88-5 at school)
Last Year's Records: 8-3, 10-0 for J.V.
Returning Starters: 9 (3 Offense, 6 Defense)
Players Most Deserving of Preseason Honors: Jordan Barrett (All-League) and Tom Drachkovitch (All-League).
Newcomers Who Could Make An Impact: RB Kenny Boggs, WR Tyler Thomas and QB Ryan Kasdorf.
Coach's General Outlook: We will be strong at LB and WR but will have a lot of inexperience along both sides of the line as well at QB and RB.
Other Teams To Watch From The Area: None Listed
All-league level players with GPAs above 3.50: OL Daniel Munyer and QB Ryan Kasdorf.
CalHiSports.com Comments: Without an injured Dayne Crist, the Knights were stunned in their opening game of the Pac-5 Division playoffs falling 7-3 to Newport Harbor for an early end to the season. All-League linebackers Drachkovitch and Barrett will be back for their senior season to anchor a solid defense that held opponents to single-digit scoring in five of their 11 games last year and once the new players at the skill positions on offense get going, Notre Dame could become one of the top teams in the San Fernando Valley.

The following teams have already been previewed in previous segments of this statewide series:

Leuzinger (Lawndale) 1
Oaks Christian (Westlake Village) 1
Rancho Buena Vista (Vista) 1
Whitney (Rocklin) 1

Note: Send corrections or comments to mark@studentsports.com and be sure to leave a comment that others can check out.