So who’s No. 1?

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With Mater Dei losing, there could be a new No. 1 team in The Times’ top 25 rankings, and Birmingham gets my vote, though don’t expect the Patriots to be No. 1.

There are too many people who refuse to believe a City Section team is the best in Southern California, but when a City team can beat Long Beach Poly and Sherman Oaks Notre Dame in the same season, that settles the issue. Poly and Notre Dame haven’t lost since.

Meanwhile, Birmingham keeps getting better and clearly has the best defense in the Southland. People will keep bringing up the fact that Birmingham lost to Crespi and Corona Centennial beat Crespi. We could play that game forever. Centennial lost to Mater Dei, which lost to Orange Lutheran, which lost to Servite, which lost to Notre Dame, which lost to Birmingham.

Honestly, Birmingham and Centennial are equal, but the tiebreaker is Birmingham’s wins over Poly and Notre Dame. A City team beating those powerhouses in the same season isn’t likely to happen again.

- Eric Sondheimer