Football: Behind the new rankings
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Here’s a sneak peek at the new football rankings that will be published in Monday’s paper, with comments on team movement below the jump:
1. Long Beach Poly (1-0)
2. Corona Centennial (1-0)
3. Mater Dei (2-0)
4. Crespi (2-0)
5. Mission Viejo (2-0)
6. Servite (2-0)
7. St. Bonaventure (2-0)
8. Sherman Oaks Notre Dame (1-0)
9. Oaks Christian (2-0)
10. Redlands East Valley (1-0)
11. Edison (2-0)
12. Los Osos (2-0)
13. Bishop Amat (1-1)
14. Orange Lutheran (1-1)
15. Upland (2-0)
16. Esperanza (2-0)
*17. Loyola (1-0)
18. Los Alamitos (1-0)
19. Lakewood (2-0)
20. Rancho Verde (2-0)
21. Corona Santiago (1-1)
22. Chaparral (0-1)
23. Tesoro (2-0)
24. Norco (1-0)
25. St. John Bosco (2-0)
*This assumes Loyola will defeat Palos Verdes on Saturday night.
Moving In: Bishop Amat made its case as the most overlooked team in Southern California with a 47-39 victory over then-No. 3 Orange Lutheran. The Lancers probably should have found their way onto the radar with a narrow opening loss against Los Osos, but we resisted the temptation to move them into the rankings based on a defeat. No more. ... Norco scored a 20-0 shutout over City Section power Crenshaw, which has several big-play threats, including running back Hayes Pullard and quarterback Marquis Thompson. That’s an attention-grabber. ... St. John Bosco completely shut down La Verne Damien during a 34-0 victory.
Moving Out: Palmdale’s defense ate Hart quarterback Spenser Souza for breakfast, sacking him seven times during the Falcons’ 29-6 victory over the then-No. 18 Indians. Which leads us to this question: Why did we bother to rank the Indians? ... Then-No. 25 Carson suffered a second consecutive impressive loss, if there is such a thing, during a 21-19 setback against Gardena Serra, but that’s not enough to keep the Colts in the rankings. ... Then-No. 23 Riverside North also got nudged out after losing, 24-16, to then-No. 11 Redlands East Valley.
Moving Up: Most of the top-10 teams moved up a spot following Orange Lutheran’s upset loss. Los Osos got a two-spot bump thanks to Chaparral’s 26-16 loss to No. 2 Corona Centennial.
Moving Down: Predictably, Orange Lutheran took the biggest fall, tumbling 11 spots. Question for Lancers fans: Can your defense stop anybody? Lutheran is giving up 28 points per game. ... Chaparral couldn’t be knocked entirely out of the rankings following a loss to a second-ranked team, so we thought dropping the Pumas nine spots sounded about right. ... Sherman Oaks Notre Dame falls a spot after pulling out a 17-14 victory over Moorpark because frankly, that is awful.
On the Doorstep: Gardena Serra (2-0) has a strong case after edging Carson, 21-19, one week after the Colts nearly upset Mater Dei. Another victory or two and the Cavaliers will pull rank. ... Palmdale (1-0) knocked off then-No. 18 Hart, but let’s wait and see if that says more about how good the Falcons are than how bad the Indians are.
--Ben Bolch