Football: Behind the new rankings

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Here’s a sneak peek at the top 25 that will be published in Monday’s paper, with comments on team movement below the jump:

1. Corona Centennial (4-0)

2. Long Beach Poly (4-0)

3. St. Bonaventure (4-0)

4. Mission Viejo (5-0)

5. Crespi (3-1)

6. Servite (3-1)

7. Edison (4-1)

8. Sherman Oaks Notre Dame (4-0)

9. Oaks Christian (5-0)

10. Redlands East Valley (4-0)

11. Vista Murrieta (5-0)

12. Los Osos (3-1)

13. Bishop Amat (3-1)

14. Upland (5-0)

15. St. John Bosco (5-0)

16. Mater Dei (3-2)

17. Orange Lutheran (3-1)

18. Los Alamitos (4-0)

19. Rancho Verde (4-0)

20. Loyola (2-2)

21. Chaparral (3-1)

22. Tesoro (4-0)

23. Serra (4-0)

24. Lakewood (0-5)

25. Thousand Oaks (4-0)

Moving In: Thousand Oaks. The Lancers are undefeated, with solid victories over Valencia and Canyon Country Canyon.

Moving Out: OK, OK, OK. We hear you, Esperanza fans. Corona Santiago is now officially out of the rankings in the wake of its 14-11 loss to Riverside North. Granted, this came a few weeks after Aztecs backers told us we were off our rocker for dropping them but leaving the Sharks in because Esperanza defeated Santiago in its opener. Maybe you were right.

Moving Up: Edison moved into the top 10 following its 24-14 victory over vastly disappointing Mater Dei.

Moving Down: Lakewood fell five spots following its loss to Long Beach Poly. A little harsh, you say? Well, consider that the Lancers still don’t have an impressive victory--or any victory following the forfeit of their first four games for using an ineligible player. Mater Dei plummeted 10 spots and could be on its way to being unranked thanks to a shaky defense and an inconsistent offense. I mean, come on. The Monarchs should have lost to Carson and were down 20 points against L.A. Jordan. Not exactly the O.C. power I was expecting after reading so much about Mr. Barkley & Co.

On the Doorstep (in no particular order): Alemany (4-0), Newport Harbor (3-1), Esperanza (3-1), Valencia (3-1), Oxnard (4-0), Riverside North (2-2), Palmdale (3-1), Citrus Hill (4-0), Narbonne (4-0), San Pedro (4-0).

--Ben Bolch