Football: Behind the new rankings

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Here’s a sneak peek at the new rankings that will be published in Monday’s paper, with comments on team movement after the jump:

1. Corona Centennial (8-0)

2. Long Beach Poly (8-0)

3. Sherman Oaks Notre Dame (8-0)

4. St. Bonaventure (7-1)

5. Tesoro (8-0)

6. Crespi (6-2)

7. Oaks Christian (8-0)

8. Mater Dei (6-2)

9. Orange Lutheran (6-2)

10. St. John Bosco (7-1)

11. Mission Viejo (7-1)

12. Chaparral (7-1)

13. Los Alamitos (7-1)

14. Edison (6-2)

15. Servite (5-3)

16. Vista Murrieta (7-1)

17. Alemany (7-1)

18. Los Osos (6-2)

19. Upland (7-1)

20. Miller (8-0)

21. Rancho Verde (8-0)

22. Serra (8-0)

23. Valencia (7-1)

24. Moorpark (7-1)

25. Narbonne (7-1)

Moving In: Alemany. The Indians defeated Loyola and Saugus, and their only loss was to increasingly impressive Sherman Oaks Notre Dame. Miller also makes its 2008 rankings debut following an 18-15 victory over Redlands East Valley that gave the Rebels the inside track to the Citrus Belt League title. Miller also has a victory over a dangerous Crenshaw team.

Moving Out: Sorry, but Bishop Amat’s resume has impressed us less and less each week. The Lancers had a turnover-assisted victory over Orange Lutheran and their season-opening loss to Los Osos looks a little worse in the wake of the Grizzlies’ upset loss to Rancho Cucamonga. There is also the little matter of Loyola and Anthony Barr running all over Bishop Amat on Saturday night. Redlands East Valley was No. 13 last week and had been as high as No. 9. OK, so the error in judgment was ours, we admit, but it appears we had the Wildcats way too high all along. Plus, we figure there’s room for only one Citrus Belt League team, and that would have to be Miller.

Moving Up: Sherman Oaks Notre Dame. Has there been a more impressive team than the Knights in recent weeks? If so, please produce the evidence. Notre Dame throttled Crespi, 37-17, only a few weeks after beating Servite. That’s good enough in our minds to leapfrog the Knights over St. Bonaventure, which defeated Crespi by 17 points on Sept. 26. Tesoro gets a one-spot bump in the wake of Crespi’s loss and Oaks Christian takes Lutheran’s spot at No. 7 after the Lancers fell to Servite. Mater Dei climbs back into the top 10 in part because Bishop Amat is out. St. John Bosco, Mission Viejo and Chaparral got four-spot hikes. Edison, Servite and Vista Murrieta moved up three spots, the Friars getting a big win over Lutheran but still being constrained a bit by their three losses. Upland got a one-spot bump for bouncing back the week after its loss to Los Osos.

Moving Down: St. Bonaventure (see above). Crespi falls two spots because we still believe in the Celts and appreciate that they’ve played a difficult schedule. Lutheran tumbles two spots after suffering its third consecutive loss to Servite since joining the Trinity League. Los Alamitos stumbled against Fountain Valley, no doubt, but since it was the Griffins’ first loss we moved them down only one spot. Los Osos takes the biggest plunge (among teams still in the rankings), falling from No. 9 to No. 18 after losing to unranked Rancho Cucamonga.

On the Doorstep: If there’s a theme here, it’s too many good teams, too few spots. That’s the dilemma we have constantly faced, and it never became more apparent than this week. Yes, we realize Rancho Cucamonga (7-0-1) defeated Los Osos, holds sole possession of first place in the Baseline League and has a tie against Charter Oak--another unbeaten team--as its only blemish. Fountain Valley (6-2) also just knocked off Los Alamitos, but there’s no room right now for the Barons. Here’s some advice for peeved Rancho Cucamonga and Fountain Valley players, coaches and fans: beat your next two opponents. Rancho Cucamonga can beat Upland in two weeks and Fountain Valley can knock off Edison this week. Then there’s no way we can keep you out. Other teams on the brink include Newport Harbor (5-3), San Clemente (6-2), Thousand Oaks (7-1), Loyola (5-3), Oxnard (8-0) and Saugus (7-1).

--Ben Bolch