Football: Behind the new rankings

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

1. Long Beach Poly (10-0)

2. Corona Centennial (10-0)

3. Sherman Oaks Notre Dame (10-0)

4. St. Bonaventure (9-1)

5. Orange Lutheran (8-2)

6. Tesoro (10-0)

7. Oaks Christian (10-0)

8. Mater Dei (7-3)

9. Mission Viejo (9-1)

10. Chaparral (9-1)

11. Servite (7-3)

12. Moorpark (9-1)

13. Alemany (9-1)

14. Edison (7-3)

15. St. John Bosco (7-3)

16. Loyola (6-4)

17. Bishop Amat (7-3)

18. Newport Harbor (7-3)

19. Los Alamitos (8-2)

20. Crespi (6-4)

21. Rancho Cucamonga (9-0-1)

22. Miller (10-0)

23. Rancho Verde (10-0)

24. Serra (10-0)

25. Narbonne (9-1)

Moving In: Perhaps no team has moved around as much as Loyola this season. The Cubs have been in. They’ve been out. Truth be told, they probably should have always been in. They finished 2-1 in the Serra League, which is saying something, and could win a game or two in the Pac-5 Division playoffs. Newport Harbor players might chuckle at the irony of finally seeing themselves ranked the same week they learn they’re not advancing to the playoffs because of a silly system in which team names were drawn out of a bowl to determine the Sunset League’s three automatic playoff entrants. Sorry, Sailors. But we’re now sold after Newport Harbor closed its season with three consecutive victories, including triumphs over playoff-bound Los Alamitos and Esperanza. Another team we missed the boat on was Rancho Cucamonga, which popped onto the radar a few weeks back with a victory over Los Osos. We weren’t sure if the Cougars were just one-week wonders until they backed up that win with another over Upland. Rancho Cucamonga should be the runaway favorite in the Central Division playoffs.

Moving Out: Rancho Cucamonga moving in means that Los Osos and Upland are out. This is not to say that I don’t think the Grizzlies and Highlanders aren’t quality teams, because I was impressed with both of them when I saw them tussle last month. But there’s probably room for only one Baseline League team, and it’s got to be Rancho Cucamonga. Vista Murrieta is also a goner after its loss to Murrieta Valley. Don’t think there will be as much grumbling there, but I could be wrong.

Moving Up: Orange Lutheran’s victory over Mater Dei catapulted it three spots into the No. 5 position previously occupied by the Monarchs. Sorry, Tesoro, but we just can’t justify moving you up at this point based on victories over Mission Viejo and Fountain Valley. You can make your case for top-five inclusion starting Friday. Servite managed to win a share of a fourth consecutive Trinity League title and in the process got a five-spot bump, to No. 11. Moorpark also benefited from a host of teams losing, moving all the way from No. 18 to No. 12. Same for Alemany, which jumped from No. 19 to No. 13. Remember, these two teams’ only loss was to undefeated Sherman Oaks Notre Dame, so you can’t say they haven’t played anybody.

Moving Down: It’s a pretty simple formula, really. You lose, you fall in the rankings. Mater Dei’s fall wasn’t too precipitous because it lost to Lutheran and still figures to be a threat in the Pac-5 Division playoffs. Edison stumbled unexpectedly against Esperanza, but we still like the Chargers’ chances to win a game or two in the playoffs, so we only dropped them from No. 12 to No. 14. St. John Bosco isn’t really scaring anyone these days after losing three of four games, but the Braves simply have too much talent to boot them out of the top 15. Bishop Amat can’t be penalized too harshly for losing to Sherman Oaks Notre Dame, so the Lancers fell only three spots. Los Alamitos might have benefited from its strong tradition more than anyone this season, as it appears the Griffins have been overrated from Day One. So we bumped them down to No. 19. How does a 6-4 team belong in the rankings, you ask? Because it plays in the Serra League. That is how I justify keeping Crespi ranked despite going 0-3 in league play because, really, there are probably about 575 teams in the Southern Section that would have gone 0-3 in that league. Plus, the Celts did beat Servite.

On the Doorstep: This could also go under the heading of, Better luck in the playoffs or Try again next year. The teams that came close, but alas, didn’t tickle our fancy: San Clemente (8-2), Thousand Oaks (9-1), Saugus (7-3), Los Osos (8-2), Valencia (8-2), Lakewood (4-6), Oxnard (10-0), Riverside North (6-4), Upland (8-2), Fountain Valley (7-3), Esperanza (7-3), San Pedro (9-1).

Programming note: This will be the last rankings until those after the conclusion of the playoffs.

--Ben Bolch