Football: Behind the new rankings
This article was originally on a blog post platform and may be missing photos, graphics or links. See About archive blog posts.
Here’s a breakdown of The Times’ new top 25 high school football rankings that will appear in Monday’s paper, with comments on team movement after the jump:
1. Crenshaw
2. Servite
3. Oaks Christian
4. St. Bonaventure
5. Lakewood
6. Sherman Oaks Notre Dame
7. Chaparral
8. Edison
9. Loyola
10. Rancho Cucamonga
11. Orange Lutheran
12. Long Beach Poly
13. Gardena Serra
14. Taft
15. Tesoro
16. Los Alamitos
17. Corona Centennial
18. Crespi
19. Mission Viejo
20. Moorpark
21. Carson
22. Norco
23. Valencia
24. Redlands East Valley
25. Charter Oak
Moving in: In what was a banner weekend for the City Section, Carson scored one of the biggest triumphs with a 14-2 victory over Mater Dei. The Colts appear poised to contend for a Marine League title and could push Crenshaw and Taft for City Section supremacy.
Moving out: Mater Dei probably will be a top-25 staple by midway through the season, but scoring two points in your home opener doesn’t exactly endear you to the rankings committee. And how’s this for an oddity? JSerra is 1-0 but Orange Lutheran, Mater Dei, Santa Margarita and St. John Bosco are all 0-1.
Moving up: We debated long and hard before vaulting Crenshaw into the No. 1 spot instead of Servite. Here’s the thinking: Crenshaw defeated a Lakewood team that appears every bit as good as the preseason hype made it out to be, while Servite walloped a Long Beach Poly team that was vastly overrated. The Cougars have a balanced offensive attack and stayed cool when things got tough in the fourth quarter. Servite has a star quarterback in Cody Fajardo and a defense that held the young Jackrabbits to seven points, but we’re not sure what it means yet. If Servite runs the table in the Trinity League it could easily supplant Crenshaw in the top spot. And the Cougars aren’t assured of beating a tough Norco team this week. Edison, Loyola and Rancho Cucamonga all moved up a few spots as a result of Poly tumbling to No. 12 and Tesoro losing to San Marcos Mission Hills. Gardena Serra, Taft, Los Alamitos and Corona Centennial all creeped upward as well.
Moving down: Long Beach Poly took the biggest hit with its clunker, and the Jackrabbits could be in for another fall if they lose to St. Bonaventure this week. We had to nudge Oaks Christian downward in the wake of the stirring triumphs by Crenshaw and Servite. If Oaks looks good against Skyline in a few weeks, we’ll start giving the Lions No. 1 consideration. We’re not going to penalize Lakewood much at all for a one-point loss to Crenshaw, so we dropped the Lancers two spots. Hard to know what to make of Tesoro’s loss against San Marcos Mission Hills. If the Titans lose again to Fountain Valley, it could be sayonara for the top 25. Orange Lutheran’s loss to Pickerington (Ohio) Central is also a bit of a mystery. We’ll know more about the Lancers after they play scrappy Tustin this week.
On the doorstep: Narbonne, Vista Murrieta, Corona Santiago, Quartz Hill, Newport Harbor.
Games of the week: THURSDAY: Los Angeles Jordan vs. Esperanza at Placentia Valencia High. FRIDAY: Loyola at Mission Viejo, Norco at Crenshaw, Chaparral at Corona Centennial, Long Beach Poly vs. St. Bonaventure at Ventura High. SATURDAY: Sherman Oaks Notre Dame at Moorpark.
--Ben Bolch