Football: Behind the new rankings
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Here’s an early look at The Times’ new top 25 football rankings that will be published in Monday’s paper, with comments on team movement after the jump:
1. Crenshaw
2. Servite
3. St. Bonaventure
4. Oaks Christian
5. Lakewood
6. Edison
7. Rancho Cucamonga
8. Orange Lutheran
9. Corona Centennial
10. Gardena Serra
11. Moorpark
12. Chaparral
13. Taft
14. Los Alamitos
15. Crespi
16. Mission Viejo
17. Sherman Oaks Notre Dame
18. Carson
19. Valencia
20. Loyola
21. Redlands East Valley
22. Charter Oak
23. Fountain Valley
24. Norco
25. Narbonne
Moving in: Fountain Valley’s 35-14 victory over Tesoro certainly took a lot of the remaining luster off the Titans, who have already lost more games two weeks into the season than they did in all of 2008. Narbonne becomes the fourth City Section team to join the rankings, one year after the City had only one team ranked for most of the season.
Moving out: How weird are things getting? Longtime juggernauts Mater Dei and Long Beach Poly are unranked after the Jackrabbits were manhandled for a second consecutive week. Poly could drop to 0-3 unless it bounces back against Narbonne. Tesoro can shift its focus to South Coast League play after dropping its second consecutive game.
Moving up: St. Bonaventure could make a strong case for No. 1 with its deep and talented cast, so we decided to vault the Seraphs ahead of Oaks Christian. If Crenshaw’s defense continues to look shaky and Servite loses during its difficult schedule, St. Bonaventure could easily find itself in the top spot. Corona Centennial likely established itself as the top team in the Inland Empire--again--with a 31-27 victory over Chaparral that wasn’t as close as the score indicated. Moorpark got a big boost from its impressive victory over Sherman Oaks Notre Dame. It’s a little hard to know what to make of Mission Viejo’s 26-7 triumph over Loyola because the Cubs played most of the game without standout running back Anthony Barr.
Moving down: Oaks Christian has dropped one spot each week despite winning both of its games. That’s more of an indication of the strength of the teams that leapfrogged the Lions than anything else, but Oaks Christian can silence all the doubters with a victory over Sammamish (Wash.) Skyline on Friday. Sherman Oaks Notre Dame isn’t going to go 10-0 in the regular season two years in a row, but if the Knights are going to lose they might have picked the right time so they can get better. Chaparral tacked on two late scores to make its score against Corona Centennial respectable, but the Pumas will have to wait for the playoffs for a chance to redeem themselves. Loyola is in big trouble after Barr was likely lost for the season. Can Jared Baker step up and fill the void?
On the doorstep: Mater Dei, Long Beach Poly, Vista Murrieta, San Pedro.
Games of the week: Oaks Christian at Sammamish (Wash.) Skyline, Crespi at Servite, Taft at Sherman Oaks Notre Dame, Gardena Serra at Carson, Corona Centennial at Mater Dei.
--Ben Bolch