THE TIMES’ RANKINGS

FINAL TOP 25 FOOTBALL RANKINGS AND COMMENTS:

*--* 1 MISSION VIEJO (14-0, SS-Div. II) Be careful what you wish for: Diablos want to play Concord De La Salle 2 LOS ALAMITOS (13-0-1, SS-Div. I) Hart’s last-second Hail Mary pass keeps Griffins out of top spot 3 HART (12-1-1, SS-Div. II) In lieu of flowers, Indian head pennies may be sent to memorialize unbeaten streak 4 MATER DEI (10-4, SS-Div. I) Bruce Rollinson turns in fine performance coaching unusually thin squad to final 5 LONG BEACH POLY (11-2, SS-Div. I) Seniors wish they could be held back a year after failing two biggest tests 6 S.O. NOTRE DAME (14-0, SS-Div. III) Shifty QB Marcel Marquez leaves defenders as quiet as Marcel Marceau 7 ST. BONAVENTURE (13-1, SS-Div. IV) Life outside the rinky-dink Division XI suits these Seraphs just fine 8 CORONA CENTENNIAL (12-2, SS-Div. V) Top dog Terrell Jackson scores eight touchdowns in all-Husky final 9 KAISER (13-0-1, SS-Div. VIII) New twist on old lyrics: Don’t turn around, oh oh! Der Kaiser’s in town, oh, oh! 10 BIRMINGHAM (11-3, City) Pick of Dennis Keyes as City player of the year is making sense 11 LOS ALTOS (12-2, SS-Div. VI) Opportunistic Conquerors win third section title in four years 12 MIRA COSTA (13-1, SS-Div. III) Mustangs let late opportunities slip away in championship game against S.O. Notre Dame 13 ESPERANZA (10-2, SS-Div. I) Nothing Meek about Aztec coach’s final season 14 LA HABRA (13-1, SS-Div. IX) Highlanders immortal in playoffs after suffering early-season loss to Los Alamitos 15 SAN CLEMENTE (9-4, SS-Div. II) Tritons all wet again after failing to advance past second consecutive semifinal 16 RIVERSIDE NORTH (10-4, SS-Div. V) Morton brothers lead cast of returnees for a potentially blockbuster 2003 17 LOYOLA (9-4, SS-Div. I) Erratic Cubs spent key parts of season in hibernation mode 18 ST. JOHN BOSCO (9-3, SS-Div. I) Playoff flop after top-notch regular season befits a team nicknamed Braves 19 TAFT (13-1, City) Feeling like a wounded Toreador after consecutive losses in City Section final 20 CLAREMONT (9-3, SS-Div. II) Call them the Cardiac Pack after stirring playoff run to semifinals 21 CHINO (10-2, SS-Div. II) Runners-up in 2000 and 2001, Cowboys galloping backward after quarterfinal loss 22 DAMIEN (9-3, SS-Div. II) Spartans’ season ends when they can’t gain two yards in four plays against Claremont 23 MURRIETA VALLEY (11-1-1, SS-Div. V) Nighthawks’ designs for growth didn’t include section title 24 FOOTHILL (11-3, SS-Div. VI) This Knights’ tale didn’t include a happy ending 25 SOUTH HILLS (11-3, SS-Div. VII) Sometimes Huskies feel like beating Walnut, sometimes they don’t

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