League play kicks off throughout the region on Friday, and here is a peek at rankings within our MaxPreps Northern California Top 25 rankings.De La Salle, which entered the MaxPreps National rankings at No. 25 this week, has a Top-25 tilt on Saturday afternoon at home against No. 20 Centennial (Corona).
Senior quarterback Caleb Bandel and the Junipero Serra Padres open West Catholic League play this Friday at Bellarmine College Prep. (PHOTO: Mark Neuling)
MaxPreps NorCal football rankings1. De La Salle (Concord), (4-0)
2. Folsom, (4-0)
3. Central East (Fresno), (4-0)
4. Pittsburg, (2-2)
5. Junipero Serra (San Mateo), (2-1)
6. Oak Ridge (El Dorado Hills), (2-1)
7. Del Oro (Loomis), (4-0)
8. Cardinal Newman (Santa Rosa), (2-2)
9. Buchanan (Clovis), (4-1)
10. Grant (Sacramento), (3-1)
11. San Ramon Valley (Danville), (4-0)
12. Bakersfield Christian (Bakersfield), (3-1)
13. Archbishop Riordan (San Francisco), (1-2)
14. Rocklin, (3-0)
15. Granite Bay, (3-0)
16. St. Ignatius (San Francisco), (3-0)
17. Central Catholic (Modesto), (3-1)
18. Jesuit (Carmichael), (4-0)
19. Destiny Christian Academy (Sacramento), (4-0)
20. Edison (Stockton), (3-1)
21. St. Mary’s (Stockton), (1-3)
22. Tracy, (4-0)
23. Bakersfield, (4-0)
24. Clovis, (4-1)
25. Monte Vista (Danville), (4-0)The Sac-Joaquin Section includes No. 2 Folsom, No. 6 Oak Ridge, No. 7 Del Oro, No. 14 Rocklin, No. 15 Granite Bay and No. 18 Jesuit from the same Sierra Foothill League. The SJS also includes No. 10 Grant, a defending CIF State champion in No. 21 St. Mary’s (Stockton), decades-long powerhouse No. 17 Central Catholic, No. 19 Destiny Christian Academy and No. 22 Tracy.
Folsom has won the SJS Division I section crown five consecutive years, beating rival Oak Ridge in the last four meetings as Sacramento City College’s Hughes Stadium.
The Central Section, heavy on Fresno and Bakersfield teams, is topped by a defending CIF state champion in No. 3 Central East, No. 9 Buchanan, No. 12 Bakersfield Christian and No. 23 Bakersfield.
The Central Coast Section is led by No. 5 Junipero Serra, No. 13 and defending CCS Open champion Archbishop Riordan and No. 16 St. Ignatius.
There are several teams with a shot to reach the Open Division state final – the state’s highest classification. Should De La Salle, Folsom and Central East go unbeaten with section crowns, the CIF committee will have much to discuss.
DLS has a win over Serra and Cardinal Newman but does not play Folsom, which has a win over Orange County powerhouse Mission Viejo, which just defeated Pittsburg. Pitt could rock this argument should it topple DLS in the NCS Open finals.
Central East has a win over Oak Ridge, which could make an argument for the Open if it topples Folsom in the section finals.
Joe Davidson has covered high school sports for The Sacramento Bee since 1989. He is a member of the California High School Football Hall of Fame and has been honored by the with the CIF Distinguished Service award and was the National Football Foundation legacy winner.