NorCal Football Rankings | Top 20, WEEK 3

Our NorCal Football Rankings Get Their First Real Shake-Up Of The Season, Including A Flip-Flop Of The No. 2 And No. 3 Teams •

PICTURED AT TOP: Wayshawn Parker of No. 9 Grant-Sacramento. (David Gershon Photo)

After three weeks of football in Northern California, the picture is becoming just a little bit clearer when it comes to evaluating the region’s top teams.

Well, sort of.

At least at the top of our NorCal Football rankings, we now have some data to work with. No. 1-ranked Serra-San Mateo has justified its preseason hype so far, and a 28-0 win over De La Salle-Concord gave the Padres another notch in their metaphorical early season belt. The coast isn’t clear quite yet though, as a road trip to No. 7 Central Catholic-Modesto this week will bring its own set of challenges.

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The next two spots are a bit trickier until new No. 2 Folsom and No. 3 De La Salle face off on September 22. For now, the Bulldogs move into the No. 2 ranking thanks to a better showing against the top-ranked Padres, and while Folsom has just a matchup with Turlock between now and their game against the Spartans, De La Salle’s road is fraught with peril as the Spartans travel to No. 12 St. Francis-Mountain View and host No. 4 St. Mary’s-Stockton.

Sierra Foothill League teams continue to show their strength, and that’s reflected in this week’s rankings. Oak Ridge-El Dorado Hills climbs one spot to No. 8 after a 22-20 win over Madison-San Diego in San Diego, and Del Oro-Loomis jumps four spots to No. 10 after a 35-20 win over Placer-Auburn. Rocklin is the week’s biggest mover as the 3-0 Thunder move up five places to No. 13 thanks to a 42-20 victory over Buchanan-Clovis.

McClymonds-Oakland went on the road to produce one of the more noteworthy results of the week, defeating Bellarmine-San Jose 40-0, and head coach Michael Peters’ crew jumps to No. 16 as a result. The Warriors are favorites this week as they host Bishop O’Dowd-Oakland, and then it’s on to what should be a highly anticipated matchup at No. 5 San Ramon Valley-Danville.

Teams joining the rankings this week include Manteca, who enters at No. 18 despite falling to No. 4 St. Mary’s-Stockton. The Buffaloes own impressive wins over Vista del Lago-Folsom and Granite Bay. Riordan-S.F. slots in at No. 19 thanks to a 2-0 start, and small-school power Escalon checks in at No. 20 after a thoroughly impressive 42-39 win at then-No. 19 Windsor. The Cougars will look to continue their win streak against larger schools when they travel to San Ramon to take on 1-1 California this week.

Now onto this week’s NorCal football rankings.

NorCal Football Rankings

Preseason rank in parenthesis / Records are through Sept. 2 (via MaxPreps)

1. (1) Serra-San Mateo   2-0

LAST WEEK: d. No. 2 De La Salle-Concord 28-0
FRIDAY: @ No. 7 Central Catholic-Modesto (2-1), 7 pm

2. (3) Folsom   2-1

LAST WEEK: d. Edison-Stockton 48-15
FRIDAY: @ Turlock (0-3), 7 pm

3. (2) De La Salle-Concord   0-2

LAST WEEK: LOST to No. 1 Serra-San Mateo 28-0
FRIDAY: @ No. 12 Saint Francis-Mountain View (1-1), 7:30 pm

4. (4) St. Mary’s-Stockton   3-0

LAST WEEK: d. Manteca 44-7
THIS WEEK: BYE

5. (5) San Ramon Valley-Danville   2-0

LAST WEEK: d. Acalanes-Lafayette 44-21
FRIDAY: @ Elk Grove (1-2), 7 pm

6. (6) Pittsburg   2-0

LAST WEEK: d. No. 10 Granite Bay 41-21
FRIDAY: v. Monterey Trail-Elk Grove (0-3), 7 pm

7. (7) Central Catholic-Modesto   2-1

LAST WEEK: d. Bishop Manogue-Reno 16-7
THIS WEEK: v. No. 1 Serra-San Mateo (2-0), 7 pm

8. (9) Oak Ridge-El Dorado Hills   3-0

LAST WEEK: d. Madison-San Diego 22-20
SATURDAY: v. No. 17 Clayton Valley-Concord (1-1), 7 pm

9. (8) Grant-Sacramento   2-1

LAST WEEK: d. Reno 40-0
FRIDAY: @ No. 11 Los Gatos (2-0), 7 p.m.

10. (14) Del Oro-Loomis   3-0

LAST WEEK: d. Placer-Auburn 35-20
FRIDAY: v. Lincoln-Stockton (2-1), 7:15 pm

11. (13) Los Gatos   2-0

LAST WEEK: d. Liberty-Brentwood 35-34
FRIDAY: v. No. 9 Grant-Sacramento (2-1), 7 pm

12. (12) St. Francis-Mountain View   1-1

LAST WEEK: d. Monterey Trail 28-21
FRIDAY: v. No. 3 De La Salle-Concord (0-2), 7 pm

13. (18) Rocklin   3-0

LAST WEEK: d. Buchanan-Clovis 42-20
SATURDAY: v. No. 18 Manteca (2-1), 4 pm

14. (15) El Cerrito   2-0

LAST WEEK: d. Freedom 63-14
FRIDAY: v. Fremont-Oakland (0-2), 7 pm

15. (17) Marin Catholic-Kentfield   2-0

LAST WEEK: d. Spanish Springs-Reno 29-7
SATURDAY: @ San Joaquin Memorial-Fresno (1-2), 7 pm

16. (20) McClymonds-Oakland   1-0

LAST WEEK: d. Bellarmine-San Jose 40-0
FRIDAY: v. Bishop O’Dowd-Oakland (1-1), 7:15 pm

17. (11) Clayton Valley-Concord   1-1

LAST WEEK: LOST to Higley-Gilbert (Ariz.) 37-27
FRIDAY: @ No. 8 Oak Ridge-El Dorado Hills (3-0), 7 pm

18. (NR) Manteca   2-1

LAST WEEK: LOST to No. 4 St. Mary’s-Stockton 44-7
SATURDAY: v. No. 13 Rocklin (3-0), 4 pm

19. (NR) Riordan-S.F.   2-0

LAST WEEK: d. Moreau Catholic-Hayward 60-29
SATURDAY: v. St. Bonaventure-Ventura (1-2), 2 pm

20. (NR) Escalon   3-0

LAST WEEK: d. No. 19 Windsor 42-39
FRIDAY: @ California-San Ramon (1-1), 7 pm

DROPPED OUT:

No. 10 Granite Bay, No. 18 St. Ignatius-S.F. and No. 19 Windsor

NEXT FIVE KNOCKING: 21. Casa Roble-Orangevale (3-0), 22. San Marin-Novato (2-0), 23. St. Ignatius-S.F. (1-1), No. 24 Cardinal Newman-Santa Rosa (2-0) and No. 25 Windsor (0-1).