WEEK 16: North Coast Section Has Big CIF Regionals Weekend, Though Most Of NorCal Football Rankings Remain Static As We Head Into Season’s Final Week •
NorCal Football Rankings (Records through Dec. 7; previous rank in parenthesis).
1. (1) — De La Salle-Concord 12-1
LAST WEEK: BYE
THIS WEEK: vs. St. John Bosco-Bellflower (12-1), 8 p.m. Saturday (Cerritos College)
2. (2) — Serra-San Mateo 13-1
LAST WEEK: d. San Joaquin Memorial-Fresno 28-18
THIS WEEK: vs. Corona Del Mar-Newport Beach (15-0), 4 p.m. Saturday (Cerritos College)
3. (3) — Valley Christian-San Jose 11-2
LAST WEEK: DNP
THIS WEEK: SEASON COMPLETE
4. (4) — Pittsburg 11-2
LAST WEEK: DNP
THIS WEEK: SEASON COMPLETE
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5. (5) — Oak Ridge-El Dorado Hills 10-3
LAST WEEK: LOST to Central-Fresno 38-32
THIS WEEK: SEASON COMPLETE
6. (6) — Monterey Trail-Elk Grove 12-2
LAST WEEK: DNP
THIS WEEK: SEASON COMPLETE
7. (7) — Folsom 10-2
LAST WEEK: DNP
THIS WEEK: SEASON COMPLETE
8. (8) — Liberty-Brentwood 10-2
LAST WEEK: DNP
THIS WEEK: SEASON COMPLETE
9. (9) — Cardinal Newman-Santa Rosa 13-1
LAST WEEK: d. No. 20 Los Gatos 42-7
THIS WEEK: vs. El Camino-Oceanside (9-6), 6 p.m. Saturday
10. (10) — McClymonds-Oakland 11-0
LAST WEEK: d. No. 17 Manteca 43-16
THIS WEEK: vs. Pacifica-Oxnard (14-1), Noon, Saturday (Cerritos College)
11. (11) — St. Ignatius-S.F. 9-3
LAST WEEK: DNP
THIS WEEK: SEASON COMPLETE
12. (12) — Wilcox-Santa Clara 9-3
LAST WEEK: DNP
THIS WEEK: SEASON COMPLETE
13. (13) — Monte Vista-Danville 8-4
LAST WEEK: DNP
THIS WEEK: SEASON COMPLETE
14. (14) — Clayton Valley-Concord 9-5 [PICTURED ATOP: Chace Bryson photo]
LAST WEEK: d. No. 15 Elk Grove 28-26
THIS WEEK: vs. Aquinas-San Bernardino (12-3), 4 p.m. Friday (Cerritos College)
15. (16) ↑ Marin Catholic-Kentfield 11-2
LAST WEEK: DNP
THIS WEEK: SEASON COMPLETE
16. (NR) ↑ San Ramon Valley-Danville 7-4
LAST WEEK: DNP
THIS WEEK: SEASON COMPLETE
17. (17) — Manteca 11-3
LAST WEEK: LOST to No. 10 McClymonds-Oakland 46-13
THIS WEEK: SEASON COMPLETE
18. (18) — Inderkum-Sacramento 11-1
LAST WEEK: DNP
THIS WEEK: SEASON COMPLETE
19. (19) — Buhach Colony-Atwater 11-1
LAST WEEK: DNP
THIS WEEK: SEASON COMPLETE
20. (15) ↓ Elk Grove 10-5
LAST WEEK: LOST to No. 14 Clayton Valley-Concord 28-26
THIS WEEK: SEASON COMPLETE
DROPPED OUT
No. 20 Los Gatos
NEXT FIVE
21. Edison-Stockton (10-2*), 22. Campolindo-Moraga (10-3*), 23. Placer-Auburn (10-3*), 24. Capital Christian-Sacramento (9-3*) and 25. Rancho Cotate-Rohnert Park (11-3)
*=SEASON COMPLETE
THREE AND OUT:
BIGGEST MOVER: The North Coast Section. While it’s not reflected greatly in rankings movement, the NCS had a superb showing during the CIF Northern Regional playoffs. The section went 6-0 and has all seven (No. 1 De La Salle-Concord was advanced straight to the Open Championship and didn’t play in a regional) of its section champions in state bowl games. Four of those teams sit inside our top 25: De La Salle, No. 9 Cardinal Newman-Santa Rosa, No. 14 Clayton Valley-Concord and No. 25 Rancho Cotate-Rohnert Park. The other three playing in bowls are Del Norte-Crescent City (NCS Div. 5 champion), St. Bernards-Eureka (Div. 6) and Salesian-Richmond (Div. 7).
UPSET OF THE WEEK: Honestly, we weren’t surprised by any of the results from the regional playoffs. However, the award for the most entertaining game likely goes to Clayton Valley’s 28-26 comeback win over then-No. 15 Elk Grove. The Ugly Eagles scored twice — both on 40+ yard passes — in the final three minutes to rally from 12 points back.
WEEK 16 GAME OF THE WEEK: The only game truly deserving of being called a state championship, the Open Division final between No. 1 De La Salle and St. John Bosco-Bellflower. The Spartans will certainly be considered underdogs, but perhaps less so than in previous years. A perfect effort may just deliver an upset and the program’s first CIF title since 2015. De La Salle and Bosco last met in the 2016 Open final with the Braves winning 56-33.