Prep2Prep NCS Rankings
THROUGH WEEK 4
There were no changes in the first five spots but after that we had some movement. Plus we have two newcomers this week.
Note: Last week's rankings in parentheses
The Spartans marched into San Diego and toppled defending state CIF Division 1-AA Bowl Game champion Cathedral Catholic, 28-20, on their one long road trip of the season. Charles Greer had TD runs of 83 and 69 yards and Carson Su’esu’e tossed two 61-yard TD passes. With De La Salle trailing 17-14 in the third quarter, the second of those TD passes gave the Spartans a 21-17 lead they never relinquished. After a field goal by the hosts made it 21-20, Greer raced for his second score with five minutes left in the game to seal things. Next up is Folsom at home. The Bulldogs ended the Spartans season last year before losing to the Cathedral Catholic team in the 1-AA title game that De La Salle just beat.
A 23-15 home loss to Folsom was not the kind of performance the Pittsburg faithful were hoping for if their Pirates are prepping to dethrone De La Salle atop the NCS for the first time in 31 years. Pittsburg led 7-0 after one quarter and was tied 7-7 at the half, but early in the fourth quarter they fell behind 23-7. An 80-yard TD pass from Miami-bound quarterback Jaden Rashada to Oregon State-committed speedster Zack Card made it 23-15 with around nine minutes to go. The Pirates defense did its job, but so did the Bulldogs with two interceptions of Rashada down the stretch including one in their own territory with less than a minute left. All the Pirates can do is regroup during a bye week and get ready for visiting McClymonds a week from Friday.
No matter how large the margin of victory over visiting James Logan, there is no way Marin Catholic could pass Pittsburg; frankly this is as high as the Wildcats can get in these rankings based on their schedule and competitive equity. Some argue this is too high for Marin Catholic, but a mistake- and penalty-prone 42-12 victory should quiet some of the critics. It was a game that wasn’t really that close, and just the second week senior quarterback Joey Cook was under center against the toughest opponent he has ever faced since transferring from San Marin. All that could change this Friday if the Wildcats don’t take care of business at Antioch.
As expected, the Wolves feasted on host Las Lomas in a 41-17 victory in which they led 41-3 after three quarters before the Knight scored twice under a running clock. Junior quarterback Luke Baker was a pinpoint 16 of 17 for 252 yards and two TDs, both going to senior wide receiver Gavin Jones. Junior running back John Pau Mendoza rushed for three TDs, plus he had five tackles and five batted passes. Next up is host Liberty with the Lions coming off a 37-13 win over Monte Vista.
The Cougars followed up a last-second win over Windsor with a 35-20 victory over host San Leandro in a game they only led 7-6 before taking charge with three second-quarter touchdowns. Senior quarterback Dashiell Weaver threw for 270 yards and four touchdowns. Senior wide receiver Robbie Mascheroni only had three catches but all went for TDs including a 93-yarder. He finished with 165 yards receiving. Up next is a reeling Monte Vista at home.
It wasn’t the 41-0 home rout that moves up the Patriots, but the fact the two teams above them lost making the two-spot bump somewhat inevitable. Some outlets have Heritage a little lower in their pecking order, but with Devon Rivers continuing to romp we like Heritage until someone stops him and pins a loss on the Pats. Against Vintage, Rivers had a fourth-straight 200-yard rushing performance, rambling for 271 yards and four touchdowns. He also intercepted a pass, deflected a pass and had a couple of tackles as a defensive back. Devon now has 991 yards rushing and 13 TDs with a whopping 11.8 yards per carry. His TD total is 15 so far. The rushing yardage is the top reported mark in the NCS, No. 1 in Northern California and No. 5 in the state, but No. 1 for players with four games.
After a 35-7 drubbing over host Foothill - giving the Gauchos two wins over EBAL teams - we thought of jumping them over Heritage, but we keep them here based on overall strength of schedule vis-Ã -vis Heritage.
Whether or not taking a safety and missing two extra points was the difference in a 30-29 loss on the road at defending state CIF 3-AA Bowl Game champion Vanden, may or may not be the case, but purely from numbers standpoint, four more points gives Rancho Cotate the victory. About all the Cougars can do is put the loss behind them, take the bye week coming up, and get ready for a road trip to Chico to face Pleasant Valley a week from Friday.
After a 35-33 loss to visiting Turlock, we considered dropping Clayton Valley even further and behind some teams they are behind in other rankings, but those teams have not faced anywhere near the competition the Ugly Eagles have. Turlock is a solid team and has a win over Rocklin, and the other two Clayton Valley losses are to teams ranked in the Cal-Hi Sports top 50 - Salinas and Del Oro - and both were close. Clayton Valley closes out non-league action with 4-0 Sac-Joaquin Section powerhouse Jesuit in Carmichael.
A 36-35 overtime win at Antioch is not enough at this time to move up the Grizzlies. That could happen next week depending on how Antioch does against visiting Marin Catholic this week while California has a bye before facing Granada in two weeks. The Grizzlies fought back from a 14-0 early deficit and won the game after gambling and going for a 2-point conversion in overtime.
Despite being undefeated, the Dons competitive equity resume did not improve after a 28-7 home win over Redwood. Acalanes will be a big favorite against Oakland after a bye this week, and will be favored in its Diablo-Foothill opener against Las Lomas and likely won’t be tested until mid-October when they travel to Campolindo.
After a bye, the Dons hammered Granada 38-10 at home. The lone loss is 7-3 to El Cerrito so an argument can be made they should be higher, but we want to wait and see how they do against EBAL teams ranked ahead of them. Up next is the battle for P-town with arch rival Foothill.
No one expected Lincoln-San Francisco to give Windsor much of a game and they didn’t in a 42-3 Jaguars victory. With a close loss to Campolindo and another that wasn’t a blowout to Sac-Joaquin Section small school power Escalon, an argument can be made for them to be higher, but if they keep winning an as teams above them beat each other the next couple of weeks they can move up.
The Cardinals had a second consecutive easy win after a loss to Vacaville by posting a 49-20 win in El Sobrante at De Anza. Next up is very tough task when Newman hosts Cal-Hi Sports No. 29 St. Mary’s-Stockton.
The Mustangs had a bye last week and open Marin County Athletic League action on the road at Archie Williams.
The next five teams after Logan in last week’s rankings also lost like the Colts did in a 42-12 defeat at Marin Catholic, but no one played anyone even close to the Wildcats except the Foothill team below them. Logan holds tight pending a matchup with visiting Heritage.
The same formula that had us hold Logan tight applies to Foothill after their 35-7 loss to El Cerrito. What they do this week in the bragging rights for Pleasanton when they host Amador Valley may change things.
Some will question how the Panthers can move up past a Vintage team that beat them. The answer is the Vintage loss was in overtime, this past week they almost beat California before falling again in overtime, 36-35. Charles Brown ran for 341 yards and three TDs against California so we’ll see what he does against Marin Catholic this week.
The Crushers were crushed in a 41-0 loss to Heritage but they have an overtime win over Antioch and if they beat Casa Grande to open Vine Valley League play and Antioch falters against Marin Catholic they’ll move backup past Antioch.
The Cowboys move up a spot after holding on to Beat American Canyon 38-35 at home after they led 20-6 at the half. The competitive equity resume for Livermore will not improve this week when they host Balboa despite the fact the Buccaneers are the defending state CIF Division 7-A Bowl Game champions.
Jesse Bethel was the latest team to get beaten soundly by the Broncos in a 38-0 road win. Northgate does move up a spot with previous No. 18 Tennyson getting upset. College Park is next in the Diablo–Foothill League opener.
No one expected the Matadors to beat Sac-Joaquin Section perennial power Oakdale, and they didn’t, but they did put some points on the scoreboard in 64-42 road loss. Even with the loss, the Mats move up a spot.
The top team from Behind the Redwood Curtain blasted winless West Valley-Cottonwood from the CIF Northern Section. Their lone loss to Oregon No. 9 South Medford heading into an HDNL opener at McKinleyville.
The competitive equity resume is that of a small school but the Mustangs have some solid talent led by D1 running back recruit Kai Hall. Last week he rushed for 170 yards and three TDs in 29-12 win at Oakland Tech. Montgomery is next at home on Saturday in a non-league game.
The Mariners snag the final spot after a decisive 21-0 victory over Benicia. The two losses are to teams ranked above them and they were not blowouts, 28-17 to Campolindo and 28-14 to San Marin.
