Serra takes the field for their home game against rival De La Salle in a non-league football game, Saturday, Sept. 2, 2023, in San Mateo, Calif. (Karl Mondon/Bay Area News Group)
Two weeks into the new high school football season, this much we know:
Serra is No. 1. Period.
The Padres cemented their spot atop the Bay Area News Group rankings, winning at home on Saturday over No. 2 De La Salle 28-0.
Serra scored 20 points in the final quarter to pull away.
So … what happens to De La Salle?
Given that the Spartans’ two losses, albeit by multiple scores, were to teams that MaxPreps ranks 20th (Orange Lutheran) and 25th (Serra) nationally, DLS stays at No. 2.
But the Concord school is going to have to start scoring — it hasn’t done that since the first quarter of the Orange Lutheran game — and winning starting Friday at No. 12 St. Francis.
It will be the Spartans’ first visit to Mountain View since St. Francis beat them there in 2021, ending DLS’s 30-year unbeaten streak against regional opponents.
The big leapers this week were Amador Valley and California.
Amador Valley went from unranked to No. 17 after winning Friday at then-No. 11 Campolindo 6-0. AV had opened the season with a 14-7 loss to now-No. 11 El Cerrito.
California, unranked last week, landed at No. 20 after beating then-No. 22 James Logan 34-7.
Live Oak, which was scheduled to play host to No. 5 Los Gatos on Friday, fell from No. 20 to No. 24 after canceling the game.
Longtime Live Oak coach Mike Gemo declined to comment as to why or whether his team would look for another game.
Los Gatos will now play Grant-Sacramento, a defending state champion, on Friday at a site to be announced on Tuesday.
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On to the rankings …
Bay Area News Group Top 25
(Mercury News & East Bay Times)
No. 1 SERRA (2-0)
Previous ranking: 1
Last week: Beat De La Salle 28-0
Up next: Friday at Central-Catholic-Modesto, 7 p.m.
No. 2 DE LA SALLE (0-2)
Previous ranking: 2
Last week: Lost to Serra 28-0
Up next: Friday at St. Francis, 7:30 p.m.
No. 3 PITTSBURG (2-0)
Previous ranking: 3
Last week: Beat Granite Bay 41-21
Up next: Friday vs. Monterey Trail-Elk Grove, 7:30 p.m.
No. 4 SAN RAMON VALLEY (2-0)
Previous ranking: 5
Last week: Beat Acalanes 44-21
Up next: Friday at Elk Grove, 7:30 p.m.
No. 5 LOS GATOS (2-0)
Previous ranking: 6
Last week: Beat Liberty 35-34
Up next: Friday vs. Grant-Sacramento, 7 p.m., site TBA
No. 6 VALLEY CHRISTIAN (2-0)
Previous ranking: 7
Last week: Beat Salinas 16-8
Up next: Friday vs. Hollister, 7 p.m.
No. 7 ARCHBISHOP RIORDAN (2-0)
Previous ranking: 8
Last week: Beat Moreau Catholic 60-29
Up next: Saturday vs. St. Bonaventure-Ventura, 2 p.m.
No. 8 MCCLYMONDS (1-0)
Previous ranking: 9
Last week: Beat Bellarmine 40-0
Up next: Friday vs. Bishop O’Dowd, 7:15 p.m.
No. 9 CLAYTON VALLEY (1-1)
Previous ranking: 4
Last week: Lost to Higley-Gilbert, Ariz, 37-27
Up next: Saturday Oak Ridge-El Dorado Hills, 7:30 p.m.
No. 10 WILCOX (1-1)
Previous ranking: 10
Last week: Beat Hollister 19-9
Up next: Friday vs. Sacred Heart Cathedral, 7 p.m.
No. 11 EL CERRITO (2-0)
Previous ranking: 12
Last week: Beat Freedom 63-14
Up next: Friday vs. Fremont-Oakland, 7 p.m.
No. 12 ST. FRANCIS (1-1)
Previous ranking: 13
Last week: Beat Monterey Trail-Elk Grove 28-21
Up next: Friday vs. De La Salle, 7:30 p.m.
No. 13 LIBERTY (1-1)
Previous ranking: 14
Last week: Lost to Los Gatos 35-34
Up next: Friday vs. Wood-Vacaville, 7 p.m.
No. 14 MONTE VISTA (2-0)
Previous ranking: 16
Last week: Beat San Leandro 50-8
Up next: Friday vs. Bellarmine, 7 p.m.
No. 15 ST. IGNATIUS (1-1)
Previous ranking: 15
Last week: Beat Jesuit-Carmichael 28-27
Up next: Friday vs. Cathedral-San Diego, 7 p.m.
No. 16 ARCHBISHOP MITTY (2-0)
Previous ranking: 18
Last week: Beat Aptos 41-28
Up next: Friday at Santa Teresa, 7 p.m.
No. 17 AMADOR VALLEY (1-1)
Previous ranking: Not ranked
Last week: Beat Campolindo 6-0
Up next: Friday at Acalanes, 7 p.m.
No. 18 CAMPOLINDO (1-1)
Previous ranking: 11
Last week: Lost to Amador Valley 6-0
Up next: Friday vs. Windsor, 7 p.m.
No. 19 SACRED HEART PREP (1-1)
Previous ranking: 21
Last week: Beat Sacred Heart Cathedral 42-23
Up next: Saturday at Palo Alto, 7 p.m.
No. 20 CALIFORNIA (1-1)
Previous ranking: Not ranked
Last week: Beat James Logan 34-7
Up next: Friday vs. Escalon, 7 p.m.
No. 21 CHRISTOPHER (2-0)
Previous ranking: 19
Last week: Beat Piedmont Hills 30-24
Up next: Friday vs. San Mateo, 7 p.m.
No. 22 ACALANES (0-2)
Previous ranking: 17
Last week: Lost to San Ramon Valley 44-21
Up next: Friday vs. Amador Valley, 7 p.m.
No. 23 MENLO-ATHERTON (1-1)
Previous ranking: 25
Last week: Beat Elk Grove 20-14
Up next: Saturday vs. Patterson, 2 p.m.
No. 24 LIVE OAK (2-0)
Previous ranking: 20
Last week: Beat Mountain View 20-14
Up next: TBD
No. 25 PALO ALTO (2-0)
Previous ranking: Not ranked
Last week: Beat Leland 38-20
Up next: Saturday vs. Sacred Heart Prep, 7 p.m.
Editor’s note: Teams eligible for the Bay Area News Group rankings come from leagues based predominantly in Alameda, Contra Costa, San Mateo and Santa Clara counties.
Originally published at Darren Sabedra