Culver City has seized the #1 spot in D-11 this week in both CIFss poll & calpreps.com rankings after their convincing 58-27 victory over West Torrance. The Centaurs face non-directional, just "Torrance" this week, who will be running their wing T misdirection. Torrance (0-1) lost their opener 15-26 to Marina (2-0) of Huntington Beach. They could be a slightly better team than they were last year, but not likely to be good enough to bring down this high flying Culver team. It was 49-14 last year, I expect similar this year.
Arcadia (1-1) has the #2 spot in calpreps ratings & #3 in the CIFss poll. They played way up out of their division losing to D-2 Cathedral 0-49. Perhaps having played Cathedral last week will make Hart seem like a cupcake in comparison. It worked for Downey (1-1) who lost to Santa Margarita before beating Hart last week. But, I don't think Arcadia is at the level of Downey. I expect Arcadia to lose by at least a couple of TD's to an angry Hart squad.
Arroyo (2-0) is #2 in the CIF-SS D-11 poll & #4 in the calpreps rankings. Arroyo has won 2 games against modestly inferior teams, but not blowing out either of them. Schurr will not be significantly inferior. Schurr won a close one in week 0 against California (0-2) of Whittier 21-14. Then they came back and dominated Garfield (1-1) 46-14 and Schurr's senior QB Miguel Aguero is on fire throwing for 3 TD's against Cali & 5 against Garfield. Their receivers catch & run with the ball well. Watch out for that bubble screen. They love to run it. Arroyo comes in with a slightly better rating, but I would call this a toss up. The good (or bad) news for Arroyo is that this should be the toughest game of the regular season. This Schurr team will be the only one that will come up to playoff competition level before the playoffs, but that also means Arroyo is a lock to make it to the playoffs.
St. Genevieve is #3 in the calpreps rankings & #4 in the CIFss poll. Unfortunately for St. Gen, their game against Heritage Christian of Northridge was cancelled last week, probably due to smoke from the fire & heat. They will get a stiffer test this week (than in week 0) from West Ranch (1-0) who beat a struggling Simi Valley (0-2) 55-7 in week 0. But Simi is still more of a team than St. Gen faced in week 0 against Poly of Sun Valley. Looks like both teams missed a game due to heat & fire last week. St. Gen is significantly higher rated than West this week but not sure if those ratings can be trusted. If St. Gen wins by 2 TD's or more, their ratings may be justified, if not, they better watch for Mary Star stealing their playoff spot. I will go out on a limb and pick West to win in a close contest.
Rancho Mirage (2-0) is #5 in both the CIFss poll & calpreps rankings. Rancho faces their toughest game of the regular season against LaQuinta (1-0). LQ easily beat North (0-1) of Riverside last week 35-6. While Rancho may be a tougher opponent than North for LQ, I still expect them to win, perhaps by 2 TD's. Rancho is 1 dimensional. RB Marques Prior will have to carry Rancho. Rancho needs to watch out for bulky TE & DE Gordon Haskell. He is a load & they like to throw to him. Rancho, much like Arroyo, should still cruise into the D-11 playoffs as there is no serious competition for them in the De Anza league.
Westminster (1-0) is #6 in calpreps #7 in the CIF-SS D-11 poll. They face Marina (2-0) of Huntington Beach this week. Westminster had a modest 21-17 win over a less than stellar Garden Grove. Marina will be a tougher nut to crack, although Westminster still comes in with the better rating. Marina did not overwhelm either of their two low rated opponents the last 2 weeks. I will pick Westminster in a 21-17 victory. Marina would love to move into the same league as Westminster (the Golden West) & avoid their annual pummeling in the Sunset league.
Segerstrom (2-0) of Santa Ana is #8 in calpreps & #6 in the CIF-SS D-11 poll. Segerstrom plays in the same 6 team league as Westminster. Segerstrom has pitched 2 straight shut outs winning 39-0 & 38-0, but against lower level opponents. They take a BIG step up this week hosting El Modena (1-0) of Orange. El Modena won last week's opener against Woodbridge (0-2) of Irvine 35-13. El Modena is rated about 50 points higher than Segerstrom's last opponent. El Modena's senior QB A.J. Esparanza was a very efficient 10 of 14 for 138 yards & 3 TD's. They also ran the ball for 230 total yards. Well balanced. While Segerstrom is likely to lose this game, this contest and next week against Godinez should help them be prepared for the winnable but possibly close games in league. Westminster & Segerstrom are not locks for the playoffs out of the Golden West league as either could win league or finish 4th in the 6 team league & 4th may not get you into a playoff spot.
Hillcrest (1-1) of Riverside is #7 in calpreps & #8 in the CIF-SS D-11 poll. Hillcrest beat Jurupa Hills (1-1) in week 0, 34-15, but fell to the far superior Notre Dame (2-0) of Riverside, 25-49, per calpreps, or 25-36 per Maxpreps, last week. They face a much more reasonable, yet challenging opponent this week in Chino (1-1). Hillcrest rates as a slight favorite right now. QB Cordell Labrie & RB Elijah Dominguez are the fuel that makes Hillcrest go. J.L. Jefferson, a Junior, also gets some reps at QB. Dominguez had 211 yards receiving against Notre Dame, according to Maxpreps. Chino has some balance with enough successful QB action to keep other teams honest, but RB Derrin Henry is the star with 345 yards rushing in 2 games. Chino looks like they might be able to play good defense. I will predict that they can slow Hillcrest down enough to get the win in a close one. Hillcrest is also likely to handle all their River Valley league competition and be a lock for the D-11 playoffs.
Lakeside (2-0) of Lake Elsinore is #10 in calpreps.com & #9 in the CIF-SS D-11 poll. Lakeside has stacked their preleague schedule with creampuffs, but that is somewhat understandable as they are playing in a tough 6 team Sunbelt league & project to finish 4th which would require an overall winning record to have any chance for an at-large playoff spot should any be available. They won their first two games 33-0 & 33-7 but this week's opponent, Canyon Springs (1-0) should be somewhat tougher. Unfortunately, the stats show Lakeside as pretty one dimensional, leaning heavily on the capabilities of senior RB Adrian Burt. Lakeside has the better rating, but the 1 dimensional look of Lakeside has me concerned and I will pick Chino to win.
Pacific (2-0) of San Bernardino is ranked 10th in the CIF-SS D-11 poll & 15th in the calpreps.com rankings. Why the disparity you ask? The CIF polls have usually been swayed more by records and scores while calpreps ratings seem to be more influenced by wins and strength of opponent. Pacific won their first 2 in routs of 44-0 & 48-6 but the competition was very weak. They face what may be their toughest test of the preseason against Indian Springs (1-1) of San Bernardino, but there is already a comparison game and Indian Springs was only able to beat Jurupa Valley 28-14. Pacific should win this one and could go undefeated through the whole regular season, albeit against pretty weak competition, but they also should be a lock to be in the D-11 playoffs.
Arcadia (1-1) has the #2 spot in calpreps ratings & #3 in the CIFss poll. They played way up out of their division losing to D-2 Cathedral 0-49. Perhaps having played Cathedral last week will make Hart seem like a cupcake in comparison. It worked for Downey (1-1) who lost to Santa Margarita before beating Hart last week. But, I don't think Arcadia is at the level of Downey. I expect Arcadia to lose by at least a couple of TD's to an angry Hart squad.
Arroyo (2-0) is #2 in the CIF-SS D-11 poll & #4 in the calpreps rankings. Arroyo has won 2 games against modestly inferior teams, but not blowing out either of them. Schurr will not be significantly inferior. Schurr won a close one in week 0 against California (0-2) of Whittier 21-14. Then they came back and dominated Garfield (1-1) 46-14 and Schurr's senior QB Miguel Aguero is on fire throwing for 3 TD's against Cali & 5 against Garfield. Their receivers catch & run with the ball well. Watch out for that bubble screen. They love to run it. Arroyo comes in with a slightly better rating, but I would call this a toss up. The good (or bad) news for Arroyo is that this should be the toughest game of the regular season. This Schurr team will be the only one that will come up to playoff competition level before the playoffs, but that also means Arroyo is a lock to make it to the playoffs.
St. Genevieve is #3 in the calpreps rankings & #4 in the CIFss poll. Unfortunately for St. Gen, their game against Heritage Christian of Northridge was cancelled last week, probably due to smoke from the fire & heat. They will get a stiffer test this week (than in week 0) from West Ranch (1-0) who beat a struggling Simi Valley (0-2) 55-7 in week 0. But Simi is still more of a team than St. Gen faced in week 0 against Poly of Sun Valley. Looks like both teams missed a game due to heat & fire last week. St. Gen is significantly higher rated than West this week but not sure if those ratings can be trusted. If St. Gen wins by 2 TD's or more, their ratings may be justified, if not, they better watch for Mary Star stealing their playoff spot. I will go out on a limb and pick West to win in a close contest.
Rancho Mirage (2-0) is #5 in both the CIFss poll & calpreps rankings. Rancho faces their toughest game of the regular season against LaQuinta (1-0). LQ easily beat North (0-1) of Riverside last week 35-6. While Rancho may be a tougher opponent than North for LQ, I still expect them to win, perhaps by 2 TD's. Rancho is 1 dimensional. RB Marques Prior will have to carry Rancho. Rancho needs to watch out for bulky TE & DE Gordon Haskell. He is a load & they like to throw to him. Rancho, much like Arroyo, should still cruise into the D-11 playoffs as there is no serious competition for them in the De Anza league.
Westminster (1-0) is #6 in calpreps #7 in the CIF-SS D-11 poll. They face Marina (2-0) of Huntington Beach this week. Westminster had a modest 21-17 win over a less than stellar Garden Grove. Marina will be a tougher nut to crack, although Westminster still comes in with the better rating. Marina did not overwhelm either of their two low rated opponents the last 2 weeks. I will pick Westminster in a 21-17 victory. Marina would love to move into the same league as Westminster (the Golden West) & avoid their annual pummeling in the Sunset league.
Segerstrom (2-0) of Santa Ana is #8 in calpreps & #6 in the CIF-SS D-11 poll. Segerstrom plays in the same 6 team league as Westminster. Segerstrom has pitched 2 straight shut outs winning 39-0 & 38-0, but against lower level opponents. They take a BIG step up this week hosting El Modena (1-0) of Orange. El Modena won last week's opener against Woodbridge (0-2) of Irvine 35-13. El Modena is rated about 50 points higher than Segerstrom's last opponent. El Modena's senior QB A.J. Esparanza was a very efficient 10 of 14 for 138 yards & 3 TD's. They also ran the ball for 230 total yards. Well balanced. While Segerstrom is likely to lose this game, this contest and next week against Godinez should help them be prepared for the winnable but possibly close games in league. Westminster & Segerstrom are not locks for the playoffs out of the Golden West league as either could win league or finish 4th in the 6 team league & 4th may not get you into a playoff spot.
Hillcrest (1-1) of Riverside is #7 in calpreps & #8 in the CIF-SS D-11 poll. Hillcrest beat Jurupa Hills (1-1) in week 0, 34-15, but fell to the far superior Notre Dame (2-0) of Riverside, 25-49, per calpreps, or 25-36 per Maxpreps, last week. They face a much more reasonable, yet challenging opponent this week in Chino (1-1). Hillcrest rates as a slight favorite right now. QB Cordell Labrie & RB Elijah Dominguez are the fuel that makes Hillcrest go. J.L. Jefferson, a Junior, also gets some reps at QB. Dominguez had 211 yards receiving against Notre Dame, according to Maxpreps. Chino has some balance with enough successful QB action to keep other teams honest, but RB Derrin Henry is the star with 345 yards rushing in 2 games. Chino looks like they might be able to play good defense. I will predict that they can slow Hillcrest down enough to get the win in a close one. Hillcrest is also likely to handle all their River Valley league competition and be a lock for the D-11 playoffs.
Lakeside (2-0) of Lake Elsinore is #10 in calpreps.com & #9 in the CIF-SS D-11 poll. Lakeside has stacked their preleague schedule with creampuffs, but that is somewhat understandable as they are playing in a tough 6 team Sunbelt league & project to finish 4th which would require an overall winning record to have any chance for an at-large playoff spot should any be available. They won their first two games 33-0 & 33-7 but this week's opponent, Canyon Springs (1-0) should be somewhat tougher. Unfortunately, the stats show Lakeside as pretty one dimensional, leaning heavily on the capabilities of senior RB Adrian Burt. Lakeside has the better rating, but the 1 dimensional look of Lakeside has me concerned and I will pick Chino to win.
Pacific (2-0) of San Bernardino is ranked 10th in the CIF-SS D-11 poll & 15th in the calpreps.com rankings. Why the disparity you ask? The CIF polls have usually been swayed more by records and scores while calpreps ratings seem to be more influenced by wins and strength of opponent. Pacific won their first 2 in routs of 44-0 & 48-6 but the competition was very weak. They face what may be their toughest test of the preseason against Indian Springs (1-1) of San Bernardino, but there is already a comparison game and Indian Springs was only able to beat Jurupa Valley 28-14. Pacific should win this one and could go undefeated through the whole regular season, albeit against pretty weak competition, but they also should be a lock to be in the D-11 playoffs.
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