Football: Behind the new rankings

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Here’s an early look at the football rankings that will be published in Monday’s paper, with comments on team movement after the jump (last week’s ranking in parentheses):

1. Crenshaw 8-0 (1)

2. Oaks Christian 8-0 (2)

3. Edison 8-0 (3)

4. Lakewood 8-1 (4)

5. Servite 7-1 (5)

6. Gardena Serra 8-0 (6)

7. Mission Viejo 8-0 (8)

8. Moorpark 8-0 (7)

9. Redlands East Valley 8-0 (9)

10. Bishop Amat 8-0 (10)

11. St. Bonaventure 7-1 (11)

12. S.O. Notre Dame 7-1 (12)

13. Corona Centennial 7-1 (13)

14. Valencia 8-0 (14)

15. Fountain Valley 8-0 (15)

16. Norco 7-1 (16)

17. Rancho Cucamonga 7-1 (18)

18. Carson 6-2 (19)

19. Vista Murrieta 8-0 (20)

20. Los Alamitos 6-2 (17)

21. Dana Hills 7-1 (21)

22. Rancho Verde 8-0 (23)

23. Westlake 8-0 (24)

24. Charter Oak 8-1 (25)

25. Venice 7-1 (NR)

Moving up: We still don’t know quite what to make of Mission Viejo. The Diablos are somewhere between the best team in Southern California and just another good team. Mission Viejo is unbeaten but hasn’t defeated anyone of note--Loyola was without top running back Anthony Barr and Tesoro is significantly down from last year. Mission Viejo’s game against Dana Hills on Nov. 13 should be a better barometer of how good the Diablos are. Rancho Cucamonga, Carson and Vista Murrieta all got a one-spot bump because of Los Alamitos’ loss to Edison.

Moving down: Moorpark’s 28-21 overtime victory over a .500 Thousand Oaks team tells us something: the Musketeers may not be all that. So we’re dropping them one spot. Los Alamitos can’t be punished too harshly for a 27-10 loss to Edison, though the Griffins did appear to be their own worst enemy for much of the game.

Moving in: Venice. The Gondoliers’ only loss was to Oaks Christian, and it was a relatively close game until the fourth quarter.

Moving out: Upland. We wouldn’t necessarily describe the Highlanders’ 18-16 defeat against Etiwanda as a ‘bad loss’--Etiwanda’s only two losses are to Norco and Charter Oak--but it was just enough for us to give Upland a gentle nudge out of the top 25. If the Highlanders beat Rancho Cucamonga on Friday, they’re back in.

On the doorstep: Mater Dei, Orange Lutheran, St. Francis, Chaparral, Colton.

Games of the week: Edison vs. Fountain Valley at Cal State Fullerton, Servite vs. Orange Lutheran at Cerritos College, Dorsey at Crenshaw, Norco at Corona Centennial, Rancho Cucamonga at Upland, Carson at Narbonne, Roosevelt vs. Garfield at East L.A. College.

--Ben Bolch