Stanislaus District Rankings

 1.  Central Catholic (0-0): Raiders open Saturday vs. traditional rival Cardinal Newman at Del Oro. One of the best parochial school showdowns we’ve got in NorCal.

 2.  Buhach Colony (0-0): The Thunder plays Thursday at Enochs, and that game gained some juice as the Eagles rallied past Sierra in their opener. BC can be prolific.

 3.  Modesto (1-0): Offense was as good as advertised in a 48-36 win over Pitman and QB Klayton Miller appears to be on target. Defense? It must improve against Stagg.

 4.  Oakdale (1-0): Five sophomores and a 56-20 win shows Mustangs have reloaded. Why such a big jump? At Turlock Friday, then Granite Bay — two big, tough foes.

 5.  Escalon (0-0): Opens with Lathrop and Linden, but there’s a monster waiting in Week 3 with Patterson. The Tigers were tremendous in road rout of Division 1 Davis.

 6.  Sonora (0-0): Wildcats open Friday at Johansen, which comes off surprising OT loss. All eyes will be on QB Ryan Emerald and how the power running game develops.

 7.  Turlock (1-0): RB Ricky Fuentes brings life to the offense with his quickness on the edge. Keep an eye on the line as Turlock tries to contain Oakdale LB A.C. Brown.

 8.  Enochs (1-0): Second-half rally led to win on road vs. Sierra. Any win over a VOL contender is a great win. Defense will be tested like never before against Buhach.

 9.  Patterson (1-0): Tigers as physical as any team in the district and their linebackers are great fun to watch. Offense still trying to find that big-play threat, however.

 10.  Manteca (0-0): Buffs boast one of the top QBs in Matt Burrows and it appears to be one of those snarling defensive units that gets better as the season goes on.

 11.  Hilmar (1-0): ’Jackets rewarded for stepping up to play D1 Beyer, first time the school faced such a school in the modern era. Enochs and Buhach await this month.

 12.  Merced (0-1): Brutal schedule means it will be tough for Bears to stay ranked; Clovis West is up this weekend.

 13.  Pitman (0-1): Pride loves turf and showed it can play on slick stuff with 36 in opener, but defense gave up 48.

 14.  Summerville (0-0): Bears will need to impress early to fend off challenges from teams on the cusp of rankings.

 15.  Livingston (1-0): RB Charles Brown helped Warriors put up 60 in opener, but MC provides challenge Friday.