Lopez’s look back, look ahead: Why I’m staying pat on my rankings this week

Four of the six Central California Athletic League teams were on a bye this week in preparation for the conference season that begins next week.

For a team like Downey, the rest came at a perfect time with the injury to freshman quarterback Beau Green in the Knights’ loss to McClymonds on Sept. 14.

Head Coach Jeremy Plaa said at the Modesto Quarterback Club last week that the bye week “came at the right time.” The CCAL season begins with a dandy of a matchup as Downey travels to face Turlock. Green “could” return for the Knights game against the Bulldogs.

“It is one of our biggest games of the year,” Plaa said.

Downey is 3-2 while Turlock is 2-3 but the Bulldogs three losses came to teams that are a combined 15-2.

Two of the hottest teams in the league also face off when Modesto, which has won four straight, travels to face Gregori. After a 0-2 start, the Jaguars have won three straight in large part to a strong running game. Gregori won the Modesto Metro Conference for the first time in school history last year.

Pitman at Enochs is the other CCAL matchup.

Rankings

Not a lot of changes to the rankings this week but that could change next week with a couple of big-time matchups. In the small-school rankings, No. 1 Ripon Christian hosts No. 2 Orestimba while in the medium-school rankings, No. 1 Modesto Christian hosts No. 5 Escalon.

The winner of Ripon Christian-Orestimba will most likely stay at the No. 1 spot for the rest of the season and I am already on record in picking the Warriors to win the Southern League.

Central Catholic will likely remain No. 1 in the large-school rankings until the last week of the season when they travel to face No. 5 Oakdale.

Notes

• Hughson junior quarterback Steven Morris was injured in the first half of the Huskies’ 37-0 loss to Modesto Christian on Friday and did not play in the second half. Morris was spotted with a sling wrapped around his right shoulder after the game. Morris is the Huskies’ best player and Hughson can’t afford to be without its signal-caller for a long time.
• Friday was my first time seeing Modesto Christian junior Xavier Carlton and the four-star prospect, according to 247sports, was as good as advertised. Hughson double-teamed Carlton all night and ran the ball away from 6-foot-7 defensive end but he still managed to make plays. Carlton had two tackles for a loss, one sack, one forced fumble, and one pass deflection.