High school football rankings: Computer rankings matter now as regular season ends
Escalon qualified for the postseason last week with a win over Ripon. The Cougars now are 4-5 with one final game this week against Orestimba.
Central Catholic and Turlock continue to win, strengthening their cases for first-round byes in the Division I playoffs. Hughson cemented its top seed in Division V with a convincing win over Hilmar on Friday night. It will not play this week after originally having Modesto Christian scheduled, meaning with a first-round bye, the Huskies won’t play a football game until the D-V quarterfinals Nov. 15.
Oakdale has the biggest game of any local top 10 team as it tries to hand Manteca its first Valley Oak League loss. Central Catholic likely will be rooting for the Mustangs because a Manteca loss drops the Buffaloes to 5-1. If the Raiders win Friday, they will finish tied with the Buffaloes as co-VOL champions.
As for The Bee’s Top 10? There was no movement this week after a pretty standard Friday night of games Week 10. Higher-ranked teams won and there were no upsets big enough to unseat a team in the top five.
As we enter the final week of the high school football season in the Sac-Joaquin Section, all eyes will be on the CalPreps.com rankings. Nearly every section seeding committee in the CIF uses the site’s metrics to determine playoff seeding. The SJS is no different. League champions earn automatic berths to the postseason in their respective divisions. The rest of the spots in each 12-team bracket are determined by the rankings. Each team needs four wins to qualify for the postseason.
1. Central Catholic (6-3)
Last Week: 52-19 win at Mountain House
This Week: 11/1 vs Sierra
2. Turlock (6-3)
Last Week: 42-0 win at Modesto
This Week: 11/1 vs Enochs
3. Downey (8-1)
Last Week: 66-7 win vs Enochs
This Week: 11/1 at Gregori
4. Hughson (9-0)
Last Week: 41-24 win at Hilmar
This Week: BYE
5. Oakdale (7-2)
Last Week: 63-21 win vs Sierra
This Week: 11/1 at Manteca
6. Patterson (5-5)
Last Week: 39-27 loss vs Manteca
This Week: BYE
7. Escalon (4-5)
Last Week: 23-14 win at Ripon
This Week: 11/1 vs Orestimba
8. Hilmar (4-5)
Last Week: 41-24 loss vs Hughson
This Week: 11/1 vs Ripon
9. Orestimba (6-3)
Last Week: 21-17 win vs Ripon Christian
This Week: 11/1 at Escalon
10. Ripon Christian (4-5)
Last Week: 21-17 loss at Orestimba
This Week: 11/1 vs Sonora
Bubble Teams: Big Valley Christian (5-4), Ceres (6-3), Davis (4-5), Johansen (5-4), Riverbank (5-4)
