Stanislaus District prep football rankings (11/20/14)

LARGE SCHOOLS

(Modesto Metro Conference, Central California Conference, Valley Oak League, Western Athletic Conference)

1. (1) Merced (9-2) – Throttled Tokay 66-27 last week and will face Monterey Trail on Friday; top-seeded Folsom looms.

2. (2) Sierra (10-1) – Senior Mark Paule rushed for 220 yards in 69-37 win over Rosemont, the sixth time this season he topped the 200 mark; hosts Rio Linda.

3. (3) Oakdale (10-1) – Had little trouble with tough Pacheco in 50-8 win; Vista del Lago visits The Corral on Friday.

4. (4) Manteca (9-2) – Defending Sac-Joaquin Section D-III champs opened with a 49-14 victory against Vanden; next hosts Sacramento, the team it beat 49-6 in last year’s section title game.

5. (5) Central Catholic (8-3) – Under head coach Roger Canepa, Raiders have won first-round playoff games by an average of 42 points; CC faces Escalon on Friday.

6. (6) Downey (10-1) – The Knights rallied for a 20-19 win over Antelope and as a reward they face a Grant team that eliminated them from the playoffs last year.

7. (7) Modesto (9-2) – Could never get anything going in 24-10 loss to Elk Grove of Franklin.

8. (8) Turlock (6-5) – Nearly pulled off upset of Tracy, but fell 21-19.

9. (9) Pitman (7-3) – Overmatched in 39-14 loss to Napa.

10. (10) Los Banos (9-2) – Coach Dustin Caropreso has Tigers in D-IV semifinals for second time in three seasons.

Dropped out: None. On the bubble: Pacheco (7-4), Gregori (7-4), Patterson (7-4).

SMALL SCHOOLS

(Trans-Valley League, Mother Lode League, Southern League, Central California Athletic Association)

1. (1) Sonora (10-1) – Had little trouble in a 56-14 win over Marysville; faces Los Banos in D-IV semifinal.

2. (2) Modesto Christian (10-1) – Thumped Rio Vista 76-41 last week for the right to face always-tough Bradshaw Christian in D-VI semifinal.

3. (3) Escalon (8-3) – Cougars one win away from their 15th section championship game in school history.

4. (7) Hughson (8-3) – Clobbered Le Grand 41-0; makes the long trip to Grass Valley to take on tough Bear River team in D-V semi.

5. (4) Ripon Christian (9-2) – Knights were a 34-13 winner over Golden Sierra last week; faces top-seed Capital Christian on Friday.

6. (5) Mariposa (9-2) – Slipped past No. 10 Amador 14-7 in the D-V playoffs; second-seeded Colfax awaits.

7. (6) Le Grand (7-4) – The Bulldogs streak of four consecutive D-V titles and five straight appearances in title game ended with loss to Hughson.

8. (8) Gustine (7-4) – The Redskins’ first trip to the postseason since 2003 ended with 47-6 loss to Bradshaw Christian.

9. (9) Orestimba (6-5) – Warriors made a 14-mile trip to face Bear River, and were unable to secure school’s first postseason victory.

10. (10) Amador (6-5) – Amador won six of its final seven in regular season to make playoffs but couldn’t keep the magic going against Mariposa.

Dropped out: None. On the bubble: Summerville (6-4).

Joe Cortez

This story was originally published November 19, 2014 at 7:46 PM with the headline "Stanislaus District prep football rankings (11/20/14)."