CIF-Southern Section High School Football Rankings: Top 25 teams – Sept. 30

There’s no more daunting part of the state when it comes to California high school football than the CIF-Southern Section, and that’s reflected each week in the rankings.

Of the top 10 teams in the Golden State, nine hail from the CIF-SS. After the latest results from the weekend, here are the full top-25 rankings for California’s most challenging section, per the On3 Massey Ratings:

The On3 Massey Ratings, officially used during the BCS era, is a model that ranks sports teams by analyzing game outcomes, strength of schedule and margin of victory. According to the model — four teams from Alabama rank inside the nationwide top 100.

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1. Mater Dei (4-0)

After beating national powerhouse St. Frances Academy out of Maryland, Mater Dei had a well-deserved bye week before its top-10 showdown against Santa Margarita Catholic on Friday night. The On3 Massey Ratings heavily favor the Monarchs to win that contest and remain undefeated.

2. St. John Bosco (5-0)

The Braves rolled past previously undefeated Pittsburgh in Week 4, but like Mater Dei, had a bye week before another big came this weekend. They’ll face No. 6 Orange Lutheran and quarterback TJ Lateef, who leads a 4-1 squad into this one.

3. Mission Viejo (6-0)

Mission Viejo crushed top-25 Chaparral 51-10 over the weekend to remain spotless and maintain their No. 11 spot in the national rankings. Before they get to their bye week on October 11, they’ll face a Long Beach Poly squad looking to pull off an upset and get back to .500.

4. Centennial (3-2)

After a slow start that saw them lose their first two games, the Huskies have rebounded in a huge way with wins over Utah powers Timpview and Lone Peak, as well as a 63-39 bludgeoning of Arizona No. 1 Liberty on Saturday night. They’re now averaging better than 55 points per game over the past three weeks and look to be hitting their stride.

5. J Serra Catholic (5-0)

Following a 5-0 start that included top-25 wins over Sierra Canyon, Clovis North and Lincoln, the Lions got a needed bye week before the meat of their schedule starts. Over the next five weeks, they’ll face five consecutive top-10 teams in the state: No. 7 Servite, No. 6 Orange Lutheran, No. 1 Mater Dei, No. 9 Santa Margarita Catholic and No. 2 St. John Bosco. No team will be more battle-tested going into the playoffs.

6. Orange Lutheran (4-1)

The Lancers have had a daunting schedule to start the season with games against No. 12 Junipero Serra, No. 23 Rancho Cucamonga, St. Frances Academy, Nevada’s No. 1 Bishop Gorman, and No. 10 Sierra Canyon. Coming out of that, they sit at 4-1 and among the top teams in the state. But the Trinity League spares no one, as they’ll also face five top-10 teams to close out the season.

7. Servite (5-0)

The 5-0 Friars will no doubt get their biggest test so far when they head to face No. 5 J Serra Catholic on Friday night. That kicks off a run of five games against top-10 teams for them as well.

8. Santa Margarita Catholic (3-2)

Santa Margarita was idle over the weekend after a 3-2 start that included a huge win over No. 5 Centennial but also losses to Missouri Viejo and Leuzinger. They’ll be underdogs in four of their final five games, according to the On3 Massey Ratings, which includes tilts against Mater Dei, Bosco, Orange Lutheran, J Serra Catholic and Servite.

9. Sierra Canyon (2-3)

The Trailblazers have faced a brutal first half of their schedule with five ranked matchups to open the season. They had a huge win over one of Hawaii’s top teams, Punahou, but fell J Serra Catholic, St. John Bosco and Orange Lutheran to drop to 2-3. The good news is that the schedule the rest of the way is much easier, with only one remaining top-25 opponent.

10. Gardena Junipero Serra (3-2)

Junipero Serra has already faced three ranked teams in the first half of the season, falling to Orange Lutheran in Week 1 and Oaks Christian in Week 4 before finally breaking through in a 42-7 win over Los Alamitos. The Cavaliers are back above. 500 now and will face only one other state-ranked team this season, Sierra Canyon in Week 10.

Teams 11-25 in CIF-SS High School Football Rankings

11. Los Alamitos
12. Oaks Christian
13. Murrieta Valley
14. Rancho Cucamonga
15. Chaparral

16. Inglewood
17. Oak Hills
18. Leuzinger
19. San Juan Hills
20. Yorba Linda

21. Granite Hills
22. Villa Park
23. Vista Murrieta
24. Damien
25. Newbury Park