Central Section top 15 high school football rankings (10/15/09)

October 15, 12:12 PMBakersfield Sports ExaminerKevin Eubanks

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1. Bullard (5-0)
Bullard sits at 5-0 and has already beaten its toughest competition on its schedule. It looks like the only thing standing between a 10-0 record for Bullard is Bullard itself.

2. Buchanan (5-0)
No doubt Buchanan plays a great schedule, but it has looked a little shaky since its big win over Bakersfield. The Bears face more tough tests in Madera and Clovis West in the next two weeks – don’t be surprised to see the mighty fall.

3. Tulare Union (5-0)
Unlike Buchanan, Tulare Union plays a very weak schedule and the lack of opposition in the East Yosemite League doesn’t help matters much. But the Redskins have done what they are supposed to do against weak teams by winning huge. Tulare has shut out three opponents and have outscored its opposition 286-46.

4. San Joaquin Memorial (4-1)
San Joaquin Memorial at No. 4? Really? Believe it. The Panthers crushed Yosemite on the road, beat up on a very good Christian Brothers team out of Sacramento, shutout Garces, defeat another very good defensive team in Hoover, and nearly knocked off Buchanan. Memorial is the real deal.

5. Stockdale (4-1)
With the tough SWYL schedule kicking into gear, Stockdale can show itself as being worthy of a top five spot in the Central Section. It’s tough to imagine the Mustangs ranked any higher than this, however, unless they can pull off some really impressive results.

6. Clovis West (2-3)
Here’s a team that is hard to pin down. It has played by far the toughest schedule in the Central Section – and maybe the state – but has really been beat up by some good teams. A win over Edison and a close loss to No. 1 Bullard shows that Clovis West is good. But how good?

7. Frontier (5-0)
The Titans are making huge jumps up the rankings. A win this week over Ridgeview would show another level of quality from the Titans that we weren’t expecting this year, and maybe another jump in the rankings.

8. Central (3-2)
Yes, the marquee matchup in the Central Section this week comes from an unlikely source, No. 6 Clovis West vs. No. 8 Central. The Grizzlies have blowout wins against very good teams (Clovis North and El Diamante) and showed it can score in chunks after a 73-7 win over Sunnyside. Central’s next claim to legitimacy can come on Friday night.

9. El Diamante (4-1)
Nice win last week at Paso Robles, and the Miners’ lone loss came at the hands of what is turning out to be a really good Central squad. Is El Diamante good enough to hang with the big boys of Division II like it has the last three seasons?

10. Hoover (4-1)
Liberty, take a look at Hoover and learn. The Patriots (see the resemblance?) are one of the great Central Section defensive teams, holding its opponents to just 38 points while only one – San Joaquin Memorial – has reached double digits when scoring 15. The difference? Hoover’s offense is good enough to score in the 20s and 30s nearly every week.

11. Edison (3-2)
Credit Edison for playing a quality schedule. If it went out and played a Tulare Union schedule, this super athletic group would probably be a resounding 5-0. Losses to Buchanan and Clovis West show that it isn’t quite up with the big boys of the Central Section, though.

12. Kingsburg (5-0)
This ranking really could be too low for Kingsburg. If there was one team in the Central Section that is nearly assured a 10-0 record, it’s Kingsburg. The Vikings are easily the best small school team in the section, and could realistically be one of the top six or seven overall.

13. Delano (5-0)
It’s tough to know just how good Delano is. The 5-0 start and the blowout wins are impressive and the only semi-tough games left on the schedule are this Friday at Porterville and then the showdown against Tulare Union. A win this week would almost guarantee a 9-1 season, and with a miracle, the Tigers could hold a perfect season.

14. Liberty (3-2)
Where does Liberty belong? Apologies to Patriots fans who think I’m harping on Liberty too much, but I just don’t know where they should go. The win over Bakersfield was nice, but the loss to Centennial was ugly, and even the win over West wasn’t pretty. I guess winning ugly is still winning.

15. Bakersfield (3-2)
The Drillers should likely be higher, but with Liberty holding the win over the Drillers, it makes sense to place Bakersfield below the Patriots. An impressive win over Garces could help the Drillers’ cause.

Click here to see the Bakersfield area top 10 rankings
Click here for the Central Section divisional top 7 rankings