Latest Bee Top 25 prep football rankings set up early-season showdown in the Fresno area
Week 2 of the Central Section high school football season features a tasty matchup of top-five teams in The Bee’s Top 25.
No. 3 San Joaquin Memorial and No. 4 Central will meet Friday at Koligian Stadium in The Bee’s Game of the Week featuring quarterbacks Dayton Tafoya of Central and Carson Dean of SJM.
Both teams were solid in season-openers. Memorial defeated No. 16 Clovis North 34-0, while the Grizzlies went to Stockton and beat Edison 28-7.
The Bee’s top five remains the same with No. 1 Liberty-Bakersfield, No. 2 Buchanan, No. 3 San Joaquin Memorial, No. 4 Central and No. 5 Clovis West.
Hanford moved up two spots to No. 6 after a convincing 41-22 victory over No. 7 Bullard. The Knights next face No. 18 Tulare Western on Friday.
Central Valley Christian is now No. 9 after defeating Ripon Christian 42-14.
No. 20 Lemoore and No. 24 Washington Union meet in Easton on Friday in what figures to be a high-scoring game, Lemoore set a school record with 78 points against Selma, according to section historian Bob Barnett, while the Panthers beat Fresno 61-0.
Other Fresno-area matchups of ranked teams include No. 12 Kingsburg at No. 21 Sunnyside and No. 19 Redwood at No. 16 Clovis North (Thursday at Veterans Memorial Stadium).
Here are the new rankings heading into Week 2.
Top 25
1. Liberty-Bakersfield (1-0)
Pvs: 1
Last week: defeated Spanish Springs-Sparks, Nev. 58-17
Up next: Friday vs. Ridgeview, 7:30 p.m.
2. Buchanan (1-0)
Pvs: 2
Last week: defeated Bakersfield 56-3
Up next: Friday at Escalon, 7 p.m.
3. San Joaquin Memorial (1-0)
Pvs: 3
Last week: defeated Clovis North 34-0
Up next: Friday at Central, 7 p.m.
4. Central (1-0)
Pvs: 4
Last week: defeated Edison-Stockton 28-7
Up next: Friday vs. San Joaquin Memorial, 7 p.m.
5. Clovis West (1-0)
Pvs: 5
Last week: defeated Ridgeview 42-0
Up next: Friday vs. Turlock, 7 p.m. (Veterans Memorial Stadium)
6. Hanford (1-0)
Pvs: 8
Last week: defeated Bullard 41-22
Up next: Friday at Buhach Colony-Atwater, 7 p.m.
7. Bullard (0-1)
Pvs: 6
Last week: lost to Hanford 41-22
Up next: Friday vs. Tulare Western, 7:30 p.m. (Ratcliffe Stadium)
8. Bakersfield (0-1)
Pvs: 7
Last week: lost to Buchanan 56-3
Up next: Friday vs. Frontier, 7:30 p.m.
9. Central Valley Christian (1-0)
Pvs: 10
Last week: defeated Ripon Christian 42-14
Up next: Friday at Mt. Whitney, 7 p.m. (Mineral King Bowl)
10. Clovis (0-1)
Pvs: 9
Last week: lost to Long Beach Poly 56-7
Up next: Friday at Sanger, 7:30 p.m.
11. St. Joseph (1-0)
Pvs: 12
Last week: defeated Palos Verdes 19-16
Up next: Friday vs. Bakersfield Christian, 7 p.m.
12. Kingsburg (1-0)
Pvs: 13
Last week: defeated Paso Robles 35-0
Up next: Friday at Sunnyside, 7:30 p.m.
13. Clovis East (1-0)
Pvs: 14
Last week: defeated Dinuba 48-21
Up next: Friday vs. Atwater, 7 p.m. (Lamonica Stadium)
14. Bakersfield Christian (1-0)
Pvs: 16
Last week: defeated Mission Prep 35-9
Up next: Friday at St. Joseph, 7 p.m.
15. Garces (0-1)
Pvs: 11
Last week: lost to Los Alamitos 41-0
Up next: Friday at Paraclete-Lancaster, 7 p.m.
16. Clovis North (0-1)
Pvs: 15
Last week: lost to San Joaquin Memorial 34-0
Up next: Thursday vs. Redwood, 7 p.m. (Veterans Memorial Stadium)
17. Frontier (1-0)
Pvs: 18
Last week: defeated North 34-13
Up next: Friday at Bakersfield, 7:30 p.m.
18. Tulare Western (1-0)
Pvs: 19
Last week: defeated El Diamante 31-13
Up next: Friday at Bullard, 7:30 p.m. (Ratcliffe Stadium)
19. Redwood (0-1)
Pvs: 17
Last week: lost to Centennial 28-21
Up next: at Clovis North, 7 p.m. (Veterans Memorial Stadium)
20. Lemoore (1-0)
Pvs: 21
Last week: defeated Selma 78-6
Up next: Friday at Washington Union, 7 p.m.
21. Sunnyside (1-0)
Pvs: 22
Last week: defeated Golden Valley-Bakersfield 50-21
Up next: Friday vs. Kingsburg, 7 p.m.
22. Reedley (1-0)
Pvs: 23
Last week: defeated Firebaugh 34-12
Up next: Thursday at Roosevelt, 7 p.m. (Sunnyside Stadium)
23. Edison (1-0)
Pvs: 24
Last week: defeated Kennedy 20-13
Up next: Sept. 2 vs. Hoover, 7:30 p.m. (Ratcliffe Stadium)
24. Washington Union (1-0)
Pvs: 25
Last week: defeated Fresno 61-0
Up next: Friday vs. Lemoore, 7 p.m.
25. Mission Prep (0-1)
Pvs: 20
Last week: lost to Bakersfield Christian 35-9
Up next: Sept 2. vs. McLane, 7 p.m.
Also: Centennial (1-0), Mission Oak (1-0), Highland (1-0), Lompoc (1-0), Independence (1-0), Sanger (1-0), Santa Ynez (1-0), Santa Maria (1-0), Cabrillo (1-0), Golden West (1-0), Wasco (1-0), Porterville (1-0), Arroyo Grande (0-1), Dinuba (0-1), Tulare Union (0-1), Paso Robles (0-1), Stockdale (0-1), Righetti (0-1)
Week 2
Thursday, Aug. 25
Nonleague
East Bakersfield at Golden Valley-Bakersfield, 7 p.m.
Redwood at Clovis North, 7 p.m. (Veterans Memorial Stadium)
Reedley at Roosevelt, 7 p.m. (Sunnyside Stadium)
Liberty-Madera Ranchos at Sanger West, 7:30 p.m. (Tom Flores Stadium)
Mendota at McLane, 7:30 p.m.
South at Porterville, 7:30 p.m. (Rankin Stadium)
Friday, Aug. 26
Nonleague
San Joaquin Memorial at Central, 7 p.m.
Fresno at Chowchilla, 7 p.m.
Lemoore at Washington Union, 7 p.m.
Hanford West at Strathmore, 7 p.m.
Lindsay at California City, 7 p.m.
Central Valley Christian at Mt. Whitney, 7 p.m.
Stockdale at Kennedy, 7 p.m.
Torres at Kerman, 7 p.m.
San Luis Obispo at Caruthers, 7 p.m.
Yosemite at Bishop, 7 p.m.
Coalinga at Templeton, 7 p.m.
Fresno Christian at Mojave, 7 p.m.
Mira Monte at Boron, 7 p.m.
North at Atascadero, 7 p.m.
Bakersfield Christian at St. Joseph, 7 p.m.
Cabrillo at Nipomo, 7 p.m.
Centennial at Arroyo Grande, 7 p.m.
Alpaugh at Trona, 7 p.m.
Sierra at Kern Valley-Lake Isabella, 7 p.m.
Pioneer Valley at Lompoc, 7 p.m.
Woodlake at Exeter, 7:15 p.m.
Parlier at Granite Hills, 7:15 p.m.
West at Delano, 7:15 p.m.
Tulare Western at Bullard, 7:30 p.m. (Ratcliffe Stadium)
El Diamante at Tulare Union, 7:30 p.m.
Arvin at Shafter, 7:30 p.m.
Firebaugh at Fowler, 7:30 p.m.
Foothill at Taft, 7:30 p.m.
Frontier at Bakerfield, 7:30 p.m.
Golden West at Dinuba, 7:30 p.m.
Highland at Tehachapi, 7:30 p.m.
Kingsburg at Sunnyside, 7:30 p.m.
Madera at Selma, 7:30 p.m.
Tranquillity at McFarland, 7:30 p.m.
Mission Oak at Immanuel, 7:30 p.m.
Monache at Chavez, 7:30 p.m.
Orosi at Avenal, 7:30 p.m.
Ridgeview at Liberty-Bakersfield, 7:30 p.m.
Riverdale at Orange Cove, 7:30 p.m.
Clovis at Sanger, 7:30 p.m.
Sierra Pacific at Hoover, 7:30 p.m. (McLane Stadium)
Intersectional
Buchanan at Escalon, 7 p.m.
Atwater at Clovis East, 7 p.m. (Lamonica Stadium)
Turlock at Clovis West, 7 p.m. (Veterans Memorial Stadium)
Hanford at Buhach Colony-Atwater, 7 p.m.
Morro Bay at Carpinteria, 7 p.m.
Garces at Paraclete-Lancaster, 7 p.m.
San Marcos at Santa Maria, 7 p.m.
Santa Barbara at Righetti, 7 p.m.
Golden Valley-Merced at Madera South, 7 p.m.
Garza at Stone Ridge Christian-Merced, 7 p.m. (Castle Air Force Base in Atwater)
Mariposa County at Minarets, 7:30 p.m.
Summerville at Dos Palos, 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, Aug. 27
Intersectional
Big Bear at Rosamond, 7 p.m.
This story was originally published August 22, 2022 at 12:28 PM.
