Central will start the season as The Bee’s top-ranked team. Who else made the Top 25?
Defending Central Section champion Central High is the preseason No. 1 in The Bee’s expanded high school football rankings.
The Grizzlies must replace quarterback Trent Tompkins, who is at UC Davis, but have enough talent across the board to edge Tri-River Athletic Conference rival No. 2 Buchanan for the top spot.
Central opens the season Friday night against No. 8 Edison at Koligian Stadium. Buchanan gets started Saturday night when it plays Narbonne-Harbor City at Veterans Memorial Stadium in a game televised on ESPNU.
Here are the overall section Top 25 and top 10s in each division:
Top 25
1. Central Grizzlies (13-1 in 2018)
Coach: Kyle Biggs
League: Tri-River Athletic Conference
Division: I
Skinny: Transfers Jameson Siliva and DJ Frampton compete to be the starting quarterback. The Grizzlies welcome back Cal-bound wide receiver Jeremiah Hunter, athlete Quail Conley, LB/RB Jekob Jones, OL DJ Tatum and DL Ricky Correia.
2. Buchanan Bears (10-3)
Coach: Matt Giordano
League: Tri-River Athletic Conference
Division: I
Skinny: This is it for star running back Kendall Milton, the senior who has committed to Georgia. Giordano said he likes the leadership by the seniors.
3. Liberty-Bakersfield Patriots (12-2)
Coach: Bryan Nixon
League: Southwest Yosemite League
Division: I
Skinny: The Patriots lost quarterback Hector Gonzalez and running back Sam Stewart Jr. to graduation, but have senior WR/DB Ramon Henderson back from team that upset Buchanan and reached the section final against Central last year.
4. San Joaquin Memorial Panthers (14-1)
Coach: Anthony Goston
League: County/Metro Athletic Conference
Division: II
Skinny: QB Alec Trujillo is gone, but the Panthers highlight major-college recruits in WRs Jalen McMillan (Washington) and Mac Dalena (Fresno State) and DE Tobin Phillips (Stanford). Who will replace Trujillo? It’s Finn Collins, a transfer from Loyola-Los Angeles.
5. Bakersfield Drillers (9-4)
Coach: Michael Stewart
League: Southwest Yosemite League
Division: I
Skinny: Gone is coach Paul Golla, who Bakersfield to five section D-I titles and a state title in 14 seasons but now is at Garces. Enter Stewart who starred at Fresno State before going in the eighth round of the 1987 NFL Draft with the Los Angeles Rams. The Drillers return seniors Wesley Wilson and Isaac Jernagin.
6. Bullard Knights (5-7)
Coach: Don Arax/Yosef Fares
League: County/Metro Athletic Conference
Division: I
Skinny: Arax brought a lot of knowledge to the coaching staff this season including Fares as co-head coach. The Knights won four straight last year before falling to Bakersfield in the playoffs.
7. Clovis Cougars (7-5)
Coach: Rich Hammond
League: Tri-River Athletic Conference
Division: I
Skinny: The Cougars are set at QB with Isaiah Robles, who threw for 2,282 yards and 19 touchdowns last season.
8. Edison Tigers (6-6)
Coach: Atnaf Harris
League: County/Metro Athletic Conference
Division: I
Skinny: Harris admits the first three games will be tough for his Tigers having to face Central, Clovis West and Buchanan. His starting QB will be San Joaquin Memorial transfer Justin Klair.
9. Ridgeview Wolf Pack (7-4)
Coach: Richard Cornford
League: South Yosemite
Division: I
Skinny: Cornford takes over for Dennis Manning. He remains with the team as a coordinator. He was the head coach for the past 10 years and led Ridgeview to nine league titles and three section titles.
10. Tulare Western Mustangs (9-2)
League: West Yosemite League
Division: II
Skinny: The Burrell brothers, QB Elijah and DB Jordan, are back. Elijah Burrell was effective in the air (11 TDs) and on the ground (five TDs) last season. Jordan Burrell had eight interceptions. Junior DE Michael Machado had seven sacks.
11. Arroyo Grande Eagles (8-4)
Coach: Michael Hartman
League: Mountain
Division: I
Skinny: The Eagles lost plenty on offense, but the strength will be the offensive line that is comprised mostly of juniors. QB Ethan Royal moves up from junior varsity.
12. Centennial Golden Hawks (6-5)
Coach: Richard Starrett
League: Southwest Yosemite
Division: I
Skinny: Starrett gets his first head-coaching assignment; he served as the offensive coordinator for four seasons at Mayde Creek-Houston. The Hawks return junior RB Ty Glass who had 848 yards and five TDs.
13. Garces Rams (4-8)
Coach: Paul Golla
League: Southwest Yosemite
Division: II
Skinny: Senior QB Joseph Campbell last season threw for 3,553 yards and 19 TDs against 21 interceptions.
14. Clovis East Timberwolves (4-7)
Coach: Ryan Reynolds
League: Tri-River Athletic Conference
Division: I
Skinny: Reynolds said his team will be led by junior QB Sean Kelly. He saw plenty of action last season when the Timberwolves ended a 27-game losing streak in a climb back to competitiveness.
15. Clovis West Golden Eagles (2-9)
Coach: Tim Randall
League: Tri-River Athletic Conference
Division: I
Skinny: Randall was the defensive coordinator and takes over for George Petrissans. The Golden Eagles will be inexperienced at QB, but they will have senior RB Brandon Wafer back.
16. Central Valley Christian Cavaliers (12-3)
Coach: Mason Hughes
League: Central Sequoia league
Division: III
Skinny: A bunch of talent on the team led by senior RB Jaalen Rening and OL/DL Dirk Nelson. Rening rushed for 1,695 yards and 24 TDs. Hughes said the Cavaliers are not as deep as past years but they have a big offensive and defensive lines.
17. Tulare Union Tribe (13-1)
Coach: Darren Bennett
League: East Yosemite
Division: I
Skinny: No Nathan Lamb for the Tribe (he’s at Fresno State), so who will step in? Whoever it is they’ll have deep-threat senior WR Willie James who finished with 1,252 yards and 13 TDs.
18. Bakersfield Christian Eagles (9-4)
Coach: Darren Carr
League: South Yosemite
Division: III
Skinny: Back is senior DE/TE Ben Yurosek (Stanford) who last season had 329 yards and three TDs and was a force on defense with 15.5 sacks.
19. Dinuba Emperors (9-3)
Coach: Carlos Barajas
League: Central Sequoia League
Division: II
Skinny: Barajas was previously the defensive coordinator under Kevin Scharton who is now at Redwood. Barajas welcomes back QB Josh Magana who finished with 2,472 yards and 31 TDs.
20. Sanger Apaches (7-4)
Coach: Jorge Pena
League: County/Metro Athletic Conference
Division: II
Skinny: The Apaches will always be a threat in the CMAC. Returning are senior QB Noah Collazo and senior RB Kosi Agina who has an offer from Fresno State.
21. Hanford Bullpups (8-4)
Coach: Josh Young
League: West Yosemite
Division: II
Skinny: Will be led by senior QB Juaron Watts-Brown and junior RB Luttrell Young. Watts-Brown was effective on the ground when he ran for 883 yards and 14 TDs, and Young had 905 yards and 11 TDs. Senior LB Tyler Mello had 14 sacks.
22. Righetti Warriors (10-3)
Coach: Tony Payne
League: Mountain
Division: II
Skinny: Righetti used two QBs last season and one of them, Logan Mortensen, is back. Senior DB Jake Steels had seven interceptions.
23. Kingsburg Vikings (10-3)
Coach: David Wilson
League: Central Sequoia
Division: III
Skinny: Junior QB Jett Jackson is back after throwing 19 TDs and rushing for nine TDs.
24. Porterville Panthers (8-3)
Coach: Michael Machado
League: East Yosemite
Division: IV
Skinny: QB Hector Nava Jr. blossomed last season when he threw for 2,756 yards and 23 TDs.
25. St. Joseph Knights (8-3)
Coach: Pepe Villasenor
League: Mountain
Division: II
Skinny: The Knights moved from Division I. QBs Mark Crisp and and Ben Camarena are expected to split time.
Division I
1. Central
2. Buchanan
3. Liberty
4. Bakersfield
5. Bullard
6. Clovis
7. Edison
8. Ridgeview
9. Arroyo Grande
10. Centennial
Division II
1. San Joaquin Memorial
2. Tulare Western
3. Garces
4. Dinuba
5. Sanger
6. Hanford
7. Righetti
8. St. Joseph
9. Stockdale
10. Redwood
Division III
1. Central Valley Christian
2. Bakersfield Christian
3. Kingsburg
4. Highland
5. Mt. Whitney
6. Lemoore
7. Independence
8. San Luis Obispo
9. Golden West
10. Madera
Division IV
1. Porterville
2. Kennedy
3. Wasco
4. Roosevelt
5. Chowchilla
6. Monache
7. North
8. Kerman
9. Selma
10. Templeton
Division V
1. Shafter
2. Strathmore
3. Caruthers
4. Liberty-Madera Ranchos
5. Exeter
6. Firebaugh
7. Woodlake
8. Dos Palos
9. Reedley
10. Arvin
Division VI
1. Orange Cove
2. Mission Prep
3. Bishop
4. California City
5. Lindsay
6. Orosi
7. Sierra Pacific
8. McFarland
9. Riverdale
10. Corcoran
8-man
1. Fresno Christian
2. Orcutt Academy
3. Riverdale Christian
4. Laton
5. Orcutt Academy
6. Kings Christian
7. Frazier Mountain
8. Trona
9. Alpaugh
10. Faith Christian
This story was originally published August 19, 2019 at 11:00 AM.