Week 1 prep football rankings: Buchanan vaults into top 10; Clovis remains No. 1
There’s moderate change in The Bee’s Central Section football rankings after the season’s first week, but one promotion is obvious – Buchanan.
The Bears jump four spots to No. 7 in the overall Top 20 following their final-second 16-14 nonleague conquest of defending Division I champion Edison at Sunnyside Stadium.
The Tigers slip from No. 6 to No. 11. And they, like Buchanan, are preparing for another showdown this week at No. 3 Bakersfield – the state record-holder with 36 section titles – while Buchanan plays No. 4 Bullard at Veterans Memorial Stadium.
There’s plenty more on the section marquee this week.
Clovis – No. 1 by The Bee and No. 22 in the state by Cal-Hi Sports – will confront No. 8 Lemoore at Lamonica Stadium a year after the Cougars were beaten40-27 in Kings County by the D-II power from the West Yosemite League.
Also, No. 2 Liberty-Bakersfield will play at No. 10 Ridgeview and No. 5 Clovis will visit No. 14 Centennial.
And a small-schools beauty will send Mendota to Liberty-Madera Ranchos in a matchup of programs that have combined for five section titles in Divisions IV, V and VI over the past four years. Further, Liberty-Madera Ranchos has won a state-leading 20 consecutive games. The Hawks last lost 26-18 at Washington on Oct. 25, 2013.
Then Saturday, in an intersectional game that’s sure to attract wide-ranging scoreboard followers, defending state D-I champion Folsom (1-0) will oppose Clovis North (0-1) at Veterans Memorial Stadium at 7 p.m.
Folsom of the Sac-Joaquin Section is ranked fifth in the state after going 16-0 last year, including a homefield 49-13 throttling of Clovis North. And that was being kind to the Broncos in a game that was 49-0 at halftime.
Clovis North last week lost 30-24 at Franklin-Elk Grove, also of the Sac-Joaquin Section and 47-8 over the past five seasons.
Andy Boogaard: 559-441-6400, @beepreps
CENTRAL SECTION FOOTBALL RANKINGS
OVERALL
- 1. Clovis (1-0)
- 2. Liberty-Bakersfield (0-1)
- 3. Bakersfield (0-1)
- 4. Bullard (1-0)
- 5. Clovis West (1-0)
- 6. Hanford (1-0)
- 7. Buchanan (1-0)
- 8. Lemoore (1-0)
- 9. Tulare (1-0)
- 10. Ridgeview (1-0)
- 11. Edison (0-1)
- 12. Clovis North (0-1)
- 13. Dinuba (1-0)
- 14. Centennial (1-0)
- 15. Sanger (1-0)
- 16. Madera (1-0)
- 17. Central (0-1)
- 18. Memorial (1-0)
- 19. Mission Oak (0-1)
- 20. Stockdale (0-0)
DIVISIONAL
- D-I: 1. Clovis, 2. Liberty-Bakersfield, 3. Bakersfield
- D-II: 1. Lemoore, 2. Tulare, 3. Ridgeview
- D-III: 1. Hanford, 2. Madera, 3. Memorial
- D-IV: 1. Golden West (1-0), 2. Central Valley Christian (1-0), 3. Chavez (1-0)
- D-V: 1. Immanuel (1-0), 2. Fowler (0-0), 3. Mendota (1-0)
- D-VI: 1. Kennedy (1-0), 2. Avenal (1-0), Sierra Pacific (1-0)
This story was originally published August 31, 2015 at 7:36 PM with the headline "Week 1 prep football rankings: Buchanan vaults into top 10; Clovis remains No. 1."