MaxPreps Northern California Top 25 high school football rankings

It's never wise to look too far ahead, but rankings allow such a temptation.

Soon, section champions will be crowned, and then it will be NorCal selection time. Those from the Central Coast, North Coast, Sac-Joaquin and Northern sections all seek NorCal bids.

Be sure to check out MaxPreps Sacramento and MaxPreps Bay Area for local scores, photos, highlights and news.

See all the California high school football playoff brackets


1. (Last week 1) De La Salle (Concord) (11-0)
The Spartans beat Granada 46-0 in a North Coast Section Division I game after enjoying a bye to rest and prepare. John Velasco rushed for 145 yards and two touchdowns for the team's 37th consecutive win overall and 65th against state competition. De La Salle is unbeaten against NorCal foes since 1991 and seeks its ongoing state-record 22nd
consecutive section title.
Next: No. 13 Deer Valley (Antioch), Friday

2. (2) Folsom (12-0)
The Bulldogs beat previous No. 20 Franklin 49-16 in a Sac-Joaquin Section D-I second-round game as Jake Browning made history. He passed for 332 yards and six touchdowns, giving him a state-record 68 for the season. Will McClure and Josiah Deguara each had two TD catches. The last loss was to No. 1 De La Salle, in the NorCal 2012 Open.
Next: Jesuit (Carmichael), Friday

3. (3) Serra (San Mateo) (9-2)
The Padres rolled Pioneer (San Jose) 59-7 in Central Coast Section Open play as Kava Cassidy rushed for five touchdowns. Next is a familiar West Catholic Athletic League foe in Bellarmine (San Jose), a team Serra beat earlier this season 17-7. Coach Patrick Walsh has built a monster program. Early loss was 21-14 to De La Salle.
Next: No. 16 Bellarmine, Saturday

4. (4) Del Oro (Loomis) (10-2)
The Golden Eagles beat Whitney 35-11 in Sac-Joaquin Section D-II play, scoring 21 unanswered points in the second half. QB Michael Moore and RB Dylan Kainrath led the way. Del Oro is unbeaten in Section play and last lost to De La Salle.
Next: Yuba City, Friday

5. (5) Oak Ridge (El Dorado Hills) (11-1)
The Trojans beat two-time defending Sac-Joaquin Section D-I champion Granite Bay 28-17, pitching a second-half shutout for the third successive week and second time in the playoffs. Ian Book tossed two TDs, Josh Wellman ran for 110 yards and a score, Victor Bunce had two interceptions and James Portilla, Thomas Mahlman and Colton Giorgi
combined for 35 tackles. The loss was to No. 2 Folsom.
Next: No. 9 Pleasant Grove

6. (7) Archbishop Mitty (San Jose) (10-1)
The Monarchs beat Palma (Salinas) 28-0 in Central Coast Section Open play and now draw rival Valley Christian (San Jose) in a semifinal in what feels like a West Catholic Athletic League re-do. The Monarchs beat VC 14-13 earlier behind QB Trent Scharrenberg's two TD passes.
Next: No. 14 Valley Christian (San Jose), Friday

7. (6) Marin Catholic (Kentfield) (11-0)
The Wildcats beat Eureka 49-14 in North Coast Section D-III play, playing the role of defending champions with their 23rd consecutive NorCal win. QB Morgan Mahalak accounted for five touchdowns.
Next: No. 25 Analy, Saturday

8. (8) Elk Grove (11-1)
The Thundering Herd beat Burbank (Sacramento) 18-12 in a Sac-Joaquin Section D-II contest that had a lot of speed and power. Wadus Parker rushed for 101 yards and two touchdowns and the defense limited Burbank to five first downs and one offensive touchdown.
Next: No. 23 Rio Linda, Friday

9. (9) Pleasant Grove (Elk Grove) (10-2)
The Eagles beat Stagg (Stockton) 42-28 in a Sac-Joaquin Section D-I playoff game for the second year in a row. Ian Broom rushed 43 times for 241 yards and the lines dominated at times.
Next: No. 5 Oak Ridge, Friday

10. (12) Campolindo (Moraga) (11-0)
The Cougars beat Acalanes 38-14 in a North Coast Section D-III contest. Nick Fadelli ran for 152 yards and two scores. Next is a rematch against El Cerrito, a team Campolindo beat 42-27 in rolling up nearly 500 yards of offense.
Next: No. 18 El Cerrito, Friday

11. (11) Pittsburg (9-2)
The Pirates beat Freedom (Oakley) 27-21 in North Coast Section D-I play. Harris Ross returned to rush for 184 yards and three touchdowns to set up a rematch with California, a team Pitt beat 35-33.
Next: California (San Ramon), Friday

12. (13) Clayton Valley Charter (Concord) (11-1)
The Ugly Eagles beat Las Lomas (Walnut Creek) 59-13 in North Coast Section D-III play. Miles Harrison ran for 305 yards and five touchdowns. The loss was an opener to No. 1 De La Salle.
Next: Miramonte (Orinda), Friday

13. (15) Deer Valley (Antioch) (11-1)
The Wolverines beat Logan (Union City) 67-44 in North Coast Section D-I action to reach the semifinals for the first time as a relatively new school. Nsimba Webster has dazzled in the playoffs as a dual-threat QB.
Next: No. 1 De La Salle, Friday

14. (17) Valley Christian (San Jose) (8-3)
The Warriors belted 10-0 Terra Nova (Pacifica) 26-7 in a Central Coast Section Open game. Valley Christian ran for 363 yards despite not having top back Kirk Johnson to set up a West Catholic Athletic League rematch with rival Mitty, which beat Valley Christian 14-13 earlier.
Next: No. 6 Mitty, Friday

15. (18) St. Francis (Mountain View) (9-2)
The Lancers beat Hill (San Jose) 41-6 in a Central Coast Section D-II opener. The defending champions own a highlight 41-34 West Catholic Athletic League win over No. 3 Serra this season.
Next: Palo Alto, Friday

16. (NR) Bellarmine (San Jose) (9-3)
The Bells of the West Catholic Athletic League beat 9-1 Wilcox (Santa Clara) 31-19 in Central Coast Section Open play and draw rival No. 3 Serra, a team they lost to 17-7 early. A win early was over No. 18 El Cerrito.
Next: No. 3 Serra, Friday

17. (10) Granite Bay (8-4), season complete
The Grizzlies lost to No. 5 Oak Ridge in Sac-Joaquin Section D-I play. An early win was over No. 11 Pittsburg.

18. (19) El Cerrito (10-2)
The Gauchos beat Novato 45-2 in North Coast Section D-III play in forcing five turnovers to set up a semifinal against Campolindo, a team that won earlier 42-27. The other loss was by three to Bellarmine.
Next: No. 10 Campolindo, Friday

19. (22) Enterprise (Redding) (11-0)
The Hornets of the Northern Section rolled Foothill (Palo Cedro) 57-14 in a D-I semifinal. Bobby Luken passed for four touchdowns to set up a rematch with longtime power Paradise for the title. Enterprise beat Paradise 42-7 in October, and it beat Paradise for the title last season to go with its title in 2009.
Next: Paradise, Saturday

20. (NR) California (San Ramon) (10-2)
The Grizzlies are 2-0 in the North Coast Section D-I playoffs after beating Dougherty Valley (San Ramon) 37-12 and San Ramon Valley (Danville) 31-24. The losses were to No. 1 De La Salle and No. 11 Pittsburg.
Next: No. 11 Pittsburg, Friday

21. (23) Central Catholic (Modesto) (11-1)
The Raiders beat Colfax 57-27 in a Sac-Joaquin Section D-IV game, thanks to a 30-point second quarter. Matt Ringer rushed for 92 yards and two scores and the defense came up with three interceptions.
Next: Ripon, Friday

22. (24) Casa Grande (Petaluma) (12-0)
The Gauchos rolled North Bay League rival Windsor in North Coast Section D-II play and draw another NBL foe in Montgomery (Santa Rosa). QB JaJuan Lawson is a dual-threat QB.
Next: Montgomery (Santa Rosa), Saturday

23. (25) Rio Linda (11-1)
The Knights beat Vacaville 31-21 in a Sac-Joaquin Section D-II game behind Marcel Brown, who rushed for 233 yards and three touchdowns. Leonard Skattebo rushed for a score and had 12 tackles.
Next: No. 8 Elk Grove, Friday

24. (NR) Miramonte (Orinda) (10-2)
The Matadors have North Coast Section D-II playoff wins of 54-25 over Tennyson (Hayward) and 66-48 over Northgate (Walnut Creek) behind RB Ray Clark.
Next: No. 12 Clayton Valley Charter, Friday

25. (NR) Analy (Sebastopol) (11-1)
The Tigers have an early win over No. 11 Pittsburg, a later loss to No. 23 Miramonte and recent North Coast Section D-III playoff wins over Petaluma (42-6) and Cardinal Newman (Santa Rosa) 33-30 behind QB Will Smith and RB Ja'Narrick James.
Next: No. 6 Marin Catholic, Saturday

Joe Davidson of The Sacramento Bee previews the section semifinals here

And more about an unsung quarterback who now faces the state's best quarterback

Joe Davidson has covered high school sports at The Sacramento Bee since 1988. Follow him on Twitter @SacBee_JoeD and on www.sacbee.com.