FINAL PRESS-TELEGRAM FOOTBALL TOP 10
1. St. John Bosco (10-2): The Braves are ranked in the top 10 in the nation — fourth to ninth in the five major rankings — but they’re still disappointed over failing to reach the Division 1 final for the first time since 2012. The Braves bid a superb senior class farewell, but they’ll reload and be looking for section, state and national titles again next year.
2. Los Alamitos (9-2): The Griffins climbed among the Southern Section’s elite this year, behind a passing attack led by junior QB Malachi Nelson. They might be preparing for a state playoff game this week had they been in Division 2 for the playoffs instead of Division 1.
3. Long Beach Poly (11-3): The Jackrabbits are back. They dominated the competition in Division 4 for their 20th CIF football title, which showed they probably should have been playing a division or two higher. That defense is lights out, and RB Devin Samples has been nearly unstoppable in the playoffs. Now they look to beat Serra — a team that beat them by a point in their opener — in the CIF Southern California Regional Division 1-A championship game Saturday.
4. Warren (8-1): The Bears’ talent was off the charts, and Nicholaus Iamaleava might be their best QB since Jeff Tedford took them to the Southern Conference semifinals in 1978. Injuries and COVID-19 cost them in a last-minute playoff loss, but they might be better next year.
5. Downey (8-3): How much could the Vikings have achieved had injuries not shortened the season for QB Aidan Chiles and RB Antonio Rios? They would have loved a full-strength fight against archrival Warren. Jack Williams always has Downey on point, and Chiles will be back.
6. Dominguez (10-3): A speedy, dynamic group of mostly seniors had the Dons on the verge of their first CIF final in 15 years. Deon Toliver will have to rebuild for next year, but we’ll hear from Dominguez again.
7. Mayfair (9-1): That’s five successive Suburban League titles for the Monsoons. They’ll miss RB Nick Adimora, just as they missed his older brother, Chris, a few years ago, but Evan Tomich might the area’s most underrated QB. He will be back, and so will star DL/TE Leroy Palu. Derek Bedell’s team will take aim at another league crown.
8. La Mirada (6-5): You know it kills Mike Moschetti to keep finishing second in the Suburban to Mayfair, but the Matadores keep doing things their way. There’s no better blue-collar program hereabouts. Few public schools are willing to take on Mater Dei every year, and counting them out at any point is a fool’s game.
9. Millikan (6-5): The Rams kept getting better after La Mirada outsmarted them in September. They gave Poly a test, then came within a hair of knocking off the No. 1 seed in the Division 6 playoffs. Romeo Pellum has a ton of DI talent coming back with sophomore QB Myles Jackson and WR Ryan Pellum the marquee names. They should be in the title conversation for Division 2 or 3 next year.
10. St. Anthony (9-5): No area team overachieved more than the Saints, no surprise given Raul Lara’s pedigree. They rode Sone Aupiu, who went over 2,200 yards rushing, and a stout defense to an unexpected CIF-SS title game. They won’t be overlooked again anytime soon.
