CVA TOP 15 Rankings - 2007 Week One

CVA's Top 15 TEAMS IN THE CENTRAL SECTION AFTER WEEK ONE RESULTS.
(*note: 6-15 after the jump.)

1. Clovis West (Fresno): (1-0) Shutting out the team we had ranked as #2 is pretty impressive. Making one of the best quarterbacks in the valley, Byron Campbell, look average is even more impressive. Offense didn’t produce, but they will only get better and the defense looks in mid-season form. Up next for this defense El Diamante stud running back Earl Rhodes.

2. Bakersfield: (1-0) Defeating perennial state power Grant (Sacramento) 28-21, earns the Drillers the number two ranking. They had me thinking about moving them to number one, but CW didn’t do anything bad that justifies a move down. Running back Marcus Nelson is pretty good.

3. Edison (Fresno): (2-0) Junior receiver Rolando Jefferson is an absolute stud. Two more touchdowns for him and a shutout for the Tigers’ defense. OK we know North (Bakersfield) isn’t a powerhouse, but nonetheless a shutout is a shutout. The Tigers are a team that no one should want to play in my opinion, they can be that good.

4. Liberty (Bakersfield): (0-1) OK we know they were shutout, but I mean their defense only gave up nine points to a stacked CW offense. Byron Campbell must turn things around and start being the playmaker he has the ability to be.

5. Clovis East (Clovis): (1-1) They lost to Alta-Sandy (Utah) who is ranked number 2 in the state of Utah. Albeit we don’t know much about Alta-Sandy, but the Timberwolves ran the ball extremely well and just came up short.

6. Centennial (Bakersfield): (1-0) Defeated Redwood by nine (30-21), but showed flashes of being far more dominant. They still have a ways to go before they are the cream of the crop in Bakersfield but can definitely compete.

7. Bullard: (1-0) They completely dominated San Joaquin Memorial right from the opening kickoff. The final score of 42-7 could have been a lot worse. Bullard has some serious athletes and look like a team to be very aware of. Some may disagree having them this high after not being ranked to begin the season, but they have speed, size and toughness.

8. Lemoore: (1-0) Defeated Porterville 42-6. Looks like a good team but some great teams ahead of them.


9. El Diamante (Visalia): (1-0) Earl Rhodes is good ladies and gentleman. El Diamante pitches a shutout 63-0 against Frontier, real test is coming this week against Clovis West and we will see just how good this team is as well as Earl Rhodes.

10. Central (Fresno): (1-0) Beat a good, not great, but good Golden Valley-Merced team 41-21. This team could be the wildcard of perhaps the toughest league in the state.


11. Yosemite: (1-0) Junior quarterback Jesse Lownsbury picked up where he left off last year. This is a high power offense but will the defense be there all year? Perhaps it won’t matter if they continue to score 50 points a game.

12. Taft: (2-0) Wins against Foothill and Ridgeview has Taft climbing the rankings.



13. Tehachapi: (2-0) Already defeated Garces which was on our bubble. Then they host L.A. Baptist and win 33-6. This team has a tough defense and looked sharp.


14. Tulare: (1-0) A win against Golden West is never a bad thing. They crack the top 15 and now they play host to Lemoore which will test Tulare early on should be a good game.


15. Sanger: (1-0) Already have lost Justin Webber for the year and now lost Mario Navarrete for at least six weeks. Without their two best running backs still found a way to defeat Sunnyside 32-29. The Apaches just know how to win so they stay in my top 15. Play Clovis East next this one could knock them out of the top 15.

Others: Kerman (1-0), Clovis (0-1), Buchanan (Clovis) (0-1), Garces (Bakersfield) (1-1), Hoover (Fresno) (1-0), Tulare Western (1-0), Washington Union (0-1), Foothill (1-1)