Football Elite 13: La Haba stays at No. 1, but St. Paul makes a good argument
Whitter Daily News Football Rankings
Rk (PR) Team (Record)
1. (1) La Habra (2-2) - There's no doubt after watching the Highlanders bring Servite and Orange Lutheran, both Pac-5 Division powers, to the brink. that deserve to stay at No. 1. I've never been one to reward a team just for playing a top upper-division team. They have to play them, and play them well. And La Habra has exceeded that expectation. It just wouldn't be fair to drop them after they've proven they can compete against the CIF-SS' best. Adding to the argument was that St. Paul and La Habra are also both No. 1 in their respective divisions.
2. (2) St. Paul (3-0) - If anything, the Swordsmen are close to their counterparts from the east. St. Paul, after starting 3-0 and pounding one of the better City Section teams in Garfield, at least forced a decision of who's No. 1. I'm just not ready to put the Swordsmen ahead of the Highlanders. But oh, would I love to see them meet!
3. (7) Whittier Christian - Why it's there is discussion of who should be No. 1, it's clear there is separation between the the rest of the top two and the rest of the area's 13 teams. The Heralds get the No. 3 spot, mainly because they won convincingly the week before. But this is still a team that seeks consistency. If they get it, they might stay in this slot for another week.
4. (8) California (2-1) - The Condors, taking advantage of some big losses, make the big leap after routing Sonora last week. They should stay there with a trip to Schurr this week.
5. (9) La Mirada (1-3) - It's hard to rank a 1-3 team this high, but the Matadores are the best 1-3 team in the area, if not the CIF-SS. They lost to St. Paul 24-7 in a game that was close until the fourth quarter, lost to La Habra by nine points and pounded previously unbeaten La Serna, 31-0. The only bad outing was a 49-14 loss to Amat. La Mirada's four opponents are combined 11-4, and three of those losses are to teams ranked in the Pac-5 top10.
Others: 6. La Serna (3-1), 7. Santa Fe (1-3), 8. Cantwell (2-1), 9. El Rancho (3-1), 10.Whittier (3-0), 11. Montebello (2-2), 12. Pioneer (0-3), 13. Schurr (0-3).
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About this blog
Steve Ramirez is the prep sports editor for the Whittier Daily News.
How's your number one looking tonight, Steve? Are they making their case, going toe-to-toe?
Trinity Football = Big Boy Football
Freeway Football = Can't-beat-the-big-boys Football
Now go win your D6 Championship.
Mission league is without a doubt a fierce league. I bet if you put anyone of them; St Paul, Chaminade, St Francis, Serra, West-Lake, or Cathedral in the freeway league they'd win CIF 10 years in a row. Just saying the truth!
I don't give a rat's azz who's #1...
Mr. Geat Ready
The difference between ST.Paul and LH is that you think ur making history... thats cute. You have to beat the best to be the best, like ST.paul did for years, now thats history... State Champs is history, so be content with 4 D6 champs thats ok. See, thats the difference between us and you. You don't think St.Paul woulda won back to back to back etc . in your DIV. cmon mang. of course we would of. We know were not D1 caliber yet...but Mission and Freeway it's not even close.
Mazzotta is always ducking the question of why he doesnt play st.paul? The real reason is because he is terrified of what will probably happen he will lose to a smaller more grity team and his so called div 6 powerhouse will fall apart. If he has nothing to gain he also has nothing to lose right ?
Common opponent is La Mirada. SP 24 LM 7.LH 28 LM 19. A loss is a loss is a loss.I"m sure Coach Mazzotta doesn"t believe in moral victories.A friend of the family who graduated from LH in 2008, but has ties to SP, asked Mazzotta why they don't ever play SP. The response was;"we have nothing to gain by playing SP,I know how tough the kids are at SP. It would be a blood bath, and I don't need injuries before league"
Way to go Steve, the ole saying rings true, “it’s not whether you win or lose, it’s how you play the game.” Thanks for keeping LH #1. It’s too bad St. Paul and La Habra don’t play one another, or for that matter La Habra vs Amat, but why should LH play them when they can play some tougher competition such as Servite, Orange Luthern and St. John Bosco…Coach Mazotta you are playing the teams you need to play even when you don’t have to. St. Paul, yes you have your history and you should be proud (who wouldn’t be) but for the LOVE OF THE GAME let’s give respect to the new players in town that are making history NOW!
Are you serious? Of course La Habra should be #1 they play real teams unlike SP. I remember when SP was respected when their schedule was Servite, Amat, St Bonaventure you beat those schools then we have an argument. Keep dreaming SP parents.....wake up.
Supporter:
By far best response to Steve Ramirez, La Habra's sports writing editor.
#Winning
Steve, SPHS does not need your endorsement. We know our team plays the sport with passion and that's all that matter's to us!
Steve:
I respect that LH did play those OC teams but at the end of the day a loss is a loss. Sure you can say they put up a good match, almost won too but the record doesn't say (it was a close game)next to the Loss column.
Also, sure the teams St Paul have played probably aren't #WINNING(Charlie sheen voice) but that's cause they have a rough schedule look at Garfield for example. They have played Bishop Amat 14-0, Edison 27-7, and Dorsey 32-26. So it's not always about that...
It really only matters at the end of the season.
plus, the seasons still young. Good luck to all the teams.
Like I said Still laughing. If La Habra sleep walks through a Freeway League opponent, does not play well and still wins, and St. Paul waxes Chaminade, or Serra. I would probably lean towards St. Paul. It's all how you play, not if you win or not.
Look at this week's AP poll. Oklahoma beat Missouri by 10, while LSU dominated then No. 21 West Virginia, and the voters responded by leapfrogging LSU over Oklahoma.
I seen both teams play, and there's no doubt La Habra is the better team. But I think it would be close.
So then what happens when league-play begins and La Habra is playing a bunch of nobody's not ranked ANYWHERE in ANY PAPER and winning and St. Paul in league is playing teams in league-play that are ranked in 4 tops spots out of 5 in their respective division and (possibly) winning?
Supporter: I like you to give your reasons.
As for mine, I don't think La Habra has played itself out of the top spot. La Habra was within one possession of beating Servite, one of - if not the - top team in the state, then losing in OT to Orange Lutheran, a team that some thought would dominate La Habra. St. Paul has some nice wins, but they haven't really done anything that wasn't expected.
La Habra's four opponents are a combined 11-5, St. Paul's are a combined 1-11. Like I said, I'm not one for rewarding teams just for scheduling up, but they also have to play well when they schedule up, which La Habra has done. If they would have lost, say 49-14 to Servite, like Bishop Amat, then I would have had no problem moving St. Paul up to No. 1, but that didn't happen. Having said that, if say La Habra sweep walks through one of its Freeway League games, and say St. Paul wins impressively against Chaminade or Serra, then I would also have no problems swapping the two. There's still a lot of season left, so let's see how things pan out.
I still think St Paul should be at the #1 spot right now, and LH #2
Steve is the new Roger Murray! always writing the best for LH.. quit being a fan and be a sports blogger instead!
Steve = LH Fan
Murray = Santa Fe fan
Campa = blogger