TRIBUNE SUPER 35 RANKINGS by Fred J. Robledo
1. Charter Oak (1-0) – Not an impressive start for the area’s top-ranked team, squeaking past Glendora 17-6 and scoring just three points in the second half at home. There’s a good chance they stay No. 1 for a while, especially with No. 2 Amat going to Servite and No. 3 West Covina going to Loyola. Chagers should open it up against visiting Roosevelt next.
2. Bishop Amat (1-0) – QB Rio Ruiz didn’t play the first quarter against Garfield, but he returned to help the Lancers to a 14-0 shutout over Garfield, a solid result considering this week’s opponent, Servite, had to be in the back of their heads. Amat finds out exactly where it stacks up on Friday against the team Hagerty calls, “Darth Vadar.”
3. West Covina (1-0) — Probably the most impressive team over the weekend, beating Covina in overtime 26-20, and doing it without reigning area player of the year Chris Solomon for most of the game. But now they get Loyola, a step-up of gigantic proportions.
4. Damien (0-0) – Some say the Spartans looked mediocre in their last scrimmage, but it was just a scrimmage. Let’s reserve judgment until Friday night, when they host Roddy Layton and Diamond Ranch.
5. Bonita (1-0) – Aram didn’t rank them in the preseason top ten, but it’s clear they took big leaps forward with a rather easy 40-20 win over San Dimas in the Smudgepot. It probably gets tougher this week against Claremont.
6. Claremont (1-0) – The Wolfpack opened with a big 24-20 win over Kennedy, kind of a surprise considering how many players they lost from last season, including QB Daniel Kessler. But they were solid last year and probably are itching to face Bonita on Friday, who beat them last year.
7. Chino Hills (0-1) – Not ready to drop the Huskies more than a spot after losing to out-of-state Bear Creek just 36-34. We should have a better idea of how good they actually are against Santiago on Friday.
8. Arroyo (1-0) – The Knights won impressively 45-12 over Ontario and QB Steven Rivera was fantastic. Don’t expect the Knights to lose anytime soon.
9. Covina (0-1) – Like Chino Hills, the Colts only drop a spot after their thrilling 26-20 loss to West Covina in overtime on Saturday. I’ll predict this right now, Colts win nine straight heading into the playoffs.
10. South Hills (0-1) – Huskies played a great game despite losing to Colony, 30-29, a game they could have tied with an extra point in the final seconds. The Huskies should get on-track against St. Monica this week, then have the showdown at Monrovia.
The Rest: 11. Ayala (1-0), 12. Azusa (0-0); 13. Glendora (0-1); 14. San Dimas (0-1); 15. Rowland (1-0), 16. Diamond Ranch (0-1), 17. Los Altos (1-0), 18. Diamond Bar (0-1); 19. El Monte (1-0), 20. Pomona (1-0), 21. La Puente (0-0), 22. Rosemead (0-0), 23. Wilson (0-1), 24. Baldwin Park (0-1), 25. Walnut (0-1), 26. Duarte (1-0), 27. Ganesha (1-0), 28. Bassett (1-0), 29. Northview (0-1), 30. Sierra Vista (0-1), 31. Nogales (0-1), 32. Gladstone (0-0), 33, Workman (0-0), 34, Mountain View (0-1), 35. South El Monte (0-0).
