Heading into their Friday night confrontation in Santa Ana, Mater Dei and St. John Bosco remain first and second in the CIF-Southern Section Division 1 football rankings released Oct. 8.

The Oct. 12 contest will likely decide the Trinity league title and could help decide the No. 1 seeding for post-season playoffs that begin in early November. Mater Dei won last year’s regular season game, 31-21 in Bellflower, then defeated St. John Bosco in the D-1 final, 49-24, on its way to the state and national titles.

This week’s D-1 poll also shows J.Serra sixth (up from seventh) and Bishop Amat seventh. The Lancers are responsible for Mater Dei’s only defeat this season, a forfeited affair which the Monarchs actually won, 42-14, but relinquished after discovering they had used an ineligible player.

In Division 2, Mission League rivals Alemany and Notre Dame (Sherman Oaks) are fifth and seventh, with Notre Dame hosting Bishop Amat in league play this week. Cathedral, which plays Crespi in an Angelus League opener, remains tenth.

Consecutive wins over tough opponents have brought Paraclete back into the D-3 poll at No. 10, while St. Bonaventure dropped from sixth to eighth in D-4. St. Paul is still third in D-5 and St. Bernard is up from eighth to seventh in D-13.

In eight-man football, Villanova is sixth in Division 1, and St. Michael’s Prep in eighth in Division 2.

This week’s games

League action abounds, including four-team leagues that have had seven weeks of non-league action. This week’s games are all Oct. 12 except as noted, with league records in parentheses, where applicable:

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  • Trinity: St. John Bosco (2-0) at Mater Dei (2-0); Orange Lutheran (1-1) at J.Serra (1-1); Servite (0-2) at Santa Margarita (0-2, Oct. 11).

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  • Mission: Bishop Amat (2-0) at Notre Dame/Sherman Oaks (2-0); Alemany (2-0) at Serra (0-2); Loyola (0-2) at Chaminade (0-2).

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  • Del Rey: St. Paul (1-0) at Harvard-Westlake (2-0); St. Genevieve (0-1) at St. Anthony (1-1).

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  • Marmonte: Oaks Christian (1-0) at St. Bonaventure (1-1).

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  • Baseline: Damien (0-2) at Rancho Cucamonga (2-0).

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  • Angelus: Salesian at St. Francis; Crespi at Cathedral.

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  • Camino Real: Bishop Montgomery at Mary Star; St. Monica at Cantwell-Sacred Heart.

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  • Santa Fe: St. Bernard at Don Bosco Tech; St. Pius X-St. Matthias at Verbum Dei (Oct. 13).

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  • Mountain: Atascadero (0-1) at St. Joseph/Santa Maria (1-0).

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  • Idle: Bishop Diego, La Salle.

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  • Eight-man (Oct. 13): Cate at Villanova; St. Michael’s Prep at Avalon.

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Mike Nelson is the former editor of The Tidings (predecessor of Angelus News).

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