There was upward movement by several Catholic school teams in the CIF-Southern Section polls released Sept. 16. Among the climbers:

  • Alemany, from fourth to third, and Cathedral, into ninth in Division 3;
  • St. Paul, from seventh to sixth and Bishop Diego, into ninth in D-5;
  • Crespi, from ninth to eighth in D-6;
  • La Salle, into tenth in D-9;
  • St. Bernard, from ninth to seventh in D-13;
  • and, in D-14, St. Monica from sixth to fourth, Mary Star of the Sea from seventh to fifth, and St. Pius X-St. Matthias into ninth.

As expected, Mater Dei, St. John Bosco and Serra of Gardena still rank 1-2-5 in the combined Divisions 1 & 2 survey. J.Serra dipped from fourth to sixth, but Notre Dame of Sherman Oaks moved into ninth.

Loyola remained seventh in D-4. Among those receiving votes in their respective divisions, but just outside the top ten, were Paraclete and St. Francis (D-3), Damien (D-4), St. Bonaventure (D-5) and St. Genevieve (D-11).

Nationally, Mater Dei (4-0) is the undisputed No. 1 team in Maxpreps’ Xcellent Top 25 and Freeman Computer rankings after its decisive win over St. Frances Academy of Baltimore last weekend. The Monarchs are idle this week, and will travel east to play St. John’s of Washington, D.C., on Sept. 27.

St. John Bosco is second in the Xcellent poll and third in the Freeman poll. The Braves travel to Hawaii for a Sept. 21 encounter with No. 22 Mililani (6-0). 

This week’s games feature the third of the annual month-long “Touchdowns Against Cancer” contests, inviting fans of participating schools to make monetary contributions based on how many touchdowns their teams score in those designated games. Proceeds benefit St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital.

The schedule for this weekend:

September 20: Villa Park at Servite; Calabasas at J.Serra; Alemany at Downey; Harvard-Westlake at Salesian; Stellar Prep at Santa Margarita; Birmingham at Notre Dame (Sherman Oaks); Bishop Amat at Cathedral; Paraclete at Redondo Union; Chaminade at Oxnard; Serra (Gardena) at Narbonne; Loyola at Valencia; El Camino Real at Crespi; St. Francis at Saugus; Alta Loma at Damien; Mountain View at La Salle; Sierra Canyon at St. Paul; Chicago Hope Academy at Bishop Diego; Hart at St. Bonaventure; Gardena at Bishop Montgomery; St. Anthony at St. Pius X-St. Matthias; St. Monica (Santa Monica) at George Washington Prep (L.A.); Centennial (Compton) at Verbum Dei; South (Torrance) at Mary Star of the Sea; Fairmont Prep at Cantwell Sacred Heart; West Ranch at St. Genevieve. 

September 21: St. John Bosco at Mililani (Hawaii); Riverside Prep at Don Bosco Tech.

Eight-Man Football: Dymally (L.A.) at Villanova (Sept. 20); Spirit Academy at St. Michael’s Prep (Sept. 21). 

Idle: Mater Dei, St. Bernard, Santa Clara.