That’s a wrap for the high school football season.
Sixteen weekends. Hundreds of games. Spectacular performances. Heartbreaking defeats. Epic victories.
The season began with De La Salle ranked No. 1 and Archbishop Riordan ranked No. 2 by the Bay Area News Group, and that did not change.
Both went undefeated through the regular season and section playoffs before falling in CIF games.
De La Salle’s quest to halt a 10-year state championship drought ended with a humbling 47-13 loss to Santa Margarita in the Open Division state championship game on Saturday.
Riordan’s dreams of winning its first regional championship and playing for a state title fell short when the Crusaders lost at Folsom 42-38 in a NorCal final a week earlier.
Six teams that were not ranked when the season began — Archbishop Mitty, Monte Vista, Sacred Heart Cathedral, San Mateo, Live Oak, Lincoln-San Jose — are in the Top 25 now.
Three ranked teams — St. Ignatius, El Cerrito, Bishop O’Dowd — finished the season with state championship victories.
As always, our season-ending rankings include a way-too-early Top 5 for the upcoming year.
(See the early Top 5 for 2026 below the season-ending rankings).
Also, keep scrolling for our all-in-fun prediction results from the state championships.
Christian Babcock had a strong final weekend to cap his first-place finish in the season standings.
On to the rankings …
Bay Area News Group Top 25 season finale
(Mercury News & East Bay Times)
No. 1 DE LA SALLE (12-1)
How it started: 1
How it finished: Lost to Santa Margarita 47-13 in CIF Open Division state championship game
No. 2 ARCHBISHOP RIORDAN (12-1)
How it started: 2
How it finished: Lost to Folsom 42-38 in CIF NorCal 1-AA championship game
No. 3 PITTSBURG (11-3)
How it started: 3
How it finished: Lost to Central East-Fresno 55-36 in CIF NorCal Division 1-A championship game
No. 4 SERRA (8-6)
How it started: 7
How it finished: Lost to St. Mary’s-Stockton 31-24 in CIF NorCal 2-AA championship game
No. 5 LOS GATOS (9-4)
How it started: 5
How it finished: Lost to Serra 28-21 in CCS Division I championship game
No. 6 ACALANES (11-1)
How it started: 16
How it finished: Lost to Cardinal Newman 52-17 in NCS Open/Division I semifinals
No. 7 MCCLYMONDS (11-3)
How it started: 10
How it finished: Lost to Kennedy-Delano 42-25 in CIF Division 3-A state championship game
No. 8 ST. FRANCIS (5-6)
How it started: 4
How it finished: Lost to Los Gatos 14-7 in CCS Open/Division I quarterfinal
No. 9 ARCHBISHOP MITTY (6-5)
How it started: Not ranked
How it finished: Lost to Serra 29-13 in CCS Open/Division I quarterfinal
No. 10 ST. IGNATIUS (9-6)
How it started: 14
How it finished: Beat Ventura 42-35 in CIF Division 3-AA state championship game
No. 11 EL CERRITO (13-2)
How it started: 20
How it finished: Beat Beckman-Irvine 35-12 in CIF Division 4-A state championship game
No. 12 LIBERTY (8-3)
How it started: 13
How it finished: Lost to Pittsburg 42-18 in NCS Open/Division I quarterfinal
No. 13 MONTE VISTA (8-6)
How it started: Not ranked
How it finished: Lost to St. Ignatius 17-13 in CIF NorCal Division 3-AA championship game
No. 14 CLAYTON VALLEY CHARTER (7-6)
How it started: 11
How it finished: Lost to Monte Vista 24-10 in NCS Division II championship game
No. 15 CAMPOLINDO (9-3)
How it started: 17
How it finished: Lost to Clayton Valley Charter 21-17 in NCS Division II semifinal
No. 16 CALIFORNIA (8-4)
How it started: 24
How it finished: Lost to Monte Vista 35-21 in NCS Division II semifinal
No. 17 SACRED HEART CATHEDRAL (6-7)
How it started: Not ranked
How it finished: Lost to St. Ignatius 24-21 in CCS Division II championship game
No. 18 SAN RAMON VALLEY (6-5)
How it started: 6
How it finished: Lost to De La Salle 42-0 in NCS Open/Division I quarterfinal
No. 19 MENLO SCHOOL (9-3)
How it started: 18
How it finished: Lost to St. Ignatius 42-6 in CCS Division II semifinal
No. 20 MENLO-ATHERTON (7-7)
How it started: 15
How it finished: Lost to El Cerrito 20-16 in CIF NorCal Division 4-A championship game
No. 21 BISHOP O’DOWD (11-4)
How it started: 23
How it finished: Beat Christian-El Cajon 37-0 in CIF Division 5-AA state championship game
No. 22 SANTA TERESA (11-1)
How it started: 22
How it finished: Lost to Sacred Heart Cathedral 63-27 in CCS Division II semifinal
No. 23 SAN MATEO (9-4)
How it started: Not ranked
How it finished: Lost to Menlo-Atherton 31-21 in CCS Division III championship game
No. 24 LIVE OAK (9-3)
How it started: Not ranked
How it finished: Lost to San Mateo 40-36 in CCS Division III semifinal
No. 25 LINCOLN-SAN JOSE (11-4)
How it started: Not ranked
How it finished: Lost to Valley Center 36-35 in CIF Division 6-AA state championship game
Editor’s note: Teams eligible for the Bay Area News Group rankings come from leagues based predominantly in Alameda, Contra Costa, San Mateo and Santa Clara counties. The news organization’s high school staff chooses the teams
Way-too-early Top 5 for 2026
(Mercury News & East Bay Times)
No. 1 DE LA SALLE
Outlook: RB/DB Duece Jones-Drew, WR Dylan Scott, LB Zion Cadet among the players coming back.
No. 2 PITTSBURG
Outlook: QB Javale Jones, WR Kenneth Ward, RB Isaiah Harrison will lead a potent offense.
No. 3 SERRA
Outlook: QB William Orr, TE Jace Cannon, WR Charles Walsh part of a talented, experienced roster back in 2026.
No. 4 ACALANES
Outlook: QB Tyler Winkles, WR/FS Finley Rivera, DL Daniel Dunne back from team that punched above its weight this season.
No. 5 EL CERRITO
Outlook: Had only seven seniors on a team that won a state title. QB Dejuan Compton Jr. among the players set to return.
Predictions: Week 16 results
State championship games
DIVISION 6-AA
Valley Center 36, Lincoln-San Jose 35
Babcock: Lincoln-SJ (L)
Canilao: Lincoln-SJ (L)
Lefkow: Lincoln-SJ (L)
Sabedra: Lincoln-SJ (L)
DIVISION 5-AA
Bishop O’Dowd 37, Christian-El Cajon 0
Babcock: Bishop O’Dowd (W)
Canilao: Bishop O’Dowd (W)
Lefkow: Bishop O’Dowd (W)
Sabedra: Bishop O’Dowd (W)
DIVISION 4-A
El Cerrito 35, Beckman-Irvine 12
Babcock: El Cerrito (W)
Canilao: El Cerrito (W)
Lefkow: El Cerrito (W)
Sabedra: El Cerrito (W)
DIVISION 3-A
Kennedy-Delano 42, McClymonds 25
Babcock: Kennedy-Delano (W)
Canilao: McClymonds (L)
Lefkow: McClymonds (L)
Sabedra: Kennedy-Delano (W)
DIVISION 3-AA
St. Ignatius 42, Ventura 35
Babcock: St. Ignatius (W)
Canilao: Ventura (L)
Lefkow: Ventura (L)
Sabedra: Ventura (L)
OPEN DIVISION
Santa Margarita 47, De La Salle 13
Babcock: Santa Margarita (W)
Canilao: Santa Margarita (W)
Lefkow: De La Salle (L)
Sabedra: Santa Margarita (W)
Week 16 standings
Babcock: 5-1
Sabedra: 4-2
Canilao: 3-3
Lefkow: 2-4
Season standings
Babcock: 175-53
Sabedra: 168-60
Lefkow/Reeves: 161-67
Canilao: 154-74