I just got back from the Central Section girls golf championships, where Frontier won the Division II section title with a 419, good enough for second overall behind Clovis West's 404. That moves the Titans to the Southern Cal regionals in a couple of weeks. So congrats to the Titans. Stockdale was a distant second in the D-I race and fourth overall with a 463. Individual championships are next week.

Also, Bakersfield Christian took the Division V girls tennis section title, beating Fowler 8-1. No surprise there, but kudos to the Eagles for getting it done.

Now on to football.

Pretty stable week in the rankings, but that's something that's going to change after Week 9, I think. when Stockdale plays Frontier down here and Edison plays Bullard in a crosstown Fresno battle. Could have two new faces in the top three by this time next week. Or none, for that matter.

1. Fresno-Bullard (8-0, Division I, last week: 1) — The Knights' latest wins haven't looked impressive, but they've gotten them despite missing some key players to injuries and discipline. Now if they can do that against Edison and Hoover, their final two opponents, you might be looking at your Division I No. 1 seed. Slip up, and Buchanan and Stockdale are waiting for that spot.
LAST WEEK: won at Sanger, 20-14. THIS WEEK: vs. No. 11 Fresno-Edison

2. Clovis-Buchanan (8-0, Division I, last week: 2) — Meanwhile, the Bears have been getting more impressive each week. Outside of the game I saw, against Bakersfield, the defense has been really good. Is that a measure of how good Buchanan is all-around or a measure of some bad offenses that they've faced? The answers will come next week against speedy Fresno-Central and then again in the playoffs.
LAST WEEK: won at Clovis, 28-7. THIS WEEK: vs. Clovis East

3. Tulare Union (8-0, Division II, last week: 3) — There's no such thing as an East Yosemite League showdown with the Redskins. Every time someone tries to create one — Porterville two weeks ago or Delano last week — Tulare Union wins by 35 points or so. That's impressive, but can they get through a deep Division II for the second straight year without being tested in the regular season?
LAST WEEK: won at Delano, 49-14. THIS WEEK: vs. Porterville-Monache

4. Stockdale (7-1, Division I, last week: 4) — I love teams that seem to get better every week, and the Mustangs seem to fit the bill. Every week, they do what you expect them to and then some more, even as those expectations rise. If that theory means Stockdale beats Frontier easily, then you can bet they'll at least be in the three spot next week.
LAST WEEK: won vs. North, 45-0. THIS WEEK: vs. No. 10 Frontier

5. Fresno-Central (6-2, Division I, last week: 5) — Speaking of impressive, Central opened Week 8 with a Thursday night smackdown of Madera. It's the Grizzlies' second game over 70 points and fifth over 40 (they did lose one of those games). Methinks there will be a heck of a shootout in Week 10 when Central goes to Buchanan.
LAST WEEK: won at Madera, 77-14. THIS WEEK: vs. Clovis

6. Bakersfield (6-2, Division I, last week: 6) — I still say no team in the section has more talent than Bakersfield (possibly excepting Buchanan), and when the Drillers put it all together, they have 49-0 first halves like they did last week. Showcased was RB Walter Hunt, who might be the best backup back in Kern County, with apologies to Stockdale's Eddie Gutierrez. Hunt had 105 total yards and four touchdowns last week.
LAST WEEK: won vs. Golden Valley, 56-7. THIS WEEK: at East

7. Fresno-San Joaquin Memorial (7-1, Division II, last week: 7) — Allowing 14 points to Fresno-Roosevelt doesn't seem like an awful thing, but for Memorial, it represents a bad week (or a couple of garbage-time TDs, maybe). The Panthers have allowed more than 10 points just four times now — and the other three were toYosemite, Buchanan and Hoover.
LAST WEEK: won vs. Fresno-Roosevelt, 42-14. THIS WEEK: at Fresno-McLane (Thursday)

8. Liberty (5-3, Division I, last week: 8) — Do these rankings look familiar yet? The Patriots took care of an East team that had the potential to score some points, holding Kern County's leading passer Joe Pearson to 124 yards anda touchdown; the Blades had just 164 total yards.
LAST WEEK: won vs. East, 49-14. THIS WEEK: vs. Highland

9. Clovis West (3-5, Division I, last week: 9) — A good win for the Golden Eagles last week against Clovis East probably gives them third place in the Tri-River Athletic Conference and puts them in a spot to at least salvage a .500 season in their first year under coach No. 4 in four years. Whether that translates into any kind of a playoff run remains to be seen, but this is about the most dangerous 4-6 or 5-5 team you'll ever see in Division I.
LAST WEEK: won vs. Clovis East, 21-14. THIS WEEK: vs. Madera

10. Frontier (8-0, Division Ii, last week: 10) — It's not like the Titans' schedule has been particularly tough to this point, but win or lose, you have to think that playing Stockdale and Centennial in the final two weeks could give Frontier an edge over other principal D-II contenders — Tulare Union, Memorial, El Diamante — that play in leagues that don't challenge them much at all late in the season.
LAST WEEK: won vs. South, 43-19. THIS WEEK: at No. 4 Stockdale

11. Fresno-Edison (5-3, Division II, last week: 11) — Here is a Division II team that sees plenty of tests in its league. Edison has faded at the finish in recent years past, so the onus is on this year's group to finish strong — and a stomping of last week's No. 15, Fresno Hoover is a shining example of how to do that, as would a win against No. 1 Bullard.
LAST WEEK: won vs. No. 15 Fresno-Hoover, 43-7. THIS WEEK: vs. No. 1 Fresno-Bullard

12. Kingsburg (8-0 Division IV, last week: 12) — The mark of a consistent team is that it does what you expect it to, and the Vikings have fit that bill, being tested by the best teams on their schedule and blowing away the weaklings. Next up is another test: Against Exeter, a team that gave Frontier fits. But it's at home, and if Kingsburg stays consistent, it'll have only minimal problems.
LAST WEEK: won vs. Kerman, 38-14. THIS WEEK: vs. Exeter

13. Visalia-El Diamante (7-1, Division II, last week: 13) — Here's an interesting team. El Diamante has been to the last three Division II section finals, finishing second last year, and while I still don't think the Miners are quite as good as the '07 or '08 versions, they've been rolling lately. This isn't a team you want to play come playoff time, especially if they're disrespected with a low seed.
LAST WEEK: won vs. Visalia-Redwood, 37-21. THIS WEEK: at Hanford

14. Tehachapi (7-1, Division III, last week: 14) — The mountain mystique continued for the Warriors against Taft, and that's enough to put them in the driver's seat for the South Sequoia League title and the No. 1 seed in Division III. Can anyone say three-peat? Though I wonder if Taft's defensive success against Tehachapi's ground game will prove to be the game that showed off the Warriors' weak link.
LAST WEEK: won vs. Taft, 16-7. THIS WEEK: at Wasco

15. Centennial (5-3, Division I, last week: NR) — A lopsided loss from Fresno-Hoover provides Centennial the final spot in the rankings and gives us the only change from last week. The Golden Hawks clearly aren't the same team without Cody Kessler, though, so getting him back at least in time for Frontier in Week 10 will be paramount.
LAST WEEK: won vs. Ridgeview, 31-25. THIS WEEK: at North

Dropped out: No. 15 Fresno-Hoover
Waiting: Fresno-Washington Union, Taft, Fresno-Hoover, Reedley, Clovis East, Garces, Sanger, Dinuba, Porterville, Delano, West, Exeter