UPDATE, 12:13 a.m.: And I thought the football season was crazy before tonight. We had a fitting Halloween for Week 8, with the biggest upset this year to date — Golden Valley over Bakersfield — and a couple of other interesting results. All the available scores are below, and I'll continue to update as the weekend goes along. Here we go:

Golden Valley 23, Bakersfield 14: Byron Newman went off on the BHS defense, rushing for about 300 yards and three touchdowns on a Drillers unit that hadn't been touched in the past three weeks. I'm really speechless about this one. Obviously, the Bulldogs played exceptionally well and came up with a huge victory, but I really thought BHS was ready to roll into the playoffs. Instead, it'll likely have to split a league title with Liberty, a 48-14 victor against East.
I don't know what to say about the Division I playoffs now. Clovis-Buchanan, my favorite coming into the night, needed everything it had just to get by 1-6 Clovis, and BHS obviously has issues. Clovis West or Clovis East? They played an apparently sloppy game won by the Golden Eagles. Call them your favorite for now, I guess.

Stockdale 44, North 14: Didn't want to take the luster off this one, which the Mustangs dominated from the get-go. Actually, "dominated" probably is the wrong word. North could have hung with Stockdale, if it had held on to the ball first. The Stars fumbled four times, plus had a bad punt snap go out of the end zone for a safety. Now the teams are virtually tied atop the SWYL, with North at 4-1 in the league and Stockdale at 3-1. North plays resurgent Centennial next week, and Stockdale has games left with Frontier and West, two two-loss teams that still have a say in the league race.

Tehachapi 41, Taft 13: A statement win from the Warriors puts them at 2-1 in the SSL. The real winner here might be Bakersfield Christian, which pounded Shafter 56-7 and went to 3-0 in the league. The Eagles' 40-35 victory against Tehachapi last week now looks even more important, theough BCHS still has to travel to Taft in Week 10.

Foothill 24, Highland 2: A defensive domination here, with the 6-1 Scots held to just 48 rushing yards. That's not like a Tim Hartnett team, but give the Trojans credit. They're looking at a suddenly big finish against Garces and Golden Valley, both games to keep an eye on.

West 31, Garces 14: Have the Vikings found themselves, at long last? This result sure speaks volumes for a team that has lost to North but could still win a share of the league title if the Stars stumble at Centennial next week and West wins out against South and Stockdale.

Tulare Union 54, Delano 16: Turns out the Redskins are indeed on a different level. That's what we thought, but it's nice to have confirmation.

Centennial 37, Ridgeview 30: I mention this one because of a great comeback from the Golden Hawks, who scored the game's last 27 points, and because Cody Kessler, a sophomore QB, threw for 272 yards and four touchdowns. Two of them were to Bryan Maxwell, a senior who was playing his first game after suffering from Valley Fever for the first few months of the season.

UPDATE, 9:40 p.m.: Bigtime upset in the making at Golden Valley, where the Bulldogs are up 23-14 on Bakersfield High late in the third quarter. Something certainly worth kieeping an eye on. Here, it's 44-14 Stockdale with about five minutes to play.

UPDATE, 8:53 p.m.: Halftime here. North drove inside the Stockdale 25 with about a minute to play and a couple of timeouts in its pocket, only to fumble the ball away for the fourth time. That's pretty much been the story of the first half. North has been outplayed and has compounded that with a bunch of mistakes. Meanwhile, Stockdale clearly came ready to wipe away the memory of losses the past two weeks.
At halftime, Stephen Silva has rushed 12 times for 129 yards and a long touchdown (what concussion?) and Malik Henderson has 22 yards and two scores rushing. For North, Julian Dean-Johnson has 98 yards and Seth Vlach 77 with a touchdown, but they've each fumbled once, as have Kameron Bailey and quarterback Juan Rodriquez.
Elsewhere Delano hasn't stayed with Tulare Union and is down 40-3 late in the first half, and East is down 48-0 to Liberty with three minutes till the break. Foothill has an impressive 17-0 lead on East at the half.

UPDATE, 8:28 p.m.: It's taken only a couple of plays for things to go completely awry for North at home. Stockdale scored on a 66-yard touchdown run by Stephen Silva to extend the lead to 23-7, then forced a fumble on North's third play and used just one play again to score on a 44-yard TD pass from Efren Venegas to Chris Bowie. It's 30-7, and North's Wing T is not a comeback-compatible offense.

UPDATE, 8:19 p.m.: A second touchdown run for Malik Henderson has given Stockdale complete control of this game early. Credit the Mustangs for getting out of the gate quickly in a crucial game. North was driving down 9-0, but three fumbles on three consecutive plays left the ball in Stockdale's hands near midfield. The Mustangs then took about five minutes off the clock in a methodical drive that just ended, making it 16-0.
And, just a couple of minutes later, a crucial response from North. Julian Dean-Johnson's 45-yard scamper put the ball on the Stockdale 15, and Seth Vlach finished things up with a 6-yard TD run on fourth-and-1. It's 16-7, Stockdale.

UPDATE, 7:55 p.m.: I said this might be a battle of mistakes, and North has definitely blinked first. After a three-and-out on their first possession, the Stars snapped the ball over the punter's head and out the back of the end zone for a safety and a 9-0 Stockdale lead. Not the way you wanted to start one of the biggest games in recent school history, but North appears to have recovered. Stockdale's ensuing drive has stalled, and the Stars are getting the ball back, though they're backed up on their own 3.

UPDATE, 7:44 p.m.: Well, that didn't take long. Stockdale marches 55 yards in five plays, all runs, to take a 7-0 lead just 1:10 into the game. Time for the Stars to respond.

UPDATE, 7:38 p.m.: First order of business here from North — Stephen Silva is back to return the opening kickoff for Stockdale, which is good news for Mustangs fans. Silva has missed the last seven quarters with a concussion. Still no word on Emmanuel Ossai, who has been out about the same amount of time with a leg injury.

ORIGINAL POST: Some good news to pass along to Central Valley football fans — Pat Su'a, a linebacker at Highland worth the price of admission, is continuing a Kern-to-Fresno pipeline. He announced last week that he's verbally committed to be a Bulldog, Highland coach Tim Hartnett said.

Su'a is a beast. He'll need to put on a little weight to be successful at the D-I level, methinks, but that shouldn't be too hard with a redshirt year. Or, as I was discussing with some co-workers last night, he could drop back and be a sort of nickelback, floating around and making plays a la Brian Urlacher at New Mexico in the 1990s. That's obviously an upward comparison, but I really do think Su'a has the skills to be a standout in the WAC.

Back to the high school gridiron, where we might have some non-heat-related weather issues for the first time this season tonight. Keep the refresh button going here as I'll do my best to update scores and live updates/analysis from the Stockdale-North game.

Oh, and for the record, I updated the Week 8 predictions with a couple of Saturday games I initially missed: Mojave at Claremont-Webb and Immanuel Christian at Big Pine.

(Central Section ranking is in parentheses; all games 7:30 Friday unless noted)

Kern County scores
Porterville 35, Chavez 12 (Thursday)
Golden Valley 23, (5) Bakersfield 14
(8) Tulare Union 54, Delano 16
(11) Liberty 48, East 14
(12) Bakersfield Christian 56, Shafter 7
(13) Stockdale 44, (15) North 14
Tehachapi 41, Taft 13
Foothill 24, Highland 2
West 31, Garces 14
South 39, Frontier 30
Centennial 37, Ridgeview 30
Arvin 21, Wasco 15
McFarland 26, Laton 19
Desert 28, Rosamond 16
Bishop 35, Kern Valley 7
Big Pine 52, Immanuel Christian 6 (Saturday)
Mojave 17, Claremont-Webb 0 (Saturday)
Frazier Mountain 18, Malibu 17 (Saturday)
Lighthouse Christian 49, Coalinga-Faith Christian 14 (Saturday)
Cuyama Valley 46, Maricopa 0 (Saturday)

Other Central Section scores
(10) Exeter 42, Coalinga 14 (Thursday)
Fresno 7, Madera South 0 (Thursday)
Fresno-Sunnyside 51, Fresno-McLane 6 (Thursday)
(1) Fresno-Edison 47, Fresno-Hoover 15
(2) Clovis-Buchanan 19, Clovis 17
(3) Clovis West 19, (6) Clovis East 14
(4) Fresno-Bullard 28, Sanger 21
(7) Visalia-El Diamante 48, Visalia-Redwood 15
(9) Hanford 38, Visalia-Mt. Whitney 13
(14) Corcoran 21, Lindsay 20
Mendota 34, Avenal 6
Visalia-Central Valley Christian 13, Dinuba 6
Chowchilla 26, Fresno-Washington Union 0
Oakhurst-Yosemite 42, Dos Palos 12
Parlier 2, Fresno Christian 0 (forfeit)
Visalia-Golden West 49, Hanford West 27
Selma 38, Reedley-Immanuel 0
Orange Cove 67, Lemoore-Kings Christian 18
Kingsburg 28, Kerman 12
Madera Ranchos-Liberty 23, Tollhouse-Sierra 21
Fresno-Central 30, Madera 21
Fresno-SJ Memorial 35, Fresno-Roosevelt 14
SLO-Mission Prep 69, Farmersville 8
Lemoore 24, Porterville-Monache 13
Caruthers 30, Riverdale 14
Strathmore 41, Orosi 20
Tranquility 35, Cambria-Coast Union 7
Porterville-Granite Hills 42, Tulare Western 21
Firebaugh 36, Acton-Vasquez 12
Fowler 48, Woodlake 7
Alpaugh 60, Visalia Christian 14 (Saturday)
Riverdale Christian 49, Clovis Christian 22 (Saturday)

For once in my life, I don't have much to say. So re-read my rant from Monday or check out Week 8 rankings and predictions if this podcast isn't enough football for you.

Things are getting serious in the Fresno-Edison grade-changing case. The school district has asked Central Section commissioner Jim Crichlow to re-investigate the matter, which concerns a teacher's allegation that a player's grade in a math class was changed from an F to an A. Crichlow's first investigation cleared Edison, but the school district hasn't yet finished its own probe.

If anyone finds wrongdoing, I'd imagine the consequences would be severe — Clovis East has lost the chance to host playoff games after a much less serious offense — and it could affect the Central Section's Division II playoff picture. We'll keep you posted.

Back on the field, it's time for a look back to Week 7 predictions:

The Good: Just about everything, from taking North and Bakersfield Christian in the big games to nailing Highland winning a defensive battle to going 5-1 in Southern Section games

The Bad: Failing to see that this was indeed the week Ridgeview would spring its upset, still having faith in Centennial

The Ugly: Picking Lighthouse Christian to become Lit-Up Christian and then seeing the Guardians handle Clovis Christian in a bizarre game that hasn't officially been decided yet

Thursday, Oct. 30
PORTERVILLE (3-4, 2-1 EYL) AT CHAVEZ (3-4, 2-2) — The Titans quest for the school's first winning season might come down to the next two weeks, when two losing teams visit. Then again, it'd be exciting to watch a rivalry meeting with Delano to end the year with something on the line for both teams. Either way, I think Chavez gets its fourth win by doing something its crosstown rivals couldn't do — beat Porterville.
Prediction: Chavez 37, Porterville 33

Friday, Oct. 31
STOCKDALE (5-2, 2-1 SWYL) AT NORTH (6-1, 4-0) — Well, well, well. We might have our first league champion crowned this week, if the surprising Stars can come away with one more victory. Do that, and North would be 5-0 in the SWYL with one game to play; Stockdale would fall to 2-2 and be eliminated, and even if Frontier wins to go to 3-1, North would own the tiebreaker. But that's all for after the game. First, we have a battle of two teams connected by coaching (Mike Snow went from North to Frontier to Stockdale, and he's good friends with Mark Camps) and by styles (the Wing T). So what gives? A mistake, maybe two, could decide this one. Both teams have made them this year, so it's anybody's guess. Mine is that the Mustangs bounce back from the Ridgeview loss.
Prediction: Stockdale 28, North 26

TEHACHAPI (3-4, 1-1 SSL) AT TAFT (6-1, 2-0) — An elimination game for the Warriors, who came up on the short end of another close game last week. They nearly erased a 34-7 deficit against Bakersfield Christian only to lose 40-35. But Taft won't make things easy with its punishing offensive and defensive lines. Win or lose, the Wildcats will be in this race until the season finale at home against BCHS, though a win would likely make both teams undefeated. But I think Tehachapi, which has lost games by 6, 1, 2 and 5 points, finally gets a close one to fall its way with the aid of a new-found passing attack.
Prediction: Tehachapi 29, Taft 24

HIGHLAND (6-1, 2-1) AT FOOTHILL (4-3, 1-2) — Tim Hartnett's team has done nearly everything it could do in the first seven games of the year, with a loss to Garces in a Saturday game the only blemish. But now comes the gauntlet: at Foothill, vs. Liberty, vs. Bakersfield. The Scots' defense hasn't held up well in only a couple of games this year, but Foothill has the horses to make this another. Highland won't be able to keep up.
Prediction: Foothill 33, Highland 21

DELANO (5-2, 2-1 EYL) AT TULARE UNION (7-0, 3-0) — I invite you to turn your attention north for a few minutes, while we discuss what is a rare specimen in the Central Section this year: an undefeated team. By my count, only six remain, and the Redskins are the only in the top two divisions. What does that mean for Delano? The Tigers had better bring their A game, not whatever it was that caused losses to Hanford West and Porterville, and even that might not be enough. Keep Tulare's offense off the field and don't turn the ball over, and you might have a chance. Otherwise, it's victim No. 8 for the machinelike 'Skins.
Prediction: Tulare Union 50, Delano 21

GARCES (5-2) AT WEST (3-4) — The Vikings might be the team that costs me the most games throughout the season. It seems like they're in the "Bad" category for my picks every week, and it's because I just can't figure this team out. But who could? Hang with El Diamante. Lose to East. Beat Liberty. Get knocked out by Frontier and North. Turn around to dominate the second half against Centennial. What happens this week, nobody knows. I will say, though, Garces has been much more consistent. (Well duh).
Prediction: Garces 24, West 17

BAKERSFIELD (5-2, 3-0 SEYL) AT GOLDEN VALLEY (3-4, 1-3) — We talk about this at length in the Week 8 podcast (which you can catch at School House Zach on Thursday afternoon), but how is the Drillers' closing schedule going to affect their playoff run? BHS played Liberty in Week 4 and won't play a D-I team — or likely receive a challenge, for that matter — until the playoffs hit. I think the increased confidence will help, fueled by wins like this one, where BHS will look to shut down Golden Valley's multi-faceted attack.
Prediction: Bakersfield 41, Golden Valley 13

FRONTIER (4-3, 2-1 SWYL) AT SOUTH (3-4, 1-2) — It's back to the drawing board for both teams after they lost chances last week to have a season-defining win. That's especialy the case for South, which hung with North early but couldn't keep pace. Either way, if these teams want to play more important games down the stretch, a win here is a must. A loss, and the season could fade quickly.
Prediction: Frontier 22, South 14

LIBERTY (4-3, 2-1 SEYL) AT EAST (1-6, 0-4) — With three games left in what's been a terribly frustrating season for the Blades, it'll be interesting to see if they can make any headway towards 2009. East has scored a grand total of 26 points in its last four games (and only 73 all together) and has games with BHS and North, the two league leaders, in the final two weeks. Ouch, because Liberty's defense is even better than those teams. Looks like 2009 might really be the rallying cry already.
Prediction: Liberty 30, East 0

CENTENNIAL (1-6, 0-3 SWYL) AT RIDGEVIEW (2-5, 1-3) — This probably would have been the week I'd take Ridgeview to spring for its first SWYL victory in two years — except that happened last week. Now you wonder about the Wolf Pack's complacency, plus I'm starting to wonder if Centennial will ever get it together. I went with Centennial winning and Ridgeview losing last week and got burned, and I'm not putting my hand next to the burner again.
Prediction: Ridgeview 27, Centennial 21

SHAFTER (1-6, 0-2 SSL) AT BAKERSFIELD CHRISTIAN (6-1, 2-0) — One of the mismatches of the year in that Shafter tries to play a similar style to BCHS but does so with less precision and less good old-fashioned talent. If you hadn't heard, this Carr kid is pretty good. The Central Section record for passing yards is 520, says section historian Bob Barnett, and if he plays all four quarters of a close game, Carr could threaten that one of these weeks.
Prediction: Bakersfield Christian 51, Shafter 7

WASCO (3-4, 0-2) AT ARVIN (3-4, 1-1) — Is this the battle for fourth place in the South Sequoia League? That depends. Arvin still has games left with Tehachapi and Bakersfield Christian to move up, but the Bears have to take care of business with the offensively-dangerous Tigers first. If the game was in Wasco, I might pull the trigger on an upset here. But Arvin it is.
Prediction: Arvin 29, Wasco 19

LATON (0-7, 0-2 ESL) AT McFARLAND (2-5, 1-1) — Here's what I know about Laton: (1) Its nickname is the Mustangs. (2) It's not as good as the Stockdale Mustangs. (3) It's not as good as the Mojave Mustangs. (3) It scored 20 points just once this year, and that was exactly 20. (4) It hasn't given up less than 31 all year. McFarland isn't the best team around, but you can bet the Cougars have enough firepower for this one.
Prediction: McFarland 41, Laton 10

ROSAMOND (2-6, 1-1 HDL) AT DESERT (6-2, 1-1) — On paper, this doesn't look like much of a matchup, but consider that two weeks ago, Desert lost 19-16 to Frazier Mountain, the same team Rosamond blanked 22-0 last weekend. Plus, Terrance Wells' status is unknown. The difference, I think, is that the Scorpions have figured out what to do even without him, as evidenced by a win against Kern Valley last week.
Prediction: Desert 23, Rosamond 17

BISHOP (2-4, 1-0 HDL) AT KERN VALLEY (3-4, 0-1) — Just from talking to him a couple of times, I have faith in Ben Goffinett as a coach and a motivator, and it's about time the Broncs got themselves a big victory out at the lake.
Prediction: Kern Valley 24, Bishop 23

MARICOPA (2-5, 1-1 CVL) AT CUYAMA VALLEY (3-3, 2-1) — Don't underestimate the Indians, who look like they matchup more favorably with Cuyama than some might have thought before the season. But I don't think Maricopa is prepared to go west and come back with a victory.
Prediction: Cuyama Valley 44, Maricopa 27

Saturday, Nov. 1
LIGHTHOUSE CHRISTIAN (2-5, 1-1 CVSSL) AT COALINGA-FAITH CHRISTIAN (0-6, 0-5) — Faith Christian (the Warriors, in case you were wondering) started its program this year and has gotten more competitive, as evidenced by two games against Visalia Christian (44-15 losers the first time, 39-24 the second). But Lighthouse showed last week that it doesn't plan on letting its league title go easily.
Prediction: Lighthouse Christian 49, Faith Christian 12

FRAZIER MOUNTAIN (3-4) AT MALIBU (6-1) — The other High Desert League teams, when they're the odd man out in the league schedule, normally take the week off. Not Frazier Mountain. The Falcons are taking the long trek out to treacherous ... Malibu?? Yeah, well, some of us vacation at home, some at the beach. Malibu plays in one of the nation's most beautiful high school locales, but that doesn't mean the Sharks are friendly hosts.
Prediction: Malibu 33, Frazier Mountain 14

MOJAVE (3-5) AT CLAREMONT-WEBB (3-3) — Since a 3-1 start, the Mustangs have fallen on hard times, dropping four in a row and falling out of the Southern Section divisional rankings and completely out of the playoff picture. With the team mired in no-man's land until it joins the Desert Mountain League next year, tonight offers a chance to get back on track, but even if Mojave can win, it's playing for pride only at this point.
Prediction: Webb 27, Mojave 17

IMMANUEL CHRISTIAN (3-4, 1-2 HLL) AT BIG PINE (7-0, 3-0) — After two weeks off, the Crusaders travel to the Hi-Lo league leader for their second-to-last game.
Prediction: Big Pine 52, Immanuel Christian 13

Last week: 16-4 (.800)    Season: 116-48 (.707)

If you missed it, we've got a lively discussion going on the previous post about what is (in my opinion) a watered-down playoff system we've got going in the Central Section.

On to Central Section rankings, something that actually rewards teams for doing well instead of lumping them with everyone else. There are certainly arguments to be made for any of Clovis West, Clovis-Buchanan and Fresno-Edison to be No. 1 in the section this week. They've all gone 1-1 against one another and haven't lost another game in the section (CW has a couple of losses to the Southern Section).

I've come up with what I think is a fair solution: Drop Clovis West to No. 3 (the Golden Eagles weren't competitive in either of their Southern Section losses) and put Edison, which beat Buchanan, back at the No. 1 spot it held for the first six weeks of the season. The Tigers are my team again until further notice.

Reasonable minds can and will disagree on this, of course, and I might change my mind even if all three teams win or lose next week. They're that close. But for now, here are your Week 8 section rankings:

1. Fresno-Edison (7-1, Div. II, last week: 2) — The Tigers have just two games left until they (presumably) collect the No. 1 seed in the Division II bracket. This week is tough; next week is tougher.
LAST WEEK: won at No. 15 Sanger, 30-26. THIS WEEK: vs. Fresno-Hoover

2. Clovis-Buchanan (6-1, Div. I, last week: 3) — This is the best team I've seen this season. One question: If it gets cold and/or windy come playoff time (hey, it could happen), will the Bears' sophisticated passing attack still move the ball?
LAST WEEK: won vs. No. 1 Clovis West, 19-13. THIS WEEK: vs. Clovis

3. Clovis West (4-3, Div. I, last week: 1) — Again, the Golden Eagles could be No. 1 in this argument (they have after all, beaten Edison). They very well might bounce back to win this week against another top team. But consistency is needed.
LAST WEEK: lost at No. 3 Clovis-Buchanan, 19-13. THIS WEEK: vs. No. 6 Clovis East

4. Fresno-Bullard (5-2, Div. I, last week: 4) — The Knights will try to become the latest top team to hand 4-4 Sanger a tough loss.
LAST WEEK: won vs. Reedley, 49-20. THIS WEEK: vs. Sanger

5. Bakersfield (5-2, Div. I, last week: 5) — Anyone having a case of deja vu from last year, when the Drillers lost early, got better, bided their time and then swept through the playoffs?
LAST WEEK: won at Foothill, 33-6. THIS WEEK: at Golden Valley

6. Clovis East (5-2, Div. I, last week: 8) — I'm giving the Timberwolves an overdue bump, though to stay here, they'll have to beat their crosstown rivals in the latest Tri-River Conference showdown.
LAST WEEK: won vs. Fresno-Central, 56-14. THIS WEEK: vs. No. 3 Clovis West

7. Visalia-El Diamante (6-1, Div. II, last week: 7) — Number of winning teams the Miners have played thus far: 1. Number of losses: 1. Concrete things we know about how good this team is: Not many. A Week 9 showdown with No. 9 Hanford? Priceless.
LAST WEEK: won at Hanford West, 56-13. THIS WEEK: vs. Visalia-Redwood

8. Tulare Union (7-0, Div. II, last week: 9) — If the right Delano team shows up in Tulare this week, we could have a showdown worthy of a league championship (Porterville-Monache is in the conversation too). If the inconsistent Tigers don't play well, however, it'll be another Redskin blowout.
LAST WEEK: won at Porterville, 64-0. THIS WEEK: vs. Delano

9. Hanford (7-0, Div. III, last week: 10) — The regular season for the Bullpups will come down to the final two regular season games against El Diamante and Lemoore. Win, lose or draw, they're likely looking at a No. 1 seed in the D-III playoffs.
LAST WEEK: won at Tulare Western, 31-6. THIS WEEK: at Visalia-Mt. Whitney

10. Exeter (7-0, Div. IV, last week: 11) — The Monarchs pounded Selma 62-28 and move into the top 10. That's 60 points twice in a row, and they can probably call their shot against an 0-7 team this week.
LAST WEEK: won vs. Selma, 62-28. THIS WEEK: vs. Coalinga

11. Liberty (4-3, Div. I, last week: 13) — I bet the Patriots sure wish they could have the final three minutes back against Bakersfield. Or Clovis West, or West for that matter. Oh well, A 7-3 finish is becoming increasingly likely.
LAST WEEK: won vs. Golden Valley, 24-7. THIS WEEK: at East

12. Bakersfield Christian (6-1, Div. V, last week: 12) — It's not that I wasn't impressed with BCHS in its victory against a top D-III team last week. It's just that there's a few question marks before the Eagles are crowned SSL champs.
LAST WEEK: won vs. Tehachapi, 40-35. THIS WEEK: vs. Shafter

13. Stockdale (5-2, Div. I, last week: 6) — Don't sleep on the Mustangs. They got bit by a jilted underdog that was overdue for a breakout performance. Still, if Stephen Silva and Emmanuel Ossai can't get healthy, Stockdale just isn't the same team.
LAST WEEK: lost vs. Ridgeview, 30-15. THIS WEEK: at No. 15 North

14. Corcoran (7-0, Div. V, last week: 14) — Ten points? The Panthers gave up 10 points? What in the Sam Hell is going on here? I guess you can't expect a shutout every week.
LAST WEEK: won vs. Riverdale, 59-10. THIS WEEK: at Lindsay

15. North (6-1, Div. II, last week: NR) — I'm ready to hand over a ranking to a team that leads the Southwest Yosemite League all by its lonesome. Two hurdles remain if the Stars want to stay here: A showdown for the league title and a game against Centennial, which historically owns North.
LAST WEEK: won vs. South, 34-19. THIS WEEK: vs. No. 13 Stockdale

Dropped out: No. 15 Sanger
Waiting: Sanger, Kingsburg, Garces, Taft, Chowchilla, Delano, Highland, Visalia-Central Valley Christian, Tehachapi, Fowler

Before I get to the topic at hand (and I have a heck of a rant ready, so be forewarned), I wanted to atone for a mistake.

I realized today that I gypped my loyal blog readers of a look-ahead to next week (this week's) big high school football games in my Week 7 edition of "most important things." How dare I? As a peace offering, I'll offer a bonus sixth game to keep an eye on. Here's the list:

Stockdale at North: SWYL title is likely on the line. What, you expected something else?
Tehachapi at Taft: A Wildcats win would knock out Tehachapi and set up an SSL showdown against BCHS in Week 10
Delano at Tulare Union: A chance for Tigers to atone for frustrating upset losses
Highland at Foothill: Don't forget, the Scots are 2-1 in SEYL, with Liberty and BHS to come
Frontier at South: Like the Scots, Frontier still controls its league fate
Garces at West: If you've been waiting for Vikings to turn corner, you've fallen asleep

Now, on to the main event for Monday.

Central Section girls tennis playoff brackets were released today, and while that might not strike some of you as especially exciting news, it brings a pet peeve of mine into the spotlight.

Since I moved into the area about 11 months ago, I have always wondered why the Central Section playoffs were organized the way they are. A section championship, by simple math, already is much easier to win than a state championship would be, and yet the Central Section allows any old team that wants to play into its "playoffs." To me, making the playoffs ought to be a special occasion to be celebrated and savored, not something you can get just by asking. The best teams have to earn it.

Now the problem is even worse.

There are about 100 schools in the Central Section, which means it's about one-tenth the size of the Southern Section, and much smaller than most states, where high schools compete for state, not section, championships. And yet, the section deemed it necessary this year to add a sixth playoff division, watering down the meaning of a championship even more.

This decision was made for football and basketball, no doubt, where a sixth division will allow schools like McFarland, Orange Cove, Laton, etc., to be competitve in a championship hunt. But it backfires when you apply it to sports with less participation, like, for instance, girls tennis.

Case in point: The Division VI girls tennis championship has two teams that asked to be the playoffs. Two!!!! That means that while Divisions I-V are playing opening matches Wednesday (though D-III only has five teams), McFarland and Strathmore will be duking it out for a championship — a championship they earned the right to play for by ... asking to play. That doesn't seem very special.

Don't get me wrong. I have nothing against McFarland or Strathmore or any of the other Division VI schools. But no team, anywhere, from pee-wee hockey to the NFL, should be playing for a championship without doing a single thing to earn it. It's a disgrace to the word "championship."

And before you get up in arms because I'm excluding some student-athletes, let me finish. I get it. I really do. This is high school, and the kids should be learning something about fair play while tasting some success. You think it didn't mean the world to the South High baseball to make the D-III baseball championship the past two years? That team couldn't get a sniff in the tough-as-nails Southwest Yosemite League but still had something to shoot for.

Heck, I played high school sports and toiled for years without reaching a state tournament in New Mexico. I finally made one my senior year in wrestling. It felt good. You know why? It's because it wasn't handed to me. I had to beat someone to get there.

I say enough is enough. Make a team finish in its top two, or three, or four in its league before it gets to be playoff eligible. At least then you've got teams that have played under some pressure, beaten someone, accomplished something to get there.

It's already done like this in wrestling, golf, swimming and individual tennis.

In wrestling, you have to finish in the top four in your weight class at league to reach the divisional tournament, the top three or six (depending on your division) to reach the section Masters tournament, the top five at Masters to reach the state tournament. Or in golf, only the top 15 golfers and top three teams in the Area tournaments advance to the section.

Not everyone. Because the playoffs are supposed to be special. And in the Central Section, they are increasingly less so.

What a year it's turned out to be in Kern County high school football, with upsets galore, many teams still in contention and an intriguing playoffs coming in just about every division. Let's recap the week that was.

— Bakersfield Christian and Tehachapi provided everything you could want in a high school game Friday night (except maybe defense), and the result was a 40-35 BCHS victory. There was passing offense, to the tune of 746 yards, running offense, turnovers, a comeback and spectacular plays. Derek Carr threw for an astounding 441 yards, and that might not have been the most impressive passing in the game — Tehachapi's Kurtis Knudson threw for 305, which looks like it might be some 80 yards more than the previous school record.
So what's the big picture? The Eagles should roll against Shafter and Arvin the next two weeks, setting up a showdown in Taft on Nov. 14. Tehachapi travels to Taft next week, where a win could put the Warriors right back in the race.

— All you 93308ers have lots to cheer about this week, as North High is 4-0 and in first place in the Southwest Yosemite League by a full game and a half over Stockdale and Frontier, who are both 2-1. North pulled away from South 34-19 on Friday. Who would have guessed the Stars would be in this position? A sleeper yes, but North could actually put this thing away with a victory next week at home against Stockdale. And, if you want to look down the road to the playoffs, a mistake-free North team running that effective Wing T could give anybody problems in Division II, and that includes Fresno-Edison, Visalia-El Diamante and Tulare Union. I'm not ready to say North is there yet, but for now, the Stars are on a magical ride.

— It was also a pretty magical night for Ridgeview, which put behind all of its heartbreaking losses to win at Stockdale 30-15. The Wolf Pack had already lost two league games when North scored with less than a minute left to win 13-8 and when Frontier stopped RHS' two-point conversion in the waning seconds of a 21-20 game. Stockdale had pulled within 23-15 in the fourth quarter of this one when Ridgeview's Tyler Dogins returned an interception 50 yards for the clinching TD. Dogins also ran for 143 yards and three touchdowns.
So where does Stockdale go from here? Well, a win against North would cure a lot of ailments, but the Mustangs need to get Stephen Silva healthy by playoff time if they're to make any noise. Silva suffered a concussion against Liberty last week and didn't play against Ridgeview.

— Over in the SEYL, there is increasingly little doubt that Bakersfield High is going to run the table and defend its league title. The Drillers fumbled seven times — losing three — threw an interception and committed 13 penalties for 137 yards. And still beat Foothill 33-6. I don't expect Golden Valley, East or even Highland to touch BHS, and with Brian Burrell settling in at quarterback and Alex Mitchell back at wide receiver/defensive back, this team is better. Cutting down mistakes, though, is an absolute must if the Drillers are going to make noise in the playoffs. Keep in mind, this team is still just 2-2 against Division I teams, with one victory a sloppy one against Liberty.

— Speaking of the Patriots, they beat Golden Valley 24-7 despite surrendering almost a 2-1 advantage in total yards. Liberty is the team no one wants to see in the playoffs because it'll play you so tough, and yet I can't see the Patriots making a run all the way to the D-I title. There's just not enough offensive firepower to win week in and week out against good teams.

— Highland shut down Frontier in a 16-3 win that speaks volumes about the depth of the Southeast Yosemite League. The Scots were dominated by Garces and had trouble with Golden Valley, yet they were all over a Frontier team that's tied for second in the city's other league. I'm not saying that the SEYL is bona fide the better league, but this is as good an indication as you're going to get.

— Quick notes on Southern Section play: Desert survived to beat Kern Valley 28-21, and Frazier Mountain, which knocked off the Scorpions last week, was blanked 22-0 at Rosamond. I can't figure it out, other than to say Desert must have some injury problems. It was blowing people out until the last two weeks. Also, Boron had a somewhat controversial finish in its win against Lancaster-Desert Christian.

— Speaking of controversy, we'll end on a bizarre note from 8-man ball. Lighthouse Christian, a 1-5 team playing host to 5-1 Clovis Christian, apparently played its best game of the seaon and led CC 36-22 with about nine minutes to play. That's when everything went awry. The Fresno Bee reported this morning that Clovis Christian athletic director Phil Laughlin said a member of the chain gang (from Lighthouse since it was the home team) was on a cell phone, relaying play-call information to the Guardians' coaching staff. Here's where it gets really interesting. Laughlin said the officials on the field called the game at that point and told both teams it was over, but Lighthouse coach Nick Park said today it was Clovis Christian's players and coaches who walked off the field themselves.
Hmmm. I haven't been able to reach anyone from Clovis Christian, but Lighthouse coach Nick Park flatly denied the allegation, saying, "Myself and my coaches on the sideline received no communication from anybody, either on the sideline or anywhere else about calls or plays or anything."
Lighthouse athletic director Vincent Frazier said he contacted CIF Central Section commissioner Jim Crichlow last night and told him about the game. Frazier said Crichlow will begin an investigation on Monday, but that the referees on the field awarded Lighthouse a forfeit victory. I know 8-man ball doesn't get a lot of attention, but this certainly is a situation keeping an eye on.

UPDATED, 12:08 a.m.: Here's a quick-reflex reaction of some of tonight's key results:

Bakersfield Christian 40, Tehachapi 35: BCHS coach Doug Barnett said after the game that Derek Carr doesn't yet have a full grasp of the spread offense. That's a scary, scary thought, considering Carr was 30-of-41 for 441 yards and three touchdowns tonight. At least six of his incompletions were drops and a couple more were deep balls. He threw one interception on a tipped ball, but even that throw was only a few inches off.
But that was only half the story in this one. The teams combined for 1,056 yards of offense, and Tehachapi had 558 of them. There were 253 on the ground and — surprise! — 305 through the air. I'll have to check with Warriors stats guru Tom Shea, but I've got to think that's at least close to a record for a storied program. But Tehachapi dug itself too big of a hole early and the passing attack couldn't quite make up for it.

Ridgeview 30, Stockdale 15: I knew the Wolf Pack was going to break through for a victory at some point. I just didn't think it would be tonight. Stockdale had so much on the line, and to drop this game hurts them not only in the SWYL race but also in seeding for the Division I playoffs. Still, bigtime props to Ridgeview for a great victory. The Wolf Pack grabbed a 16-0 lead at the half and fended off Stockdale's comeback with an interception return for a touchdown in the fourth quarter.

North 34, South 19: So Stockdale lags in the league race, and the Stars are right there to take advantage. North broke open a 13-13 halftime game with a short Seth Vlach TD run and a 28-yard TD pass from Juan Rodriguez to Julian Dean-Johnson — North's only pass of the game. The Stars finish their SWYL schedule with Stockdale and Centennial, so this is anything but a shoo-in, but right now, Mark Camps and his charges are 4-0 and in first place all by their lonesome.

Bakersfield 33, Foothill 6: Here's your answer to the Brian Burrell-Alex Mitchell quarterback controversy in Driller land. Mitchell has moved to receiver and cornerback, where he says he's more comfortable, and Burrell will continue to wing it behind center. It worked to perfection Friday night, with Mitchell catching five balls for 109 yards and grabbing an interception on defense. Burrell was 11-of-21 for 208 yards — not quite his numbers from last week, but plenty to make teams think twice about loading up on the run.

Highland 16, Frontier 3: That Highland defense that's gone missing for the past two weeks is baaaack. The Scots held Frontier to 143 yards of offense and used two Alan Roy touchdown runs to stifle the Titans.

Liberty 24, Golden Valley 7: This was the Patriots' blueprint for victory executed to a T: Liberty gives up some yards but makes big plays on defense and does enough on offense to get a lead and then milk the clock away. The Bulldogs outgained the Pats 416-253 in this one but turned it over six times inside the 50 — twice on interceptions and four times on downs.

UPDATED, 10:52 p.m.: Bakersfield Christian holds on 40-35. A couple of other interesting scores — Ridgeview shocks Stockdale at home, 30-15, North pulls away from South, and West beats Centennial in the second half. Check back later for a full scorelist and recap.

UPDATED, 9:18 p.m.: A track meet is breaking out at BCHS, with Tehachapi opening up its rarely used passing game to get back in it. The Warriors have scored twice in the third quarter to close to 34-21. The first TD was a 70-yard catch and run from Josh Strauss, and he caught a couple of other long ones to set up Adam Mullen's 14-yard TD run with 2:57 to play in the third. Thirty-four points might not win this one.

UPDATED, 8:43 p.m.: Halftime here at Bakersfield Christian, where the Eagles' spread offense is putting on an absolute clinic. Derek Carr has 248 yards and two touchdowns passing, including an incredible 20-yarder to Jake Peterson 19 seconds before halftime. Peterson caught the ball with one hand while falling out of the end zone, but managed to stay inbounds to make it  27-7.  The BCHS defense meanwhile, just forced its third fumble recovery to start the second half and Carr strikes again, 25 yards to Colby Herron for Herron's second TD catch. It's 34-7
Elsewhere, South and North deadlocked at 13 at halftime and Ridgeview shocking Stockdale 23-8 in the third quarter. We'll keep an eye out.

UPDATED, 7:45 p.m.: It hasn't taken long for Bakersfield Christian to prove this year's game against Tehachapi will be different than last year's 41-7 Warriors win on the mountain. Derek Carr has been exquisitely accurate on two Eagles touchdown drives, one culminating with a 13-yard strike to Colby Herron and another with Christian Taylor scoring on a draw from 6 yards out. BCHS is 1-of-2 on extra points, so it's 13-0 with exactly eight minutes to play in the first quarter.

Welcome to Week 7, ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls. I'll be out at Bakersfield Christian for the Eagles' SSL showdown with Tehachapi, providing live commentary and score updates as best I can. I'll have internet access, but the press box at BCHS isn't finished yet, so it'll be difficult to sit down and give as many updates as usual. I will give it my requisite 110 percent, though.

All games listed below are schedule for 7:30 Friday unless noted; Central Section rankings are in parentheses.

Kern County scores
Burroughs 30, Apple Valley-Granite Hills 17 (Thursday)
(5) Bakersfield 33, Foothill 6
Ridgeview 30, (6) Stockdale 15
(12) Bakersfield Christian 40, Tehachapi 35
(13) Liberty 24, Golden Valley 7
North 34, South 19
Highland 16, Frontier 3
West 28, Centennial 14
Garces 20, East 6
Taft 28, Wasco 7
Arvin 35, Shafter 7
Delano 42, Porterville-Granite Hills 6
Porterville-Monache 35, Chavez 14
SLO-Mission Prep 48, McFarland 7
Desert 28, Kern Valley 21
Rosamond 22, Frazier Mountain 0
Boron 27, Lancaster-Desert Christian 20
Tranquility 35, Mojave 28
Lighthouse Christian 36, Clovis Christian 22
Encino-Westmark 38, Maricopa 12

Other Central Section scores
(3) Clovis-Buchanan 19, (1) Clovis West 13
(2) Fresno-Edison 30, (15) Sanger 26
(4) Fresno-Bullard 49, Reedley 20
(7) Visalia-El Diamante 56, Hanford West 13
(8) Clovis East 56, Fresno-Central 14
(9) Tulare Union 64, Porterville 0
(10) Hanford 31, Tulare Western 6
(11) Exeter 62, Selma 28
(14) Corcoran 59, Riverdale 10
Firebaugh 35, Avenal 8
Parlier 20, Caruthers 14
Kingsburg 31, Visalia-Central Valley Christian 21
Chowchilla 44, Tollhouse-Sierra 33
Clovis 17, Madera 14
Dinuba 24, Coalinga 14
Farmersville 24, Lemoore-Kings Christian 8
Fowler 2, Fresno Christian 0 (forfeit)
Fresno 49, Fresno-McLane 30
Dos Palos 24, Reedley-Immanuel 6
Oakhurst-Yosemite 34, Kerman 20
Lindsay 21, Strathmore 7
Fresno-San Joaquin Memorial 28, Madera South 0
Mendota 33, Cambria-Coast Union 24
Lemoore 40, Visalia-Mt. Whitney 26
Orange Cove 49, Laton 14
Woodlake 41, Orosi 6
Visalia-Redwood 14, Visalia-Golden West 6
Fresno-Roosevelt 35, Fresno-Sunnyside 14
Fresno-Washington 24, Madera Ranchos-Liberty 21
Visalia Christian 2, Sanger-Bethel Christian 0 (forfeit)
Riverdale Christian at Alpaugh, 11 a.m. Saturday

We interrupt your regularly scheduled football programming to bring you this boys basketball note:

Very nice ceremony for Stephon Carter at Garces today, where he announced his intention to sign with Cal State Bakersfield to play for the next four years.

I've asked a few basketball people around town what they thought of the signing, and I found two pretty different camps. Some said they were really surprised to hear it. Why would a kid with that much talent decide to stick around and play for independent CSUB? Their theory was confirmed when I told them Stephon had offers from Arizona State, Fresno State and Colorado State, plus interest (and probably offers to come) from about every other school in the American West.

The other group, though, wasn't surprised at all. And this was the group that knew Stephon. Knew that he doesn't necessarily want to travel all over creation. Knew that he wanted a chance to be part of a program-building experience. And, most of all, knew that he wanted to stay in Bakersfield within his circle of comfort — Garces coach Gino Lacava, teammate Ryan Bush's family and a bunch of other coaches and friends he's leaned on over the years. Carter said himself today that he hasn't had the best upbringing a child could hope for. His parents split when he was young and neither even lives in Bakersfield anymore. His brother, whom Stephon was closer to than anyone, was shot to death as part of a disagreement outside a gas station this summer. Add in the fact that Carter wants to repay some of those who helped him by letting them watch him for four more years. Stephon staying home seems like the right fit.

One thing both camps agreed on was that this was an absolute coup for Cal State. The Roadrunners were able to keep the best player to come through Bakersfield in years in town and can build the rest of their team — and their program — around Carter for the next four years. He's amiable, he's outgoing, passionate and a hell of a player. He plays defense, can get to the hoop, can pass the ball and, if he ever corrals his streaky shooting touch, could be a great outside threat too. He also said to me today that he wants to open a sort of Bakersfield-to-Bakersfield pipeline — get other D-I prospects, many of whom he knows, to stay in town — maybe even starting with Garces junior forward Chris Dixon.

Here's the Week 7 edition of the football podcast. Check back later today for a quick note on Stephon Carter's announcement today that he'll play basketball for Cal State Bakersfield. Pretty impressive for the Roadrunners, considering Carter had offers from Arizona State and Colorado also on the table.

There comes a time in every season, I like to think, when the best teams start playing like the best teams and the pretenders start to fade and/or expose themselves. I don't think there's a set point in every season where it happens — in the baseball season, for instance, is it after the trading deadline or when September call-ups start? In the NFL season, is it November? College football — conference season?

Truth is, the point varies from sport to sport, year to year. But I can say one thing: I think we've reached that point in Kern County football this year. It might have happened last week, when Bakersfield, Liberty and North announced themselves as contenders, Stockdale lost but reminded everyone it'd be around for the long haul anyway, and teams like West, Centennial, Golden Valley and maybe Garces faded a bit.

But if it wasn't last week, it was this one. Seems like nearly every game this week is one where one team can make a statement, move on and streak towards the playoffs and the other can start thinking about a big Thanksgiving dinner without worrying about football practice. Which are which? On to the predictions! First, a quick look back at last week's results.

The Good: Ahem, Stockdale students. School House Zach does know jack. Or at least I did with the Liberty-over-Stockdale pick. Also, BHS to handle Garces and Frontier to edge Ridgeview.

The Bad: Expecting West to bounce back against North and South to come up short against Centennial again.

The Ugly: Ooh, Delano and Desert made me look bad. I predicted 21- and 30-point victories and got 13- and 3-point losses in return.

On to Week (Lucky number) 7:

Thursday, October 23
BURROUGHS (3-3, 0-1 DSL) AT APPLE VALLEY-GRANITE HILLS (2-4, 0-0) — The Burros might have ruined their chances at a Desert Sky League title last week with a tough loss at Barstow, but a playoff berth is still very much in play.
Prediction: Burroughs 24, Granite Hills 14

Friday, October 24
TEHACHAPI (3-3, 1-0 SSL) AT BAKERSFIELD CHRISTIAN (5-1, 1-0) — Both teams have tested themselves, Tehachapi against bigger schools like Frontier and Burroughs and BCHS against Westlake Village-Oaks Christian. Both have done fairly well. The real question here is whether the Eagles' offensive and defense lines have matured enough to handle the Warriors' physical style. Last year, they weren't close. If they can at least hold their own, Derek Carr will score too much for Tehachapi to keep up.
Prediction: Bakersfield Christian 30, Tehachapi 21

SOUTH (3-3, 1-1 SWYL) AT NORTH (5-1, 3-0) — I love this game because it's between two traditional rivals that don't always garner very much attention for their sports teams. That's going to change this week, because this a huge game in the SWYL race. So who takes home the Civil War sword? I think the Stars' vaunted running attack, if it can continue not to be bogged down by its mistakes, can control the clock and the tempo and nullify South's passing attack.
Prediction: North 33, South 25

GOLDEN VALLEY (3-3, 1-2 SEYL) AT LIBERTY (3-3, 1-1) — It's a chance for the Patriots to keep some momentum going for once — they've gone loss-win-loss-win-loss-win so far this year — against a Golden Valley team that desperately needs to win a close one after heartbreaking losses to Garces and Highland. Last week, Liberty was that team, and they got it done against Stockdale. My hunch is that GVHS is going to have to continue to wait.
Prediction: Liberty 27, Golden Valley 14

BAKERSFIELD (4-2, 2-0 SEYL) AT FOOTHILL (4-2, 1-1) — The Trojans have proven they can move the ball — Lawrence Weldon is Kern County's third leading rusher and he's tops in Bakersfield — and score points — at a 31.5 per-game clip. But what happened the one time Foothill faced a great defense? Liberty 21, Foothill 3. As much as I like Dennis Manning's team, the Drillers and Patriots are on another plane in this league. Even if sophomore Brian Burrell suffers from a letdown, BHS' defense is rolling right now.
Prediction: Bakersfield 35, Foothill 13

FRONTIER (4-2) AT HIGHLAND (5-1) — An underrated game between overachieving teams pits a couple of good defenses and teams who could use the victory in seeding arguments next month. Both teams also escaped with crucial victories last week, Frontier over Ridgeview when the Wolf Pack went for two and missed in a 21-20 game, and Highland over Golden Valley when Alan Roy scored two 90+ yard TDs for the Scots to erase a 14-point deficit late. Who rides the momentum more will decide this one.
Prediction: Highland 19, Frontier 16

RIDGEVIEW (1-5, 0-3 SWYL) AT STOCKDALE (5-1, 2-0) — First chance for Stockdale to show what's it's made of in the face of some weeklong adversity. I think the Mustangs are a tough team in the image of coach Mike Snow, and whether Stephen Silva (who left last week's game with an apparently mild concussion) or Emmanuel Ossai (on crutches in the second half) play, Stockdale should get back on track.
Prediction: Stockdale 30, Ridgeview 10

WEST (2-4, 1-2 SWYL) AT CENTENNIAL (1-5, 0-2) — Hard to believe this has turned into a battle to stay out of the cellar in the league and not for a league title, like it was last year. Centennial has struggled with its youth while West has been a tremendous disappointment. I'm done riding with the Vikings for now, though. Even though the defense has been passable and the offense has some talent, it's tough to win when you have as many issues on the lines as West does.
Prediction: Centennial 27, West 23

EAST (1-5, 0-3 SEYL) AT GARCES (4-2, 2-1) — My hunch is that the Rams are more of the "Now we'll prove ourselves all over again" type of team rather than the "Oh my goodness, we lost a blowout, how are we going to regroup?" type. And frankly, East probably is the right team to be playing after the blowout loss to Bakersfield.
Prediction: Garces 28, East 3

WASCO (3-3, 0-1 SSL) AT TAFT (5-1, 1-0) — It'll be great to see Johnathan Wimberly, Wasco's offensive star and one of the leading rushers in Kern County, face the big, physical Taft defense. I don't expect him to get shut down, necissarily, but I don't expect him to carry the Tigers to victory, either. Especially considering he can't shut down the Taft offense by himself on the other side of the ball.
Prediction: Taft 37, Wasco 14

ARVIN (2-4, 0-1 SSL) AT SHAFTER (1-5, 0-1) — Certainly a must-win game for Arvin, which has enough talent to compete in the league but can't afford to get caught in a trap up at Shafter.
Prediction: Arvin 41, Shafter 20

PORTERVILLE-GRANITE HILLS (0-7, 0-3 EYL) AT DELANO (4-2, 1-1) — It's funny, because with the way Delano's schedule has set up, the Tigers easily could/should be 6-0 right now with a game against a winless team to set up an undefeated showdown with Tulare Union. But I guess that's why more teams don't go unbeaten just on the schedule. Delano's not quite good enough. I would really be surprised, though, if it weren't good enough to win this one and keep the Tulare game relevant.
Prediction: Delano 40, Granite HIlls 6

CHAVEZ (3-3, 2-1 EYL) AT PORTERVILLE-MONACHE (4-2, 2-1) — On the flip side, you have Chavez, which continues to find ways to win close games and has a 3-3 record and a legitimate shot at finishing .500 for the first time in school history. A win here would be a huge step towards that goal, but I think Monache seperates itself in the second half.
Prediction: Monache 37, Chavez 24

McFARLAND (2-4, 1-0 ESL) AT SAN LUIS OBISPO-MISSION PREP (5-0, 1-0) — The Cougars dispatched Lemoore-Kings Christian for a league victory last week, and I really think there are more to come. Mission Prep is the only Div. V team in the East Sierra League, though (the rest are Div. VI), and it's clearly a step ahead of about everyone else there.
Prediction: Mission Prep 41, McFarland 10

KERN VALLEY (3-3, 0-0 HDL) AT DESERT (5-2, 0-1) — It's frustrating to not know exactly what the situation is with Desert quarterback Terrance Wells, who either had a bad night or was hurt (a different kind of bad night) in a 19-16 loss to Frazier Mountain. My hunch is that he's hurt. Even so, I think with another week to prepare and a home game, the Scorpions will take care of Kern Valley.
Prediction: Desert 28, Kern Valley 17

FRAZIER MOUNTAIN (3-3, 1-0 HDL) AT ROSAMOND (1-6, 0-1) — Whether Wells was hurt really shouldn't take away from Frazier Mountain's effort. I mean, the Falcons still had to take advantage of the situation, and they won a close game, something they struggled with a bit last year and earlier this year. Now it's time for a little momentum and a 2-0 record. In a league with only five teams, that victory could have some serious legs for the kids from Lebec.
Prediction: Frazier Mountain 38, Rosamond 19

LANCASTER-DESERT CHRISTIAN (2-3, 0-0 DML) AT BORON (6-1, 1-0) — If you've jumped on the Boron bandwagon after the community came together in the face of Vinnie Rodriguez's death, this is one to watch. The Bobcats likely will only face a test in two league games: This one and the season finale against Yermo-Silver Valley. I say they pass the first one with flying colors.
Prediction: Boron 42, Desert Christian 21

MOJAVE (3-4) AT TRANQUILITY (5-1) — The wheels have come off Mojave's longshot campaign for a playoff spot as a freelance team in the last few weeks, with losses to Pasadena-Maranatha, Yermo-Silver Valley and (most damaging) Acton-Vasquez. A win this week could get them back in the conversation, but I don't see it happening.
Prediction: Tranquility 31, Mojave 18

CLOVIS CHRISTIAN (5-1, 2-0 CVSSL) AT LIGHTHOUSE CHRISTIAN (1-5, 0-1) — In 8-man terms, Lighthouse is like Centennial. It's a young team that I think will turn it around by the time the season ends. Time is running out though, and for the Guardians, this isn't the right week to start a rebound.
Prediction: Clovis Christian 55, Lighthouse Christian 22

ENCINO-WESTMARK (5-1) AT MARICOPA (2-4) — A couple of tough weeks ahead for the Indians, who go out of league to play Westmark and then travel to traditional Coast Valley League power Cuyama Valley on Halloween. A win, on the other hand, would make their season.
Prediction: Westmark 48, Maricopa 28

Last week: 14-7 (.667)    Season: 100-44 (.694)

To make up for my lackadaisical weekend, I'm giving you a double post Tuesday! The rankings haven't been shaken up too much this week, but there are some juicy matchups ahead in Week 7. Let's set things up:

1. Clovis West (4-2, Div. I, last week: 1) — No problem for Golden Eagles in their warm-up for back-to-back showdowns with Buchanan and Clovis East.
LAST WEEK: won at Fresno-Central, 38-7. THIS WEEK: at No. 3 Clovis-Buchanan

2. Fresno-Edison (6-1, Div. II, last week: 2) — Only three regular-season games remain for Tigers, and none of them are easy: Sanger, Hoover and Bullard all have winning records. If Edison still has a pipe dream of making a CIF state bowl game, it had better be impressive.
LAST WEEK: won vs. Reedley, 43-21. THIS WEEK: at No. 15 Sanger

3. Clovis-Buchanan (5-1, Div. I, last week: 3) — Both a Tri-River Athletic League title and probably the No. 1 seed in the Division I playoffs are on the line this week at Buchanan Field.
LAST WEEK: won vs. Madera, 27-7. THIS WEEK: vs. No. 1 Clovis West

4. Fresno-Bullard (4-2, Div. I, last week: 5) — The Knights will get a chance to compare scores with Nov. 7 foe Edison, because their schedule — Reedley, then Sanger — echoes that of the Tigers.
LAST WEEK: BYE. THIS WEEK: vs. Reedley

5. Bakersfield (4-2, Div. I, last week: 6) — Before everyone gets up in arms about BHS being ahead of Stockdale after losing, consider two things. (1) That was five weeks ago, and right now, playing tremendous defense and with many fewer penalites, BHS is a different team, and (2) Brian Burrell adds another dimension to the Driller offense. Right now, in a rematch, I like Bakersfield.
LAST WEEK: won vs. No. 13 Garces, 41-7. THIS WEEK: at Foothill

6. Stockdale (5-1, Div. I, last week: 4) — Play with fire and you’ll get burned. The Mustangs had been in too many close games this year to have them all bounce their way. Then again, had Stephen Silva played the whole game, it might not have mattered.
LAST WEEK: lost vs. Liberty, 17-10. THIS WEEK: vs. Ridgeview

7. Visalia-El Diamante (5-1, Div. II, last week: 7) — The Miners struggled to put away Lemoore last week. That’s still a quality win, but style points count for a team that isn’t playing the toughest schedule around.
LAST WEEK: won vs. Lemoore, 41-28. THIS WEEK: at Hanford West

8. Clovis East (4-2, Div. I, last week: 8) — Two games in a row against winless teams begs the question: Will the Timberwolves be a step slow or simply well-rested when they tackle the meat of their TRAC schedule?
LAST WEEK: won at Clovis, 46-15. THIS WEEK: vs. Fresno-Central

9. Tulare Union (6-0, Div. II, last week: 9) — Only remaning unbeaten team in the Central Section’s Division I or II faces Porterville, a dangerous team that shocked Delano last week. Probably not dangerous for Redskins, though.
LAST WEEK: won at Visalia-Redwood, 41-13. THIS WEEK: at Porterville

10. Hanford (6-0, Div. III, last week: 10) — The Bullpups haven’t played a close game on Friday night all year — their only close call was against Oakhurst-Yosemite on a Thursday. This week shouldn’t endanger the blowout streak.
LAST WEEK: won vs. Visalia-Golden West, 47-0. THIS WEEK: at Tulare Western

11. Exeter (6-0, Div. IV, last week: 11) — Speaking of teams that haven’t played a close game, the Monarchs’ tightest win was 28-14 against Frontier. That seems ready to change against a 5-1 league foe.
LAST WEEK: won at Reedley-Immanuel, 63-0. THIS WEEK: vs. Selma

12. Bakersfield Christian (5-1, Div. V, last week: 12) — Averaging half a hundred in their past four games, Eagles won’t get that against Tehachapi. What they might get is the win that propels them to a South Sequoia League title.
LAST WEEK: won at Wasco, 63-21. THIS WEEK: vs. Tehachapi

13. Liberty (3-3, Div. I, last week: NR) — The rotating Kern County team to appear in the rankings this week is the Patriots, who return after upsetting Stockdale. Can they last longer than Highland or Garces? Stellar defense says yes.
LAST WEEK: won at No. 4 Stockdale, 17-10. THIS WEEK: vs. Golden Valley

14. Corcoran (6-0, Div. V, last week: 14) — It’s now an amazing five shutouts in six games for the Panthers, who could well make it nine out of 10 against a soft slate the rest of the way.
LAST WEEK: won at Orosi, 60-0. THIS WEEK: vs. Riverdale

15. Sanger (4-3, Div. II, last week: 15) — Chances are, the County/Metro League race will come down to a round-robin between Edison, Bullard and the Apaches. Sanger can make a statement in Round 1 this week.
LAST WEEK: won at Fresno-Hoover, 54-20. THIS WEEK: vs. No. 2 Fresno-Edison

Dropped out: No. 13 Garces
Waiting: Chowchilla, North, Kingsburg, Garces, Taft, Selma, Frontier, Fresno-Washington, Delano, Tehachapi, Visalia-Central Valley Christian

Predictions and podcast coming in the next two days.

Sorry this is a couple of days late. I've been out of  town and haven't had a chance to group my thoughts. With four weeks left in the regular season, the high school season is starting to take shape.

UDPATED, 2:45 p.m.: Before we get to this week's Most Important Things, a quick basketball note to pass along. With the early signing period about three weeks away, Garces' Stephon Carter, The Californian's Player of the Year each of the past two seasons, says he's staying local. Garces released a statement Monday saying Carter had offered Cal State Bakersfield a verbal commitment.

We'll have more details on Thursday, when Garces has a party for Carter. Obviously, verbal commitments are non-binding (and there's a long list of kids who have changed their minds), but I have a feeling this one will stick. If it does, it's a great coup for CSUB, which could use Carter, a bona fide Division I talent, as a building block in its formative D-I years.

Now on to our regularly scheduled programming, the Most Important Things:

— As I mentioned on Friday night, the Stockdale student section was pretty sure before the game that "School House Zach! Don't know jack!" Well, thanks for the shoutout, guys, but I let you down by correctly picking Liberty to upset the Mustangs at home. Next time, I want "School House Zach! Knows his jack!" Granted, the game might well have gone the other way if Stephen Silva and Emmanuel Ossai didn't leave with injuries for Stockdale, but the fact is this: Liberty was due a close win, and Stockdale was due a close loss. If I'm the Mustangs, I'm glad the "bad breaks and injuries" game came in a non-league affair, at least, and not in the playoffs.

— The other big Southwest Yosemite League news was that North kept on rolling, this time leaving no doubt in a 25-6 victory against West. This is what the Stars can do when they're hitting on all cylinders — something that honestly hasn't happened much before this week. But the key is, North has won enough games by being just good enough that it's 3-0 in league. The Stars could really go on a roll now. Next week is a Civil War battle with South — another team that has lots of life after beating Centennial for the first time in league history last week — and then, if both teams avoid getting tripped up in the meantime, an undefeated battle with Stockdale on Halloween.

— In the Southeast Yosemite League, Liberty obviously looks like it has life again, but Bakersfield is ready to run away with things. The Drillers dominated Garces 41-7 behind Brian Burrell's three touchdown passes in his first career start and a defense that allowed the Rams just 20 yards all night. Because BHS escaped against Liberty a couple of weeks ago, there aren't a whole lot of challenges left out there. The Drillers' mission now is to stay sharp against a slate with only Foothill and Highland (maybe Golden Valley?) left as potential challenges.

— Speaking of the Scots, they made a great escape against Golden Valley, scoring 20 unanswered points in the fourth quarter and overtime to shock the Bulldogs, who looked for the second time in three weeks like they had a corner-turning SEYL victory. Instead, GV is 1-2 and trying to tread water. Highland, meanwhile, still has designs on a nice seed in Division III.

— One thing we were right about in the preseason: The South Sequoia League is going to be fun. Tehachapi and Bakersfield Christian set up the first big showdown (Friday at BCHS) by pounding Shafter and Wasco, respectively. The Warriors do it with running and defense, while the Eagles do it through the air. Who wins this one will go a long way towards determining the league championship, though both teams also travel to Taft. The Wildcats won their toughest league road game by edging Arvin 28-26.

— One more score that had some reverberations around the section: Porterville 34, Delano 21. What in heck is going on here? I know the transitive property is a bad way to do this, but I'm still amazed: North beat Porterville 55-14. Delano beat North 31-14. How in the world did Delano lose to Porterville, and by two touchdowns? I have no explanation, other than to say the Tigers hurt themselves in the seeding department and took some significant luster off of their Halloween game against Tulare Union.

— And finally, another shocker: Frazier Mountain 19, Desert 16. Congratulations to the Falcons, who scored a huge victory to open High Desert League play. Desert hadn't come close to losing to a school of its size all year. I wonder if uber-talented quarterback Terrance Wells didn't get hurt in this one, but I haven't been able to confirm that.

Week 7's big games:

Tehachapi at Bakersfield Christian: Warriors burst the BCHS bubble last year
South at North: First time in a while this rivalry has meant something besides pride
Golden Valley at Liberty: Here's a big test for Golden Valley's balanced offense
Bakersfield at Foothill: Trojans' problem could be finding film on BHS QB Burrell
Frontier at Highland: Great way to gauge the strength of city leagues

UPDATED, 12:24 a.m.: A full score list (of what we have) is below, but here are some that caught my eye:

Liberty 17, Stockdale 10 — Turns out I do know jack. Or maybe I'm just lucky. But whatever the case might be, Liberty found a way to win a close game and Stockdale finally lost one. But in reality, this was a really well-played game. Stockdale turned it around after a quarter or so of looking lost without Stephen Silva, who left the game with a concussion. I still expect pretty big things from both of these teams down the road.

Bakersfield 41, Garces 7 — Methinks that if the Drillers were playing this well, they'd be 6-0 right now. Or maybe they just wish they had Brian Burrell at quarterback all along in those losses to Stockdale and Clovis-Buchanan. Nothing against Alex Mitchell, who's an efficient and emotional leader, but he might have just been Wally Pipp-ed. Mitchell has a staph infection, so Burrell — in his first career start, no less — stepped in and was 17-of-20 for 253 yards and three touchdowns, all of 30 yards or longer. Next week, BHS probably gets Alfonso Jackson back. Scary. Meanwhile, for Garces, what was that? Twenty measly yards of offense constitutes a step backwards, no matter who you were playing.

North 25, West 6 — So this is what the Stars look like when they put everything together. A team that can dominate the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball and is a legitimate threat to Stockdale atop the Southwest Yosemite League. The teams meet Halloween night.

South 26, Centennial 25 — Congratulations to John Wren and the Rebels, who scored a late touchdown to beat the Golden Hawks for the first time in league history.

Taft 28, Arvin 26; Tehachapi 41, Shafter 0; Bakersfield Christian 63, Wasco 21 — The Bit Three in the SSL are all 1-0, though barely in Taft's case. Arvin couldn't quite break through, and frankly, I'm not sure the Bears will get a better chance against Tehachapi or Bakersfield Christian, who has steamrolled everyone since an opening loss to state-ranked Westlake Village-Oaks Christian. Derek Carr had five TD passes tonight.

UPDATED, 10:09 p.m.: Snake-bitten no more, Liberty holds off Stockdale 17-10 and ends the Mustangs' perfect season. Meanwhile, an apparently wild finish at Golden Valley, where Highland scored two quick touchdowns late to tie it 28-28 and is knocking on the door in the closing seconds for a comeback win for the ages.

UPDATED, 9:21 p.m.: Liberty has either had a lead or a chance to take one on a field goal in all five of its games this year, but the Pats are 2-3. They've got another chance to hold on to a lead here, as they're up 17-7 early in the fourth quarter on undefeated Stockdale. And as I write this, Stockdale is driving deep in Liberty territory (just had a TD called back on penalty, actually). Things are tightening up on Liberty again. Can they hold on?

UPDATED, 8:51 p.m.: A few halftime numbers from the night's biggest games for you: Liberty leads unbeaten Stockdale 14-7 at halftime behind a balanced rushing effort — 56 yards from Chris Neal, 45 from Tyler Gellinck and 44 plus two short touchdowns from Angelo Orneales. Stockdale's Stephen Silva had a 79-yard TD run and has 90 yards on five carries, but he was shaken up late in the first quarter and hasn't returned since.
At BHS, the Drillers are dominating Garces 34-0. I expected the Drillers to win, but I'm surprised it's this lopsided. Sophomore Brian Burrell has 179 yards and three touchdowns passing (don't think he'll throw much in the second half, but that's just me) and Garces has managed just 17 yards of offense. Wow.

UPDATED, 8:12 p.m.: Sounds like Brian Burrell, BHS' sophomore quarterback, is doing just fine in his first career start. Burrell has thrown three touchdown passes, all longer than 30 yards, as the Drillers lead Garces 20-0 early in the second quarter. So much for that SEYl showdown, at least so far.
Meanwhile, Stockdale scored first here on Stephen Silva's 79-yard touchdown burst up the middle, but Liberty responded nicely with a long drive capped by Angelo Orneales' 1-yard TD run. Orneales had a long run on the next drive to get the Patriots inside the Stockdale 10, but a Chris Neal fumble has given Stockdale the ball back. The Mustangs are driving but now face a third-and-7 from the Liberty 32. 7:28 to play, second quarter.

UPDATED, 7:32 p.m.: Well, there's quite an atmosphere at Stockdale tonight for the unbeaten Mustangs' battle with Liberty. And I have to say I'm pretty pumped for this one too, between the quality of football we should see and the Stockdale student section, which not-so-gently reminded me that "School House Zach don't know jack." We'll see. Remember, I called for a Liberty upset in my predictions this week.

ORIGINAL POST: Live updates will be available tonight from Liberty-Stockdale. I'll also update as many other scores as I catch wind of as the night goes on. It should be an exciting night. Besides the locals, a couple of Central Sections scores to keep an eye on are Chowchilla at Visalia-Central Valley Christian and Dinuba at Kingsburg.

Here is the belated edition of the Week 6 podcast. Also be sure to check out Week 6 predictions that just went up.