After giving national powerhouse Mater Dei a temporary scare in last year’s CIF Open Division state title game and with a number of players from that team returning, De La Salle gets the top spot in the Bay Area News Group’s rankings to open the 2025 season.
The Spartans’ returners include speedster Jaden Jefferson, Cal-bound lineman Nemyah Telona and running back Duece Jones-Drew, son of former NFL All-Pro Maurice Jones-Drew.
De La Salle will get the opportunity to prove it’s the region’s top dog with matchups against Lakeland-Florida, Serra, St. Francis, Grant-Sacramento, St. Mary’s-Stockton and Cathedral Catholic before league play starts.
Preseason coverage: League previews, all-area lists, more
Right behind the Spartans in the BANG rankings are the loaded Archbishop Riordan Crusaders. The San Francisco school is primed for a big year with a plethora of big-name prospects on its roster, including quarterback and Vanderbilt commit Michael Mitchell Jr.
Riordan fell short of reaching a section and regional title game in 2024, but is this the year the Crusaders make their run?
Pittsburg graduated many of its top stars that helped the Pirates advance to the Division I-AA state title game a year ago. But we are not counting out the East Bay powerhouse.
Pittsburg still has a boatload of Division I talent, including Arizona commit R.J. Mosley and Oregon State-bound defensive back Truly Bell. The Pirates will challenge themselves early with games against Granite Bay, Riordan, Marin Catholic and Los Gatos before Bay Valley Athletic League play begins.
After winning a 7-A state championship last season, Moreau Catholic made BANG’s opening-week Top 25.
Now, on to the rankings:
Bay Area News Group Top 25
(Mercury News & East Bay Times)
No. 1 DE LA SALLE
Final 2024 ranking: 1
Season opener: Friday vs. Lakeland-Florida, 7 p.m.
No. 2 ARCHBISHOP RIORDAN
Final 2024 ranking: 8
Season opener: Saturday vs. McClymonds, 1:30 p.m.
No. 3 PITTSBURG
Final 2024 ranking: 2
Season opener: Friday vs. Granite Bay, 7 p.m.
No. 4 ST. FRANCIS
Final 2024 ranking: 5
Season opener: Friday vs. Cathedral Catholic, 7 p.m.
No. 5 LOS GATOS
Final 2024 ranking: 7
Season opener: Friday vs. Granite Bay, 7 p.m.
No. 6 SAN RAMON VALLEY
Final 2024 ranking: 3
Season opener: Friday vs. El Cerrito, 7 p.m.
No. 7 SERRA
Final 2024 ranking: 10
Season opener: Saturday vs. Folsom, 2 p.m.
No. 8 VALLEY CHRISTIAN
Final 2024 ranking: 11
Season opener: Friday vs. Wilcox, 7 p.m.
No. 9 WILCOX
Final 2024 ranking: 6
Season opener: Friday at Valley Christian, 7 p.m.
No. 10 MCCLYMONDS
Final 2024 ranking: 15
Season opener: Saturday at Riordan, 1:30 p.m.
No. 11 CLAYTON VALLEY CHARTER
Final 2024 ranking: 17
Season opener: Friday at Spanish Springs-Nevada, 6 p.m.
No. 12 AMADOR VALLEY
Final 2024 ranking: 9
Season opener: Friday at Vanden, 7:30 p.m.
No. 13 LIBERTY
Final 2024 ranking: 16
Season opener: Friday at Frontier-Bakersfield, 7:30 p.m.
No. 14 ST. IGNATIUS
Final 2024 ranking: 4
Season opener: Friday vs. San Marin, 7 p.m.
No. 15 MENLO-ATHERTON
Final 2024 ranking: 21
Season opener: Friday at Destiny Christian Academy, 7:15 p.m.
No. 16 ACALANES
Final 2024 ranking: 14
Season opener: Friday vs. Archbishop Mitty, 7 p.m.
No. 17 CAMPOLINDO
Final 2024 ranking: Not ranked
Season opener: Friday at Granada, 7:15 p.m.
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No. 18 MENLO SCHOOL
Final 2024 ranking: 22
Season opener: Saturday vs. Hozho Academy-New Mexico, 2 p.m.
No. 19 SALESIAN
Final 2024 ranking: 19
Season opener: Saturday vs. Piedmont, 1 p.m.
No. 20 EL CERRITO
Final 2024 ranking: Not ranked
Season opener: Friday at San Ramon Valley, 7 p.m.
No. 21 SACRED HEART PREP
Final 2024 ranking: 25
Season opener: Saturday vs. Sacred Heart Cathedral, 2 p.m.
No. 22 SANTA TERESA
Final 2024 ranking: 20
Season opener: Thursday at Fremont-Sunnyvale, 7 p.m.
No. 23 BISHOP O’DOWD
Final 2024 ranking: 13
Season opener: Friday at Armijo, 7 p.m.
No. 24 CALIFORNIA
Final 2024 ranking: 12
Season opener: Friday at Patterson, 7 p.m.
No. 25 MOREAU CATHOLIC
Final 2024 ranking: Not ranked
Season opener: Friday at Hayward, 7 p.m.
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.