Fryer tackles Week 4

Mater Dei is No. 1. Orange Lutheran is No. 2.

And there appears to be quite a drop to get to No. 3.

That is how much better Mater Dei and Orange Lutheran appear to be compared to the other teams in Orange County. Both are complete teams. They have balanced offenses led by steady quarterbacks, and aggressive defenses.

No other teams have exhibited that kind of balance. Few teams look like they have the potential to do so.

Servite is No. 3, and deserves to be there. The Friars needed a breakout game offensively, and got one Friday as D.J. Shoemate scored five touchdowns in a 47-28 victory over Lynwood one week after defense led the way in a 6-0 victory over Edison. The question remains: Can Servite score enough to beat Orange Lutheran and Mater Dei?

Edison came into the week at No. 4. The Chargers were overwhelmed by Mater Dei, 42-14, on Friday. There is nothing wrong with that, because Mater Dei seems able to do a lot of overwhelming this season.

Mission Viejo is No. 5. The Diablos lost last week to Vista, and a lot of people wondered how that could happen. It is amazing whenever a high school team in any sport can go an entire season without a lull, so let’s not be surprised that Mission Viejo experienced one this football season.

Los Alamitos is No. 6. The Griffins were overwhelmed by Orange Lutheran, 31-8. There is nothing wrong with that, either, because Lutheran seems able to do a lot of overwhelming this season.

Esperanza beat Tesoro, 28-7. That will keep the Aztecs at No. 7. Some voters might push them above Los Alamitos this week.

Santa Margarita evened its record to 2-2 with a 38-14 victory over Fountain Valley. That could move Santa Margarita as high as No. 6. Fountain Valley is a good team that will contend for a playoff berth in the Sunset League.

San Clemente beat El Toro, 35-14. The Tritons are No. 9 and should stay right there.
Troy, at No. 10, beat Diamond Bar, 42-38, on Thursday as the Warriors continue their mystery tour. It’s a mystery tour because it is difficult to figure out just how good Troy really is when you look at the teams the Warriors have beaten - Brea Olinda, Corona del Mar, Don Lugo of Chino Hills and now Diamond Bar.

That’s the way the top 10 looks after Week 4. It’s not too early to get excited about Mater Dei-Orange Lutheran, which will be played Nov. 2 at Santa Ana Stadium. That will be Lutheran’s home game, but the number of suitable venues is limited so Lutheran selected Santa Ana Stadium, which is Mater Dei’s usual home field.

We have a couple of interesting games coming up in Week 5, the final nonleague week for many leagues.

Mater Dei, ranked No. 1 in California, too, plays host to No. 3 Centennial of Corona on Thursday. Servite, No. 10 in California, travels to play at No. 11 Notre Dame of Sherman Oaks. And Mission Viejo, not ranked in the state top 25 because of the loss to Vista, plays host to No. 4 De La Salle of Concord on Saturday.

Those games will have a lot of impact on county and state rankings.

As for county rankings, we know which teams are the top two. They proved it Friday.

Contact the writer: sfryer@ocregister.com