Fryer breaks down wild Week 1

So it was about 9:30 when the thinking here was that Orange Lutheran just might take all 11 first-place votes Monday in the Orange County top 10.

An hour later, the thinking was Lutheran might not get any of those first-place votes.

Orange Lutheran lost to Bishop Amat of La Puente, 47-39, Friday at Orange Coast College. Lutheran was the No. 1 team in the county coming into this week.

Lutheran had a 24-0 lead at around 9:30. Lutheran got sloppy in the second half, when it made five turnovers. Four of those turnovers led to Amat touchdowns.

Veteran high school football watchers know that Amat has an excellent football history. But Amat's recent history has not been so stellar. It finished 3-7 overall and missed the playoffs last year with a third-place finish in the four-team Serra League.

Amat lost its 2008 opener last week to Los Osos, 24-20, and was not even in the “others receiving votes” category in this week's CIF-Southern Section Pac-5 Division rankings.

Lutheran, though, was No. 2 in Pac-5, behind Long Beach Poly, and No. 3 in the state behind No. 2 Poly and No. 1 De La Salle of Concord.

Turnovers, of course, can knock down the loftiest of teams. That happened Friday night to Orange Lutheran, at Orange Coast College.

County rankings have no direct bearing on divisional rankings, which are all-important when playoff seedings are made at the conclusion of the regular season. But county rankings might influence the coaches who vote on those divisional rankings, and they almost certainly affect state rankings, which have considerable influence on the selection of teams in the California State Championship games in mid-December.

And county rankings are fun. Coaches sometimes say they don't care about county rankings, but they all know where they are in the Top 10. A few years ago, we started a Top 25 and that, too, is attracting the attention of coaches, players and fans.

Will Mater Dei, ranked No. 2 this week, assume the No. 1 position?

The Monarchs looked only so-so in beating Carson, 46-43, in overtime last week. But Carson might be the top team in the CIF-Los Angeles City Section. Mater Dei this week beat Cypress by a not-surprisingly one-sided score, 49-7.

Los Alamitos is No. 3. The Griffins beat Mayfair of Lakewood, 24-3, Thursday. They looked good, but not top-ranked-in-the-county good. Not yet, anyway.

No. 4 Mission Viejo rolled to a 58-23 victory over Redondo as the county's “other” quarterback, Cal-bound quarterback Allan Bridgford, threw for 255 yards and five touchdowns although he did not play much in the second half. The Diablos are 2-0, and might be better than they have been in a couple of years.

No. 5 Edison is 2-0, but did not play this week. The Chargers started the season earlier than anybody else in the county, having opened in Hawaii on Aug. 23. This week they took the second of their three byes.

Servite beat a state-ranked team Friday with a 35-21 victory over Clovis West of Fresno, which is No. 19 in California.

This voter's No. 1 is going to Mater Dei, with Lutheran at No. 2.

The way this season has gone already, who knows how long Mater Dei can keep that No. 1 vote?

Other interesting results Friday:

Santa Margarita 42, Poway 20: Poway was a CIF-San Diego Section champion last season. That's a nice rebound for Santa Margarita to go on the road and win that one after losing to St. Bonaventure of Ventura last week.

Foothill 21, Tustin 6: The Knights have won two in a row and seven of the past 10 against their neighborhood rival Tillers. Tustin played without standout junior running back Anthony Wilkerson, who did not play because of a sprained knee.

Dana Hills 56, El Toro 21: Dana Hills quarterback Sean Schroeder had another big night. Dana Hills is 2-0. Last year, the Dolphins were 1-8-1.

Western 29, Canyon 22: The Pioneers aren't supposed to be able to throw the ball, but two clutch completions from quarterback Derek Orman to tight end Ken Davis produced a key third down and the game-winning touchdown in the fourth quarter.

Garden Grove 42, Westminster 28: Westminster is ranked No. 2 and Garden Grove is No. 3 in the Southern Division.

JSerra 24, Huntington Beach 17: Sure, it's not like JSerra won a Trinity League game. But given that just a couple of years ago, the Lions had to shut down their season because the roster was depleted by injuries and defections, Friday's victory might be the biggest in the school's young football history.

It was quite a Friday. And we have nine weeks to go.

Contact the writer: sfryer@ocregister.com