Fryer breaks down Week 7's impact

Barnes is coaching the No. 1 team in Orange County.

But … which Barnes?

Los Alamitos, coached by John Barnes, beat the No. 1-ranked team in the county, Edison, 23-19, on Thursday.

Tesoro, coached by Brian Barnes, went into this week at No. 2 and solidified its status by beating No. 8 San Clemente, 28-23.

Three of the 11 media members who vote on the county Top 10 had Tesoro at No. 1 on their ballots last week (yours truly was one of them; the others were Dan Albano and Carlos Arias).

The other eight had Edison at No. 1. When next week’s Top 10 is voted upon Monday, Los Alamitos, No. 4 last week, and Tesoro likely will get all of the No. 1 votes - but how many go to Los Alamitos and how many go to Tesoro remains to be seen.

I voted Tesoro at No. 1 last week, with Edison at No. 2. I am going to review it over the weekend, although there really is no reason to drop Tesoro from No. 1 after the Titans beat the county’s No. 8 team.

I saw a team Friday night that looked it actually might be the best team in Orange County: Orange Lutheran.

Lutheran, ranked No. 5, probably won’t get any No. 1 votes. But the Lancers were outstanding Friday when they beat previously-undefeated St. John Bosco of Bellflower, 34-21.

Even with tailback Exavier Edwards playing on's excellent quarterback, Washington-bound Keith Price, somewhat under control. Garrett Gilliland might have been player of the game, for his running and the many clutch tackles he made on defense.

No. 3 Mater Dei cruised, as expected, against JSerra. The Monarchs rolled to a 42-0 victory. JSerra still is a couple of years away from challenging Mater Dei and the rest of the Trinity League.

No. 7 Servite recovered from last week’s loss to Mater Dei with a 39-19 victory over Santa Margarita.

Next week, on Halloween, Lutheran plays Servite at Cal State Fullerton.

In 2006 and ’07, Lutheran lost to Servite but beat Mater Dei. In those seasons, Mater Dei beat Servite but lost to Orange Lutheran.

In one of Friday’s more-interesting games, No. 10 Esperanza needed overtime to beat Marina, 17-14, in a Sunset League game. Marina has not won a league game since 2003. Esperanza is 2-0 in league, and tied with Los Alamitos for first place, but the Aztecs have not been incredibly impressive, with three-point victories over Fountain Valley and Marina.

Fountain Valley became a factor in the Sunset League with its 22-21 triumph over No. 9 Newport Harbor on Thursday.

La Habra keeps winning Freeway League games by big margins. The Highlanders beat Troy, 45-0, Friday, one week after beating Sonora, 62-0.

Fullerton also has been steamrollering Freeway League teams. The Indians beat Sunny Hills, 42-0, after beat Buena Park, 50-7, last week.

Tustin is one of the hottest teams in the county. The Tillers started 0-3, and have won four in a row since. They beat Canyon, 42-13, on the heels of last week’s 64-0 victory over Brea Olinda.

The Empire League might be the most balanced, wide-open league in the county. Cypress is in first, at 2-0. Four teams are at 1-1: Kennedy; Loara; Pacifica; and Valencia.

It figured that Mission Viejo would want to erase the memory of its loss last week to Tesoro, and do so emphatically. Indeed, the No. 6 Diablos crushed winless Aliso Niguel, 59-7.

It was not enough to return Mission Viejo to the No. 1 position in the county poll. That belongs to a Barnes. Which one, we will find out Monday.

Contact the writer: sfryer@ocregister.com