The Times’ top 25 redux

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I don’t want to say The Times’ top 25 took it on the chin but ...

No. 1 Mater Dei lost, 31-12, to No. 11 Orange Lutheran.
No. 4 Redlands East Valley defeated Miller, but only 28-27.
No. 17 Norco defeated Rancho Verde, but only 27-24.
No. 20 Esperanza defeated Los Alamitos, but only 30-24.

Questions, questions: Can a team drop below another it has already beaten? Should Corona Centennial fall from No. 2 simply because of Mater Dei’s misfortune? Should the ranking reflect a team’s strength today or its body of work?

How much credence should we give those scores from the first couple of weeks? Could Servite be No. 1 after winning its third in a row (including a 31-12 win over Lutheran) since moving D.J. Shoemate to running back? Could Birmingham be No. 1 this week and then get jumped for a state bowl game berth by a Pac-5 team after it defeats superior competition in the section playoffs?

What about the three undefeated, untied teams? Is it time to take everybody off the board and reassess? Is there any good answer?

-- Martin Henderson

-- Image from www.doubleazone.com