SBLive's Central Coast Section Fab 15 rankings: Palma edges Aptos; Live Oak, Christopher enter

Big shakeups with Los Gatos upending previous No. 2 Wilcox, St. Ignatius upsetting previous No. 3 Mitty and Sacred Heart Cathedral handling Bellarmine

What a week. 

Normally this time of year, the favorites take charge. Win big. Make statements. 

Instead, there were numerous upsets in the Central Coast Section — minor and otherwise — which reworked the rankings more than normal this time of year. 

A pair of 24-21 games — Palma-Salinas over former No. 7 Aptos and St. Ignatius over previous No. 3 Mitty — along with Los Gatos' decisive 28-7 win over former No. 2 Wilcox, really shook up the order. 

There were some massive individual performances from CCS individuals, including Saratoga junior quarterback Shane Timmons, who completed 29 of 45 passes for 509 yards and five touchdowns in a loss, 42-36 to Fremont-Sunnyvale.

Among the others: 

William Augenstein, a quarterback for Branham-San Jose, rushed for 180 yards and four touchdowns and ran for 172 yards and another score in a 42-22 win over Independence.

Jordan Fuentes, a senior running back for Live Oak-Morgan Hill, rushed 33 times for 249 yards and two touchdowns, leading the Acorns to a 42-14 win over Lincoln-San Jose.

Gage Houser, a quarterback for Pioneer-San Jose, threw for 330 yards and three touchdowns in a 31-21 win over Silver Creek-San Jose.  

RL Miller, a senior receiver and linebacker for Sacred Heart Cathedral, scored touchdowns three different ways — by reception, interception return and fumble return (see video above) — in a 30-17 win over Bellarmine. (see video above)

Nicolas Ramos, a 6-foot, 205-pound senior defensive lineman for Los Gatos, had 16 tackles, two sacks and three hurries in a 28-7 win over previously unbeaten Wilcox-Santa Clara.

Shay O’Kelly, a senior linebacker for defending state champion Sacred Heart Prep-Atherton, had 22 tackles, including nine solo, in a 26-7 win at Aragon-San Mateo. O’Kelly led the state in tackles in 2021.

Sherrod Smith, a running back for Menlo-Atherton, rushed 20 times for 151 yards and three touchdowns in a 24-14 win over Menlo School-Atherton.

Josh Stowers, a running back and linebacker for Overfelt, rushed for 133 yards and a touchdown and had 16 tackles in a 27-21 win over Westmont-Campbell.

Shane Timmons, a junior quarterback for Saratoga, completed 29 of 45 passes for 509 yards and five touchdowns in a 42-36 loss to Fremont-Sunnyvale.

On to the rankings: 

CCS Fab 15 football rankings (all records thru Oct. 22)

1. Serra-San Mateo (8-0 record)
Last week rank: No. 1
Last week game: Beat Valley Christian 36-7
Next game: Friday at St. Ignatius-San Francisco (3-5)

Joseph Bey, Serra strong safety in opening-night win over Folsom. Photo: Gary Jones

2. Sacred Heart Prep-Atherton (7-1)
Last week: No. 4
Last week: Beat Aragon 26-7
Next game: Saturday vs. Menlo-Atherton (6-3)

3. Los Gatos (6-2)
Last week: No. 5
Last game: Beat Wilcox 28-7
Next game: Friday at Mountain View (2-6)

4. Saint Francis-Mountain View (5-3)
Last week: No. 6
Last game: Beat Archbishop Riordan-San Francisco 38-0
Next game: Friday vs. Bellarmine-San Jose (3-5) at SJCC

5. Wilcox-Santa Clara (7-1)
Last week: No. 2
Last game: Lost to Los Gatos 28-7
Next game: Friday vs. Homestead-Cupertino (3-5)

6. Archbishop Mitty-San Jose (6-2)
Last week:
No. 3
Last game: Lost to St. Ignatius 24-21
Next game: Friday at Valley Christian-San Jose (1-7)

7. Sacred Heart Cathedral (5-3)
Last week: No. 12
Last game: Beat Bellarmine 30-17
Next game: Saturday at Archbishop Riordan-San Francisco (3-5)

8. Palma-Salinas (7-1)
Last week: No. 11
Last game: Beat Aptos 24-21
Next game: Friday at Santa Cruz (2-7)

9. Menlo-Atherton (5-3)
Last week rank: No. 9
Last week game: Beat Menlo School-Atherton 24-14
Next game: Saturday at Sacred Heart Prep (7-1)

10. Aptos (6-2)
Last week: 7
Last game: Lost to Palma-Salinas 24-21
Next game: Friday vs. Alisal-Salinas (3-5)

11. Salinas (7-1)
Last week: No. 8
Last game: Beat Alisal 42-17
Next game: Thursday vs. Alvarez (1-7)

12. Half Moon Bay (6-2)
Last week: No. 10
Last game: Lost to Burlingame 29-27
Next game: Friday at Aragon-San Mateo (3-5)

13. Live Oak-Morgan Hill (7-1)
Last week: NR
Last game: Beat Lincoln-San Jose 42-14
Next game: Thursday vs. Leland (2-6)

14. Christopher-Gilroy (7-1)
Last week: NR
Last game: Beat Santa Teresa-San Jose 27-25 (OT)
Next game: Thursday vs. Oak Grove-San Jose (4-5)

15. Bellarmine-San Jose (3-5)
Last week: No. 13
Last game: Lost to Sacred Heart Cathedral 30-17
Next game: Friday vs. St. Francis (5-3)

On the bubble: Archbishop Riordan (3-5), Burlingame (4-4), King's Academy-Sunnyvalle (6-2), Lincoln-San Jose 7-1, Soquel (7-1), St. Ignatius (3-5)


Published
Mitch Stephens, SBLive Sports
MITCH STEPHENS, SBLIVE SPORTS

Mitch Stephens is a senior editor at SBLive Sports for California, a state he's covered high school sports since 1984. He won multiple CNPA and CPSWA writing awards with the Contra Costa Times, San Francisco Chronicle and MaxPreps.com before joining the SBLive staff in 2022. He's covered the beat nationally since 2007, profiling such athletes as Derrick Henry, Paige Bueckers, Patrick Mahomes, Sabrina Ionescu, Jayson Tatum, Chiney Ogwumike, Jeremy Lin and Najee Harris as preps. You can reach him at mitch@scorebooklive.com.