Bishop Diego’s football team will start the season at No. 1 in the Northwest Division rankings.
The Cardinals are in front of No. 2 Nordhoff in the preseason poll that was released by the Southern Section’s CIF office on Monday. See the entire top-1o listed below.
Carpinteria is No. 6 and Oak Park No. 9, giving the Tri-Valley League top-10 rankings for four of its five teams. Of the preseason top-10 teams in the Northwest Division, only Carpinteria didn’t make the playoffs last year.
The Cardinals went 12-1 last season and entered the postseason as the No. 1 team. With the return of many key players, Bishop Diego is expected to be a contender in November and December.
Nordhoff is the defending divisional champion, having defeated North Torrance 31-14 in last year’s championship. The Rangers finished the season 13-1 with their only loss being a 14-7 setback at Bishop Diego in the regular season.
Bishop Diego and Nordhoff will face each other this year in the second-to-last game of the regular season on November 1 in Ojai.
In the Western Division, Lompoc is ranked No. 4 and Dos Pueblos is ninth. The Chargers shared the Channel League title last year with Santa Barbara.
Week 1 is this Friday.
NORTHWEST DIVISION PRESEASON RANKINGS (2012 record)
1. Bishop Diego (12-1)
2. Nordhoff (13-1)
3. North Torrance (11-3)
4. Centennial/Compton (5-8)
5. El Segundo (7-5)
6. Carpinteria (5-5)
7. La Salle (10-1)
8. Whittier Christian (8-4)
9. Oak Park (5-6)
10. Sierra Vista (7-4)
Others: None
WESTERN DIVISION
1. Serra (14-2)
2. Chaminade (12-2)
3. Santa Monica (8-4)
4. Lompoc (12-1)
5. Cathedral (10-3)
6. Camarillo (10-2)
7. Culver City (7-5)
8. St. Francis (4-7)
9. Dos Pueblos (7-4)
10. Ventura (6-4)
Others: St. Paul (1-9); Inglewood (7-4); Santa Ynez (1-9).
