Lompoc and Santa Barbara High were the only team among county teams in the CIF-Southern Section to be ranked in the preseason division football polls.
The Braves, who have two NCAA Division 1 commits, several returning skill players and almost its entire defense back from an 8-3 team, are ranked fourth in Division 5 of the Southern Section.
Santa Barbara, with Wisconsin commt Deacon Hill at quarterback and several returning skill position players around him, is sixth in Division 8.
Coach Andrew Jones’ squad went undefeated in its first season in the Channel League last year after dominating in the old Los Padres League. The team is led by offensive lineman and Arizona State-commit Jacob Nunez and receiver Ryan Morgan, a Wyoming commit. Also back are quarterback Cameron Iribarren and linebacker/running back Leondre Coleman, last year’s Channel League offensive and defensive players of the year, respectively.
The Braves open the season Friday at home against Simi Valley, ranked third in Division 10.
There are several ranked teams from Ventura County that are on the schedules of the local schools.
Bishop Diego’s Camino League foes Grace Brethren and Camarillo are highly ranked. Grace is No. 1 in Division 3 while Camarillo is third in Division 4. Moorpark is listed among others in Division 3.
Pacifica, which plays Dos Pueblos and Santa Barbara High in non-league games, is No.2 in Division 6. St. Bonaventure, an opponent of Bishop Diego and Santa Barbara, is eighth in Division 5.
Nordhoff, which plays San Marcos in a non-league game before taking on Carpinteria in the Citrus Coast League opener, starts the season ranked seventh in Division 12.
The Citrus Coast League has two other ranked teams: Santa Paula is fifth and Fillmore is seventh in Division 13.
San Marcos opens the season on Friday against Santa Paula.
Football Polls With Area Teams
DIVISION 1/2
1 Mater Dei
2 St. John Bosco
3 Centennial/Corona
4 Oaks Christian
5 JSerra
6 Mission Viejo
7 Calabasas
8 Sierra Canyon
9 Norco
10 Servite
DIVISION 3
1 Grace Brethren
2 Corona del Mar
3 Lawndale
4 Cajon
5 Westlake
6 Los Alamitos
7 Tesoro
8 Alemany
9 Heritage
10. Capistrano Valley
Others: Cathedral, La Habra, Moorpark, Redlands East Valley
DIVISION 4
1 Villa Park
2 Palos Verdes
3 Camarillo
4 Paramount
5 South Hills
6 San Juan Hills
7 Roosevelt
8 Loyola
9 Hart
10 Damien
Others: Chaparral, Charter Oak, El Toro, Yucaipa
DIVISION 5
1 Culver City
2 Glendora
3 Yorba Linda
4 Lompoc
5 Citrus Hill
6 St. Paul
7 Diamond Ranch
8 St. Bonaventure
9 Oxnard
10 Aquinas
Others: Chino Hills, Colony, Etiwanda, Mayfair
DIVISION 6
1 Kaiser
2 Pacifica/Oxnard
3 San Jacinto
4 Ayala
5 Millikan
6 La Serna
7 Citrus Valley
8 Los Osos
9 Los Altos
10 St. Margaret’s
Others: Apple Valley, Harvard Westlake, Redondo Union, Warren
DIVISION 8
1 Grand Terrace
2 San Gorgonio
3 Sunny Hills
4 Palm Desert
5 Garden Grove
6 Santa Barbara
7 Notre Dame/Riverside
8 Aliso Niguel
9 Tustin
10 Royal
Others: Canyon/Anaheim, Palmdale, Santa Ana, Temescal Canyon
DIVISION 10
1 Eisenhower
2 Western
3 Simi Valley
4 Segerstrom
5 Norte Vista
6 Orange
7 Peninsula
8 San Marino
9 Katella
10 Crescenta Valley
Others: Agoura, Covina, Rancho Mirage, Westminster
DIVISION 12
1 Adelanto
2 Shadow Hills
3 El Monte
4 Orange Vista
5 Moreno Valley
6 Laguna Beach
7 Nordhoff
8 Northwood
9 Poly/Pasadena
10 Jurupa Hills
Others: Artesia, Coachella Valley, Kennedy, Leuzinger
DIVISION 13
1 Bellflower
2 Rim of the World
3 Alhambra
4 Santa Monica
5 Santa Paula
6 Diamond Bar
7 Fillmore
8 Ramona
9 Garey
10 Rancho Alamitos
Others: Estancia, St. Bernard, Temple City, Village Christian