{"id":7776,"date":"2026-08-26T13:08:48","date_gmt":"2026-08-26T13:08:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=7776"},"modified":"2026-08-26T13:08:48","modified_gmt":"2026-08-26T13:08:48","slug":"high-school-flag-football-preseason-rankings-bay-area-news-group-top-15","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=7776","title":{"rendered":"High school flag football preseason rankings: Bay Area News Group Top 15"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\n

Bay Area News Group girls flag football preseason Top 15<\/b><\/h3>\n

(<\/span><\/i>Mercury News<\/span><\/i> &<\/span><\/i> East Bay Times<\/span><\/i>)<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

No. 1 MENLO SCHOOL<\/b><\/p>\n

Record last season:<\/b> 16-2<\/span><\/p>\n

Coach:<\/b> Noah Lubarsky<\/span><\/p>\n

Comment:<\/b> The defending CCS Open Division champions bring back top quarterback Ava Allen and are favorites to repeat.<\/span><\/p>\n

Read more 5 smart devices that make aging in place easier<\/a><\/p>\n

No. 2 SAN RAMON VALLEY<\/b><\/p>\n

Record last season:<\/b> 18-6<\/span><\/p>\n

Coach:<\/b> Chad Cochran<\/span><\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

Comment:<\/b> The Wolves won the NCS Division I title last season without any seniors and return an experienced group.<\/span><\/p>\n

No. 3 GRANADA<\/b><\/p>\n

Record last season:<\/b> 15-7<\/span><\/p>\n

Coach:<\/b> Jared Muela<\/span><\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

Comment:<\/b> The Matadors advanced to the NCS D1 final after a 13-7 upset win over top-seeded, previously unbeaten Las Lomas in the semifinals.<\/span><\/p>\n

No. 4 LOS GATOS<\/b><\/p>\n

Record last season:<\/b> 22-6<\/span><\/p>\n

Coach:<\/b> David Claveran<\/span><\/p>\n

Comment:<\/b> The Wildcats went undefeated in league play before losing in the CCS Open Division championship to Menlo. Safety Sophie Riese is expected to make a big impact.<\/span><\/p>\n

No. 5 ACALANES<\/b><\/p>\n

Record last season:<\/b> 17-2<\/span><\/p>\n

Coaches:<\/b> Mike Ivankovich and Joe Escobar<\/span><\/p>\n

Comment:<\/b> Coming off an NCS championship defeat to Cardinal Newman, the Dons are led by junior running back Isabelle Agnost.<\/span><\/p>\n

No. 6 SACRED HEART PREP<\/b><\/p>\n

Record last season:<\/b> 20-3<\/span><\/p>\n

Coach:<\/b> Dennis O\u2019Malley<\/span><\/p>\n

Comment:<\/b> Behind elite wide receiver Cate Hansen, the Gators are favorites in the WBAL.<\/span><\/p>\n

No. 7 CLAYTON VALLEY CHARTER<\/b><\/p>\n

Record last season:<\/b> 19-4<\/span><\/p>\n

Coach:<\/b> Kyle Behmlander<\/span><\/p>\n

Comment:<\/b> Coaches expect the Ugly Eagles to take a big leap this season after they weren\u2019t quite ready in the playoffs a year ago.<\/span><\/p>\n

No. 8 CASTRO VALLEY<\/b><\/p>\n

Record last season:<\/b> 18-8<\/span><\/p>\n

Coach:<\/b> David Pak<\/span><\/p>\n

Comment:<\/b> Castro Valley played No. 1 seed Las Lomas tough in the quarterfinals last season and has playoff experience this year.<\/span><\/p>\n

Read more San Jose city worker killed while repairing streetlight<\/a><\/p>\n

No. 9 MENLO-ATHERTON<\/b><\/p>\n

Record last season:<\/b> 16-2<\/span><\/p>\n

Coach:<\/b> Jason Knowles<\/span><\/p>\n

Comment:<\/b> The Bears fell in the CCS Open semis last year after going on a seven-game winning streak late in the season.<\/span><\/p>\n

No. 10 CARLMONT<\/b><\/p>\n

Record last season:<\/b> 12-5<\/span><\/p>\n

Coach:<\/b> Oscar Fabic<\/span><\/p>\n

Comment:<\/b> The Scots are expected to be back with a vengeance with many returners after a first-round exit in the Open CCS playoffs a season ago.<\/span><\/p>\n

No. 11 LAS LOMAS<\/b><\/p>\n

Record last season:<\/b> 25-1<\/span><\/p>\n

Coach:<\/b> Tim Kruger<\/span><\/p>\n

Comment:<\/b> The Knights lost just one game last season and it was in the NCS semifinals to eventual champions Granada. QB Maggie Kruger leads them on a revenge tour.<\/span><\/p>\n

No. 12 CALIFORNIA<\/b><\/p>\n

Record last season:<\/b> 17-4<\/span><\/p>\n

Coach:<\/b> Brad Bretzing<\/span><\/p>\n

Comment:<\/b> The Grizzlies were the No. 2 seed in the NCS Division I playoffs and in the way of San Ramon Valley\u2019s steamroll to a title.<\/span><\/p>\n

No. 13 LIBERTY<\/b><\/p>\n

Record last season:<\/b> 18-2<\/span><\/p>\n

Coach:<\/b> Mike Gregory<\/span><\/p>\n

Comment:<\/b> The Lions are looking to four-peat in the Bay Valley League.<\/span><\/p>\n

No. 14 MILPITAS<\/b><\/p>\n

Record last season:<\/b> 20-7<\/span><\/p>\n

Coach:<\/b> Matt Robbins<\/span><\/p>\n

Comment:<\/b> Bren Davis enters her senior year a threat on the ground and in the air for Trojans.<\/span><\/p>\n

No. 15 HERITAGE<\/b><\/p>\n

Record last season:<\/b> 17-3<\/span><\/p>\n

Coach:<\/b> Jason Jeffrey<\/span><\/p>\n

Comment:<\/b> Sophomore QB Lily Brakel is one of the up-and-comers to watch this season.<\/span><\/p>\n

Editor\u2019s note:<\/i><\/b> Teams eligible for the Bay Area News Group rankings come from leagues based predominantly in Alameda, Contra Costa, San Mateo and Santa Clara counties. The news organization\u2019s high school staff chooses the teams.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

Read more San Jose denies late-night permit to downtown venue San Pedro Social<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Menlo School, San Ramon Valley lead the way in Bay Area News Group’s first girls flag football rankings of the season.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":7775,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7776","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sports"],"yoast_head":"\nHigh school flag football preseason rankings: Bay Area News Group Top 15 - Next City Digest<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=7776\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"High school flag football preseason rankings: Bay Area News Group Top 15 - Next City Digest\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Menlo School, San Ramon Valley lead the way in Bay Area News Group's first girls flag football rankings of the season.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=7776\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Next City Digest\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-08-26T13:08:48+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=7776#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=7776\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/13065d40d633843429ac57d4e5c06f9b\"},\"headline\":\"High school flag football preseason rankings: Bay Area News Group Top 15\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-08-26T13:08:48+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=7776\"},\"wordCount\":559,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=7776#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/318108ffb09f1383aa7ecc19c190831c-scaled.webp\",\"articleSection\":[\"Sports\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=7776#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=7776\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=7776\",\"name\":\"High school flag football preseason rankings: Bay Area News Group Top 15 - Next City Digest\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=7776#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=7776#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/318108ffb09f1383aa7ecc19c190831c-scaled.webp\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-08-26T13:08:48+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/13065d40d633843429ac57d4e5c06f9b\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=7776#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=7776\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=7776#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/318108ffb09f1383aa7ecc19c190831c-scaled.webp\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/318108ffb09f1383aa7ecc19c190831c-scaled.webp\",\"width\":2560,\"height\":1707},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=7776#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"High school flag football preseason rankings: Bay Area News Group Top 15\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"Next City Digest\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/13065d40d633843429ac57d4e5c06f9b\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"High school flag football preseason rankings: Bay Area News Group Top 15 - Next City Digest","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=7776","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"High school flag football preseason rankings: Bay Area News Group Top 15 - Next City Digest","og_description":"Menlo School, San Ramon Valley lead the way in Bay Area News Group's first girls flag football rankings of the season.","og_url":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=7776","og_site_name":"Next City Digest","article_published_time":"2026-08-26T13:08:48+00:00","author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=7776#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=7776"},"author":{"name":"admin","@id":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/#\/schema\/person\/13065d40d633843429ac57d4e5c06f9b"},"headline":"High school flag football preseason rankings: Bay Area News Group Top 15","datePublished":"2026-08-26T13:08:48+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=7776"},"wordCount":559,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=7776#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/318108ffb09f1383aa7ecc19c190831c-scaled.webp","articleSection":["Sports"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=7776#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=7776","url":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=7776","name":"High school flag football preseason rankings: Bay Area News Group Top 15 - Next City Digest","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=7776#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=7776#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/318108ffb09f1383aa7ecc19c190831c-scaled.webp","datePublished":"2026-08-26T13:08:48+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/#\/schema\/person\/13065d40d633843429ac57d4e5c06f9b"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=7776#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=7776"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=7776#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/318108ffb09f1383aa7ecc19c190831c-scaled.webp","contentUrl":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/318108ffb09f1383aa7ecc19c190831c-scaled.webp","width":2560,"height":1707},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=7776#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"High school flag football preseason rankings: Bay Area News Group Top 15"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/","name":"Next City Digest","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/#\/schema\/person\/13065d40d633843429ac57d4e5c06f9b","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"admin"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/nextcitydigest.com"],"url":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?author=1"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7776","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=7776"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7776\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/7775"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=7776"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=7776"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=7776"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}