10 Games to Watch

Championship games on tap in California, Texas and Florida in the final week of the 2008 season.

By Kevin Askeland
MaxPreps.com

It’s the final week of the 2008 prep football season with championships to be decided in Florida, Texas and California.

The prediction records after 15 weeks find MaxPreps Projections in first place with Mitch Stephens at 116-34. Jason Hickman is next at 112-38, followed by Steve Spiewak at 110-38 and Kevin Askeland at 105-42. Last week, Stephens was 9-1, followed by MaxPreps Projections and Askeland at 8-2, and Hickman and Spiewak at 7-3.

Here’s a look at this week’s top 10 games.

St. Thomas Aquinas (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) vs. Lakeland (Fla.)
The only thing that stands in the way of St. Thomas Aquinas securing the final No. 1 national ranking in the MaxPreps/National Guard rankings is a win over Lakeland in the Florida 5A state playoffs. Easier said than done. A match-up of two old foes finds the Raiders squaring off with the Dreadnaughts. Of Aquinas’ six losses over the past five seasons, three of those losses have come against Lakeland in the playoffs. The Dreadnaughts won three straight state titles between 2004-06 before Aquinas won last year. Junior quarter quarterback Jarred Haggins has thrown for 1,206 yards for Lakeland while the Raiders counter with Ryan Becker, who has thrown for 1,927 yards and 27 touchdowns. Giovanni Bernard is the leading rusher for Aquinas with 1,474 yards and 18 t ouchdowns. The last time the two teams met was in 2006 when Lakeland defeated Aquinas 45-42 in double overtime, winning on a goal line stand.
 
Mitch Stephens: Aquinas 28, Lakeland 21
Jason Hickman: Aquinas 21, Lakeland 13
Steve Spiewak: Lakeland 28, Aquinas 24
Kevin Askeland: Aquinas 30, Lakeland 20
MaxPreps Projection: Aquinas 31, Lakeland 22

Plant (Tampa Bay, Fla.) vs. Lincoln (Tallahassee, Fla.)
The Plant Panthers are exactly where they wanted to be when they began the season, however the journey was quite a bit more interesting than they anticipated. After a season-opening loss to Armwood, the Panthers have won 13 straight games, including a rematch with Armwood. Over half of the win total came without All-American quarterback Aaron Murray, who broke his leg midway through the season. Murray returned last week, however, and is expected to play against Lincoln. Murray has thrown for 1,927 yards this year while his backup, Phillip Ely, has thrown for 1,767. The Panthers play a Lincoln team that began the season 3-3 with losses to Byrnes of South Carolina, Pine Forest and Rutherford. The Trojans have won eight straight games since their last loss. Lincoln has also been stingy against passing teams, giving up just one passing touchdown a game.
 
Mitch Stephens: Plant 24, Lincoln 17
Jason Hickman: Plant 42, Lincoln 24
Steve Spiewak: Plant 24, Lincoln 17
Kevin Askeland: Plant 30, Lincoln 21
MaxPreps Projection: Plant 31, Lincoln 21

Seminole (Sanford, Fla.) vs. Northwestern (Miami, Fla.)
The Bulls return to defend their 6A crown against a Seminole team blessed with three outstanding gamebreakers in Ray Ray Armstrong, Andre DeBose and Dyron Dye. Despite huge losses to graduation last year, the Bulls have gone 13-1 with Wayne Times leading the way at quarterback and receiver. He has thrown for 476 yards and has also caught 33 passes for 482 yards.

Mitch Stephens: Northwestern 21, Seminole 20
Jason Hickman: Northwestern 28, Seminole 14
Steve Spiewak: Northwestern 38, Seminole 27
Kevin Askeland: Northwestern 30, Seminole 20
MaxPreps Projection: Northwestern 27, Seminole 24

De La Salle (Concord, Calif.) vs. Centennial (Corona, Calif.)
De La Salle (12-1) meets Centennial (14-0) in a rematch of last year’s Division 1 championship game. Mitch Stephens gives a preview of the game.

Mitch Stephens: Centennial 28, De La Salle 27
Jason Hickman: Centennial 31, De La Salle 21
Steve Spiewak: De La Salle 28, Centennial 27
Kevin Askeland: Centennial 30, De La Salle 28
MaxPreps Projection: De La Salle 28, Centennial 27

St. Bonaventure (Ventura, Calif.) vs. Cardinal Newman (Santa Rosa, Calif.)
St. Bonaventure (13-1) and Cardinal Newman (13-0) each return to the Division 3 finals. The Seraphs won the title last year while the Cardinals were the runner-up in 2006. Kevin Askeland previews the contest.

Mitch Stephens: St. Bonaventure 27, Cardinal Newman 21
Jason Hickman: St. Bonaventure 38, Cardinal Newman 14
Steve Spiewak: St. Bonaventure 31, Cardinal Newman 21
Kevin Askeland: St. Bonaventure 30, Cardinal Newman 19
MaxPreps Projection: St. Bonaventure 35, Cardinal Newman 21

Poly (Long Beach, Calif.) vs. Grant (Sacramento, Calif.)
Long Beach Poly (14-0) meets Grant (13-0) in the first ever Open Division state championship game in California. Mitch Stephens takes a look at the matchup.

Mitch Stephens: Poly 13, Grant 3
Jason Hickman: Poly 5, Grant 2
Steve Spiewak: Grant 21, Poly 17
Kevin Askeland: Grant 30, Poly 24
MaxPreps Projection: Poly 31, Grant 17

Katy (Texas) vs. Wylie (Texas)
Katy had to overcome some losses early in the season, but has been on a roll of late, winning all five of its playoff games by at least 22 points. Will Jefferey and Michael Webber lead the running attack with 32 touchdowns between them this season. Katy is the defending champion and has won four championships in the past 15 years. Wylie has a strong defense, led by 5A defensive player of the year Nikita Whitlock at nose guard. Wylie actually finished third in its district, losing to Allen and Plano

Mitch Stephens: Wylie 16, Katy 14
Jason Hickman: Katy 27, Wylie 24
Steve Spiewak: Katy 17, Wylie 10
Kevin Askeland: Katy 30, Wylie 20
MaxPreps Projection: Wylie 26, Katy 24

Lake Travis (Austin, Texas) vs. Longview (Texas)
Honors continue to pour in for Lake Travis quarterback Garrett Gilbert, who was recently named the 4A offensive player of the year. The senior has thrown for 4,493 yards and 51 touchdowns and has also run for 21 scores on the year. Receiver Cade McCrary adds 80 catches for 1,634 yards and 22 scores, yet the Cavaliers might not even be favored in this contest despite being undefeated and the defending state champions. Longview counters with running back Tyler McCray, who has run for 1,674 yards and 26 touchdowns and quarterback Aaron Johnson, who has thrown for 1,505 yards and 15 touchdowns.
 
Mitch Stephens: Lake Travis 28, Longview 27
Jason Hickman: Longview 48, Lake Travis 44
Steve Spiewak: Lake Travis 38, Longview 21
Kevin Askeland: Lake Travis 50, Longview 33
MaxPreps Projection: Longview 35, Lake Travis 31

Allen (Texas) vs. Hightower (Missouri City, Texas)
Allen faces the tall task of knocking off an unbeaten team in the Texas 5A state finals. That’s nothing new for the Eagles, who beat previously undefeated Odessa Permian and defending state champion Euless Trinity in the playoffs. Jeremiah Williams has been the key for Allen this year, rushing for 1,188 yards and 12 touchdowns. Hightower brings a speedy defensive unit into the game, led by linebackers Shaun Lewis, Tomas Luna and Phillip Steward. Lewis leads the hard-hitting bunch with 118 tackles on the season. On offense, A.J. Highsmith, son of former NFL running back Alonzo Highsmith, has thrown for close to 2,000 yards on the season.

Mitch Stephens: Allen 28, Hightower 21
Jason Hickman: Allen 34, Hightower 19
Steve Spiewak: Hightower 30, Allen 27
Kevin Askeland: Allen 30, Hightower 21
MaxPreps Projection: Allen 31, Hightower 20

Daingerfield (Texas) vs. Cisco (Texas)
Daingerfield has been getting plenty of respect this season thanks to a pair of hard-hitting linebackers in Julius Hurndon and Carl Moore. Hurndon has 98 tackles and 16 tackles for loss this year while Moore had 117 tackles and 24 tackles for loss. Both were named to the 2A all-state team with Moore earning defensive player of the year honors. Daingerfield will have to respect Cisco quarterback Josh Bridges, who has thrown for 1,158 yards and rushed for 1,109.

Mitch Stephens: Daingerfield 21, Cisco 17
Jason Hickman: Daingerfield 56, Cisco 50 (4OT)
Steve Spiewak: Daingerfield 24, Cisco 21
Kevin Askeland: Daingerfield 30, Cisco 20
MaxPreps Projection: Daingerfield 28, Cisco 27

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