Redemption will be the theme for a couple of teams in this week’s Top 10 Games of the Week.
In Florida, Central of Miami hopes to parlay a win over Booker T. Washington to possibly move back into the Xcellent 25. The Rockets dropped from the rankings after a loss to Northwestern, a team Washington has defeated. Meanwhile in Missouri, Blue Springs hopes to avenge its only loss of the season when it plays Rockhurst in the 6A quarterfinals.
Kevin Askeland was the top predictor this week with a 10-0 performance. MaxPreps Projections still leads the race with a 80-30 record, followed by Stephen Spiewak at 76-34, Mitch Stephens at 76-34 and Kevin Askeland at 74-36.
MaxPreps Top 10 Games of the Week
Central (Miami, Fla.) at Washington (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.)
The Central Rockets aim to atone for their loss to Northwestern in early October by knocking off undefeated and nationally ranked Washington this weekend. Central was flying high during the month of September and reached the top 5 in the MaxPreps Xcellent 25 rankings. However, a ragged showing against the Bulls resulted in a 22-14 loss and dropped Central from the national spotlight.
Washington took advantage of Central’s defeat thanks to a previous win over Northwestern. The Tornadoes have been in the top 25 ever since, but have had to squeak by in wins over North Miami Beach (10-8) and Jackson (16-8) due to injuries to key skill players. All eyes will be on Central QB Jeffrey Godfrey, as he needs just four yards to surpass Northwestern’s Jacory Harris as the all-time leading passer in Dade County history. Godfrey has 6,361 yards in his career.
Mitch Stephens: Central 35, Washington 28
Steve Spiewak: Central 22, Washington 21
Kevin Askeland: Central 35, Washington 8
MaxPreps Projection: Central 28, Washington 21
Dana Hills (Dana Point, Calif.) at Mission Viejo (Calif.)
The Dana Hills Dolphins have shown steady improvement all season, moving up to No. 12 in the MaxPreps California state rankings and No. 88 nationally thanks to an 8-1 overall record. The Dolphins will try to complete an undefeated South Coast League championship but they will have to defeat unbeaten Mission Viejo (9-0) to do it. The Diablos are ranked No. 2 in the state behind only Edison of Huntington Beach. Mission Viejo has also moved up to No. 15 in the nation.
The Dolphins have a balanced rushing attack with five rushers over 250 yards on the season. Cole Altuzarra has 10 touchdowns while Brandon Howe leads with 696 yards. Josh Dean leads the passing attack with 1,345 yards. Mission Viejo quarterback Dallin McEwen has been solid the past three weeks, during a streak in which the Diablos have outscored their opponent 185-28. He has thrown nine of his 19 touchdown passes during the run and has thrown for 511 yards. He has 1,383 yards on the season.
Mitch Stephens: Mission Viejo 35, Dana Hills 21
Steve Spiewak: Mission Viejo 28, Dana Hills 14
Kevin Askeland: Mission Viejo 35, Dana Hills 14
MaxPreps Projection: Mission Viejo 38, Dana Hills 26
Bingham (South Jordan, Utah) at Alta (Sandy, Utah) 
Harvey Langi, Bingham
Photo by Dave Argyle
The No. 1 and 2 teams in the state of Utah, according to MaxPreps, meet in the Class 5A semifinals as No. 1 Bingham takes on No. 2 Alta. Both teams have explosive offenses but use different methods to get the job done. Bingham has one of the state’s top running backs in Harvey Langi, who has rushed for 1,318 yards and 19 touchdowns. He had 159 yards in each of Bingham’s last two games, both playoff wins.
Alta quarterback Jordan Brown is among the top passers in the state, throwing for 2,507 yards and 20 touchdowns. He had his biggest game of the season last week in a playoff win over Cottonwood, as he threw for 416 yards and three touchdowns.
Mitch Stephens: Bingham 28, Alta 27
Steve Spiewak: Bingham 21, Alta 14
Kevin Askeland: Bingham 21, Alta 14
MaxPreps Projection: Alta 28, Bingham 27
Cocoa (Fla.) at Bolles (Jacksonville, Fla.)
A pair of the top Division 2 teams in the state of Florida clash in a nonleague encounter when Bolles hosts Cocoa. Both undefeated on the season, Cocoa is one of the favorites to win the Class 2A championship while Bolles is expected to defend its Class 2B championship from last year.
Both teams can put points on the scoreboard. Bolles is averaging 55 points per game while Cocoa has put up 40 points per game. Statistically, the two teams are nearly even. Bolles’ leading rusher, Jordan Garside, averages 103 yards per game while Cocoa’s top back, Chevelle Buie, averages 99. Matt Younger, the Cocoa quarterback, averages 104 yards an outing while Bolles’ QB, Chandler Carr, averages 107.
Mitch Stephens: Cocoa 21, Bolles 20
Steve Spiewak: Bolles 27, Cocoa 24
Kevin Askeland: Bolles 30, Cocoa 28
MaxPreps Projection: Cocoa 30, Bolles 28
Blue Springs (Mo.) at Rockhurst (Kansas City, Mo.)
The Blue Springs Wildcats will try to avenge their only loss of the season when they play at Rockhurst this week. Since losing to Rockhurst 17-3 on Sept. 11, Blue Springs (10-1) has not scored less than 42 points during an eight-game win streak. One of those wins was a 45-12 victory over Lee’s Summit in last week’s playoff opener. Rockhurst’s only losses are to out-of-state powers Hutchinson of Kansas and Mullen of Colorado. Both teams are ranked No. 1 in their respective states by MaxPreps.
Mitch Stephens: Blue Springs 28, Rockhurst 27
Steve Spiewak: Rockhurst 20, Blue Springs 10
Kevin Askeland: Rockhurst 21, Blue Springs 19
MaxPreps Projection: Blue Springs 28, Rockhurst 21
Cathedral (Los Angeles) at Serra (Gardena, Calif.)
A pair of pass-happy teams fight for the Del Rey title when the Serra Cavaliers host the Cathedral Phantoms. Both teams are undefeated at 9-0 and sport prolific passing offenses. Serra posseses one of the finest groups of receivers in the country in the trio of Robert Woods, George Farmer and Paul Richardson. Woods, a preseason Tom Lemming All-American, has 41 catches for 676 yards and nine scores while Farmer has 28 catches for 589 yards and six touchdowns. Richardson isn’t far behind with 24 catches, 481 yards and six touchdowns. Quarterback Conner Preston has thrown for 2,262 yards and 29 touchdowns with just five interceptions.
Cathedral’s Trevor Olson, a 6-5 senior, has been even more impressive throwing the ball this year for the Phantoms. He has completed 155-of-244 passes for 2,502 yards and 28 touchdowns in nine games. He has a high of 438 yards in a win over St. Bernard’s of Playa del Rey and has thrown for over 400 yards three times this year.
Mitch Stephens: Serra 42, Cathedral 28
Steve Spiewak: Serra 35, Cathedral 21
Kevin Askeland: Serra 28, Cathedral 21
MaxPreps Projection: Serra 40, Cathedral 14
Eden Prairie (Minn.) vs. Wayzata (Plymouth, Minn.)
Eden Prairie gets the chance to dethrone last year’s state champion Wayzata this week when the two teams play at the Metrodome in the Class AAAA playoffs. Wayzata is 9-1 on the season with a 3-0 loss to Minnetonka, a team Eden Prairie defeated last week in the playoffs, 38-7. Don’t expect Eden Prairie (10-0) to throw the ball much. The Eagles have reportedly thrown the ball just 72 times on the season for a total of 405 yards. Eden Prairie will keep it on the ground with Gage Shaeffer (722 yards) and Andrew Larson (492). The Trojans, on the other hand, like to air the ball out with junior quarterback Sasha Doran throwing for 1,597 yards and 19 touchdowns this year. Chris Kroeten has also proven to be a dependable runner with 827 yards and six scores.
Mitch Stephens: Eden Prairie 21, Wayzata 7
Steve Spiewak: Eden Prairie 28, Wayzata 24
Kevin Askeland: Eden Prairie 38, Wayzata 20
MaxPreps Projection: Eden Prairie 21, Wayzata 14
Moorpark (Calif.) at Westlake (Westlake Village, Calif.)
The battle for the Marmonte League championship will be decided this weekend when Moorpark (8-0-1, 6-0) takes on Westlake (9-0, 6-0) in the season finale for both teams. The two teams are fairly evenly matched. Westlake has been the more explosive team with an average of 45 points per game while the Musketeer defense has been a little stingier, giving up just over nine points an outing.
Both teams average about 210 yards on the ground while Westlake has the more effective passing game. Nick Isham, a junior quarterback, has thrown for 1,420 yards on the season with 22 touchdowns and just two interceptions. Moorpark’s 6-5 senior signal caller Brody Rohach, meanwhile, has thrown for 788 yards and nine scores. He threw sparingly in the middle of the season, but had 139 yards in a win over Notre Dame of Sherman Oaks and also threw for 132 yards two weeks ago against Thousand Oaks.
Mitch Stephens: Moorpark 42, Westlake 28
Steve Spiewak: Moorpark 35, Westlake 28
Kevin Askeland: Moorpark 28, Westlake 27
MaxPreps Projection: Westlake 26, Moorpark 22
Indianapolis Cathedral (Indianapolis) vs. New Palestine (Ind.)
Ranked No. 1 in the state by MaxPreps, Indianapolis Cathedral (11-1) is marching toward a Division 4A state championship, and the latest roadblock is New Palestine. The Dragons are ranked No. 36 in the state, but have a 10-2 record with eight straight wins. Meanwhile, Cathedral (11-1) has been on a roll since losing to St. Xavier in the third week of the season. The Fighting Irish have had only one team get with 16 points during that stretch, and that was Mooresville in the second round of the playoffs.
Kofi Hughes has been the sparkplug for Cathedral. He has rushed for 1,193 yards passing with 18 touchdowns and 1,209 yards passing. Last week in the section final against Plainfield, a 48-21 win, Hughes, who has committed to Indiana, completed 9-of-14 passes for 134 yards and two touchdowns and also ran the ball 18 times for 166 yards.
Mitch Stephens: Indianapolis Cathedral 28, New Palestine 14
Steve Spiewak: Indianapolis Cathedral 21, New Palestine 0
Kevin Askeland: Indianapolis Cathedral 35, New Palestine 7
MaxPreps Projection: Indianapolis Cathedral 41, New Palestine 10
Middletown (Ohio) at Anderson (Ohio)
Middletown pulled off the shocker of the first round of the Ohio state playoffs with a win over Archbishop Moeller. It wasn’t so much that Middletown defeated the Crusaders, it’s how they did it. The Middies won 45-10 and outgained Moeller 430-175 in total yardage. Caleb Watkins, the Middletown quarterback, threw for 176 yards and a score and also ran for 182 yards and two touchdowns. The Middies’ only loss this year was a three-point defeat at the hands of Colerain.
Anderson (11-0) moves up to Division I this year after great success at the Division II level the past two seasons. The Redskins were state champions in 2007 and finished second last year. Behind the 1-2 punch of quarterback Brandon Bornhauser and running back Kyle Slater, Anderson racked up 524 points on the season. Bornhauser threw for 1,219 yards in 10 games with 23 touchdowns while Slater rushed for 1,161 yards and 21 scores.
Mitch Stephens: Middletown 27, Anderson 21
Steve Spiewak: Middletown 28, Anderson 27
Kevin Askeland: Middletown 40, Anderson 21
MaxPreps Projection: Middletown 35, Anderson 31
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