Video: Top 10 Games of the Week
MaxPreps previews some of the top matchups in the nation this weekend.
Long Beach Poly (Calif.) at Narbonne (Harbor City, Calif.)Why it's big: Thursday's game is merely the season opener for Narbonne – so let's not get too far ahead of ourselves -- but it's a huge game for any argument it might make to play in the Open Division state title game at the end of the year. It's not a likely scenario, but an undefeated season for Narbonne coupled with one or more losses for all the nationally ranked powers from the Pac-5 Division could put the Gauchos in prime position for the berth. Of course, an unbeaten season for Narbonne would have to include a win against Pac-5 stalwart Long Beach Poly this week.
Poly most likely worked on generating more offensive explosiveness during the bye week that followed its 13-12 win in Arizona over Centennial (Peoria). The Jackrabbits managed only 268 total yards in the game. Four-star senior receiver
Jack Jones accounted for over half of those yards. Florida State-committed quarterback
Malik Henry – a four-star recruit who spent last spring at IMG Academy – was reportedly admitted to Poly two weeks ago, but it's unclear when or if he'll be cleared to play.
Names to watch: Narbonne has 18 starters back from last year's 10-win team, and at least half of them have scholarship offers. Three-star senior
Sean Riley -- an Arizona commit -- returns after leading the Gauchos with 1,250 rushing yards. Senior quarterback
Roman Ale – a potential Ivy League recruit – threw for 2,803 yards and 26 touchdowns.
In tandem with the possible addition of Henry, Long Beach Poly has another talented quarterback on its roster in junior
Nolan McDonald. The 6-foot-2, 180-pounder hooked up with Jones on a 60-yard scoring strike against Centennial. Sophomore
Camren McDonald – Nolan's younger brother – is likely to be one of California's top receiver prospects of the future.
Photos by MaxPreps Photographers/Graphic by Ryan Escobar
