A pair of teams hoping to avenge earlier losses and teams looking to avoid playoff disappoint for the second year in a row highlight this week’s Top 10 Games of the Week.
Central of Miami and Skyline of Sammamish, Wash., both hope to avenge losses from earlier this year. Central fell to Northwestern midway through the season, but hasn’t lost since. The Rockets have another shot at the Bulls in this week’s Florida 6A playoff matchup. Meanwhile Skyline fell to Bothell in late October and will need to get past Bothell this week in order to defend its state championship next week.
Notre Dame of Sherman Oaks (Calif.), South Panola of Batesville (Miss.) and Gateway of Monroeville (Pa.) will all try to continue their playoff success this week. Last year, all three lost in the playoffs with Notre Dame and Gateway losing at this exact stage of the postseason.
MaxPreps Projections was 7-3 last week and leads the race with a 95-35 record. Mitch Stephens and Stephen Spiewak are both tied at 88-42 and Kevin Askeland is 86-44.
MaxPreps Top 10 Games of the Week
Elder (Cincinnati, Ohio) vs. Davidson (Hilliard, Ohio.)
After falling to both St. Xavier and Archbishop Moeller on back to back weeks in Greater Catholic South League play, the Elder Panthers are now the last team standing among the four Cincinnati teams that advanced to the Division I playoffs. The Panthers eliminated two of those teams on its own, knocking off the Bombers 17-14 in the second round and Anderson 28-21 in the quarterfinals. Mark Miller threw four touchdown passes to lift Elder to the win and Alex Taylor sealed the game with an interception in the final minutes.
Davidson lost just once during the regular season, falling to Coffman of Dublin 10-7. The Wildcats avenged that loss last week with a 22-7 playoff win over Coffman in the quarterfinals. Davidson was able to turn three Shamrock turnovers into a pair of touchdowns to advance to the semifinals for the second time in four years.
Mitch Stephens: Elder 21, Davidson 20
Steve Spiewak: Elder 28, Davidson 20
Kevin Askeland: Elder 24, Davidson 21
MaxPreps Projection: Elder 22, Davidson 17
Notre Dame (Sherman Oaks, Calif.) at Mission Viejo (Calif.)
Last year, Notre Dame was one of the favorites in the Pac-5 playoffs, but the Knights were upset in the second round by Orange Lutheran. Now it’s Notre Dame’s chance to play the spoiler. Knight quarterback Ryan Kasdorf hasn’t quite had the season he did as a junior when he was named the Gatorade state player of the year in California. Nevertheless, he has thrown for 2,042 during the regular season and led the Knights to a 41-24 win over Fountain Valley in the first round of the playoffs.
Photo by John Rowland
Matt Perez, Maine South
Mission Viejo, meanwhile, enters the game ranked No. 2 in the state by the MaxPreps Freeman Rankings and No. 7 in the nation. The Diablos have been one of the highest scoring teams in the state with 505 points on the season. Quarterback Dallin McEwen has thrown 20 touchdown passes (1,711 yards) and Exavier Edwards leads the team in scoring with 23 touchdowns. Joey Branker (66 points) and Dallas Kessman (60) have each scored over 10 touchdowns on the year.
Mitch Stephens: Mission Viejo 28, Notre Dame 21
Steve Spiewak: Mission Viejo 28, Notre Dame 14
Kevin Askeland: Mission Viejo 32, Notre Dame 24
MaxPreps Projection: Mission Viejo 34, Notre Dame 21
Catholic Central (Novi, Mich.) vs Utica Stevenson (Sterling Heights, Mich.)
The Division I state championship in Michigan is one the line when Catholic Central and Utica Stevenson meet Saturday at Ford Field in Detroit. Catholic Central is ranked No. 1 in the state by MaxPreps and has allowed a measly 54 points this year in building a 13-0 record. Shamrock coach Tom Mach, in his 34th season with the school, won his 300th career game several weeks ago in a win over Livonia Stevenson. He has 302 in his career and ranks sixth on the state’s all-time win list.
The all-time wins leader in Michigan, Brother Rice’s Al Fracassa, will likely be in attendance Saturday as his grandson, Jason Fracassa is the quarterback for Utica Stevenson. Earlier this year, Fracassa joined his grandfather as a state record holder by becoming Michigan’s all-time leading passer in yardage (10,299 yards) and touchdowns (95). For the season, Fracassa has completed 215 of 328 passes for 3,712 yards and 39 scores.
Mitch Stephens: Catholic Central 27, Utica Stevenson 20
Steve Spiewak: Catholic Central 35, Utica Stevenson 34
Kevin Askeland: Catholic Central 28, Utica Stevenson 27
MaxPreps Projection: Catholic Central 31, Utica Stevenson 21
Hutchinson (Kan.) vs. Gardner-Edgerton (Gardner, Kan.)
Hutchinson (12-0) meets an undefeated team for the second straight week when it faces 12-0 Gardner-Edgerton in the Kansas Class 5A state playoffs. The Salt Hawks dispensed with Carroll and its highly-regarded quarterback Blake Bell last week with a 42-21 victory. This week they face Gardner-Edgerton, which has averaged over 48 points per game in its last four outings including a 49 points in a win over Aquinas last week (49-7).
Like Hutchinson, Gardner-Edgerton has a prolific rushing attack. The Trailblazers have a pair of 1,000-yard rushers in Brett Jensen (1,287 yards going into last week’s game vs. Aquinas) and quarterback Bubba Starling (1,239 yards). Starling has also thrown for 1,047 yards and Ryan Weber has added another 800 yards on the ground. The Salt Hawks, meanwhile, got 302 yards rushing from Josh Smith in the win over Carroll. Hutchinson isn’t worried about having a balanced offensive attack – the Salt Hawks attempted just one pass against Carroll and it fell incomplete.
Mitch Stephens: Gardner-Edgerton 14, Hutchinson 13
Steve Spiewak: Hutchinson 40, Gardner-Edgerton 21
Kevin Askeland: Hutchinson 35, Gardner-Edgerton 31
MaxPreps Projection: Hutchinson 40, Gardner-Edgerton 28
Central (Miami, Fla.) vs. Northwestern (Miami, Fla.)
In a contest that very easily could have been considered a potential state championship game matchup, the Northwestern Bulls and the Central Rockets will play in the Region 4-6A semifinals. Both teams will be hoping for a more representative outcome then their first meeting in early October when the Bulls prevailed 22-14 in a game marred by multiple penalties. Northwestern overcame an early deficit with 20 unanswered points for the win.
The victory over Central came on the heels of a loss to Booker T. Washington. Neither Central nor Northwestern have lost since that Oct. 8 meeting with Central knocking off Washington in the final game of the regular season. During Central’s five-game win streak, quarterback Jeffrey Godfrey became Dade County’s all-time passing leader with 6,543 yards (not counting last week’s playoff win over Columbus) to surpass former Northwestern standout Jacory Harris.
Mitch Stephens: Central 21, Northwestern 20
Steve Spiewak: Central 35, Northwestern 28
Kevin Askeland: Northwestern 28, Central 21
MaxPreps Projection: Central 28, Northwestern 22
Madison Central (Madison, Miss.) at South Panola (Batesville, Miss.)
The good news for Madison Central is that it has won 13 straight games dating back to the last game of the 2008 season. The bad news is that this week’s opponent, South Panola, is the last team to defeat the Jaguars. South Panola topped Madison Central 24-21 in last year’s semifinal before eventually falling to Meridian and ending an 89-game win streak and a run of five straight Mississippi state championships.
South Panola (12-1) will try to end Madison Central’s title hopes with a balanced attack that features quarterback Lee Self (1,601 yards, 15 touchdowns) and running back Nicholas Parker (1,461 yards, 16 TDs). Madison Central counters with multi-talented quarterback Peyton Johnson, who has throwns for 1,976 yards and 25 touchdown and has also rushed for 12 scores.
Mitch Stephens: South Panola 27, Madison Central 19
Steve Spiewak: Madison Central 28, South Panola 27
Kevin Askeland: Madison Central 31, South Panola 18
MaxPreps Projection: South Panola 35, Madison Central 28
Marist (Chicago, Ill.) vs. Maine South (Park Ridge, Ill.)
The Marist Red Hawks have the tall task to trying to knock off Illinois’ top-ranked team, the Maine South Hawks, when the two teams meet for the Division 8A state championship this weekend. Maine South is 27-0 over the past two seasons, winning last year’s 8A championship with a 41-21 victory over Hinsdale Central.
The Hawks aren’t quite as explosive as last year’s state championship team but they are plenty lethal. Matt Perez has rushed for 1,930 yards and 29 touchdowns while Tyler Benz has completed 177 of 250 passes for 2,447 yards and 26 scores. Marist counters with one of the state’s best passing combos in Mike Perish and Dan Piko. Perish has completed 225 of 329 passes for 3,204 yards and 35 scores while Piko has caught 85 passes for 1,272 yards and 15 touchdowns.
Mitch Stephens: Maine South 30, Marist 20
Steve Spiewak: Maine South 35, Marist 21
Kevin Askeland: Maine South 42, Marist 21
MaxPreps Projection: Maine South 31, Marist 27
Bothell (Wash.) at Skyline (Sammamish, Wash.)
Bothell will have to complete the tough task of defeating Skyline twice in one season in order to advance to the Washington 4A state finals. Bothell upended the Spartans 25-20 on Oct. 29 to take over the top ranking in the state of Washington. The Cougars have posted a 12-0 overall record and have done the job on defense all year long. Bothell has allowed just 67 points while scoring 510.
Luke Prouix has been the offensive mainstay for Bothell, rushing for 1,560 yards prior to last week’s playoff win over Issaquah. Skyline was able to neutralize Prouix in the first meeting, limiting him to just 60 yards on the night. However Prouix did have the winning touchdown in the fourth quarter. Skyline quarterback Jake Heaps had a big night against Bothell, throwing for 233 yards and three touchdowns, however the Spartans had four fumbles in the loss.
Mitch Stephens: Skyline 28, Bothell 27
Steve Spiewak: Skyline 21, Bothell 17
Kevin Askeland: Bothell 28, Skyline 27
MaxPreps Projection: Skyline 27, Bothell 24
Cedar Hill (Texas) at Abilene (Texas)
Cedar Hill and Abilene enter this week’s Texas 5A second-round playoff game with very similar resumes. Both teams averaged over 45 points per game, they both averaged about 300 yards rushing and 120 yards passing and they are both undefeated on the season. Both teams also have talented skill players at quarterback and running back.
For Cedar Hill, Driphus Jackson has thrown for 1,375 yards and 15 scores while running back Mason Hayes has gained 1,732 yards and scored 22 touchdowns. Abilene counters with the cousin duo of Ronnell and Herschel Sims. Ronnell has thrown for 1,381 yards and 17 scores while Herschel has gained 1,624 yards with 21 touchdowns.
Mitch Stephens: Cedar Hill 28, Abilene 24
Steve Spiewak: Cedar Hill 45, Abilene 35
Kevin Askeland: Abilene 35, Cedar Hill 30
MaxPreps Projection: Cedar Hill 34, Abilene 33
Woodland Hills (Pittsburgh, Pa.) vs. Gateway (Monroeville, Pa.)
The Gateway Gators hope to avoid the third-round blues they suffered last year when they were upset by Bethel Park in the Division AAAA state playoffs. Cruising through the season with a 12-0 record, the Gators were beaten by a Bethel Park team that went on to the state championship game before eventually falling to Liberty.
This year, Gateway is 12-0 and faces a Woodland Hills team that bumped off Gateway’s nemesis from last year, Bethel Park, with a 38-35 victory. The Wolverines are 11-1 on the season with the only loss coming against Ohio powerhouse Steubenville. Woodland Hills will have to find a way to stop Gateway quarterback Robbie Kalkstein if it hopes to pull off the upset of the Gators. Kalkstein has thrown for 2,148 yards this year and 26 touchdowns.
Mitch Stephens: Gateway 14, Woodland Hills 13
Steve Spiewak: Woodland Hills 21, Gateway 20
Kevin Askeland: Gateway 30, Woodland Hills 14
MaxPreps Projection: Gateway 28, Woodland Hills 22