MaxPreps Top 10 high school football games of the week

A pair of huge matchups between nationally ranked teams in two of America's best conferences leads off this edition of the MaxPreps Top 10 Games of the Week.

We start off in New Jersey, where top-ranked Don Bosco Prep will travels down Route 17 to challenge 20th-ranked Paramus Catholic on Saturday. The Paladins already have a key conference win over Bergen Catholic in the bank. An upset over the No. 1 Ironmen would further tighten their grip on the lead in the Big North United standings.

On the other coast, the opening weekend of play in California's vaunted Trinity League features what might be its most important game of the year when No. 6 Mater Dei (Santa Ana) visits No. 10 St. John Bosco (Bellflower). The Monarchs will try to end a four-game losing streak against St. John Bosco.

Other action involving ranked teams includes No. 18 Bingham (South Jordan, Utah) hosting Austin Kafentzis-led Jordan (Sandy, Utah), No. 21 Warren Central (Indianapolis) taking on fellow unbeaten Carmel (Ind.) and No. 25 La Salle (Cincinnati) trying to secure at least a share of the Greater Catholic League South title with a win against St. Xavier (Cincinnati).

An 8-2 record last week allowed Jamie DeMoney to jump back into a first-place tie in our season-long predictions contest. DeMoney and Stephen Spiewak each have 47-23 records seven weeks into the season. Kevin Askeland and Leland Gordon share third place with 45-25 marks. Mitch Stephens is in fifth place but only three games behind the co-leaders. Colin Ward-Henninger, who is now nine games out of first place, has some serious catching up to do.

Here's a look at this week's Top 10 games along with predictions by MaxPreps staff writers and contributors Mitch Stephens, Stephen Spiewak, Kevin Askeland, Leland Gordon, Colin Ward-Henninger and Jamie DeMoney.


Don Bosco Prep (Ramsey, N.J.) at Paramus Catholic (N.J.)

What to watch: This is the first in-state game of the year for top-ranked Don Bosco Prep. The Ironmen (3-0) enjoyed a well-deserved bye week after concluding a lopsided three-game sweep of tough out-of-state opponents to open the season -- including a 24-7 win against No. 14 St. Thomas Aquinas (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) on Sept. 13. Don Bosco Prep plays ferocious defense and bludgeons its competition on offense with a multifaceted running game that features senior quarterback Wesley McKoy and junior running back Malik Bakker. The top player in the trenches for the Ironmen is 6-foot-9, 305-pound Ohio State recruit Kevin Feder. No. 20 Paramus Catholic (5-0) opened league play last week with a convincing 44-7 win over Bergen Catholic (Oradell). Junior defensive tackle Rashan Gary – rated a five-star prospect by 247Sports – was responsible for five of the Paladins' whopping 15.5 sacks in the game.

Follow live scoring of this game on Qwixcore

Just the facts: Don Bosco Prep had a 16-game winning streak against Paramus Catholic before losing, 21-20, in last year's Non-Public Group IV state semifinals. … Paramus Catholic won back-to-back state titles in 2012-13. Prior to that, the Paladins had compiled a very pedestrian 42-41 overall record from 2004 to 2010.

Mitch Stephens: Don Bosco Prep 21, Paramus Catholic 10
Kevin Askeland: Don Bosco Prep 30, Paramus Catholic 14
Jamie DeMoney: Don Bosco Prep 27, Paramus Catholic 14
Stephen Spiewak: Don Bosco Prep 17, Paramus Catholic 14
Leland Gordon: Don Bosco Prep 17, Paramus Catholic 15
Colin Ward-Henninger: Don Bosco Prep 21, Paramus Catholic 17