By Kevin Askeland
MaxPreps.com
Two of the top games in the country happen right here in California with Centennial vs. Mater Dei and Mission Viejo vs. De La Salle highlighting this week's Top 10 Games to Watch.
Centennial at Mater Dei
The top game in the nation this week pits the Centennial Huskies (5-0), ranked No. 2 in the nation by MaxPreps.com, against the No.54 team, Mater Dei of Santa Ana (4-0). The contest pits two of the top quarterbacks in the state with junior Matt Barkley leading the Monarchs with 320 yards per game and Matt Scott of the Huskies averaging 190. One thing that Scott has that Barkley doesn't is one of the top running backs in the country in senior Ryan Bass. After running for 2,300 yards last year, Bass is averaging 176 yards a game this year and has scored 15 touchdowns in five games.
De La Salle at Mission Viejo
Any other week of the season, this would be the top game of the week, but the annual clash between the Spartans and Diablos takes a backseat to the Centennial-Mater Dei clash this week. Still, expect a great game between these budding rivals who are in the fourth year of the series. Mission Viejo leads the all-time series at 2-1, but the Spartans are undefeated this year at 3-0 while the Diablos are 3-1. Mission Viejo has a solid passing game with Allen Bridgford averaging 222 yards a game; however, Mike MacGillivray runs the veer offense as god as anyone in the state and is averaging 151 yards passing a game.
Crespi at Canyon
No team plays a tougher preseason schedule than the Celts who have defeated Birmingham and St. Bonaventure this year while losing to the nation's No. 2 team Centennial. The next game in the preseason gauntlet comes against defending CIF Division 1 Bowl champion Canyon of Canyon Country. The Cowboys are down from last year's championship season, owning a 1-3 record. The losses have come against Notre Dame of Sherman Oaks, St. Bonaventure and Chaminade with a win over Lancaster. For Crespi, quarterback Bryan Bennett has played well in the absence of Kevin Prince, who is out for the rest of the season with a knee injury. Bennett has been averaging 139 yards passing to lead the team in offense.
Servite at Notre Dame
The Knights (3-1) bounced back from their only loss against Birmingham with a narrow win over Saugus. Notre Dame needed a late touchdown by Dayne Crist in order to escape with the 38-35 victory. Servite had its best offensive game of the season last week in a 47-28 win over Lynwood. John McEntee leeds the Servite offense with 547 yards passing on the season. Crist completed 18 of 27 passes for 303 yards and three touchdowns in the Saugus victory.
California at Monte Vista
The two neighboring schools enter the second week of league play in the East Bay League with 1-0 records and both are on a roll. Monte Vista has sufficiently rebounded from an opening-season loss to Logan with three straight wins while scoring over 47 points in each game. Meanwhile California is undefeated, winning its first four games while averaging 32 points an outing. Nick Spalliero leads the Grizzly offense, rushing for an average of 107 yards a game while throwing for an additional 110. Meanwhile Drew McAllister is the playmaker for the Mustangs, throwing for 244 yards a game, including 299 yards last week.
Valley Christian at Serra
The Warriors (3-0-1) are trying to rebound from a 21-21 tie with St. Ignatius while the Padres (3-2) are regrouping after last week's loss to St. Francis. Tiuke Tuipulotu averages 102 yards rushing a game for the Padres while Daniel Johnson comes in at 84 yards a game for the Warriors. Valley Christian has the better passing attack, however, with Cory Gambello averaging 94 yards per game compared to Cody Jackson's 47.
Foothill at Paradise
The Cougars are still smarting from last year's 23-21 loss to the Bobcats in the Northern Section Division 1 championship game. Foothill was 11-0 entering the game including a previous win over Paradise, but the Bobcats pulled out the win, denying the Cougars their first ever Northern Section championship. The luster of this game has dimmed a bit with the Bobcats already losing a pair of games, but the game is at Paradise, which could give the Bobcats the upper hand. Both teams run a balanced attack that features multi-talented quarterbacks. Both Cole Johnston of Foothill and Jon Hays of Paradise can pass and run the ball. Both average over 60 yards a game rushing to go along with their passing totals.
Calaveras at Patterson
The Tigers (4-0) have emerged as a threat to end Central Catholic's domination in the Western Athletic League, but first they'll have to get by Calaveras (3-1), which looms as the favorite in the Mother Lode League. Jake Mote leads the Redskin rushing attack with 121 yards a game including a high of 194 yards in a win over Ceres. Patterson, however, has one of the area's top linebackers in Keith Yamamoto, who is averaging over 11 tackles per game.
Wheatland at Sutter
The Pirates (4-1) and the Huskies (5-0) battle in a possible preview to the Northern Section Division 2 championship game. Wheatland features possibly the section's best running back in Andrew McCleary, who averages 167 yards per game. The Huskies have a more balanced attack with quarterback John Garcia throwing for 91 yards a game and Mitch Sanders averaging 89 yards per game on the ground. McCleary is also one of the top linebackers in the section and averages 11 tackles per game. Tyler Morehead leads the Sutter defense with 11 tackles an outing.
Davis at Vacaville
A pair of 4-0 teams meet tonight in Vacaville in a game that will feature the run against the pass. The Bulldogs will utilize the running game led by 2,000-yard rusher Terrance Dailey, who is averaging 185 yards per game in his senior year. Meanwhile the Blue Devils will take to the air on the arm of Scott Malinoff, who is averaging 193 yards per game.