Video: Top 10 Games of the Week
The Top 10 Games of the Week is led by the Georgia 7A state championship game between No. 4 Grayson and No. 10 Roswell.The penultimate weekend of the high school football season is packed with playoff matchups that will test the mettle of some of the nation's best teams.
We begin this edition of the MaxPreps Top 10 Games of the Week with a battle of Top 10 teams for Georgia's Class AAAAAAA state championship. No. 10 Roswell versus No. 4 Grayson is a rematch of a state semifinal game last season decided by a game-winning Hail Mary pass by Roswell.
The only other matchup this week between nationally ranked teams occurs in the Texas Class 6A-I semifinal with No. 7 Allen taking on No. 24 The Woodlands. Allen is closing in on a fourth state championship in five years while The Woodlands is trying for its first-ever crown.
Another Top 10 team playing for a state championship this week is No. 8 St. Thomas Aquinas. The preseason-No. 1 Raiders have fallen short of national-championship predictions but they could still claim a third consecutive Florida Class 7A state crown with a win over unbeaten Plant.
MaxPreps Top 10 high school football Games of the Week
(10) Roswell (Ga.) vs. (4) Grayson (Loganville, Ga.)
Saturday 8 p.m. (EST)Why it's big: Roswell and Grayson have been ranked in or near the Top 10 of the MaxPreps Xcellent 25 rankings all season. Grayson (13-1) has 13 consecutive wins – including 12 by double-digit margins – after losing to No. 2 IMG Academy (Bradenton, Fla.) in the season-opener. The Rams are eyeing their first state crown since 2011. Roswell (14-0) is seeking its fourth state championship but first since 2006. Roswell has perhaps the top defense in the Peach State but will get a serious test against a Grayson squad averaging over 47 points in its last 12 games.
Watch this game LIVE on the NFHS NetworkPlayers to watch: Clemson-committed senior quarterback
Chase Brice threw for 294 yards and four touchdowns to lead Grayson in a 44-26 win against then-nationally ranked Mill Creek (Hoschton) last week. Brice is a four-star prospect and the No. 14 pro-style quarterback prospect in the nation according to 247Sports. … Roswell shut out semifinal-round opponent Westlake (Atlanta) and has allowed only one team to score over 14 points in a game all season. Among the leaders of the Hornets' menacing defense are four-star senior safety
Xavier McKinney and Clemson-committed four-star cornerback
LeAnthony Williams Jr. (7) Allen (Texas) vs. (24) The Woodlands (Texas)
Saturday 1 p.m. (CST)Why it's big: This Class 6A-I semifinal marks the fifth time in a row that Allen has played at least into the second-to-last weekend of the season. The Eagles (14-0) won it all three straight times from 2012-14 and were also state champs in 2008. Conversely, The Woodlands (14-0) has never won a football title and reached the state semifinals only one other time -- in 2003 when it was the Class 5A runner-up.
Watch this game LIVE on the NFHS NetworkPlayers to watch: Junior running back
Brock Sturges has topped 100 yards rushing in all four of Allen's playoff games. Fellow junior
Kirby Bennett, a four-star prospect in 247Sports' ratings, also eclipsed the century mark in last week's 42-23 quarterfinal win against Duncanville. … The Woodlands senior quarterback
Eric Schmid totaled nearly 400 total yards and four touchdowns in last week's 41-18 win against Round Rock. Schmid, the son of head coach Mark Schmid, is a Sam Houston State commit.
Plant (Tampa, Fla.) vs. (8) St. Thomas Aquinas (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.)
Friday 8 p.m. (EST)
Why it's big: Two of Florida's heavyweight programs square off for the first time in seven years with the Class 7A at stake. The 2010 meeting between St. Thomas Aquinas and Plant earned Aquinas one of its nine state crowns since 1992. The Raiders (11-2) are seeking their third title in a row and seventh in the last 10 years. Plant (13-0) has four state championships since 2006 but hasn't won it all since 2011.
Players to watch: St. Thomas Aquinas is a veritable factory for big-time college prospects, producing a whopping 91 players who signed with ACC, Big Ten, Southeastern Conference and Pac-12 programs in the last 15 years. The Raiders' top Class of 2017 prospects are Ohio State-bound receiver
Trevon Grimes and Florida-committed quarterback
Jake Allen. … Although Plant quarterback
Dane Frantzen isn't on anyone's list of the top college prospects in talent-rich Florida, nobody can question the senior's on-field production. The 5-foot-11, 195-pounder has more than 2,200 passing yards and over 1,300 rushing yards and 50 total touchdowns.
(3) DeSoto (Texas) vs. Klein Collins (Spring, Texas)
Saturday 4 p.m. (CST)Why it's big: A win in Saturday afternoon's Class 6A-II semifinal would earn DeSoto its first-ever trip to a state championship game. The Eagles were also semifinalists with perfect 14-0 records in 2012 and 2013 but could not break through. Meanwhile, this is the furthest Klein Collins (13-1) has ever advanced in the postseason and its first-ever 13-win season. The Tigers have won 12 consecutive games since a double-overtime loss to 2015 national champion Katy in week two.
Players to watch: Without question, the individual player with the highest profile in this game is DeSoto senior quarterback
Shawn Robinson. And with good reason. The four-star TCU recruit is responsible for a mind-blowing 4,626 total yards and 49 touchdowns this season. Robinson has gone over 400 total yards in each of DeSoto's last three games. … Klein Collins' most versatile offensive player is senior quarterback/receiver
Bryson Powers. The 6-foot-1, 195-pounder has accounted for more than 1,500 total yards and scored touchdowns passing, rushing and receiving this season.
Wise (Upper Marlboro, Md.) vs. Quince Orchard (Gaithersburg, Md.)
Friday 7:30 p.m. (EST)Why it's big: For the second time in five seasons, Wise and Quince Orchard are playing with the Maryland 4A state championship at stake. Wise edged Quince Orchard, 12-7, in the 2012 championship game – and that's the only other meeting between the schools dating back to 2004. Wise (13-0) won its second state title last year and is riding a 27-game winning streak. Quince Orchard also has a pair of state titles, won in 1991 and 2007.
Watch this game LIVE on the NFHS NetworkPlayers to watch: Wise senior quarterback
Jabari Laws has thrown for 2,148 yards and run for 646 with 48 total touchdowns this season. The Army commit had three passing touchdowns and three rushing touchdowns in a 48-0 drubbing of Howard (Ellicott City) in the state semifinals … Quarterback
Kendell "Doc" Bonner gives Quince Orchard (12-1) a dual-threat of its own. The junior had nearly 100 rushing yards and accounted for three touchdowns in the Cougars' 42-14 semifinal rout of Annapolis.
Wake Forest (N.C.) vs. Middle Creek (Apex, N.C.)
Friday 7:30 p.m. (EST)Why it's big: The final unbeaten teams in North Carolina Class 4AA are matched in this semifinal. These schools also met in this round in 2013, a game Wake Forest survived 24-23. This year's game is a contrast between a tough Wake Forest defense that's allowed less than 7 points per game and an explosive Middle Creek offense averaging over 47 points per game.
Players to watch: The lynchpins of Wake Forest's stern defense are senior tackle
Xach Gill, a 6-foot-5, 270-pounder with a four-star rating from 247Sports, and three-star Darius Hodge, a 6-2, 240-pound linebacker committed to N.C. State. … If Middle Creek's
Dominique Shoffner passes for at least 146 yards Friday, he'll hit the 3,000-yard mark for the season. The 6-foot-1, 210-pound senior has 37 passing touchdowns and has also run for 13 scores.
Fort Dorchester (North Charleston, S.C.) at Dutch Fork (Irmo, S.C.)
Friday 7:30 p.m. (EST)Why it's big: This Class 5A semifinal is a rematch of a week-two game won by Dutch Fork, 35-22. That victory was a launching pad for Dutch Fork's first-ever 13-0 start to a season. Likewise, Fort Dorchester also hasn't lost since and, in fact, has barely been challenged. The Patriots (12-1) are on an 11-game winning streak with a 30-point average margin of victory.
Players to watch: Fort Dorchester's
Dakereon Joyner is the ninth-rated dual-threat quarterback prospect in the Class of 2018, according to 247Sports. The 6-foot-2, 200-pounder accounted for three touchdowns and more than 300 total yards in the Patriots' 42-13 rout of Conway last week. … Dutch Fork senior
Bobby Irby ranks third in South Carolina with 1,142 receiving yards. Also keep an eye on running back
Ron Hoff, who has 1,584 rushing yards and 24 touchdowns and is only a freshman.
Narbonne (Harbor City, Calif.) at Cathedral Catholic (San Diego, Calif.)
Friday 7:30 p.m. (PST)Why it's big: The southern half of the CIF Division 1-AA state championship bracket is a showdown of unbeaten teams. LA City Section power Narbonne (14-0) is two wins away from winning state championships in back-to-back seasons. Cathedral Catholic (13-0) is trying to bring the San Diego Section its first state football title in any classification since 2012.
Players to watch: Narbonne's defense features one of the top linebacker corps in the state of California. The trio is comprised of USC-bound junior
Raymond Scott along with three-star seniors
Anthony Pandy and
Dominic Peterson. Pandy and Peterson have combined for 41 tackles for losses this season. … Cathedral Catholic's most heralded players are two Boston College-committed seniors. Quarterback
Tate Haynes, the son of Pro Football Hall of Fame cornerback Mike Haynes, has more than 2,000 combined passing and rushing yards this season. At 6-foot-5, 230-pounds,
Patrick Brown is one of Haynes' top targets at tight end.
Neville (Monroe, La.) vs. Edna Karr (New Orleans)
Saturday 3:30 p.m. (CST)Why it's big: Neville (13-0) wants to end the season with its third consecutive Class 4A championship and a Louisiana-best 40-game winning streak. Standing in the way is Karr (13-0), which Neville eliminated from the playoffs three of the last five years including the 2015 state title game. Neville ranks fourth in Louisiana history with 12 state titles. Karr has won it all twice, most recently in 2012.
Watch this game LIVE on the NFHS NetworkPlayers to watch: Neville's
Jaiden Cole has personified the term "dual-threat quarterback" this season. The three-star senior has near equal stats passing and rushing – 1,538 yards and 19 touchdowns through the air and 1,444 rushing yards with 20 scores. … Edna Karr quarterback
Aldon Clark is more in the pro-style mode, but has been every bit as productive this season. The Arkansas State-committed senior has over 3,000 passing yards and 53 total touchdowns.
(18) St. Joseph's Prep (Philadelphia) vs. Central Catholic (Pittsburgh)
Saturday 8 p.m. (EST)Why it's big: The championship game in Pennsylvania's largest classification features two flagship programs from the state's two largest cities for the second time in four years. St. Joseph's Prep beat Central Catholic for the 4A crown in 2013 and repeated as champion in 2014. Saturday night at Hersheypark Stadium, the Hawks (13-0) will try to add the state's first-ever 6A title. On the other side, Central Catholic has won 14 straight games – all by at least two touchdowns – since dropping the season opener against St. John's (Washington). The Vikings won the 4A title last season and also finished first in 2004 and 2007.
Players to watch: Georgia-committed senior running back
D'Andre Swift had 590 rushing yards and six touchdowns in St. Joseph's Prep's last two games. Swift, the nation's fourth-rated running back according to 247Sports, is a three-year starter with more than 4,000 career rushing yards. … Central Catholic has a pair of Notre Dame recruits on defense in linebacker
David Adams and tackle
Kurt Hinish. On offense, the Vikings' leading passer Troy Fisher, leading rusher J.J. Younger and leading receiver Justice Evans are each over 1,000 yards for the season.
MaxPreps contributor Jamie DeMoney has covered high school sports and recruiting for more than two decades. He is a Regional Content Manager and Product Specialist for XOS Digital and has compiled the National Prep Poll (PrepNation.com) since 1999