MaxPreps Top 10 High School Football Games of the Week

By Zack Poff Aug 30, 2017, 6:00pm

No. 1 Mater Dei vs. No. 2 Bishop Gorman lead a week of big-time early season games.

Video: Top 10 Games of the Week
See Zack Poff tackle this week's biggest games, including the Mater Dei-Bishop Gorman showdown in SoCal.

The No. 2 team in the country, Bishop Gorman, puts its 55-game winning streak on the line down in Southern California against the No. 1 team in the nation, Mater Dei. The Gaels have won their last 11 games against teams from the Golden State.

The next night another Top 10 showdown is going down between No. 3 IMG Academy and No. 6 Corona Centennial. Last year's matchup was arguably the best game of 2016 and don't expect things to change in 2017 between these two powers.

In total, nine ranked teams make an appearance in our latest edition of the Top 10 Games of the Week.
Graphic by Hans Benowitz
MaxPreps Top 10 Games of the Week



No. 2 Bishop Gorman (Las Vegas) @ No. 1 Mater Dei (Santa Ana, Calif.)
Friday, 7:30 p.m. PST

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Top Players

Bishop Gorman:
QB Dorian Thompson-Robinson (6-1.5, 195), LB Palaie Gaoteote (6-2, 235), TE Brevin Jordan (6-3, 250), WR Jalen Nailor (5-11, 170) and DE Adam Plant (6-3, 225)

Mater Dei: QB JT Daniels (6-2, 205), OT Tommy Brown (6-6.5, 315), WR Amon-Ra St. Brown (5-11.5, 190), LB Solomon Tuliaupupu (6-2, 220) and ATH Bru McCoy (6-3, 215)

Storyline



On Friday, the Nos. 1 and 2 teams will face off for the seventh time since 2000. Bishop Gorman currently has the second-longest active high school football winning streak with 55 consecutive wins. Thompson-Robinson was big-time in his first career start under center, throwing for nearly 300 yards, compiling five total touchdowns and ending the night with a perfect quarterback rating of 158.3. The Monarchs cruised to a 31-7 win over Bishop Amat (Calif.) without two of their top wide receivers, Amon-Ra St. Brown and C.J. Parks. According to head coach Bruce Rollinson, Parks is probable and St. Brown is a game-time decision.

No. 3 IMG Academy (Bradenton, Fla.) vs. No. 6 Centennial (Corona, Calif.)
Saturday, 7:30 p.m. PST @ Cathedral Catholic High School (San Diego)

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Top Players

IMG Academy: DE Xavier Thomas (6-3, 265), RB Noah Cain (5-11, 205), DT Taron Vincent (6-2, 285), CB Brendan Radley-Hiles (5-10, 180) and RB T.J. Pledger (5-8, 190)

Centennial: QB Tanner McKee (6-6, 220), ATH Gary Bryant (5-10, 160), C Solo Vaipulu (6-2, 280), LB Camron Pitcher Jr. (6-0, 220) and WR Chris Venable (6-1, 180)



Storyline

Last year, IMG Academy pulled out a 50-49 win with a late touchdown and successful two-point conversion in the final seconds. It was easily one of the best high school football games of 2016 and don't expect this year to be any different. The Huskies rolled to a 63-21 win over Pittsburg (Calif.) behind a six touchdown performance from McKee. IMG Academy took down Chandler, the No. 1 team from Arizona, 27-14 and tries to make it two in a row on the West Coast this Saturday night.

Cedar Hill (Texas) @ No. 12 Allen (Texas) 
Friday, 5:30 p.m. PST

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Top Players

Cedar Hill: WR Joshua Fleeks (5-11.5, 170), RB Cameron Fleming (5-7, 170), S Courtney Ogilvie (5-10, 175), CB Donovan Collins (5-11, 170) and OT Parker Cupp (6-3, 285)



Allen: QB Grant Tisdale (6-1, 205), WR Theo Wease (6-3, 190), RB Brock Sturges (5-10, 200), WR Carson Schleker (5-9, 180) and DT Jayden Jernigan (6-1, 270)

Storyline

The state of Texas begins play this week and starts with two of the winningest programs as of late. Allen and Cedar Hill have combined to win five state titles since 2012. This will be the first season in 14 years for the Longhorns with a new head coach. Up next is Carlos Lynn, who was the defensive coordinator for Cedar Hill nearly 10 years ago and was the head coach for Arlington Seguin (Texas) from 2008-16. Texas has some of the best talent in the country and these two teams rank up there with anyone in the state.

St. John's (Washington, D.C.) @ No. 13 De La Salle (Concord, Calif.)

Friday, 8 p.m. PST

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Top Players

St. John's: QB Kevin Doyle (6-4, 210), WR Quinten Johnson (5-10.5, 190), RB Keilan Robinson (5-9, 175), DT Cam Goode (5-11, 315) and LB Mekhail Sherman (6-3, 235)



De La Salle: DT Tuli Letuligasenoa (6-2, 295), LB Henry To'oto'o (6-2, 210), RB Kairee Robinson (5-8, 180), TE Isaiah Foskey (6-4, 215) and LB Brenden Riso (5-9, 190)

Storyline

De La Salle has dropped its last two games against out of state opponents so the Spartans are hoping the third time is a charm. They cruised to a 42-7 win against Amador Valley (Calif.) in their season opener and did exactly what they do best —  run the football and play great defense. They get a huge test this Friday night against DMV power St. John's. Doyle looked impressive in the Cadets season opening win, completing 18-of-21 passes for nearly 300 yards and four touchdowns.

Booker T. Washington (Miami) @ Central (Miami)
Thursday, 7 p.m. PST

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Top Players



Booker T. Washington: QB Daniel Richardson (6-0, 170), WR Tyquan Thornton (6-3, 170), LB Jaquan Beaver (6-0, 200), WR Zahir Turner (6-0, 160) and S Jermaine McMillian (6-2, 185)

Miami Central: RB James Cook (5-11.5, 180), LB Robert Hicks (6-0, 235), CB Chandler Jones (5-10, 175), WR Terrell Perriman (5-10, 175) and ATH Amari Daniels (6-0, 160)

Storyline

Both schools had their string of four consecutive state titles come to an end in 2016, but you can expect both to have a good chance at starting a new streak in 2017. Miami Central has produced some of the best running backs in the past including the likes of Dalvin Cook, Devonta Freeman, Joseph Yearby and Willis McGahee just to name a few. The next great one is James Cook, the younger brother of former Florida State star and current Minnesota Viking Dalvin Cook. Tim "Ice" Harris has a ton of big-time playmakers this season and it all starts with Richardson under center.

Liberty (Henderson, Nev.) @ No. 8 American Heritage (Plantation, Fla.)
Friday, 4:30 p.m. PST

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Top Players

Liberty: QB Kenyon Oblad (6-3, 195), WR Marquez Powell (6-2, 175), DE Crishaun Lappin (6-0, 245), S Allan Mwata (5-11.5, 185) and DE Troy Fautanu (6-4, 250)

American Heritage: CB Tyson Campbell (6-2, 180), DE Andrew Chatfield (6-2, 220), RB Miles Jones (5-9, 170), DT Nesta Silvera (6-2, 305) and WR Anthony Schwartz (6-0, 170)

Storyline

The only reason Patrick Surtain II doesn't show up among the top players is because he will miss his second consecutive game with a sprained MCL. He is expected to be out four-to-six weeks. The defense showed they are still one of the best in the country without him as they held Tyler DeSue and Bishop Sullivan Catholic (Va.) to seven points in last week's win. They face another legit quarterback on Friday in Oblad. He threw for nearly 4,000 yards and 38 touchdowns in 2016. Liberty was one of the most impressive teams last weekend as they snapped Saguaro's (Ariz.) 26-game winning streak with a dominant 51-20 victory.

Watch this game LIVE on the NFHS Network

No. 14 St. Xavier (Cincinnati) @ Colerain (Cincinnati)
Friday, 4 p.m. PST



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Top Players

St. Xavier: QB Chase Wolf (6-2, 175), WR Cameron Specht (5-8, 150), RB Matthew Fox (5-11, 180), DE Blake Bacevich (6-4, 215) and DE Bobby Jefferson (6-3, 225)

Colerain: ATH Ja'von Hicks (6-2, 185), LB Dan Bolden (6-2, 230), QB Gunnar Leyendecker (5-11, 195), LB Luke Bolden (6-2, 220) and RB/QB Deante Smith-Moore (5-10, 170)

Storyline

This is easily one of the best rivalries in high school football and these two have gone to overtime in three of the last four meetings. Both games went to overtime in 2016 as Colerain won the regular-season contest and St. Xavier got its revenge in the playoffs en route to winning a state title.



No. 11 Long Beach Poly (Calif.) @ Narbonne (Harbor City, Calif.)
Friday, 7 p.m. PST

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Top Players

Long Beach Poly: QB Matt Corral (6-2, 195), WR Jalen Hall (6-4, 190), S Aashari Crosswell (6-1, 185), TE Camren McDonald (6-4, 210) and WR Keon Markham (6-0, 175)

Narbonne: LB Raymond Scott (6-2, 220), QB Jalen Chatman (6-0, 170), OT Jonah Tauanu'u (6-5, 270), LB Darien Butler (5-11, 215) and RB Keyshawn Dupree (5-9, 185)

Storyline



Long Beach Poly and Narbonne are two of the most talented teams in Southern California. Corral, a 2018 Florida commit, played great in his Poly debut leading them to a 28-10 victory over Los Alamitos (Calif.). The 5-star quarterback threw for over 400 yards and two scores. Narbonne battled adversity against Gardena Serra (Calif.), overcoming a 14-0 halftime deficit and escaping with a 17-14 win.

Mountain Pointe (Phoenix) @ Chaminade (West Hills, Calif.)
Thursday, 8 p.m. PST

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Top Players

Mountain Pointe: RB Gary Bragg (5-9, 165), S Kenny Churchwell (6-2, 180), DT Shomari Hayes (6-2, 280), QB Nick Wallerstedt (6-3, 180) and CB/RB Delano Salgado (5-11, 185)

Chaminade: RB Andrew VanBuren (6-0.5, 215), LB Blake Antzoulatos (6-2, 215), WR Michael Wilson (6-2, 180), QB Ryan Stevens (6-1, 170) and DE Parks Gissinger (6-4, 225)



Mountain Pointe was dealt some tough news before the 2017 season even began in that they would be without one of the top recruits from the Class of 2019 Matthew Pola-Mao this year. He suffered a season-ending injury back in early August. One of the bright spots for Mountain Pointe though was Bragg coming back from a torn ACL suffered during his junior year. He showed he is 100 percent healthy in a 46-6 season opening win over O'Connor (Ariz.) rushing for nearly 150 yards and three scores. Speaking of running backs, Chaminade has one of the best in California in 2018 Boise State commit Andrew Van Buren. He had over 200 total yards and four scores in a 47-10 season opening win against Oaks Christian (Calif.).

Watch this game LIVE on the NFHS Network

John Curtis Christian (River Ridge, La.) @ Landry-Walker (New Orleans)
Thursday, 5 p.m. PST

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Top Players

John Curtis Christian: QB Collin Guggenheim (5-11, 185), LB Jay Curtis (6-1, 215), TE Glenn Beal (6-5, 250), RB Marquese Albert (5-8, 185) and WR Tyrone Legette (5-10, 155)



Landry-Walker: WR Devonta Jason (6.2-5, 210), CB Corione Harris (5-11.5, 165), RB Chad Alexander (5-5, 155), DE Josh Smith (6-4, 250) and DT Kemon Smith (6-2, 285)

Storyline

This is a huge game for both teams. John Curtis Christian wants to prove it is the top team in the state and Landry-Walker wants to prove it is still one of the best from Louisiana even after losing Keytaon Thompson to graduation. Landry-Walker has one of the top defenses in the state and John Curtis brings back a lot of players from a team that made it all the way to the state championship game in 2016. This is a very intriguing game for both schools and the winner of this one puts them in a great place to be among the state's best in 2017.