High school football: No. 2 Bishop Gorman vs. No. 6 Miami Central headlines Top 10 Games of the Week

One of the biggest high school football games of the 2023 season takes place Friday as No. 2 Bishop Gorman (Las Vegas, Nev.) hosts No. 6 Central (Miami).

Gorman is 2-0 and averaging 61 points per game while this will be the first game of the season for Miami Central.

This will be the third meeting between the two national powers since 2017 with each team winning one of the previous installments. James Cook led Central to a 24-20 win in 2017 while Bishop Gorman won 21-20 in 2021 after a big night from Zachariah Branch.

Katy and Atascocita (Humble) face off in a matchup of two of the premier programs in Texas. Both won last week with Katy beating Clear Springs (League City) 34-22 and Atascocita taking down Dickinson 46-21.

Julian Lewis and No. 18 Carrollton (Ga.) have a big road test at Rome (Ga.) on Friday. Carrollton has won three of the last four meetings including a 23-6 win last year when Lewis completed 22 of 26 passes for 229 yards and two touchdowns. Rome comes in hot after outscoring its first two opponents 90-8.

No. 1 Mater Dei (Santa Ana, Calif.) welcomes Creekside (Fairburn, Ga.) to the Santa Ana Bowl in its home opener. The top-ranked Monarchs are coming off a 48-14 win over Bingham (South Jordan, Utah). Creekside notched an impressive 34-15 win over St. Peter's Prep (Jersey City, N.J.) last week.

No. 20 St. Frances Academy (Baltimore) looks to bounce back against East St. Louis (Ill.) after starting 0-2 for the first time since 2015. Both losses came against elite teams in No. 5 Buford (Ga.) and No. 7 Chaminade-Madonna (Hollywood, Fla.). East St. Louis fell last week to Chicago Mt. Carmel 36-33. MaxPreps Top 10 Games of the Week

• • 35
    Central
  • 39
    Bishop Gorman

  9/01 Final

Central: DL Armondo Blount (6-3, 250), ATH Lawayne McCoy (6-0, 170), DB Amari Wallace (5-11, 170), LB Ezekiel Marcelin (6-0, 200), DL T.A. Cunningham (6-6, 275)

Bishop Gorman: QB Micah Alejado (5-10, 165), TE Elija Lofton (6-2, 220), OL Douglas Utu (6-5, 270), OL S.J. Alofaituli (6-2, 250), WR Audric Harris (6-0, 175)

This was pegged as our No. 2 biggest game of the year and will have huge implications when it comes to the MaxPreps Top 25. The Gaels have scored 122 points through their first two games but face one of the most talented defenses in the country on Friday. The four-time defending Florida state champs are coming off their first undefeated season going 14-0 in 2022.

• • 34
    Katy
  • 42
    Atascocita

  9/01 Final

Katy: DL Dak Brinkley (6-4, 225), OL Coen Echols (6-3, 285), TE Luke Carter (6-3, 245), LB Nathan Hall (6-1, 215), QB Gunner Nelson (6-0, 190)

Atascocita: WR Jelani Watkins (5-9, 160), RB Tory Blaylock (5-10, 175), QB Zion Brown (6-0, 180), DB Braylon Conley (6-0, 170), OL Nate Kibble (6-2.5, 315)

The Tigers have won all five meetings vs. Atascocita since 2009, including a 35-28 win last season. Gary Joseph is in his 20th season as head coach of Katy and has led them to at least 10 wins every year. The Eagles return plenty of talent from last year's 11-3 squad. All three of those losses came against Katy and North Shore (Houston).

• • 33
    Carrollton
  • 13
    Rome

  9/01 Final

Carrollton: QB Julian Lewis (6-1, 185), WR Caleb Odom (6-5, 215), LB Montreze Smith (5-11, 200), OL Zykie Helton (6-2, 320), DB Kelvin Hill (5-10.5, 175)

Rome: DL Justin Terrell (6-2, 280), QB Reece Fountain (6-0, 170), DB Joe Wilkinson (6-1, 175), LB Jaedon Harmon (6-1, 215),  OL Jarvis Adams (6-3, 270)

The Trojans bounced back after a 39-34 loss to No. 9 Langston Hughes (Fairburn) and cruised to a 49-0 win over South Paulding. Lewis completed 11 of 17 passes for 241 yards and three touchdowns. Odom had nearly 100 yards receiving and two scores. The Wolves have dominated through their first two games. They beat Cass (White) 34-0 in their season opener and rolled to a 56-8 win over Lithonia last week.

• • 0
    Creekside
  • 62
    Mater Dei

  9/02 Final

Creekside: ATH Roderick McCrary (5-10, 190), OL Caleb Holmes (6-4, 290), DL Michai Boireau (6-5, 350), DB Kevon Gray (5-11.5, 165), ATH Travis Terrell Jr. (5-10, 165)

Mater Dei: QB Elijah Brown (6-1, 200), DL Aydin Breland (6-5, 290), OL Brandon Baker (6-5, 285), DL Nasir Wyatt (6-2, 210), DB Zabien Brown (6-0, 180)

The Monarchs are 13-0 against out-of-state opponents since 2017 and this will be their first time facing a team from the Peach State. Mater Dei takes on Kahuku (Hawaii) and No. 20 St. Frances Academy (Baltimore) before Trinity League action gets underway Sept. 29. Creekside is one of the favorites in AAAAA and is looking for its biggest win in program history on Saturday against the No. 1 team in the MaxPreps Top 25.

• • 7
    St. Frances Academy
  • 13
    East St. Louis

  9/02 Final

St. Frances Academy: QB Michael Van Buren (5-11, 185), DB Ify Obidegwu (6-1, 185), DB Blake Woodby (5-11, 180), DB Edrees Farooq (5-11, 180), LB Simeon Coleman (6-0, 210)

East St. Louis: QB Robert Battle (6-1, 175), DB Leontre Bradford (6-0, 185), RB TaRyan Martin (5-8, 185), WR Jesse Watson (5-10, 160), DL Keylan LaGrant (6-3, 215)

Both teams are desperate for a win. When the teams met last season the game went down to the wire with St. Frances  scoring the game-winning touchdown in the final two minutes as Van Buren connected with Mekhi Workman for a 59-yard strike.

• • 41
    Chaminade-Madonna
  • 4
    Cardinal Gibbons

  9/01 Final

Chaminade-Madonna: WR Jeremiah Smith (6-3, 200), WR Joshisa Trader (6-1, 175), RB Davion Gause (5-11, 215), DB Zaquan Patterson (6-0, 185), DB Chris Ewald (6-0, 160)

Cardinal Gibbons: TE Colton Heinrich (6-4, 230), DB Casey Etienne (6-3, 180), QB Michael Merdinger (6-1, 195), DB Guy Edmond Jr. (5-11, 175), RB Patrick Anderson Jr. (5-10, 180)

The Lions opened their season last week with an impressive 35-14 win over No. 20 St. Frances Academy (Baltimore). Gause rushed for 182 yards and two scores while Smith added a touchdown reception. The Chiefs pulled out a 28-21 win over Cardinal Gibbons (Raleigh, N.C.). This will be the first meeting since 2016 when Cardinal Gibbons won 28-21.

• • 48
    Aledo
  • 45
    Guyer

  9/01 Final

Aledo: QB Hauss Hejny (5-11, 185), DB Chris Johnson II (6-1, 180), LB Davhon Keys (6-0, 215), DB Jaden Allen (5-10, 160), WR Kaydon Finley (6-2, 195)

Guyer: DB Eli Bowen (5-10, 175), WR Josiah Martin (6-0, 170), OL Willie Goodacre (6-5, 280), DL Xavier Ukponu (6-2, 275), QB Logan McLaughlin (6-2, 190)

Robby Jones led the Bearcats to a 50-35 win in his Aledo head coaching debut over Parish Episcopal (Dallas) last week. The offense racked up 486 total yards as four-star TCU commit Hauss Hejny completed 9 of 15 passes for 185 yards and two touchdowns. McLaughlin had a very efficient night completing 10 of 15 passes for 197 yards and three touchdowns in the Wildcats 42-14 win over Rockwall-Heath (Rockwall).

• • 0
    Eastside Catholic
  • 20
    Orange Lutheran

  9/01 Final

Eastside Catholic: DB Tyson Weaver (6-1, 185), DB Ambrose Marsh (6-1, 175), DL A.J. Tanupo (6-4, 300), LB David Lene (6-0, 215), DB Bryson Ross (6-3, 180)

Orange Lutheran: QB T.J. Lateef (6-1, 185), LB Talanoa Ili (6-3, 215), RB Steve Chavez (6-0, 215), TE A.J. Ia (6-5, 215), WR Tyler Hennessy (5-11, 175)

The Lancers had a very impressive win last week beating Northern California power De La Salle (Concord) 35-14. Chavez had a big night on the ground rushing for 148 yards and three touchdowns. This will be the season opener for the Crusaders.

• • 43
    Punahou
  • 50
    Centennial

  9/02 Final

Centennial: QB Husan Longstreet (6-0, 185), RB Cornell Hatcher Jr. (6-0, 185), OL Wade Helton (6-5, 280), OL Brent Helton (6-5, 300), WR Cory Butler Jr. (5-10, 175)

Punahou: QB Ty McCutcheon (6-3, 185), DL Kekai Burnett (6-3, 235), OL Tu'i Muti (6-2, 290), WR Astin Hange (5-9, 170), LB Alika Cavaco-Amoy (6-1, 210)

Corona Centennial bounced back last week after a loss against No. 1 Mater Dei (Santa Ana) with a 34-21 win over Santa Margarita (Rancho Santa Margarita). Hatcher Jr. rushed for 159 yards and three scores. Punahou checks in as the No. 2 team in Hawaii and McCutcheon has thrown for 636 yards and five touchdowns in three games.

• • 28
    Junipero Serra
  • 0
    De La Salle

  9/02 Final

De La Salle: QB Toa Faavae (6-1, 185), LB Andrew Cunningham (6-3, 220), DL Matthew Johnson (6-5.5, 250), DB Robert Santiago (6-2, 170), Derrick Blanche Jr. (5-8, 165)

Serra: LB Jabari Mann (6-0, 210), DB Joseph Bey (6-1, 195), QB Maealiuaki Smith (6-4, 195), ATH Danny Niu (6-0, 215), LB Marley Alapati (6-0, 205)

The Spartans look to bounce back against the top-ranked team in Northern California. Serra has represented NorCal in the last two CIF Open Division state title games and opened the season with a 21-14 win over Folsom. The Padres are the first team out of the MaxPrep Top 25 so a big win Saturday could get them in the national rankings on Monday.