No. 5 Bishop Gorman has road test at Liberty for spot in Nevada 5A state championship.
The high school football playoffs are underway in most states and nine of the 10 games featured this week are postseason matchups headlined by Los Alamitos (Calif.) hosting No. 22 Long Beach Poly (Long Beach, Calif.) in the CIF Southern Section Division 1 quarterfinals. Both teams had opening-round byes last week.
Another CIF SS D1 quarterfinal matchup on this week's slate is No. 13 Centennial (Corona) hosting Mission Viejo. These two met in last year's quarterfinals and the Huskies rolled to a 62-16 win. The only two losses the Inland Empire power has had over the last two years have come against No. 1
Mater Dei (Santa Ana, Calif.).
The only regular season game featured is going down in Arizona as Hamilton (Chandler) hosts rival Chandler. Both teams will be in the Open Division playoffs that get underway Nov. 25 and the winner will most likely lock up the No. 3 seed.
Postseason matchups in Alabama, Indiana, Maryland, Nevada, North Carolina and Ohio are all included in this week's action.
Long Beach Poly quarterback Darius Curry leads the Jackrabbits in their Southern Section Division 1 playoff game Friday against Los Alamitos. (Photo: Christopher Harris)
Friday, 7:30 p.m. (All times local) at Veterans Stadium (Long Beach)
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Both teams head into this one playing great football. Long Beach Poly has won all but one game by double digits. The Griffins have won seven in a row after starting the year 1-2. Some of the best talent in SoCal will be on display and both quarterbacks have put up big-time numbers. Curry has thrown for 2,890 yards and 33 touchdowns while completing 70 percent of his passes. Nelson threw for 2,626 yards and 33 scores while completing 68 percent of his passes during the regular season. The winner advances to the CIF Southern Section Division 1 semifinals awaiting the winner of No. 1 Mater Dei (Santa Ana) and
JSerra Catholic (San Juan Capistrano).
Friday, 7 p.m.
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The Huskies only loss this season came against No. 1 Mater Dei (Santa Ana) 43-20 in early September. They have gone 20-0 over the last two years against teams not named Mater Dei and have won every game by at least 21 points. The Diablos have won seven in a row since a 35-30 loss against Long Beach Poly (Long Beach) and have scored at least 41 points in every game during their winning streak. The winner advances to the CIF Southern Section Division 1 semifinals to face either No. 4
St. John Bosco (Bellflower) or
Orange Lutheran (Orange).
Thursday, 7 p.m.
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This is one of the best rivalries in Arizona with the two schools separated by less than five miles. Chandler bounced back with a 51-0 win over
Perry (Gilbert) after a tough 14-7 loss against No. 25 Basha (Hamilton). After a 45-0 loss against No. 5 Bishop Gorman (Las Vegas), the Huskies have won six of seven with the only loss coming against Basha (Hamilton) 26-23. The Wolves had their nine-game winning streak snapped against Hamilton last year with a 21-14 defeat.
Friday, 7 p.m. at Princeton High School (Cincinnati)
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The is the first of two regional semifinals included from the Ohio Division 1 bracket. The Firebirds have outscored their first two playoff opponents 78-0 and have one of the best defenses in the state. They are allowing 7.6 points per game. Elder's two losses this season came against the top-two ranked teams in Division 1 — St. Edward (Lakewood) and
Archbishop Moeller (Cincinnati). The winner advances to the Region 4 championship to face either Archbishop Moeller (Cincinnati) or
Mason.
Friday, 7 p.m.
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These two played in late August and Brownsburg held on for a 42-35 win. Since then, Cathedral has won eight consecutive games with all coming by more than one score. The Bulldogs lost their regular season finale against
Hamilton Southeastern (Fishers) 31-28 and have bounced back outscoring their first two playoff opponents 104-41. The winner advances to the 6A state semifinals.
Friday, 6 p.m.
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Both teams have dominated in-state opponents. The Gaels have outscored their seven Nevada opponents 448-3 and the only loss for the Las Vegas power came against No. 1 Mater Dei (Santa Ana, Calif.) 24-21. Liberty has outscored its seven Nevada opponents 262-71. All three of Patriots losses have come against out-of-state competition. The winner advances to the 5A state championship on Nov. 19 at Allegiant Stadium awaiting the winner of
Bishop Manogue (Reno) and
Spanish Springs (Sparks).
Friday, 7 p.m.
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The WCAC playoff bracket is one of the most competitive brackets in the country as it features the four best teams in the DMV area. Good Counsel hosts St. John's in one semifinal while
Gonzaga (Washington, D.C.) plays at
DeMatha (Hyattsville, Md.) in the other. These two played a couple weeks ago and the Falcons rolled to a 24-0 win. The Cadets ran the table last season and won the WCAC title. Good Counsel won it in 2019.
Friday, 7 p.m.
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The Alabama 7A playoffs is always one of the best postseason brackets in high school football and this quarterfinal matchup features two of the top teams in the state. The Huskies have won four in a row since a 14-12 loss against
Thompson (Alabaster). Hoover dropped its season opener 17-14 against
Auburn and has won 10 straight since, including a 17-7 win over the Huskies in September. The winner will face either Thompson (Alabaster) or
Vestavia Hills in the 7A state semifinals.
Friday, 7 p.m.
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These two played four weeks ago and Mallard Creek won 13-9 thanks to a couple of pick-6s from
Myles Chambers and
Elijah McKoy. The Mavericks lost a couple weeks later against
Chambers (Charlotte), which is why Hough is hosting this second round 4A playoff matchup. Chambers, Hough and Mallard Creek finished in a three-way tie.
Friday, 7 p.m. at Euclid Community Stadium (Euclid)
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It looked like last week was going to be legendary head coach Chuck Kyle's last game but St. Ignatius pulled off a wild 50-49 win over
Cleveland Heights after trailing 42-14 at halftime. Now he gets one last chance to face rival St. Edward. This will be the 24th meeting since 2004 and the Wildcats have won 12 of the previous 23 but the Eagles have won the last five. The defending Division 1 state champs have won their last eight playoff games.
