MaxPreps Top 10 Football Games of the Week

Most of this week's Top 10 Games of the Week have championship implications. That includes the Alaska large school title, which will be decided Saturday.

Service (Anchorage) will play crosstown rival South (Anchorage), a team it blew out by 35 points during the regular season. This is the third trip to the state finals in four years for the Cougars.

Meanwhile, nationally ranked Buford (Ga.) can wrap up an 11th consecutive region championship with a win over unbeaten Greater Atlanta Christian (Norcross). Across the border in Alabama, No. 23 Daphne hopes to extend its 23-game winning streak and get the upper hand in the 6A Region 2 title chase when it plays at undefeated McGill-Toolen (Mobile). In suburban Chicago, the Catholic Blue Conference champ will be decided when Loyola (Wilmette) hosts St. Rita (Chicago).

There is a two-way tie atop the standings in our season-long predictions contest. Last week's 7-3 effort allowed Steve Montoya to make up a three-game gap between he and Kevin Askeland, who lost sole possession of the top spot after picking only four out of 10 games correctly. Jamie DeMoney and Stephen Spiewak are tied for third place just one game off the pace. A disappointing 2-8 week knocked Mitch Stephens back into last place, but still only four games behind the leaders.



You can track our overall results and standings all season long by clicking here.

Here's a look at this week's Top 10 games of the week along with predictions by MaxPreps staff writers and contributors Mitch Stephens, Steve Montoya, Stephen Spiewak, Kevin Askeland and Jamie DeMoney.

MAXPREPS TOP 10 FOOTBALL GAMES OF THE WEEK

No. 11 Allen (Texas) at Marcus (Flower Mound, Texas)

Allen was nearly upset each of the last two weeks. The 7-0 Eagles had to come from behind to beat both Plano East and Plano West, a pair of district opponents whose combined record is 7-7. Alabama-committed quarterback Alec Morris had over 300 combined passing and rushing yards with five touchdowns in the win over Plano West while Missouri-bound running back Jonathan Williams ran for over 160 yards and a score.

Marcus is also undefeated and shares the lead in district 8-5A with Allen. Like Allen, the Marauders trailed in the second half last week before knocking off Plano, 28-24. Senior Jeff Smiley ran for more than 100 yards and had a key interception late in the game to help seal the victory.



Mitch Stephens: Allen 42, Marcus 28
Steve Montoya: Marcus 28, Allen 27
Stephen Spiewak: Allen 35, Marcus 28
Kevin Askeland: Marcus 28, Allen 27
Jamie DeMoney: Allen 34, Marcus 17

{PAGEBREAK}Westfield (Chantilly, Va.) at Oakton (Vienna, Va.)

To win its second Concorde District title in three years, Westfield must win road games against undefeated opponents in back-to-back weeks. Part one of the challenge happens Friday when the Bulldogs (7-0) take on Oakton, over whom they hold a slight 5-4 advantage in games played the last seven years. Westfield's Kendell Anderson ran for more than 300 yards in a 31-10 win over West Potomac (Alexandria) last week. The senior has eclipsed the 100-yard barrier in each of the last six games.

Oakton had five and a half sacks and forced eight fumbles – recovering three – in a 21-14 win at Chantilly last week. It was a much-improved defensive performance for the Cougars, who allowed 41 in a one-point win over Herndon the week before. Offensively, Oakton's top performer has been running back Mike Wandey. The 5-foot-11, 227-pound junior has run for 798 yards and seven touchdowns in seven games.

Mitch Stephens: Westfield 21, Oakton 17
Steve Montoya: Oakton 21, Westfield 14
Stephen Spiewak: Westfield 17, Oakton 10
Kevin Askeland: Westfield 35, Oakton 30
Jamie DeMoney: Westfield 28, Oakton 14

Watch more videos of Oakton football
{PAGEBREAK}Woodside (Newport News, Va.) at Phoebus (Hampton, Va.)

Woodside is off to its best start in nearly a decade. Tied with Phoebus for the lead in the Peninsula District, the Wolverines (7-0) hope to end the Phantoms' national-best 52-game winning streak and get their first win the series since 2004. In a tune-up game last week, Woodside scored 35 second-half points in a 49-14 blowout of Gloucester.



Phoebus has had more than a couple close calls during the course of its state-record winning streak. One such narrow escape came in the 2009 season, when the Phantoms needed a 39-yard field goal in the closing seconds to beat Woodside. The margin wasn't nearly as close in 2010, when they crushed Woodside, 50-0. Phoebus actually trailed in the early going last week against winless Debigh (Newport News) before racing to a 50-8 road victory. The Phantoms have totaled 122 points in the last two games.

Mitch Stephens: Phoebus 42, Woodside 28
Steve Montoya: Phoebus 35, Woodside 28
Stephen Spiewak: Phoebus 21, Woodside 17
Kevin Askeland: Phoebus 50, Woodside 21
Jamie DeMoney: Phoebus 23, Woodside 20

{PAGEBREAK}Greater Atlanta Christian (Norcross, Ga.) at No. 13 Buford (Ga.)

Greater Atlanta Christian has scored more than 60 in each of its last two games and might need a similar outpouring of offense to keep up with Buford, which is averaging 48 points per game. Lavondre Nelson – a 5-foot-5, 165-pound senior running back – has been GAC's top offensive performer this season.

A win Friday gives Buford its 11th consecutive outright or shared region title. Amazingly, during that stretch the Wolves have lost only one region game total. That consistent level of dominance – even at the small-school level – has garnered Buford plenty of national recognition this season. The Wolves have been dominant in all phases, winning by an average of 45 points per game. Their biggest blowout of the season came last week – a 71-0 wipeout at Clarkston, in which they led 51-0 at halftime and allowed less than 50 total yards.

Mitch Stephens: Buford 28, Greater Atlanta Christian 14
Steve Montoya: Buford 21, Greater Atlanta Christian 7
Stephen Spiewak: Buford 42, Greater Atlanta Christian 21
Kevin Askeland: Buford 30, Greater Atlanta Christian 24
Jamie DeMoney: Buford 49, Greater Atlanta Christian 21

{PAGEBREAK}Venice (Fla.) at Manatee (Bradenton, Fla.)



Venice is one of seven remaining undefeated teams in Florida's 7A classification. The Indians (6-0) are ranked 12th overall in the state according to MaxPreps' Freeman Rankings. Other than a one-point win against Charlotte (Punta Gorda) on Sept. 23, they have beaten all comers by at least three touchdowns. A key need for Venice will be getting a contribution from 6-2, 210-pound running back Danny Dillard. The senior was a standout in the Indians' first four games but missed time the last two weeks due to an ankle injury.

Manatee has two losses, but clearly remains one of the top teams in the state this season. Both the Hurricanes' losses were to national Top 10 opponents. They lost by seven in overtime at No. 8 Good Counsel (Olney, Md.) in the season-opener and by five at home to top-ranked Don Bosco Prep (Ramsey, N.J.) on Sept. 16. All four of their wins were convincing. A 21-0 shutout of state-ranked Cypress Bay (Weston) was their only win decided by less than 42 points. Junior quarterback Cord Sandberg has 956 passing yards with six touchdowns this season.

Mitch Stephens: Manatee 35, Venice 21
Steve Montoya: Manatee 14, Venice 7
Stephen Spiewak: Manatee 35, Venice 21
Kevin Askeland: Manatee 28, Venice 14
Jamie DeMoney: Manatee 28, Venice 18

{PAGEBREAK}No. 23 Daphne (Ala.) at McGill-Toolen (Mobile, Ala.)

Last week, Daphne passed its first true test of the season, winning easily on the road in a rivalry game over Fairhope, 45-24. Running back TJ Yeldon had more than 300 rushing yards and four touchdowns. The Auburn commit already has more than 1,500 yards with 23 touchdowns this season.

McGill-Toolen also beat third-place Fairhope this year, so this game will all but decide the 6A Region 2 title. The Yellowjackets haven't been region champs since 2008, when they shared the crown with Daphne and Foley. This year's squad improved to 8-0 with a 23-7 win at Robertsdale. Junior Jeff Stanley had over 100 rushing yards and scored two touchdowns.

Mitch Stephens: Daphne 21, McGill-Toolen 20
Steve Montoya: Daphne 27, McGill-Toolen 20
Stephen Spiewak: Daphne 21, McGill-Toolen 14
Kevin Askeland: Daphne 35, McGill-Toolen 14
Jamie DeMoney: Daphne 30, McGill-Toolen 23



Watch more videos of Daphne football

{PAGEBREAK}Orange Lutheran (Calif.) at Santa Margarita
(Rancho Santa Margarita, Calif.)

The loser of this game will fall to 0-2 and be all but eliminated in the Trinity League title chase. These teams have a lot in common. Both were beaten for the first time last week after being held about 30 points below their season average. Orange Lutheran lost to Servite, 21-8. The Lancers played tough defense but couldn't muster much on the other side of the ball, scoring their only offensive points during the final minute of the game. They averaged 37 points in the first five games of the season.

Santa Margarita averaged 41 points per game before losing to Mater Dei last Thursday, 21-14. Junior Ryan Wolpin, who ran for 216 yards in the Eagles' win over Los Alamitos on Sept. 29, had only 51 against Mater Dei. Seven of Santa Margarita's points against Mater Dei came on defense, thanks to a 47-yard interception return by junior Connor O'Brien.

Mitch Stephens: Orange Lutheran 22, Santa Margarita 21
Steve Montoya: Orange Lutheran 34, Santa Margarita 21
Stephen Spiewak: Santa Margarita 28, Orange Lutheran 17
Kevin Askeland: Orange Lutheran 38, Santa Margarita 31
Jamie DeMoney: Santa Margarita 24, Orange Lutheran 14

{PAGEBREAK}Archbishop Moeller (Cincinnati) at
St. Edward (Lakewood, Ohio)



A pair of teams that were ranked in the MaxPreps Xcellent 25 at the beginning of the month now need a win to get back on track before the playoffs begin. Moeller was 15th in the writers' poll and had risen to No. 3 in the Freeman Computer Rankings before falling last week to three-loss Cathedral (Indianapolis), 26-24. The Crusaders may have been caught peeking ahead to this game against St. Edward or even next week's trip to national-title contender Trinity (Louisville, Ky.). Moeller has won three of the last four games against St. Edward.

St. Edward had its 21-game unbeaten streak snapped Oct. 8 against top-ranked Don Bosco Prep (Ramsey, N.J.), then lost again last week to St. Xavier (Cincinnati), 17-10. The Eagles need to get into the win column this week or next against archrival St. Ignatius (Cleveland) to ensure they'll be around in November to defend their Division I state title.

Mitch Stephens: St. Edward 27, Moeller 21
Steve Montoya: St. Edward 20, Moeller 7
Stephen Spiewak: St. Edward 21, Moeller 17
Kevin Askeland: St. Edward 28, Moeller 7
Jamie DeMoney: St. Edward 23, Moeller 20

{PAGEBREAK}St. Rita (Chicago) at Loyola Academy (Wilmette, Ill.)

The Chicago Catholic Blue championship will be settled in this Saturday afternoon affair near the western shore of Lake Michigan. St. Rita is unbeaten against in-state teams. Its only loss came Sept. 4 to a still-undefeated Whitehaven (Memphis, Tenn.) team. Last week, the Mustangs forced four turnovers en route to a 17-7 win over archrival Mount Carmel (Chicago).

Loyola improved to 8-0 with a 20-13 win over Brother Rice (Chicago) last week. In addition to a conference championship, a win against St. Rita would give the Ramblers their first undefeated regular season in more than 20 years. Loyola has won the last four games in this series after St. Rita had taken the previous five.

Mitch Stephens: St. Rita 21, Loyola Academy 20
Steve Montoya: Loyola Academy 7, St. Rita 6
Stephen Spiewak: Loyola Academy 20, St. Rita 17
Kevin Askeland: St. Rita 28, Loyola Academy 14
Jamie DeMoney: Loyola Academy 20, St. Rita 7

{PAGEBREAK}Service (Anchorage, Alaska) vs. South (Anchorage, Alaska)

For the second straight year, the Alaska large school state championship game will pit two Anchorage schools head-to-head. Service lost in the championship game to West Anchorage last season after capturing the state title in 2008. The Cougars opened the season Aug. 11 in Hawaii in the "Fire and Ice Bowl," where they tied island power Leilehua, 34-34. They have won nine straight since returning to Alaska, including a 64-21 blowout of Juneau-Douglas in last week's semifinals. Senior Alan Busey returned the opening kickoff 92 yards for a touchdown and later had a 50-yard interception return for a touchdown in the game.



This is South's first appearance in the state championship game since winning it all in 2006. The Wolverines are 7-3 on the field this season – but 8-2 officially (thanks to their season-opening loss to Chugiak being changed to a forfeit win.) While Service invoked the 35-point mercy rule in its semifinal win against Juneau-Douglas, South just narrowly beat West (Anchorage), 30-28. The Wolverines blocked a potential game-winning 37-yard field goal in the closing minute of the game. Senior running back Michael Wilson had 137 of South's 300 rushing yards in the game.

Mitch Stephens: Service 21, South 13
Steve Montoya: South 28, Service 20
Stephen Spiewak: Service 28, South 14
Kevin Askeland: Service 50, South 42
Jamie DeMoney: Service 35, South 10

Jamie DeMoney is National Content Manager for XOS Digital PlayerOnDemand. He has covered high school sports and recruiting for more than 15 years.