MaxPreps Top 10 High School Football Games of the Week

Video: Top 10 Games of the Week
Long Beach Poly hosts No. 1 Mater Dei and Utah supremacy to be decided.

This might be the best slate of games we have seen all season. The top two teams in the state of Utah face off in the class 6A state championship, the quarterfinals of the CIF Southern Section Division 1 playoffs are loaded, the state of Texas beings playoff action this week, and Ohio's Division 1 field is down to the final eight.

Eight of the 10 games selected this week were represented in our Top 10 Toughest Playoff Brackets.
MaxPreps Top 10 Games of the Week

No. 9 Bingham (South Jordan, Utah) vs. East (Salt Lake City)
Friday, 2:30 p.m. (All times are local) @ Rice-Eccles Stadium



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Top Players

Bingham: WR Brayden Cosper (6-3, 195), RB Braedon Wissler (5-7, 165), WR Dax Milne (6-0, 180), DE Lolani Langi (6-2, 195) and LB Saleka Ata'ata (6-0, 220)

East: OG Sam Taimani (6-2, 315), OT Junior Angilau (6-6, 295), LB Tennessee Pututau (6-1.5, 260), DT Paul Maile (6-3, 250) and RB Sione Molisi (5-8, 170)

Storyline

Before the season started, people thought these two would meet in the new class 6A state championship game and they were right. They are clearly the two best teams in Utah. They met earlier this year and Bingham easily won 45-17. The only two losses for East this season came against Top 10 teams and the Leopards hope to avenge one of them Friday afternoon.

No. 1 Mater Dei (Santa Ana, Calif.) @ Long Beach Poly (Calif.)
Friday, 7 p.m.



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Top Players

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

Long Beach Poly: QB Matt Corral (6-2, 195), WR Jalen Hall (6-4, 190), TE Camren Mcdonald (6-4, 210), S Aashari Crosswell (6-1, 185) and DE Jermayne Lole (6-2, 255)

Storyline

Two of the most talented, and storied, teams in California face off in this CIF Southern Section Division I second round battle. Corral, the second-rated quarterback in the Class of 2018 from California, and Daniels, the top-rated quarterback in the Class of 2019, face each other for the first time. They have combined for over 5,500 yards passing and 68 touchdowns this year. This will be the fifth meeting between the two schools since 2006 with the series tied at two games apiece.



No. 14 Central (Miami) vs. Northwestern (Miami)
Friday, 7:30 p.m. @ Traz Powell Stadium

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Top Players

Miami Central: RB James Cook (5-11.5, 180), CB Chandler Jones (5-10, 170), LB Robert Hicks (6-0, 235), WR Terrell Perriman (5-10, 175) and RB Amari Daniels (6-0, 160)

Northwestern: QB Tutu Atwell (5-8, 160), CB Divaad Wilson (6-0, 180), DE Demetreius Mayes (6-2, 235), DT Calijah Kancey (6-1, 230) and WR Nigel Bethel (5-11, 160)

Storyline

This is the second meeting between the two this season as Northwestern knocked off the Rockets 21-7 to clinch its second consecutive 6A-District 16 title nearly a month ago. The Florida class 6A playoff bracket is one of the toughest in the country and the winner of this game will have a good chance to win it all.



No. 21 St. Louis (Honolulu) vs. Kahuku (Kahuku)
Saturday, 8 p.m. @ Aloha Stadium

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Top Players

St. Louis: DE Faatui Tuitele (6-3, 270), QB Chevan Cordeiro (6-0.5, 175), S Isaiah Tufaga (6-0, 200), WR Jonah Panoke (6-2, 185) and WR Mitchell Quinn (5-11, 155)

Kahuku: QB Sol-Jay Maiava (6-0.5, 170), LB Miki Ah You (6-1, 175), OT Enokk Vimahi (6-5, 270), DE Samson Reed (6-3, 250) and CB Kaonohi Kaniho (5-10, 160)

Storyline



In one of the biggest games of the weekend, the top two teams from the Aloha State are meeting in the Division I Open championship. St. Louis knocked off Kahuku last year in the state final and the Red Raiders are hoping to return the favor in 2017. This will be the eighth meeting between the two since 2004 and St. Louis has won four of the previous seven matchups.

St. Xavier (Cincinnati) vs. Colerain (Cincinnati)
Friday, 7:30 p.m. @ Mason high school

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Top Players

St. Xavier: QB Chase Wolf (6-2, 195), DE Bobby Jefferson (6-3, 225), DE Blake Bacevich (6-4, 215), WR Cam Specht (5-8, 160) and Andrew Wittrock (6-0, 175)

Colerain: LB Dan Bolden (6-1, 220), ATH Ja'von Hicks (6-2, 185), QB Gunnar Leyendecker (5-10, 190), LB Luke Bolden (6-2, 220) and FB/OLB Ivan Pace Jr. (5-11, 215)

Storyline



One of the nation's biggest rivalries comes with a spot in the Ohio Division 1 semifinals on the line. This will be the second meeting between the two schools this season. St. Xavier won 20-17 in overtime, overcoming a 14-point, fourth-quarter deficit. The last three meetings have gone to overtime. St. X handed Colerain its only loss of the year last season in the regional semifinals en route to winning the Ohio Division 1 state championship.

Rancho Cucamonga (Calif.) @ No. 7 St. John Bosco (Bellflower, Calif.)
Friday, 7 p.m.

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Top Players

Rancho Cucamonga: RB Sean Dollars (5-10, 185), WR/CB Jeremiah Criddell (6-1, 185), QB Nick Acosta (5-11, 175), LB Roy Wiley (5-10, 195) and RB Justyn Alexander (5-9, 190)

St. John Bosco: QB DJ Uiagalelei (6-4, 240), S Jaiden Woodbey (6-2, 205), CB Chris Steele (6-1, 190), S Stephan Blaylock (5-10, 185) and WR Joshua Delgado (5-11, 170)

Storyline



St. John Bosco's 4-star quarterback has showed why he is one of the best from the Class of 2020. Uiagalelei has thrown for 2,000-plus yards and 22 touchdowns despite only starting five games this season. The most impressive stat is he has thrown only one interception. He faces one of his toughest tests of the year this week against a 10-1 Rancho Cucamonga team.

No. 22 Grayson (Loganville, Ga.) @ North Gwinnett (Suwanee, Ga.)
Friday, 7:30 p.m.

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Top Players

Grayson: LB Owen Pappoe (6-0, 205), OT Wanya Morris (6-5, 270), WR Kenyon Jackson (6-5, 200), QB DJ Irons (6-4, 200) and CB Jalen Alexander (6-0, 165)

North Gwinnett: WR Josh Downs (5-10, 165), RB Tyler Goodson (5-10, 180), QB Jimmy Urzua (6-2, 190), LB Jayden McDonald (6-2, 200) and CB Warren Burrell (5-11, 175)

Storyline



Both of these teams are talented enough to win the Georgia Class 7A state championship but meet in the second round of the playoffs. This bracket is loaded with some of the best teams in the country and features three teams ranked in the Top 25, including Grayson. The Rams have one of the most talented teams in high school football and they are looking to repeat as 7A state champs in 2017.

Pickerington North (Ohio) vs. Pickerington Central (Ohio)
Friday, 7:30 p.m. @ DeSales Alumni Stadium

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Top Players

North: QB Jimmy Weirick (5-11, 175), WR Ty Wiley (6-0, 175), LB Nick Giardina (5-11, 195), CB Tyler Potts (5-11, 170) and LB Ben Johnson (6-2, 190)

Central: TE Trenton Gillison (6-5, 220), ATH Xavier Henderson (6-0, 190), QB Demeatric Crenshaw (6-2, 195), TE Alex Morgan (6-5, 245) and CB Jaquwon Crawford (5-10, 160)

Storyline



A spot in the Ohio Division 1 semifinals is on the line. This will be the 14th meeting between the two since 2008, and Central has dominated the season series over that span winning 10 of 13, including five in a row.

No. 20 St. John's (Washington, D.C.) vs. Gonzaga (Washington, D.C.)
Saturday, 2 p.m. @ Maryland Stadium

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Top Players

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

Gonzaga: QB Caleb Williams (6-0, 190), OT Aidan Rafferty (6-6, 280), ATH Jason Labbe (5-11, 195), DE Joseph Wete (6-3, 210) and WR Dean Engram (5-9, 160)

Storyline



This will be the first time since 2012 someone other than DeMatha wins the WCAC conference title. If St. John's wins, it would be its first conference title since 1989 when they were in the Metro Conference. If Gonzaga wins, it would be its first conference title since 2002.

Union (Tulsa, Okla.) vs. Broken Arrow (Okla.)
Saturday, 11 a.m. @ University of Tulsa

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Top Players

Union: WR CJ Moore (6-5, 175), DT Jordan Kelley (6-3, 290), S Patrick Fields (6-0, 190), WR A.K. Wilson (5-9.5, 170) and QB Peyton Thompson (6-2, 190)
 
Broken Arrow: S Gary Mossop Jr. (6-0, 190), DT Derrick Shaw (6-0, 260), LB Zach Marcheselli (6-2, 210), RB Noah Cortes (6-0, 210) and QB Lafayette Wright (6-3, 175)

Storyline

Union or Jenks has won the state's largest classification title every year since 1996. Broken Arrow hopes to snap that dominance streak. Union has had a ton of success against Broken Arrow, winning 13 in a row, and 18 of the last 19.