Top-two teams in Alabama, Arizona and North Carolina all square off this week.
No. 3 St. Frances Academy (Baltimore) hits the road again this week with another big-time matchup against South Carolina power, Dutch Fork (Irmo, S.C.). The Silver Foxes were the only new team to join the
MaxPreps Top 25 and are off to a 5-0 start. The six-time 5A state champs have gone 87-2-1 since 2016.
The third-ranked Panthers have began the 2022 season with road trips to Ohio, Texas and Florida. They will travel nearly 8,500 miles and won't have their first home game until Oct. 7.
Friday also includes a rematch of the 2021 Arizona Open Division state championship when No. 9 Chandler hosts Saguaro (Scottsdale). The Wolves are 3-0 and have outscored the opposition 148-7. The Sabercats have reeled off back-to-back wins after a 28-7 season-opening loss against No. 13 Bergen Catholic (Oradell, N.J.).
The top-two teams in Alabama square off on Friday as Thompson (Alabaster) hosts Clay-Chalkville (Pinson). The Warriors are the three-time defending 7A state champs while the Cougars have won 20 games in a row. The defending 6A state champs are averaging 47.3 points per game during the win streak.
Other huge intrastate matchups include Folsom (Calif.) at De La Salle (Concord, Calif.), Lake Travis (Austin, Texas) at No. 11 Westlake (Austin, Texas), No. 4 Central (Miami) hosting Dillard (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.), Hough (Cornelius, N.C.) at Chambers (Charlotte, N.C.), Don Bosco Prep (Ramsey, N.J.) at No. 13 Bergen Catholic (Oradell, N.J.) and No. 20 Mill Creek (Hoschton, Ga.) hosting Parkview (Lilburn, Ga.).
Jarvis Green, Dutch Fork
Photo: Spencer Owen
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The only MaxPreps Top 25 matchup of the week features two of the winningest programs since 2016. Dutch Fork has gone 87-2-1 while the Panthers have gone 55-4 during that span playing against a national schedule. All three of the Panthers wins this season have come against teams in our expanded
top 100 list. The Silver Foxes have two wins against top 100 opponents.
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In last year's Open Division state championship Saguaro snapped Chandler's five-year run of winning the state title with a 20-15 victory. This one features the top-two ranked quarterbacks in the state. Dampier is the top-rated QB in the Class of 2023 on 247Sports composite rankings from Arizona while Raiola is the No. 1 overall recruit on every major recruiting site among juniors. Dampier has accounted for 900 yards of total offense (601 passing, 299 rushing) and eight touchdowns. Raiola has thrown for 611 yards and five scores. He is completing over 70 percent of his passes and has two rushing touchdowns.
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The Warriors have bounced back with three consecutive wins after starting the season 0-2 against out-of-state competition. Clay-Chalkville brings in a 20-game winning streak with 16 coming by double-digits. Outside of Sims, the Warriors also have another legit quarterback in eighth-grader
Trent Seaborn, who has already played varsity snaps this season. He completed all five passes last week for 134 yards and two touchdowns. He also led Thompson on a scoring drive against No. 7 Buford (Ga.) in August.
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Both team's lone loss came against Serra (San Mateo). Folsom lost 17-12 while the Padres kicked a 20-yard field as time expired to beat the Spartans 24-21. De La Salle has won two in a row, beating St. Francis (Mountain View) and Cathedral Catholic (San Diego). The Bulldogs got a big 23-15 win last week over Pittsburg. Last season, Folsom snapped its five-game losing skid against De La Salle with a 28-27 win in the Northern California 1-AA Bowl championship. It was the first time a Sac-Joaquin Section team beat the Spartans in 43 years.
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One of the biggest rivalries in Texas takes place Friday. Westlake has won 43 games in a row and the last time the Chaps lost was in 2019 when Lake Travis pulled out a 26-25 win with Hudson Card under center. The three-time defending state champs have outscored their first three opponents 147-34. The Cavaliers started the season 0-2 for the first time since 2003 but have won two straight outscoring the opposition 118-17. Lake Travis senior quarterback
Bo Edmundson has missed the first four games with a back injury and there's no official word if he'll suit up this week.
Friday, 5 p.m. - ESPNU
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After the Ascenders' season-opening 20-14 loss to No. 4 Miami Central (Fla.) they've outscored their last two opponents 113-19. The Red Devils beat Jefferson Davis (Montgomery) 49-16 last week after suffering their first loss of the season in overtime against Opelika. Expect the 7A state runner-up from 2021 to be in the mix to win the school's third state title in program history.
Saturday, 7 p.m. at Traz Powell Stadium (Miami)
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The Rockets put themselves in the mix to compete for the No. 1 spot in the MaxPreps Top 25 when they beat IMG Academy to begin the season. They have one of the best defenses in the state to go with one of the top quarterbacks and a lot of talented playmakers on offense. Dillard's only loss came against No. 6 Chaminade-Madonna (Hollywood) and the Panthers have the top-rated player in Florida from the Class of 2025 in five-star defensive lineman Blount. He was a first team MaxPreps Freshman All-American selection after racking up 13 sacks last season.
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The top-two teams in North Carolina get the opportunity to battle for No. 1 bragging rights. Both have one loss that has come against out-of-state competition. Hough lost 27-24 against No. 25 Dutch Fork (Irmo, S.C.) while Chambers lost to Virginia power Highland Springs 26-20. This will be the 16th meeting since 2010 and Hough has won nine of 15.
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This is one of the best rivalries in high school football as they square off for the 77th time since 1958. Don Bosco Prep leads the series 40-34-2. Bergen Catholic has won six of the last eight including a 28-7 win in last years Non-Public A championship game. The Crusaders have won 17 games in a row and 16 have come by more than one score.
Friday, 7:30 p.m.
For the second consecutive week Mill Creek takes on an undefeated team. The Hawks beat the defending 3A state champs Cedar Grove (Ellenwood) 52-36 last week. The Panthers are 4-0 and have outscored the opposition 158-57. This one features two of the best all-around players in high school football in Downs and Matthews. The two five-star prospects impact the game at a high level on all three phases.
