Three MaxPreps Top 25 matchups are featured in this week's action including one of the biggest high school football games of the year between No. 2 St. Frances Academy (Baltimore) and No. 10 IMG Academy (Bradenton, Fla.). The game will be streamed exclusively on
FloFootball and kicks off at 7 p.m. at the University of Maryland on Friday.
It features a combined 42 players that are rated as a three-star recruit or higher on 247Sports, and that doesn't even include all of the talented players from the Class of 2026 on both rosters who have already landed FBS offers. The Panthers are 2-1 against IMG Academy and have won the last two meetings. They are the only school in the country that has multiple wins over the Ascenders.
Both CIF Southern Section Division 1 semifinals are MaxPreps Top 25 matchups.
No. 24 Los Alamitos (Calif.) is playing its best football of the season and was one of two new teams to join the
MaxPreps Top 25 after beating previously ranked
Long Beach Poly (Long Beach, Calif.) 52-42 in the quarterfinals. Up next: No. 1 Mater Dei (Santa Ana, Calif.).
No. 25 Mission Viejo (Calif.) was the other team to join the MaxPreps Top 25 after knocking off
Centennial (Corona, Calif.) 31-28 in the quarterfinals. They host No. 4 St. John Bosco (Bellflower, Calif.) in the other CIF Southern Section Division 1 semifinal.
Playoff matchups in Alabama, District of Columbia, Georgia, Maryland, Ohio, Texas and Utah are also included in this week's slate.
St. Frances Academy quarterback Michael Van Buren looks to lead the second-ranked Panthers to a win over No. 10 IMG Academy on Friday in the MaxPreps Game of the Week. (Photo: John Kersten)
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This was listed as our
No. 2 game of the year in our preseason look at the best games and it features some of the best talent in the country. Four of the Panthers eight wins have come against teams currently in our expanded
top 100 but a win on Friday would easily become their best win of the season and keep them in the hunt at finishing the year at No. 1. The Ascenders have won seven in a row since a season-opening 20-14 loss against No. 3
Central (Miami).
Friday, 7 p.m. at Santa Ana Stadium (Santa Ana)
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The Griffins are playing their best football after starting the year 1-2. Both those losses came against MaxPreps Top 25 opponents — No. 12
American Heritage (Plantation, Fla.) and No. 23
Basha (Chandler, Ariz.). They have won eight in a row since that 33-28 loss against Basha. Mater Dei has won 28 consecutive games and the last time they lost was in the 2019 CIF Southern Section Division 1 championship against St. John Bosco (Bellflower).
Friday, 7 p.m.
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The Braves only loss this season was a tough 17-7 defeat against Mater Dei (Santa Ana) on Oct. 7. They have won four in a row since, outscoring the opposition 184-35. They are hoping to get another crack at the Monarchs if Mater Dei beats Los Alamitos and they handle business against a red-hot Diablos squad. The Diablos have won eight in a row since that 35-30 loss against Long Beach Poly (Long Beach, Calif.) and Chad Johnson just got his biggest win as head coach knocking off Corona Centennial (Calif.) 31-28 last week. Johnson spent eight seasons as St. John Bosco's offensive coordinator, quarterbacks coach and strength and conditioning coach before being named the head coach at Mission Viejo before the 2018 season.
Friday, 7 p.m. at Princeton High School (Cincinnati)
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The Ohio Division 1 bracket is currently in the quarterfinals and this is the best matchup of the four on Friday. The Fighting Crusaders' only loss was a 6-0 defeat against No. 21
St. Edward (Lakewood, Ohio) on Oct. 15. They are among the first five teams out of the MaxPreps Top 25 and a win on Friday against an undefeated Lakota West squad would help significantly for them getting back in the national rankings. The Firebirds have outscored their first three playoff opponents 108-10. They have one of the best defenses in the state and have only allowed more than 14 points in one game this season.
Friday, 11 a.m. at Rice-Eccles Stadium (University of Utah)
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This is the fifth consecutive year Eric Kjar has led the Chargers to the state championship game and they have won three of the previous four. They had their three-year state title streak come to an end last season, 49-42 against
Lone Peak (Highland). This is Skyridge's first trip to the state championship since 2018 when they lost 31-14 against Corner Canyon in the 5A title game. This time around it is for the 6A championship. These two played on Sept. 23 and the Chargers won 21-17 but the Falcons starting quarterback Hillstead didn't play. He is back and healthy for round two.
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Georgia's AAAAAAA playoff bracket is one of the toughest in the country and the biggest matchup of the second round is this one. North Cobb has been winning big games despite some key injuries. They have been playing without starting quarterback and four-star Arkansas commit
Malachi Singleton since early September. They have gone 8-1 without him but face a monster test on Friday. Mill Creek's only loss was a 39-27 defeat against No. 6
Buford (Ga.). Downs is strongly in the mix to be named the MaxPreps National Player of the Year and is one of the best all-around football players in the country. The five-star Alabama commit has 64 touches on offense for 629 yards and 16 touchdowns to go with 57 tackles and four interceptions on defense.
Friday, 7 p.m. at The Star (Frisco)
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Both these teams have two of the best offenses in Texas. The Wildcats are averaging 45 points per game while the Scots are putting up 44 a game. Both quarterbacks have been putting up big-time numbers. Arnold, a five-star Oklahoma commit has accounted for 3,039 yards of total offense (2,636 passing, 403 rushing) and 39 touchdowns. Storer, a three-star Western Michigan commit has racked up 3,116 yards of total offense (2,698 passing, 418 rushing) and 37 touchdowns. The winner advances to the third round of the 6A Division 2 bracket awaiting either
Byron Nelson (Trophy Club) or
Eastwood (El Paso).
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For the sixth straight year these two Alabama powers square off in the 7A state semifinals. The last time Hoover beat Thompson in the playoffs was in 2017, when they won its last state title. The Bucs shutout the three-time defending 7A state champs in their regular season finale 9-0. The Warriors changed quarterbacks after that loss and eighth-grader Seaborn has completed 44 of 59 passes for 399 yards and four touchdowns in two playoff games.
Sunday, 5 p.m. at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium (Annapolis)
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The WCAC championship is always a big-time game and most people thought it would be Good Counsel vs. DeMatha but St. John's had other ideas. The defending WCAC champs took down the Falcons 14-10 last week. This is the first WCAC championship game for DeMatha since 2018 when
Caleb Williams led
Gonzaga (Washington, D.C.) to a wild 46-43 win thanks to a 53-yard Hail Mary on the final play. The last time the Stags won the WCAC title was in 2016 with
Chase Young leading the way. DeMatha has won 10 games in a row after a season-opening 11-6 loss against
Cardinal Gibbons (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.). They beat the Cadets 17-14 on Oct. 22 during the regular season.
Friday, 2:30 p.m. at Rice-Eccles Stadium (University of Utah)
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The Utah 5A state championship has all the makings to be an instant classic. Lehi pulled out a 28-24 win on Oct. 6 thanks to a go-ahead touchdown pass from Brousseau to
Kolton Tanner in the final minute. The Pioneers also own a win against Corner Canyon (Draper). They erased a 24-0 third quarter deficit and won 25-24. The Thunderbirds only two losses this season are one score defeats against Lehi and Skyridge (Lehi). Lehi is going for its second consecutive 5A state title on Friday. They beat
Springville 35-6 in last year's 5A championship game.
