No. 10
IMG Academy (Bradenton, Fla.) looks to bounce back against No. 17
Bergen Catholic (Oradell, N.J.) on Thursday in the Battle at the Beach Showcase at Ocean City High School. The Ascenders dropped their season opener at No. 6
Corner Canyon (Draper, Utah), 35-34.
This will be the first meeting between the two powerhouse programs since 2015. In that contest,
Shea Patterson and
Tony Jones led IMG Academy to a 59-47 win despite a huge game from
Jarrett Guarantano, who completed 30 of 38 passes for 379 yards and four touchdowns to go with 64 yards rushing and another score.
Read on for a complete look at this week's biggest games.
Ohio State commitment Isaiah West and No. 15 St. Joseph's Prep will go on the road to face No. 25 St. Edward in one of this week's biggest games. (Photo: Tim Kreider)
MaxPreps Top 10 Games of the Week
Thursday, 7 p.m. (All times local) at Ocean City (N.J.)
Top players
IMG Academy is trying to avoid making history with an 0-2 start. The last time the Ascenders lost two games in a season was 2013, the program's inaugural campaign. Hawkins, committed to SMU, completed 17 of 23 passes for 260 yards and three touchdowns against Corner Canyon in his IMG debut. Bergen Catholic has finished ranked in the MaxPreps Top 25 in each of the last three seasons and have gone 34-2 since 2021.
Saturday, 2 p.m.
Top players
This is a matchup of two of the premier programs in their respective states. They have combined for 15 state titles, all coming since 2010. St. Edward is 46-3 since 2021 while St. Joseph's Prep has won at least 10 games every season since 2016, excluding the COVID year when it only played six games.
Top players
If Folsom wants to show it is the best team in Northern California this is the game to prove it. Serra has represented Northern California in the Open Division state title game in each of the last three years. Lyons started his junior campaign throwing for 182 yards and two touchdowns to go with 95 yards rushing and another score. This will be the third straight year these two NorCal powers face off. Serra won 17-12 in 2022 and held on for a 21-14 victory last season.
Saturday, 7 p.m.
Top players
The winner of this one could jump into the MaxPreps Top 25 soon. The Stags are No. 32 in our expanded top 100 and the Cavs took a huge leap after last week's 28-14 win over Archbishop Hoban (Akron, Ohio). They moved up 51 spots to No. 35. This will be the season-opener for DeMatha.
Top players
This will be the first game of the season for Rome after having to cancel its opener against Creekside (Fairburn) after the team bus crashed. Luckily, there were no serious injuries and attention has turned to producing an upset win at Carrollton. The Trojans are clicking on both sides of the ball. Lewis enters Friday night's matchup with 400 yards passing and seven touchdowns while completing over 70 percent of his passes through his first two games.
Friday, 7:30 p.m.
Top players
The Teddy Bridgewater era is off to a great start as the Bulls rolled to a 45-0 win over Coconut Creek last week. They are talented on both sides of the ball and face a huge test Friday at Venice. Venice cruised to a 63-40 win over Tampa Bay Tech (Tampa) as Watkins and Wilder both had big nights. They combined for 302 total yards and six scores.
Top players
The Chargers had the biggest win of last week taking down IMG Academy. Up next they get to face a tough in-state rival. Lone Peak is off to a 2-0 start with wins over Bingham (South Jordan) and Timpview (Provo). Casuga has been playing phenomenal under center for head coach Eric Kjar. The four-star junior quarterback has completed 40 of 51 passes for 812 yards and 10 touchdowns.
Good Counsel (Olney, Md.) at Columbus (Miami)
Top players
This is a matchup of defending state champs. Columbus is the two-time defending 4S champs and Good Counsel won its first WCAC crown since 2019. The Explorers needed a late touchdown to pull out a 17-14 win over Southridge (Miami) last week. Recent Miami commit Bryce Fitzgerald had a stellar night on all three phases, including a 92-yard pick-six. The Falcons have to replace a very talented Class of 2024 but are still loaded with some of the best player in the DMV.
Top players
Both teams played for a state title last season and have the talent to play for another in December. The Pacers started their season with a 28-7 win over Edison (Stockton). This is the first game of the year for De La Salle, which returns several key players after going 11-3 last season despite an 0-2 start. After Grant represented Northern California in the initial Open Division state championship in 2008, De La Salle held that honor for the next 11 years. The programs have combined for seven Open Division titles. Grant won in 2008 while the Spartans won in 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2014 and 2015.
Top players
This is a matchup between the only two teams from Illinois ranked among the top 100. Loyola Academy, back-to-back 8A state champs, has won 19 games in a row heading into Saturday's showdown against East St. Louis. East St. Louis has won 10 state titles and played in four consecutive 6A state championship games. The Flyers won in 2019 and 2022 while finishing as the runner-up in 2021 and 2023.