The Washington Catholic Athletic Conference is always one of the most competitive in high school football and the top two teams square off to determine who will be the No. 1 seed in the playoffs. DeMatha (Hyattsville, Md.) hosts Good Counsel (Olney, Md.) in our MaxPreps Top 10 Game of the Week on Friday.
The Stags have won eight in a row since a season-opening loss against Cardinal Gibbons
(Fort Lauderdale, Fla.). They have allowed 26 points total during their win streak. The Falcons have reeled off six straight after suffering their only loss of the season against
Archbishop Moeller (Cincinnati).
The regular season is nearing the end in Arizona and one of the biggest games this week features No. 16 Liberty (Peoria) hosting Centennial (Peoria). A win will most likely lock up the No. 1 seed for Liberty in the Open Division playoffs that begins on Nov. 25.
A couple of marquee games in Louisiana are on tap in the week's slate as Zachary hosts Catholic (Baton Rouge) on Thursday while Edna Karr (New Orleans) has a road test at John Curtis Christian (River Ridge) on Friday.
This week's action includes four postseason matchups — Warren (Downey, Calif.) at Sierra Canyon (Chatsworth, Calif.), Princeton (Cincinnati) at Lakota West (West Chester, Ohio), Lone Peak (Highland, Utah) at Bingham (South Jordan, Utah) and Archbishop Moeller (Cincinnati) vs. St. Xavier (Cincinnati).
DeMatha battles Our Lady of Good Counsel in the MaxPreps Game of the Week. The WCAC foes are looking to earn a No. 1 seed in the upcoming playoffs. (Photo: Matthew Christopher)
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Both teams are on the cusp of joining the MaxPreps Top 25 and are both included in our
expanded top 100. DeMatha checks in at No. 37 while Good Counsel is three spots below at No. 40. The winner of this one will make a nice jump up in Monday's updated rankings. This will be the 26th meeting between the two since 2007 and the Stags have won 15 of the previous 25.
Friday, 7 p.m.
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Liberty has won every game by more than one score and its only contest within 28 points was a 26-17 win over
Saguaro (Scottsdale, Ariz.) on Sept. 30. The Coyotes have won seven in a row since a season-opening loss against
Hamilton (Chandler, Ariz.). Centennial has won seven of the previous 11 meetings but the Lions have won the last two.
Thursday, 7 p.m.
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The Bears have won eight straight since a 38-35 loss against Good Counsel (Olney, Md.) to open the season. Zachary's only loss came against
St. Augustine (New Orleans) in September. They are riding a five-game win streak and winning by an average margin of 28.2 points per game.
Friday, 7:30 p.m.
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The Trailblazers have got hot at the right time after a 2-4 start. They have won four in a row heading into the opening round of the CIF Southern Section Division 2 playoffs. It includes wins over
Serra (Gardena, Calif.) and
Chaminade (West Hills, Calif.) when they were both in our expanded top 100 list. Warren's only loss came against Serra (Gardena) and Iamaleava heads into the postseason with over 2,000 yards of total offense and 30 touchdowns. The winner advances to face Serra (Gardena) or
Norco in the quarterfinals.
Friday, 7 p.m.
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The Cougars have been the best team in Louisiana this season and have not lost a game on the field. Their three losses are because
one ineligible player participated in the first three games. The Patriots have won seven straight after a 40-21 loss against Zachary. J.T. Curtis is one of two high school football head coaches to have more than 600 career wins and is 10 away from passing John McKissick of
Summerville (S.C.), who won 620 games.
Thursday, 7 p.m. - ESPN2
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The Spartans have the longest active winning streak in the country at 58 consecutive wins. The last team to beat them was Jenks to open the 2018 season. Bixby will clinch an outright 6A-I District 1 title with a win on Thursday. The Spartans have outscored the opposition 609-68 this season and have scored at least 49 points in every game.
Friday, 7 p.m.
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The Ohio Division 1 playoff bracket is one of the toughest in high school football and has two games included in the Top 10 Games of the Week. This is a rematch from the regular season and Lakota West cruised to a 31-7 victory. Princeton has won five of six since that defeat. The Firebirds are 11-0 so far and have won 10 in a row by more than one score.
Friday, 6 p.m.
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The defending 6A state champs have won three straight since a 4-4 start and a win over Bingham would clinch a spot in the state semifinals. The Miners only two losses came against
Corner Canyon (Draper, Utah) and
Timpview (Provo, Utah). They are both in our expanded top 100 list. Bingham has won 11 state titles in school history and are three wins away from winning its first since 2017.
Friday, 7 p.m. at Shea Stadium (Norwood)
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The second of two games included in this week's slate from the Ohio Division 1 playoff bracket is another rematch. Moeller held on for a 20-17 win over St. X on Sept. 16. The Bombers had a different starting quarterback in that meeting as sophomore Chase Herbstreit has taken over under center and has St. X playing its best football of the season. They have won three of four after a 2-5 start.
Saturday, noon
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Oscar Smith had one of the most
unique wins last week beating
Western Branch (Chesapeake, Va.) 2-0. The Tigers have gone 30-1 since 2020 and the only loss came against
St. John Bosco (Bellflower, Calif.) last season. They are the back-to-back Class 6 state champs and are looking to hand the Phantoms their first loss of the season on Saturday.
