The game of the week, the year, maybe even the decade – it's all that and more for South Florida football fans who will likely fill Traz Powell Stadium to standing-room-only limits when No. 1 Booker T. Washington takes on No. 2 Central under the Friday night lights.
Though no single game is likely to be bigger all season long, the battle for Miami bragging rights and the undisputed top ranking in the MaxPreps Xcellent 25 is merely one of 10 top-notch matchups in the latest edition of the MaxPreps Top 10 Games of the Week.
Our current slate includes five other games involving nationally ranked teams. Most notably, fourth-ranked Allen (Texas), which also has legitimate national title aspirations and the schedule strength to go with it, has its second tough test in as many weeks – this time against Cedar Hill. Meanwhile, defending national champion Curtis (River Ridge, La.) opens the season with the first of two games it will play against an out-of-state opponent this season. The Patriots will take on Bergen Catholic (Oradell, N.J.) Friday night in suburban New Orleans.
With back-to-back weeks with eight correct picks, GOTW author Jamie DeMoney has opened a three-game cushion over Stephen Spiewak in our season-long predictions contest. Leland Gordon and Colin Ward-Henninger share third place with 11 correct picks apiece.
Here's a look at this week's Top 10 games along with predictions by MaxPreps staff writers and contributors Mitch Stephens, Stephen Spiewak, Kevin Askeland, Leland Gordon, Colin Ward-Henninger and Jamie DeMoney.
MaxPreps Top 10 Football Games of the WeekWashington (Miami) at Central (Miami)Washington (1-0) ascended to the top spot in the MaxPreps Xcellent 25 National Football Rankings presented by the Army National Guard two weeks ago after a 55-0 thrashing of defending Georgia Class AAAAAA champion Norcross. The shutout was against a Norcross offense with eight starters back from a unit that averaged more than 37 points per game last season. Senior quarterback
Treon Harris, a Florida State commit and son of coach Tim "Ice" Harris, tallied nearly 350 combined passing and rushing yards with five touchdowns to lead the Washington onslaught. A year ago, Washington led Central 19-3 in the first half but let it slip away and eventually lost, 37-26. It extended to four games the Tornadoes' on-field losing streak to Central.
Check out the brand-new MaxPreps Miami metro siteNot surprisingly, Central's explosive one-two punch at running back played a huge role in its 42-20 regular season-opening win against American Heritage (Plantation) last week. Seniors
Joseph Yearby (a Miami commit) and
Dalvin Cook (Florida) combined to run for 380 yards and all six of the Rockets' touchdowns,
according to the Miami Herald. The only cause for concern in the post-mortem for the Central was its susceptibility to giving up the big play. The Rockets allowed American Heritage to score touchdowns on a 95-yard kickoff return and an 80-yard run from scrimmage.
Mitch Stephens: Washington 28, Central 27
Kevin Askeland: Washington 42, Central 35
Jamie DeMoney: Central 35, Washington 27
Stephen Spiewak: Washington 31, Central 28
Leland Gordon: Washington 52, Central 45
Colin Ward-Henninger: Central 28, Washington 27
