Two familiar foes from the tough Marmonte League will do battle in a big California contest this week, as Westlake and St. Bonaventure face off.
Photos by Josh Thompson/Gary Jones. Graphic by Ryan Escobar
The stakes are big in every one of the MaxPreps Top 10 Games of the Week.
In California, the regular season draws to a conclusion. No. 22 Westlake (Westlake Village) puts its undefeated record and a shot at an outright Marmonte League title on the line when it travels to one-loss St. Bonventure (Ventura), and Servite (Anaheim) hopes to extend its 18-game Trinity League winning streak with a win at Santa Margarita (Rancho Santa Margarita).
The postseason is already underway most everywhere else, including the South. An intriguing Alabama 6A second-round playoff game features a pair of teams that were in the
MaxPreps Xcellent 25 National Football Rankings presented by the Army National Guard earlier this season when Prattville plays host to defending champion Daphne.
Meanwhile in the Dakotas, where winter is already setting in, state championships will be decided this weekend. In North Dakota, Bismarck can win its third Class AAA title in four years with a win over conference rival Century (Bismarck). Similarly, Washington (Sioux Falls) is seeking its third straight South Dakota Class 11AA crown with a win over Greater Dakota Conference mate Roosevelt (Sioux Falls).
With seven correct selections out of 10 last week, Jamie DeMoney opened a three-game lead in the standings of our season-long predictions contest. Stephen Spiewak slipped to second place after going just 4-6. Mitch Stephens was the top picker with an 8-2 record. He remains in last place, but is now just five games off the pace.
You can track our overall results and standings all season long by clicking
here.
Here's a look at this week's Top 10 games of the week along with predictions by MaxPreps staff writers and contributors Mitch Stephens, Steve Montoya, Stephen Spiewak, Kevin Askeland and Jamie DeMoney.
MAXPREPS TOP 10 FOOTBALL GAMES OF THE WEEKNo. 22 Westlake (Westlake Village, Calif.) at St. Bonaventure (Ventura, Calif.)A win Thursday gives Westlake the outright Marmonte League championship and its second consecutive win over St. Bonaventure. The Warriors beat the Seraphs, 37-27, in last year's CIF-SS Northern Division semifinals after losing to them during the regular season. Led by the junior backfield tandem of
Justin Moore and UCLA commit
Dashon Hunt, Westlake is averaging more than 46 points per game this season. Moore has completed 65 percent of his passes for 1,597 yards with 17 touchdowns and only two interceptions. Hunt is averaging more than 11 yards per carry and a touchdown every seven times he carries the ball.
St. Bonaventure (8-1) opened the year with a 29-27 win at then-nationally ranked Centennial (Corona). The Seraphs' only loss came two weeks later against once nationally ranked Oaks Christian (Westlake Village). Last week, St. Bonaventure warmed up for Westlake with a 60-7 win over league punching bag Calabasas. Seven different St. Bonaventure ballcarriers combined for 288 rushing yards in the game,
according to the Ventura County Star.
Mitch Stephens: St. Bonaventure 22, Westlake 21
Steve Montoya: Westlake 24, St. Bonaventure 21
Stephen Spiewak: Westlake 28, St. Bonaventure 24
Kevin Askeland: Westlake 48, St. Bonaventure 24
Jamie DeMoney: Westlake 34, St. Bonaventure 31
