Playoff games involving big-time stakes for big-time programs are on tap from coast to coast in the latest edition of MaxPreps Top 10 High School Football Games of the Week.
We start our weekly preview on the West Coast, where No. 11 Bellevue (Wash.) will put two monumental streaks on the line when it plays Eastside Catholic for the Class 3A championship. Among 11-man teams, Bellevue currently leads the nation with both 67 consecutive wins and six state championships in a row.
Meanwhile in Texas, there are three huge state quarterfinal games involving teams in the latest MaxPreps Xcellent 25 National Football Rankings presented by the Army National Guard. No. 2 Allen could bolster its national title hopes with a win over No. 25 Trinity (Euless). No. 10 Manvel will face a major test against a Katy squad that started the year nationally ranked. No. 18 Carroll (Southlake) must overcome preseason No. 1-ranked Cedar Hill in order to advance to the state semifinals for the sixth time in the last 15 seasons.
As we head into the final stretch of the season, Jamie DeMoney still clings to a narrow advantage in our season-long predictions contest. DeMoney has a 101-49 record, which is two games better than second-place holders Stephen Spiewak and Leland Gordon. Mitch Stephens has moved to within three games of the lead after posting a 9-1 mark last week. Kevin Askeland (95-55) and Colin Ward-Henninger round out the standings (91-59).
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.
To catch up with what's happening in the playoffs nationwide,
view the state champions and brackets nationwide story.
MaxPreps Top 10 Football Games of the Week
Bellevue (Wash.) vs. Eastside Catholic (Sammamish, Wash.)
Can Eastside Catholic end Bellevue's nation-leading win streak?
Photos by Vince Miller
A win Friday for Bellevue (13-0) would be its fourth in as many years over Eastside Catholic in the postseason, and third in a row in the 3A state championship game. During its 67-game winning streak, only six of Bellevue's wins have been by 10 or fewer points. Some potentially good news for Eastside Catholic is that one of those "close" calls was the Wolverines' 20-10 win over Marysville-Pilchuck last week. Junior quarterback
Justus Rogers engineered Bellevue's Wing-T attack with 92 of his team's 238 rushing yards,
according to King 5. Meanwhile, Eastside Catholic (12-1) earned another crack at Bellevue by toppling Mount Spokane (Mead), 42-24.
Matt Laris, a 6-foot-4 junior receiver, played a key role in the Crusaders' triumph, catching nine passes for 237 yards (both season highs) and two touchdowns.
Follow live scoring of this game on Qwixcore Just the facts: Bellevue's combined margin of victory in three prior playoff wins over Eastside Catholic is 129-23. … Both Bellevue and Eastside Catholic played a top-notch Southern California opponent from the Mission League early this season. Bellevue beat then-nationally ranked Serra (Gardena), 31-14. Eastside Catholic lost to Alemany (Mission Hills) by the same score. Serra lost in the opening round of the Pac 5 playoffs and Alemany did not qualify.
Mitch Stephens: Bellevue 31, Eastside Catholic 28
Kevin Askeland: Bellevue 35, Eastside Catholic 34
Jamie DeMoney: Eastside Catholic 34, Bellevue 27
Stephen Spiewak: Bellevue 28, Eastside Catholic 27
Leland Gordon: Bellevue 24, Eastside Catholic 18
Colin Ward-Henninger: Bellevue 32, Eastside Catholic 28
