MaxPreps Top 10 Football Games of the Week

Only a small handful of teams are still playing, but the final weekend of the high school football season has plenty of intriguing matchups.

There are nine teams ranked in this week's MaxPreps Xcellent 25 National Football Rankings presented by the Army National Guard featured in the MaxPreps Top 10 Games of the Week.

The highest-ranked team in action is No. 3 Miramar, which must defeat perennial power Plant (Tampa) in the Florida 8A championship to claim its second state title in three seasons. The Sunshine State is also the site of one of two matchups between Xcellent 25 teams this weekend: No. 13 Miami Central can claim its second consecutive 6A crown with a win over No. 9 Armwood.

With an 8 p.m. Pacific Standard Time scheduled start time, the California Open Division championship game will likely represent the finale of the 2011 prep football season. No. 6 Westlake hopes to finish with a perfect 15-0 record but must topple two-time defending champ De La Salle to do so.

Our season-long prediction contest will also be decided on the final weekend of the season. Jamie DeMoney has held or shared the lead in the standings for eight consecutive weeks, but has a mere one-game lead on Stephen Spiewak. 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 WEEK

No. 9 Armwood (Seffner, Fla.) vs. No. 14 Central (Miami)

Armwood fought hard to tune out distractions associated with injuries and allegations of player ineligibility and remained undefeated to reach the state championship game for the second straight year. The Hawks (14-0) aren't as dominant lately on defense as they were earlier this season when they shut out five out of six opponents between Sept. 23 to Oct. 28. In fact, last week's 46-38 semifinal win over Bartram Trail (St. John's) was the first time since 2009 that an Armwood opponent scored more than 30 points.

A win over Armwood on Saturday would give Central its second consecutive Florida Class 6A championship. The Rockets (13-0), who are riding a 27-game winning streak, would become the first Miami city school to repeat as state titlist since Miami Northwestern did it in 2006-07. Sophomore sensation Joe Yearby exceeded 2,000 rushing yards for the season with a 160-yard, two-touchdown effort in Central's 17-7 win over Mainland (Dayton Beach) in last week's semifinals.

Mitch Stephens: Armwood 20, Central 14
Steve Montoya: Armwood 17, Central 14
Stephen Spiewak: Armwood 20, Central 17
Kevin Askeland: Armwood 40, Central 38
Jamie DeMoney: Armwood 20, Central 17