MaxPreps' weekly spotlight on the Top 10 High School Football Games across the nation begins with one of the biggest of the year in football-rich New Jersey.
St. Joseph Regional, which is fifth in the latest MaxPreps Xcellent 25, takes on an unbeaten St. Peter's Prep team that would have a strong case for entering the national rankings if it can pull the upset. It's not only a showdown between two of the Garden State's best teams, but also two of its best running backs in SJR's Sherman Alston (a Boston College recruit) and Rutgers-bound Jonathan Hilliman of St. Peter's Prep.
Elsewhere, eighth-ranked Miami Central will square off against Miami Northwestern in one of South Florida's top annual grudge matches. No. 11 Bellevue (Wash.) puts its long winning streak on the line against undefeated Mount Si (Snoqualmie, Wash.), and No. 16 St. Edward (Lakewood, Ohio) renews its annual "Holy War" with archrival St. Ignatius (Cleveland).
After correctly selecting the winner in nine of the 10 games last week, GOTW author Jamie DeMoney has pulled to within one game of leader Stephen Spiewak in our season-long prediction contest. Stephen's 56-23-1 record is two games better than Leland Gordon, who holds on to third place.
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.
St. Joseph Regional (Montvale, N.J.) at St. Peter's Prep (Jersey City, N.J.)
A monstrous New Jersey matchup highlights this week's slate of the nation's best contests.
Photos by Daniel Coppola/Graphic by Ryan Escobar
Both teams have a running back committed to play at the BCS level next season. Rutgers recruit
Jonathan Hilliman leads St. Peter's Prep with 992 rushing yards and 15 touchdowns. St. Joseph Regional's
Sherman Alston (Boston College) has eight touchdowns in four games and averages seven yards per carry. Fifth-ranked St. Joseph Regional (Montvale) is currently tied with No. 10 Paramus Catholic for first place in the Big North-United, which last week was named the
toughest high school football league in the nation by MaxPreps. The Green Knights (4-0) play Paramus Catholic next week, so they better not be caught looking ahead when playing against St. Peter's Prep (6-0), which is ranked third in New Jersey.
Just the facts: Friday's game will be the sixth between these teams since 2008. St. Joseph Regional won four of the first five, including a 21-10 decision last season. … With 332 victories in 31 seasons, SJR's Tony Karcich is the winningest coach in Bergen County (N.J.) history.
Mitch Stephens: St. Joseph Regional 34, St. Peter's Prep 21
Kevin Askeland: St. Joseph Regional 40, St. Peter's Prep 20
Jamie DeMoney: St. Joseph Regional 31, St. Peter's Prep 24
Stephen Spiewak: St. Peter's Prep 24, St. Joseph Regional 21
Leland Gordon: St. Joseph Regional 31, St. Peter's Prep 28
Colin Ward-Henninger: St. Peter's Prep 21, St. Joseph Regional 17
