The only MaxPreps Top 25 matchup of the week features former district foes as No. 25 Cardinal Gibbons (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) hosts No. 13 American Heritage (Plantation, Fla.). This is the 17th meeting since 2009 and the game, originally scheduled for Friday, was rescheduled for Saturday as as
precaution because of Hurricane Ian. The Patriots have won 14 of the previous 16, including three in a row. The Chiefs snapped Heritage's 11-game win streak against them in 2018 beating them twice that season en route to winning the school's first state title.
These two schools have combined to win eight state titles since 2013. Cardinal Gibbons won the 5A championships in 2018 and are the back-to-back 4A champs. The Patriots won the 5A title in 2013, 2014, 2016, 2017 and 2020.
No. 3 St. Frances Academy (Baltimore) wraps up its five-game road tour that featured trips to Ohio, Texas, Florida and South Carolina. The final one is a 4,800-plus mile trip to Hawaii to face Kahuku, the top-ranked team from the Aloha State.
A huge Ohio contest features No. 19 Archbishop Moeller (Cincinnati) taking on Elder (Cincinnati) at Nippert Stadium on Friday. The Crusaders are off to their first 6-0 start since 2013. That season was the last time they won a state title.
Folsom (Calif.) looks to keep its momentum going after a 24-20 win over De La Salle (Concord) last week with a huge Sierra Foothill League contest on tap against Oak Ridge (El Dorado Hills). The Trojans have outscored their first five opponents 283-10 but take a huge step up in competition on Friday.
Alabama, Arizona, California, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Maryland, New Jersey, Ohio and Washington all have matchups included in our Top 10 Games of the Week.
Mark Fletcher, American Heritage
Photo: Laura Martin
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Friday, 7:30 p.m.
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Through four games the Panthers have already traveled (one-way) nearly 3,300 miles this season and now get ready for a 4,800-plus mile trip to Honolulu to face Kahuku. The Red Raiders only loss came at No. 1 St. John Bosco (Bellflower, Calif.) 34-7.
Friday, 7 p.m. at Nippert Stadium (University of Cincinnati)
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The Crusaders look to add another quality win on Friday against a team that has started 5-1. Elder's only loss came against the defending Division 1 state champs, St. Edward (Lakewood) 17-14. The Panthers have won the last four meetings but Moeller has gone 11-9 against its Cincinnati rival since 2004.
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The Sierra Foothill League is one of the best leagues in California and opens up with two big-time matchups as Oak Ridge hosts Folsom and
Granite Bay plays at
Del Oro (Loomis). The Bulldogs have won three in a row since a 17-12 loss against Serra (San Mateo), that includes two quality wins over Pittsburg and De La Salle (Concord). The Trojans have shutout four of their five opponents and are winning by an average margin of 54.6 points per game. Oak Ridge has lost 17 straight against Folsom and the last time they knocked off the Bulldogs was in 2006.
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The second out-of-state matchup included in this week's slate will feature some of the best talent in Georgia and the DMV area. The Cadets have won 15 of their last 16 games and the only loss came against No. 6 Chaminade-Madonna (Hollywood, Fla.) in the season opener. Cedar Grove has dropped two in a row but both losses came against No. 18 Mill Creek (Hoschton, Ga.) and Colquitt County (Moultrie, Ga.). The Packers are one of the first five teams out of the MaxPreps Top 25.
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The defending Open Division state champs have put together a tough schedule to begin the 2022 campaign and face another big test on Friday. The Sabercats lost 31-21 against No. 9 Chandler (Ariz.) last week and played the ninth-ranked Wolves tougher than anyone this season. Liberty has dominated in its first three games outscoring the opposition 149-14.
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Trinity League action gets underway this week and this will be one of the biggest matchups in the Golden State. The winner of this one will be in a great spot to be included in the CIF Southern Section Division 1 bracket. This one features two of the best quarterbacks in SoCal. In Potter's last game, he threw for 482 yards and five touchdowns in a 69-49 loss against Los Alamitos. Lateef has shown why he's one of the best QBs from the Class of 2025 on the West Coast throwing for 1,300-plus yards and 10 touchdowns.
Friday, 8 p.m. at MetLife Stadium
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Both teams are riding a ton of momentum after big wins last week. Don Bosco Prep snapped Bergen Catholic's (Oradell) 17-game win streak with a dominant 31-7 road win. St. Peter's Prep won in Montvale for the first time since 2008 with a 41-38 win at St. Joseph Regional. They trailed 38-21 heading into the fourth quarter but scored 20 in the final frame to improve to 4-1. The Ironmen snapped the Marauders six-game winning streak against them last year with a 28-14 win.
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Both teams are off to 4-0 starts and are ranked in the
top 10 in the Washington rankings. O'Dea checks in at No. 1 while the Crusaders are at No. 7. This will be the 23rd meeting between the two since 2004 and they have split the last 22 but Eastside Catholic has won nine of the previous 12.
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Thompson has won four straight since an 0-2 start and had its biggest win of the season with a 17-14 victory against the defending 6A state champs, Clay-Chalkville (Pinson). They snapped the Cougars' 20-game win streak. This has become one of the marquee matchups in 7A recently. The Warriors have five of the eight meetings since 2014, including three in a row.
