IMG Academy (Bradenton, Fla.), the MaxPreps Top 25 No. 1 team, finishes its 2020 campaign Friday against TRU Prep Academy (Miami Gardens, Fla.) on ESPNU in the GEICO High School Bowl Series. The Ascenders already own notable wins over No. 7 Duncanville (Texas), No. 15 Northwestern (Miami), Edgewater (Orlando), Ravenwood (Tennessee) and Venice (Florida) this year and have outscored the opposition 340-76.
The lone matchup of Top 25 teams is the second of two GEICO games on ESPNU on Friday as No. 5 Chandler hosts No. 23 Hamilton (Chandler). The winner will be the No. 1 seed in the Arizona Open Division playoffs when they begin Nov. 27.
Four of the 10 games featured this week are for state championships.
Two include Top 50 matchups as No. 9 Corner Canyon (Draper) goes for its third consecutive state title against No. 39 Lone Peak (Highland) in the 6A championship, while No. 17 Archbishop Hoban (Akron) faces No. 29 Washington (Massillon) in the Ohio Division 2 championship.
Timpview (Provo) and Orem meet in a rematch of last year's Utah 5A state championship and the top two schools in Idaho square off in the 5A state title game as Rigby takes on Rocky Mountain (Meridan).
Alabama, Florida and Louisiana also have games featured in this week's slate.
Chandler takes on Hamilton in the regular-season finale in a game featured on ESPNU.
Photo by Elena Bernardo
Friday, 8 p.m. (All times local)
Top players
The top two teams in the Grand Canyon State grab the national spotlight on ESPN's final showcase of 2020. The Wolves have won 32 consecutive games and four straight state titles. Hamilton last beat Chandler in 2013 and has dropped seven in a row against the defending Open Division state champs.
Friday, 6:15 p.m. at Paul Brown Tiger Stadium (Massillon)
Top players
Ohio's winningest program, Massillon Washington does not own a state title during the playoff era, which began in 1972. The Tigers get another crack against the team that beat them in the 2018 Division 2 championship. Archbishop Hoban won four consecutive state titles from 2015-18 and tries for title No. 5.
Friday, 11 a.m. at Cedar Hill high school (Eagle Mountain)
Top players
The Chargers roll into the 6A state championship winners of 39 consecutive games and back-to-back state titles. These two played in late September and Lone Peak went into halftime up 19-14 but Corner Canyon outscored the Knights 21-6 in the second half and pulled out a 35-25 win. Dart has emerged as a strong candidate for National Player of the Year and broke Cammon Cooper's state record for
most passing touchdowns (63) in a single-season last week in a 45-30 win over East (Salt Lake City).
Top players
The winner has the inside track on the Florida 5A state title. The Bulls won the 5A state title last year and went back-to-back in 2017 and 2018 in 6A. American Heritage won two consecutive 5A state titles in 2017 and 2018. This game features over 20 players with at least one FBS offer.
Top players
The Alabama 7A playoff bracket is one of the most difficult to win in the country and this week's winner moves on to the state title game. Thompson won its first state title since 1982 last year and have looked like the favorites to repeat. Beating Hoover twice in a year is always tough, but the Warriors accomplished that feat in 2019. The winner faces Central (Phenix City) or Auburn on Dec. 2.
Friday, 7 p.m.
Top players
The Ascenders have backed up their preseason No. 1 team and get one last opportunity Friday to display their talent. In October they rolled into Texas and beat No. 7 Duncanville 41-14 and also cruised to a one-sided 49-14 win against No. 15 Northwestern (Miami). Those two wins are two of the most impressive we have seen all year and IMG Academy is winning by over 37 points per game in 2020.
Friday, 3 p.m. at Cedar Hill high school (Eagle Mountain)
Top players
Timpview is the only thing standing in the way from a fourth consecutive Orem state title. The Tigers had a month-long layoff because of COVID and did not play a game for 33 days — Sept. 11 to Oct. 14 — but that hasn't stopped them from playing their best football heading into the 5A championship game. The Thunderbirds are hot at the right time and have won seven of their last eight games after an 0-3 start.
Friday, 7 p.m.
Top players
Two of the top programs in Division 1 close out the regular season as the Crusaders look to head into the playoffs 7-0. The Patriots had their three-game winning streak snapped last week after a 20-14 loss against the defending state champs, Archbishop Rummel (Metairie). John Curtis Christian has won four in a row against Brother Martin and legendary head coach J.T. Curtis is four wins away from becoming the second coach to win 600 games, joining John McKissick.
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Both programs have combined to win the last three 6A state titles. Pinson Valley went back-to-back in 2017 and 2018 while Oxford won it all last year. The Yellow Jackets' only loss came against nationally-ranked Thompson and they have won 11 straight since that season opening defeat. The Indians have won eight of their last nine since a season opening loss against Hewitt-Trussville (Trussville) and have outscored their first two playoff opponents 93-16.
Top players
It's fitting Idaho's top two teams square off for the 5A title. Rigby looks to repeat as champs while Rocky Mountain is trying to make it two in three years after its 2018 crown. The winner will end the year as the No. 1 team in the final Idaho Top 25 state rankings released on Nov. 23.
