This week's high school football slate is the best of the season so far. There are four MaxPreps Top 25 matchups featured with two going down in SoCal in the CIF Southern Section Division 1 semifinals.
No. 11 Centennial (Corona) hosts No. 1 Mater Dei (Santa Ana) and No. 7 Servite (Anaheim) plays at No. 4 St. John Bosco (Bellflower) for the second time in three weeks.
The last time the Monarchs played at Centennial was in 2010. Mater Dei and Corona Centennial have met 10 times since 2007, splitting those
meetings with the Monarchs winning the last two by an average margin of
32 points.
The Braves and Friars met at Panish Family Stadium on Oct. 29 to close out the regular season and St. John Bosco won 24-10. Bosco's defense held Noah Fifita to season-lows in completions (9), passing yards (82) and completion percentage (37.5).
No. 2 IMG Academy (Bradenton, Fla.) closes out the 2021 season with a home game against No. 15 St. Frances Academy (Baltimore). The Ascenders have won 19 straight dating back to 2019 — their last loss was 35-7 to St. Frances, the second-worst in IMG history.
The fourth MaxPreps Top 25 matchup is in the Alabama 7A semifinals as No. 18 Hoover hosts No. 24 Thompson (Alabaster). The Bucs won the regular season meeting 24-21 and snapped the back-to-back 7A state champs 27-game win streak. Conner Harrell got hurt late in the first half and did not play in the second half and the Warriors were outscored 14-0 in the final 24 minutes. He returned last week in the second half in the Warriors 45-7 win over Oak Mountain (Birmingham) and is expected to start Friday.
Matthew Allen, DeSoto
Photo by Shane Kirkpatrick
Friday, 7 p.m. (All times local)
Top players
These two were supposed to open the 2021 season against each other but the Huskies had to cancel because of COVID-19 protocols and now they square off 91 days later. The top-ranked Monarchs have outscored the opposition 456-122 while the Huskies have outscored their opponents 646-109. This is the fourth playoff meeting between the two since 2014 and the Huskies have won two of three but Mater Dei won the last one in the 2018 CIF SS D1 semifinals 48-14 thanks to
three first-half pick-sixes from Elias Ricks.
Friday, 7:30 p.m.
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Servite will be trying to do something it has not done since 2011 on Friday — beat St. John Bosco. The Braves have won 10 straight meetings with nine by double-digits. The Friars are trying to advance to their first section championship game since 2010. They beat Mission Viejo 41-27 in the Pac 5 championship then lost to De La Salle (Concord) 48-8 in the Open Division championship. A win for the Braves would clinch an eighth consecutive section championship game appearance.
Friday, 7 p.m.
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When we released our
Top 10 Games of the Year in July this one was pegged at No. 3. It will feature over 50 players with at least one FBS offer and 45 players are rated as a three-star recruit or higher by 247Sports. This is the season finale for both schools if neither play in the GEICO High School Bowl Series at the end of the year. The schools have split their two previous meetings.
Top players
Thompson gets its opportunity at revenge on Friday with a spot in the 7A state championship on the line. Meredith found senior tight end
Jabari Gaines in the endzone for the game-winning score with 14-seconds remaining to pull off the 24-21 win in the regular season meeting. A win for Thompson would clinch its fourth consecutive 7A state title game appearance. After the Warriors lost to Central (Phenix City) in 2018, they went back-to-back in 2019 and 2020. Hoover is trying to get to its first state title game appearance since 2017 when the Bucs won the school's 13th championship.
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A second round matchup in the 5A state playoffs features two defending state champs. The Rockets won their second consecutive 6A championship last year while Pat Surtain's squad took home the 5A crown. This game features some of the best talent in the country and the winner will be the favorite to win the 5A state title.
Friday, 7 p.m. at Byers Field (Parma)
Top players
A spot in the Ohio Division 1 semifinals is on the line when two of the best schools in the state square off at Byers Field. These two met in last year's playoffs and Medina stunned the Eagles with a 35-31 win. Allar has been one of the best players in high school football this season and is in the mix to be named the MaxPreps National Player of the Year. St. Edward has won four in a row since a 28-21 overtime loss against Archbishop Moeller (Cincinnati).
Sunday, 5 p.m. at Prince George's Sports & Learning Complex (Landover, Md.)
Top players
The WCAC championship is one of the toughest to win in high school football and it's up for grabs on Sunday. Good Counsel bounced back after a 28-0 loss against DeMatha (Hyattsville, Md.) and beat the Stags in the WCAC semifinals 15-13. The defending WCAC champs faces St. John's after the Cadets posted their fifth shutout of the season with a 28-0 win over Gonzaga in the other semifinal matchup. During the regular season meeting, the Cadets outscored the Falcons 20-0 in the fourth quarter on Oct. 30 to pull out a 34-21 win.
Friday, 2:30 p.m. at Rice-Eccles Stadium (University of Utah)
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Corner Canyon has wanted to run this one back since Lone Peak snapped its 48-game win streak with a dominant 41-16 victory on Oct. 7. The Chargers have won four in a row since that defeat while the Knights have won five straight since a 14-9 loss against Skyridge (Lehi). They got revenge on the Falcons with a 20-0 win in the 6A semifinals. These two met in last year's 6A state championship and
Jaxson Dart led the Chargers to a 45-7 victory to win their third straight title. The 2020 MaxPreps National Player of the Year accounted for 448 yards of total offense (329 passing, 119 rushing) and five touchdowns.
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These two last played in last year's AAAAA state championship and Warner Robins cruised to a 62-28 victory to win its first state title since 2004. The last time Cartersville won state was in 2016 when
Trevor Lawrence led the Hurricanes to their second consecutive AAAA title. Friday's winner advances to the AAAAA quarterfinals awaiting either (8-3) Eastside (Covington) and (9-2) Jones County (Gray).
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Expect a lot of fireworks at Globe Life Field on Saturday afternoon when these two lock horns. Rockwall averages 50.7 points per game while DeSoto is putting up 48.4 points a game. The Eagles have reeled off seven straight wins since a 42-21 loss against Duncanville while the Yellowjackets have won six in a row since a 79-71 double overtime loss to Rockwall-Heath (Rockwall).
