Premier SoCal quarterbacks Brad Kaaya and Brandon Dawkins face off

One way to settle the seemingly never-ending debate about who is the top senior quarterback from Southern California is to pit the pair of premier prospects head-to-head.

That's what's going to happen Thursday night in Westlake Village as Chaminade (West Hills) travels to Oaks Christian.

Brad Kaaya will be underneath center for Chaminade (2-1) and Brandon Dawkins will call signals for Oaks Christian (3-0). The contest is one of the national MaxPreps Top 10 Games of the Week.

One will come away the winner and the other will be left to think about what could have been.

This much is fairly certain: Spectators in attendance for the 7 p.m. clash of prolific quarterbacks figure to be entertained from start to finish. Both teams average more than 45 points per game. Chaminade has scored at least 50 in all three of its games.

"There's has been a lot of hype about the game this week, things said on social media with Facebook and Twitter, but it's more than me against Brandon," Kaaya said. "It's about Chaminade against Oaks Christian. A win is the only thing that matters for everyone involved. 

"I've known that dude for a while. Me and Brandon go way back. We are not strangers. There might be some smack talk going back in the forth, but we'll be friends at the end of day. We have a lot of respect for each other. Both of us have had this game circled on our calendars."

The game is important for Kaaya and his team. especially with play in the traditionally tough Mission League around the corner for the Eagles (2-1 overall). Same thing could be said for Dawkins and the Lions (3-0) given the fact Marmonte League play starts in two weeks.

"I'm friends with Brad," Dawkins said. "Not best friends, we don't talk every day, or anything. We do keep in touch, so that makes a game like this bigger for us. Before the first play, there might be a little trash-talk. Nothing big, that's not our style. Still, we know what's stake.

"We see what people write about us in the newspaper or on the Internet, the good stuff and the bad. You can't get too wrapped up in the things. You can't get a big head. The recognition is motivation for me. If I'm thought of as one of the best around, I wan to go out and prove it."

In the 247Sports recruiting rankings, Kaaya is the nation's No. 6 pro-style quarterback and No. 96 overall. The 6-foot-4, 215-pounder committed to Miami back in May despite having scholarships offers on the table from from more than 10 well-known schools.

Worth mentioning, the only player ranked ahead of Kaaya at quarterback from California is Keller Chryst from Palo Alto. That's decent company considering the Stanford commit is the nation's No. 28 player overall in the 247Sports Composite Rankings.

"Some say I don't always have the same kind of stats as some of the other big-time quarterbacks, I'm OK with that," Kaaya said. "It doesn't matter what people do, or say, my job is step out on the field and manage the game. If I do that, everything will fall into place."

Dawkins, on the other hand, is no slouch. Far from it. The 6-3, 206-pounder is the country's No. 13 dual-threat quarterback in the 247Sports Composite Rankings. He committed to Arizona in late July, although the road to Tucson was interesting, to say the least.

Notre Dame was one of the first programs to offer him. A few months ago, in fact, Dawkins attempted to commit to the Fighting Irish. The coaching staff decided to go in another direction, however. Expect him to be more eager than ever to prove himself against Kaaya.

"We like our guy, Brad, and wouldn't trade him for anyone else," Chaminade coach Ed Crosin said. "Dawkins is a player and he's someone you have to watch out for at all times. Our goal is to keep him in front of us and have his teammates beat us."

Regardless of the outcome, Dawkins already has something to hold over the head of his peer. He was recently named to the Blue-Grey All-American Game on Jan 11.

"Brandon takes care of business on, and off, the field. He has great character and that's why it was easy for us to make the decision to select him," said longtime NFL veteran Mark McMillian, who will coach Dawkins and the South during the Blue-Grey game. "In terms of quarterbacks, there are many worthy candidates. Brandon was the best of the bunch though. That's not a knock on Brad, he was also considered. Honestly, you can never rule out anything. We want the best players from California, bottom line."

Sean Ceglinsky has covered prep and college sports in Southern California for the better part of the past 15-plus years. Follow him on Twitter: @SeanCeglinsky