MaxPreps Top 10 High School Football Games of the Week

Top 10 Games of the Week 10,531 views 4:28

Video: Top 10 Games of the Week
Zack Poff takes a look at this week's top games led by an Ohio showdown between St. Xavier and La Salle.

St. Xavier vs. La Salle is not just one of the best rivalries in Ohio, but high school football and they face off Friday with first place in the Greater Catholic League South on the line. A win for St. X would clinch first place outright. If La Salle wins and beats Elder in its season finale the Lancers would claim the league crown.

The toughest league in America kicks off this week and three Trinity League games are featured in this week's Top 10 games.

Florida power St. Thomas Aquinas looks to bounce back after its first shutout loss since 1996 with a matchup against a very talented Deerfield Beach team.
MaxPreps Top 10 Games of the Week

La Salle (Cincinnati) @ No. 14 St. Xavier (Cincinnati)
Friday, 7 p.m. (All times are local)

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Top Players

La Salle: TE Josh Whyle (6-6, 215), LB Garrett Bledsoe (6-0, 200), LB Brody Ingle (6-1, 215), QB Griffin Merritt (6-2, 210) and LB Jarred Uran (6-2, 185)

St. Xavier: QB Chase Wolf (6-2, 195), WR Cam Specht (5-8, 155), DE Blake Bacevich (6-4, 215), DE Bobby Jefferson (6-3, 225) and WR Andrew Wittrock (6-0, 175)

Storyline

First place in the Greater Catholic League South is on the line. The winner of this one clinches at least of share of the GCLS title. La Salle snapped St. Xavier's six-game winning streak against them last year with a hard fought 17-14 win. St. X has owned the season series since 2004 winning 12 of the 15 matchups, and if the Bombers make it 13 of 16 they will claim its first outright league title since 2012.

No. 5 St. John Bosco (Bellflower, Calif.) vs. Orange Lutheran (Orange, Calif.)
Friday, 7 p.m. @ Orange Coast College

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Top Players

St. John Bosco: S Jaiden Woodbey (6-2, 205), DE Cole Aubrey (6-3, 225), LB Kedron Williams (6-1, 190), QB Re-al Mitchell (5-11.5, 190) and QB DJ Uiagalelei (6-4, 190)

Orange Lutheran: WR Kyle Ford (6-2, 200), QB Ryan Hilinski (6-3.5, 220), LB Jackson Cloyd (6-3, 220), WR Logan Loya (5-11.5, 170) and WR Cameron Gardner (5-10.5, 170)

Storyline

All three Trinity League games will be featured among the Top 10 Games of the Week and the marquee matchup is between No. 5 St. John Bosco and Orange Lutheran. The Lancers are just outside of the Top 25 and a win over the Braves would jump them into next week's Xcellent 25 rankings presented by the Army National Guard. Hilinski has a ton of legit wide receivers, but his most reliable target is Ford. The 4-star wide receiver is a Top 100 recruit in the Class of 2019. Bosco has one of the best secondaries in the country led by 2018 Ohio State commit Woodbey. The Braves are fortunate to have two legit quarterbacks and there is a good chance both of them see the field on Friday.

No. 1 Mater Dei (Santa Ana, Calif.) @ Santa Margarita (Rancho Santa Margarita, Calif.)
Friday, 7 p.m.

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Top Players

Mater Dei: QB JT Daniels (6-2, 205), WR Amon-Ra St. Brown (5-11.5, 190), ATH Bru McCoy (6-3, 215), OT Tommy Brown (6-6.5, 315) and LB Solomon Tuliaupupu (6-2, 220)

Santa Margarita: RB Chad Magyar (6-1, 200), RB Malone Mataele (5-11, 170), QB Josiah Norwood (5-11, 165), LB Caden Fitch (5-11, 215) and TE Jake Peters (6-5, 225)

Storyline

Both teams have big-time offenses. The Monarchs average 44.4 points per game, while the Eagles are putting up 44.8 points a game. Mater Dei had one of the toughest non-league schedules in high school football and all the Monarchs did was win by an average margin of nearly 35 points per game during that stretch. Santa Margarita showed it can hang with the best of SoCal by leading at halftime against Mission Viejo before losing a close game 28-23. The Eagles get another huge test this weekend against the No. 1 team in the country.

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McDonogh (Owings Mills, Md.) @ No. 20 St. Frances Academy (Baltimore)
Friday, 7 p.m.

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Top Players

McDonogh: QB DeJuan Ellis (5-11, 160), DT PJ Mustipher (6-4.5, 290), RB Jabriel Johnson (5-9, 190), WR BJ Farrare (5-10, 175) and DT/OG D'von Ellies (6-2, 255)

St. Frances Academy: DE Eyabi Anoma (6-5, 230), LB Shane Lee (6-0, 230), QB Jalon Jones (6-3, 180), OT Jaelyn Duncan (6-6, 300) and RB Joachim Bangda (5-10, 210)
 
Storyline

St. Frances Academy has been one of the most dominant teams in the country this season. The Panthers have outscored the opposition 190-15 through the first five games. McDonogh's lone loss came against DMV power DeMatha in a game it was leading at halftime but eventually lost 17-14. The winner of this game puts themselves in a great position to control their own destiny in the MIAA A league.

No. 11 Ben Davis (Indianapolis) @ Lawrence Central (Indianapolis)
Friday, 7 p.m.

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Top Players

Ben Davis: QB Reese Taylor (5-10, 155), RB Johnny Adams (5-11, 190), LB Sir'Zion Dance (5-10, 220), WR Broc Thompson (6-2, 175) and CB Jontae Dobson (5-9, 165)

Lawrence Central: LB Cameron McGrone (6-1, 215), QB Donyell Meredith (6-4, 195), RB John Childs (5-11, 195), WR Donivan Wright (6-0, 165) and WR Kirk Pinkston (5-9, 170)

Storyline

Ben Davis has rolled through some of Indiana's best and looks add Lawrence Central to the list on Friday. Taylor has emerged as one of the National Player of the Year in 2017 favorites and Dance leads the way for one of the best defenses in the country. Lawrence Central is out to prove they belong among the best in the state. The Bears have already downed Warren Central and Center Grove.

Gonzaga (Washington, D.C.) @ No. 19 DeMatha (Hyattsville, Md.)
Friday, 7 p.m.

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Top Players

Gonzaga: OT Aidan Rafferty (6-6, 280), RB Jason Labbe (5-11, 195), DE Joseph Wete (6-3, 230), QB Caleb Williams (6-0, 190) and TE Robbie Mangas (6-3, 240)

DeMatha: DT Austin Fontaine (6-2, 310), OG Evan Gregory (6-4, 285), QB Tyler Lenhart (6-3, 185), WR DeMarcco Hellams (6-2, 215) and RB Myles Miree (5-8, 185)

Storyline

The WCAC is one nation's toughest leagues and Gonzaga already is 1-0 in conference play. This will be the league opener for DeMatha. The last five meetings between these two schools have been decided by 10 points or less with the Stags have won five of the last six.

Servite (Anaheim, Calif.) @ JSerra Catholic (San Juan Capistrano, Calif.)
Friday, 7 p.m.

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Top Players

Servite: S Julius Irvin (6-2, 180), QB Tyler McMahon (5-10.5, 180), WR Delon Hurt (6-0, 190), LB Spencer Lytle (6-3, 215) and LB Joe Christensen (6-0, 210)

JSerra: DE Abdul-Malik McClain (6-3, 225), QB Matt Robinson (6-1, 175), WR Munir McClain (6-4, 210), WR Tarik Luckett (6-2.5, 185) and DE Shawn Nielsen (6-2, 255)

Storyline

Both teams enter their Trinity League opener 5-0. Servite has dominated the season series since 2006. The Friars have won nine of the previous 11 meetings, including two in a row. These teams are loaded with talent and this game will most likely come down to what quarterback has a better night on Friday.

Perry (Gilbert, Ariz.) @ Chandler (Chandler, Ariz.)
Friday, 7 p.m.

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Top Players

Perry: QB Brock Purdy (6-1, 195), WR D'Shayne James (6-2, 200), S Braden Ford (6-0, 180), DE Jobiin Sweatt (6-1, 190) and DE Travis Beckman (6-4, 240)

Chandler: RB Drake Anderson (5-11, 180), WR Gunner Romney (6-2, 180), RB DeCarlos Brooks (5-10, 185), S Bryce Jackson (5-9, 180) and WR Jarick Caldwell (6-3, 200)

Storyline

There might not a better turnaround story in high school football Chandler starting running back Drake Anderson. He missed his sophomore and junior seasons because of injuries and all made up for it during his senior year  by rushing for nearly 1,000 yards to go with 18 total touchdowns. He has carried the Wolves this season without starting junior quarterback Jacob Conover, who has only played in two games this year because of a shoulder injury. He should be back before the postseason begins. Perry enters this game 6-0 and hopes to get the Chandler monkey off its back, having dropped five straight against the Wolves.

Deerfield Beach (Deerfield Beach, Fla.) @ No. 23 St. Thomas Aquinas (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.)
Friday, 7 p.m.

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Top Players

Deerfield Beach: LB Ge'mon Eaford (6-1, 220), RB Jakari Norwood (5-10, 170), LB Ashtan Pierre (6-2, 190), LB Rosendo Louis (6-1, 225) and LB Kenny Bastida (6-1, 220)

St. Thomas Aquinas: CB Asante Samuel Jr. (5-9.5, 165), CB Al Blades Jr. (6-0, 170), WR Elijah Moore (5-11, 180), OLB Nik Bonitto (6-2.5, 205) and RB Daniel Carter (5-11, 195)

Storyline

St. Thomas Aquinas suffered its first loss of the season last week in Arizona against Centennial after playing their second game in a five-day span. St. Thomas looks to bounce back against a very good Deerfield Beach team that comes in 3-1. The Raiders might have the best defense in all of high school football, but the Bucks are out to prove they have one of the top defenses, too.

DePaul Catholic (Wayne, N.J.) @ St. Peter's Prep (Jersey City, N.J.)
Friday, 7 p.m.

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Top Players

DePaul Catholic: QB Taquan Roberson (6-0, 185), WR Teddy Harper (5-8, 170), OT Khris Banks (6-1.5, 290), LB Vinny DePalma (6-1, 215) and ATH Ronnie Hickman (6-1, 200)

St. Peter's Prep: LB Shayne Simon (6-3, 215), DT Jayson Ademilola (6-3, 290), DE Justin Ademilola (6-3, 240), QB Maasai Maynor (6-0, 180) and LB Chase Jones (6-2, 205)

Storyline

Two of New Jersey's best face off this Friday. DePaul has bounced back since its season opening loss to Bergen Catholic (Oradell, N.J.) and won three in row. St. Peter's Prep lone loss came on the road against No. 9 St. Joseph's Prep (Philadelphia). The Marauders have produced some of the best players from the state over the years including Brandon Wimbush and Minkah Fitzpatrick. Simon is the next great player from St. Peter's Prep.