MaxPreps Top 10 High School Football Games of the Week

Video: MaxPreps Top 10 Games of the Week
Can't miss games in Ohio and Southern California playoffs highlight this week's action.

For the next four weeks Southern California will have some of the biggest matchups all year in the CIF Southern Section Division 1 playoff bracket. Two of the most prestigious programs face off this Friday night in the opening round when No. 5 Centennial (Corona, Calif.) hosts Serra (Gardena, Calif.).

Two games featured this week are from the Ohio Division 1 playoff bracket. The defending state champs St. Xavier (Cincinnati) takes on Sycamore (Cincinnati) and St. Edward (Lakewood, Ohio) faces off against Mentor (Ohio) with a spot in the regional finals on the line.

The season comes to an end for No. 2 IMG Academy (Bradenton, Fla.) on Saturday as the Ascenders try to win their 36th straight game. The only thing standing in their way from finishing the season 8-0 is Bishop Sullivan Catholic.
MaxPreps Top 10 Games of the Week

Serra (Gardena, Calif.) @ No. 5 Centennial (Corona, Calif.)
Friday, 7 p.m. (All times local)

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Serra: LB Merlin Robertson (6-3, 240), ATH Bryan Addison (6-5, 180), WR John Jackson (6-1, 180), WR Kobe Smith (6-2, 175) and CB Max Williams (5-8, 170)

Centennial: QB Tanner McKee (6-6, 220), WR Gary Bryant (5-10, 160), LB Camron Pitcher (6-0, 220), ATH Chris Venable (6-0.5, 165) and DE Drake Jackson (6-4, 235)

Storyline

Some of the best players in Southern California will be on the field Friday night. The Huskies lone loss this year came against No. 2 IMG Academy when McKee got hurt in the first quarter. The Inland Empire power is averaging 59 points per game heading into the playoffs. The Cavaliers finished the year 6-2 after dropping its first two games of the season and head into the postseason with some momentum after handing Long Beach Poly its second loss of 2017.

St. Edward (Lakewood, Ohio) vs. Mentor (Ohio)
Friday, 7:30 p.m. @ Byers Field (Parma, Ohio)

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St. Edward: S Mike Dowell (6-0, 195), QB Garrett Dzuro (6-0, 195), S Darnell Shields (6-0, 180), WR Quintel Kent (6-0, 170) and S Caden Kolesar (5-10, 195)

Mentor: QB Tadas Tatarunas (6-4, 210), WR Logan Shea (5-9, 170), LB Mike Brey (5-11, 185), OT Ryan Jacoby (6-4, 260) and DE Noah Potter (6-5, 250)

Storyline

The Division 1 field in Ohio comprises one of high school football's toughest postseason brackets. Two 10-1 teams face off this Friday with a spot in the regional finals on the line. This will be the first meeting between the two since 2015 and they have split the previous six.

DeMatha (Hyattsville, Md.) @ No. 20 St. John's (Washington, D.C.)
Saturday, 1 p.m.

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DeMatha: DT Austin Fontaine (6-3, 310), OG Evan Gregory (6-4, 285), QB Ty Lenhart (6-3, 190), RB Myles Miree (5-8, 185) and ATH DeMarcco Hellams (6-2, 190)

St. John's: QB Kevin Doyle (6-4, 210), RB Keilan Robinson (5-9, 175), WR Quinten Johnson (5-10.5, 190), DT Cam Goode (5-11, 315) and LB Mekhail Sherman (6-3, 235)

Storyline

St. John's beat DeMatha for the first time in 23 years earlier this season and hopes to complete the two-game sweep this weekend. If the Cadets win the WCAC conference title it would be the first time since 1989. DeMatha has won four straight WCAC conference titles and enters the playoffs with back-to-back wins after losing three straight.

Orange Lutheran (Orange, Calif.) @ Chaminade (West Hills, Calif.)
Friday, 7 p.m.

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

Chaminade: RB Andrew VanBuren (6-0.5, 220), WR Michael Wilson (6-2, 180), QB Ryan Stevens (6-1, 170), LB Blake Antzoulatos (6-2, 215) and DT Alex Gubner (6-3, 290)

Storyline

Orange Lutheran still hasn't dropped a game this year against non-league opponents. Chaminade's only loss this year came against St. John Bosco. Ford has been one of the best wide receivers in the country this season and VanBuren has emerged as one of the top running backs in California. Whoever has a better night between these two players might be the difference in who advances to the second round of the nation's toughest postseason bracket.

St. Xavier (Cincinnati) vs. Sycamore (Cincinnati)
Friday, 7:30 p.m. @ Mason high school

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St. Xavier: QB Chase Wolf (6-2, 195), DE Bobby Jefferson (6-3, 225), DE Blake Bacevich (6-4, 215), WR Andrew Wittrock (6-0, 175) and WR Cam Specht (5-8, 160)

Sycamore: RB Brian Doneghy (5-8, 175), OG Tate Goodyear (6-4, 275), QB Drew Altemuehle (6-2, 190), CB Khalis Hicks (5-8, 170) and WR Myron Williams (6-1, 180)

Storyline

These two met last year in the regional finals and St. Xavier outlasted Sycamore 35-28 in overtime. This year they meet in the regional semifinals and the winner of this game will face either Colerain or Mason. St. Xavier is trying to repeat as Division 1 state champs.

Pinnacle (Phoenix) @ No. 24 Chandler (Ariz.)
Friday, 7 p.m.

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Pinnacle: QB Spencer Rattler (6-1, 175), WR Hayden Hatten (6-3, 215), RB Kaleb Covington (5-10, 175), LB Thans Dixon (6-0, 190) and S Tucker Parrish (6-1, 190)

Chandler: QB Jacob Conover (6-0, 185), WR Gunner Romney (6-2, 180), RB Drake Anderson (5-11, 180), RB DeCarlos Brooks (5-10, 185) and DT Chris Manoa (6-0, 300)

Storyline

Chandler jumped back into the Xcellent 25 high school football rankings presented by the Army National Guard for the second time this season. The Wolves have won seven straight and are finally healthy. The defending 6A state champs are playing as well as anyone in the country. Chandler played Pinnacle back in September and needed overtime to win, but the Wolves were without starting quarterback Conover, who has been lights out since returning from a shoulder injury.

Lone Peak (Highland, Utah) @ East (Salt Lake City)
Friday, 11 a.m.

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Lone Peak: QB Brock Jones (6-1, 190), WR Brigham Trowbridge (5-9, 175), LB Andrew Ostler (5-11, 205), OT Connor Pay (6-5, 270) and DT Jonah Vimahi (6-1, 230)

East: OG Sam Taimani (6-2, 315), LB Tennessee Pututau (6-1.5, 260), OT Junior Angilau (6-6, 300), DT Paul Maile (6-3, 250) and LB Viliami Tausinga (6-1, 210)

Storyline

East proved it belongs in Utah's largest classification and the Leopards are one win away from advancing to the 6A state championship game. The only thing standing in their way is a very good Lone Peak team. East's only two losses on the season came against Top 10 teams — IMG Academy and Bingham.

Steele (Cibolo, Texas) @ Clemens (Schertz, Texas)
Friday, 7:30 p.m.

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Steele: S Caden Sterns (6-1, 190), RB Brenden Brady (5-11, 190), CB Jayveon Cardwell (5-11.5, 175), QB Wyatt Begeal (5-10, 170) and WR Onyx Smith (6-0, 195)

Clemens: WR Tommy Bush (6-5, 190), RB Marshawn Brown (5-9, 180), CB Darius Vandyke (5-9, 170), CB Jaques Tyler (5-8, 160) and LB Johnie Graham (5-10, 190)

Storyline

Clemens hopes it can finally get the Cibolo Steele monkey off its back. The Buffaloes have lost seven straight to the Knights and need to win this game if they want any chance of winning the district title. This game features two of the best players in the state in 2018 Texas commit Sterns and Clemen's 4-star wide receiver Tommy Bush.

Bishop Sullivan Catholic (Virginia Beach, Va.) @ No. 2 IMG Academy (Bradenton, Fla.)
Saturday, 7 p.m.

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Top Players

Bishop Sullivan: LB Teradja Mitchell (6-2, 230), QB Tyler Desue (6-1, 185), CB Tayvion Land (5-9, 180), CB Sheridan Jones (6-0, 165) and RB Jake Low (5-10, 195)

IMG Academy: DE Xavier Thomas (6-3, 265), CB Brendan Radley-Hiles (5-10, 185), RB Trey Sanders (5-11.5, 215), DT Taron Vincent (6-3, 295) and RB Noah Cain (5-11, 215)

Storyline

IMG Academy has one game left on the schedule to leave a lasting impression on why it is the No. 1 team in the country. The Ascenders have won 36 games in a row and are a perfect 7-0 this season. The one thing that hurts their schedule was the two lost games against No. 13 St. Frances Academy and No. 20 St. John's because of Hurricane Irma. Both would have been huge quality wins for the Ascenders.

Mililani (Hawaii) vs. No. 21 St. Louis (Honolulu)
Friday, 7:30 p.m. @ Aloha Stadium

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Top Players

Mililani: C Noah Williams (6-1, 280), OG Scottie Agasiva (6-1, 290), QB Dillon Gabriel (5-11, 185), WR Ryan Chang (5-11, 170) and DE Shane Kady (6-3, 190)

St. Louis: DE Faatui Tuitele (6-3, 270), QB Chevan Cordeiro (6-0.5, 175), S Isaiah Tufaga (6-0, 200), WR Jonah Panoke (6-2, 185) and WR Mitchell Quinn (5-11, 155)

Storyline

The winner of this game advances to the Open Division Hawaii state championship. St. Louis won the inaugural Open Division title last year and there's a good chance the Crusaders could meet Kahuku in the championship again in 2017. Cordeiro had big shoes to fill replacing Tua Tagovailoa and has been phenomenal during his senior year, throwing for over 2,000 yards and 21 touchdowns.