MaxPreps Top 10 high school football games of the week

No. 2 Allen, No. 7 Skyline collide in Texas 6A semifinals; unbeatens No. 5 Folsom and Grant battle to play for California Division I title; No. 11 Central, No. 15 Aquinas try to add more Florida state crowns.

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Dec 11, 2014, 8:00am

Pine-Richland (Gibsonia, Pa.) vs. St. Joseph's Prep (Philadelphia)
Benny Walls, St. Joseph's Prep
Benny Walls, St. Joseph's Prep
Photo by Richard Ta

What to watch: For the second straight season, St. Joseph's Prep will face an undefeated Pittsburgh-area squad for the Class 4A state championship. As was the case heading into their win over Central Catholic (Pittsburgh) last year, Prep (10-3) is a three-loss team matched against a 15-0 opponent. At the start of this season, Prep was nationally ranked but staggered to 1-3 start — with all its losses against non-Pennsylvania opponents. Last week's impressive 37-7 semifinal win over Pennsbury (Fairless Hills) featured 352 rushing yards and five different Prep players running for touchdowns. Meanwhile, Pine-Richland (15-0) achieved its first state finals trip since the 2003 season — when it was in Class 3A — by taking down previously unbeaten Wilson (West Lawn), 28-17. Senior quarterback Ben DiNucci passed for 173 yards and four touchdowns. The Penn commit has thrown for 3,886 yards and 42 touchdowns this season.

See live scoring updates of this game via Qwixcore

Just the facts: Pine-Richland's 2003 state-championship game appearance ended with a double-overtime loss to Manheim Central. Current Pittsburgh Pirates second baseman Neil Walker was an all-state wide receiver on that Pine-Richland team. … A St. Joseph's Prep win on Saturday would give the Philadelphia Catholic League its third Class 4A state title since it joined the PIAA's state playoff system in 2008.

Mitch Stephens: Pine-Richland 30, St. Joseph's Prep 28
Kevin Askeland: Pine-Richland 35, St. Joseph's Prep 25
Jamie DeMoney: St. Joseph's Prep 34, Pine-Richland 31
Stephen Spiewak: St. Joseph's Prep 28, Pine-Richland 21
Leland Gordon: St. Joseph's Prep 17, Pine-Richland 10
Colin Ward-Henninger: St. Joseph's Prep 34, Pine-Richland 21


Jamie DeMoney has covered high school sports and recruiting for the past 20 seasons. He is a Regional Content Manager and Product Specialist for XOS Digital and compiles the National Prep Poll (PrepNation) for World Features Syndicate.

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