Video: Top 15 Games of the Week Ten ranked teams are featured in this week's slate.
This week's action was so loaded we had to expand it from 10 to 15 games.
The Game of the Week is going down in the Ohio Division 1 quarterfinals between No. 13 Mentor (Ohio) and St. Edward (Lakewood). They opened up the season against each other and the Cardinals won 29-28.
Both CIF Southern Section Division 1 semifinals are on tap. No. 25 Centennial (Corona) hosts No. 2 St. John Bosco (Bellflower) and Mission Viejo (Calif.) takes on No. 1 Mater Dei (Santa Ana).
Two games featured will crown champions.
No. 24 St. John's (Washington, D.C.) faces Our Lady of Good Counsel (Olney, Md.) in the Washington Catholic Athletic Conference championship and No. 22 Corner Canyon (Draper) takes on American Fork (Utah) in the 6A state title game.
Florida, Georgia, Texas, Arizona, New Jersey, and Alabama are also featured in this week's Top 15 games.
MaxPreps Top 15 high school football Games of the Week
Friday, 7 p.m. (All times local) at Byers Field (Parma)
Top Players
The defending Ohio Division 1 state champs have won 11 straight since losing to Mentor in its season opener. This is the third consecutive year these two play in the postseason, splitting the previous two. St. Edward won 24-14 last year and Mentor won 21-13 in 2017. The winner of this Region 1 final has made it to the state championship game the last two seasons. The Eagles won it all last year and the Cardinals lost to Pickerington Central (Pickerington) in 2017.
Friday, 7:30 p.m.
Top Players
The Inland Empire power was the only new team to join the Top 25 last week and the Huskies face a big-time test in the CIF Southern Section Division 1 semifinals. The Braves have made it to the section championship six consecutive years and are one win away from making it seven straight. This will be the first meeting between the two since 2017 when St. John Bosco won 62-34 to advance to the section championship game. The Braves have won three of the previous five including two in a row.
Sunday, 6 p.m. at Catholic University (Washington, D.C.)
Top Players
The WCAC championship is one of the toughest to win in high school football and the winner on Sunday will end the season in the Top 25. St. John's has won five straight since a four-game losing streak. All four of those losses came against ranked teams. These two played just over a month ago and the Cadets won 34-31. St. John's has won five straight meetings between the two and hasn't lost to the Falcons since 2014. Good Counsel rolls into the championship game riding a ton of momentum after beating last year's champs (Gonzaga) 44-14 in the semifinals.
Top Players
A spot in the 7A Florida semifinals is up for grabs between the top two seed in Region 2. Lakeland brings in a 27-game winning streak and face its biggest hurdle of the season. Armwood is one of the most talented teams in the Sunshine State and its only loss came in overtime on the road in Georgia against North Gwinnett (Suwanee). Armwood won 10 in a row and have outscored the opposition 372-33 during that span.
Friday, 7 p.m.
Top Players
Both teams enter the CIF Southern Section Division 1 semifinal matchup undefeated. Mater Dei is loaded and it all starts with 2020 Alabama commit Young. The 5-star quarterback has accounted for over 4,000 yards of offense to go with 56 touchdowns while completing over 73 percent of his passes. The Diablos are 2-0 against Trinity League opponents in 2019 but face their biggest test of the year.
Top Players
If the Tigers come out like they did last week against Ridge Point (Missouri City) there's a good chance they don't make it to the third round of the 6A Division 1 playoffs. Cy-Fair has been rolling in 2019. The Bobcats are 11-0 and have allowed seven points or less in eight of those games. It looks like
Ron Hoff and
Sherman Smith will both be game-time decisions for Friday night's contest so expect Davis to be a key factor. The junior running back exploded last week for 219 yards rushing and two touchdowns in the Tigers 35-28 win.
Top Players
Both Open Division semifinal games in Arizona are featured this week. The three-time defending 6A state champions take on Salpointe Catholic live on the NFHS Network with a spot in the championship up for grabs. Robinson and Ransom give the Lancers one of the best duos in high school football. The Wolves bring in a 24-game winning streak and have proven to be the best team in Arizona over the last three years.
Top Players
The last time these two locked horns in the postseason they combined for 92 points and over 1,100 yards of total offense. The Eagles won 52-40 thanks to a big night from
Grant Tisdale. They had a tough time slowing down 2020 Ohio State commit Smith-Njigba, who had 14 receptions for 267 yards and three touchdowns. He has been even scarier during his senior campaign. He has 70 grabs for nearly 1,600 yards and 25 touchdowns. Allen has been one of the most consistent programs in the Lone Star State, making a state semifinals six consecutive years. The Eagles need two more wins to make it seven straight.
Friday, 2:30 p.m. at Rice-Eccles Stadium (Salt Lake City)
Top Players
Corner Canyon ran the table in 2018 and brought home the 5A state title and the Chargers are looking to do the same thing after moving up a classification this year. They have won 25 games in a row and just beat the defending 6A state champs, Lone Peak (Highland) 34-7. American Fork is getting hot at the right time. After starting the year 3-3 the Cavemen have won seven of its last eight and all three postseason wins have come by double digits.
Friday, 7 p.m. at University of Akron
Top Players
The four-time defending state champs have had to battle a ton of adversity and injuries through the 2019 season. They lost a heart breaker to St. Ignatius (Cleveland) in early September but have reeled off nine straight since. These two played in the Ohio Division 2 state championship in 2018 and the Knights won 42-28. The winner advances to the D2 semifinals and will play either Avon or Avon Lakes.
Saturday, 1 p.m.
Top Players
The New Jersey Non-Public Group IV postseason bracket is one of the toughest in the country. Don Bosco Prep rolled past Bergen Catholic (Oradell) 24-7 last week and has won four in a row. The winning streak started with a dominant 35-14 win over St. Joseph Regional. Expect the rematch to be way more competitive. The winner takes on either St. Peter's Prep (Jersey City) or St. Augustine Prep (Richland) in the championship game Nov. 29 at MetLife Stadium.
Top Players
Both schools have done pretty well in their previous classifications. Northwestern won back-to-back 6A state titles in 2017 and 2018 while Patrick Surtain led Heritage to 4A championships in 2016 and 2017. This year both got moved to 5A when Florida changed its classifications. The Bulls have won seven straight since a lopsided loss to No. 12 Lowndes (Valdosta, Ga.) and the Patriots have won nine in a row since a road loss against
Caleb Williams and Gonzaga (Washington, D.C.).
Top Players
Georgia's 7A classification is one of the most competitive postseason brackets in the nation and two of the Peach State's best face off on Friday night. Parkview's only loss came against No. 12 Lowndes (Valdosta) and one of Colquitt County's two losses also came against the Vikings. The winner advances to the quarterfinals and will play either Archer (Lawrenceville) or Cherokee (Canton).
Top Players
Josh Niblett's squad is getting healthy at the right time. 2020 Ole Miss commit Ashford returned for the playoffs and scored the game-winning touchdown in overtime against James Clemens (Madison) last week. In the regular season matchup Thompson rolled to a 48-30 victory and the Warriors have won the last two meetings against the Bucs. The winner moves on to the 7A state championship and plays either Central (Phenix City) or Auburn.
Top Players
Hamilton proved it belong among the state's best when the Huskies had Chandler on the ropes a few weeks ago. They ended up losing 42-38 but got right back on the horse and took down Centennial (Peoria) in the opening round of the Open Division playoffs. Next up is one of the most talented teams in the country and Saguaro is two wins away from winning its seventh consecutive state title. The Sabercats have won nine games in a row since a 18-10 loss against Cathedral Catholic (San Diego) in late August. They breezed past Horizon (Scottsdale) 49-3 in their first round playoff game.
