With Thanksgiving weekend at hand, MaxPreps has prepared another feast of previews spotlighting the Top 10 high school football games of the week across the nation.
We begin in Colorado, where Sports Authority Field at Mile High Stadium is the site of the Class 5A state championship game. Defending champ Valor Christian has lost only four times to in-state opponents since 2010 and is trying to win a state title for the fifth-consecutive season. In contrast, Fairview is shooting for its first crown since 1987. The Knights are 12-0 this year after finishing with just a net .500 record over the last three seasons.
In featured games involving Xcellent 25 teams, No. 16 St. Edward (Lakewood) and No. 21 Archbishop Moeller (Cincinnati) face semifinal tests on opposite sides of the Ohio Division I playoff bracket. And the day after the Detroit Lions host Thanksgiving at Ford Field, No. 24 Brother Rice (Bloomfield Hills, Mich.) and Muskegon (Mich.) hit the turf with the Division 2 state championship on the line.
See high school football playoff brackets from across the nationJamie DeMoney has created some breathing room for himself at the top of the standings in our season-long predictions contest. Jamie correctly selected the winners in all of the 10 games last week to improve his cumulative record to 100-39-1. He is four games ahead of Stephen Spiewak and six games better than Leland Gordon.
Here's a look at this week's Top 10 games along with predictions by MaxPreps staff writers and contributors Mitch Stephens, Stephen Spiewak, Kevin Askeland, Leland Gordon, Colin Ward-Henninger and Jamie DeMoney.
MaxPreps Top 10 Football Games of the Week
Photos by Carl Auer/Paul DiSalvo. Graphic by Bryce Escobar.
Fairview is the last unbeaten team in Class 5A. The Knights have one of the state's most potent passing games, led by
Anders Hill. The 6-foot-4, 210-pound senior has thrown for 3,659 yards and 35 touchdowns this season. Valor Christian lost only to Utah 5A champion Bingham this year - in overtime. The Eagles (12-1) feature Stanford-bound running back
Christian McCaffrey, who has 2,358 combined rushing and receiving yards with 39 touchdowns.
Just the facts: McCaffrey, a varsity player since his freshman season, holds the 11-man state record of 136 career touchdowns. … Saturday will be the first meeting ever between these programs. Valor Christian opened its doors in 2007 and did not begin playing at the 5A level until last year.
Mitch Stephens: Valor Christian 35, Fairview 21
Kevin Askeland: Valor Christian 42, Fairview 23
Jamie DeMoney: Valor Christian 27, Fairview 11
Stephen Spiewak: Valor Christian 35, Fairview 20
Leland Gordon: Valor Christian 49, Fairview 41
Colin Ward-Henninger: Valor Christian 28, Fairview 14
