It's the final weekend of the regular season in football-crazy Texas. And that's where we begin our latest look at the MaxPreps Top 10 Games of the Week.
No. 11 Manvel (Texas) will square off with fellow unbeaten Pearland Friday night for the outright District 22-6A title. This is a revenge spot for Pearland, which was unbeaten and nationally ranked last year before being humbled by Manvel in the regular-season finale, 42-7.
Meanwhile, this week's preview also has several key postseason matchups. In Minnesota, Eden Prairie looks to protect its dynasty with a state quarterfinal win against emerging power East Ridge. Missouri's quarterfinal round features a showdown of St. Louis-area unbeaten Christian Brothers and Hazelwood Central. And, in Indiana, conference rivals Warren Central and Ben Davis butt heads again in the Class 6A quarterfinals.
A 9-1 record last week allowed Jamie DeMoney to inch farther atop the standings of our season-long predictions contest. DeMoney's cumulative record of 77-33 is now three games better than second-place holder Stephen Spiewak. Third place belongs to Mitch Stephens (72-38), followed by Kevin Askeland and Leland Gordon (69-41), then Colin Ward-Henninger (64-46).
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.
To catch up with what's happening in the playoffs nationwide,
visit the MaxPreps playoffs home page.
MaxPreps Top 10 Football Games of the Week
Manvel (Texas) at Pearland (Texas)
Photos by John Godwin / Graphic by Ryan Escobar
Manvel (9-0) has been perhaps the most dominant team in Texas so far this season, beating opponents by an average margin of 40 points. The Mavericks boast a number of highly touted juniors, including Texas-committed receiver
Reggie Hemphill-Mapps and defensive back
Deontay Anderson, rated a four-star prospect by 247Sports. Pearland (9-0) is coming off its bye week after a 30-3 win at Pasadena Memorial on Oct. 25. Senior quarterback
Jake Blumrick continued a stellar first season with the Oilers (since transferring from Friendswood) by passing for 302 yards and three touchdowns,
according to yourhoustonnews.com.
Follow live scoring of this game on QwixcoreJust the facts: Manvel has compiled an impressive 71-24 record since its first varsity season in 2007. … Pearland wants to extend a 10-game home winning streak. Its last home loss was in 2012 against Manvel.
Mitch Stephens: Manvel 31, Pearland 21
Kevin Askeland: Manvel 25, Pearland 18
Jamie DeMoney: Manvel 38, Pearland 17
Stephen Spiewak: Manvel 21, Pearland 7
Leland Gordon: Manvel 37, Pearland 30
Colin Ward-Henninger: Manvel 44, Pearland 42
