A matchup between two of the preeminent powers in Texas high school football for the last decade leads off the latest edition of the MaxPreps Top 10 Games of the Week.
Southlake Carroll and Euless Trinity have combined to win eight Class 5A state championships since 2002. But despite being only about a 10-mile drive away from each other, this Saturday's game in the 5A/I regional finals will be only the second time these elite teams have met on the gridiron. Carroll won the previous clash – a 22-21 squeaker in the 2006 playoffs – en route to a 16-0 season and third-consecutive state title.
Seven of the other games we are featuring this week involve teams ranked in the latest
MaxPreps Xcellent 25 National Football Rankings presented by the Army National Guard. Starting at the top, No. 1 Manatee could have its hands full against undefeated Central (Fort Pierce) in a road playoff game.
For the first time this season, Mitch Stephens has pulled into the lead in our season-long predictions contest. Mitch correctly predicted six out of 10 winners last week, allowing him to open up a one-game edge on Jamie DeMoney with a 98-42 record (.700 percentage). This is the first time since late September that Jamie hasn't had at least a share of first place. Meanwhile, co-control of third place belongs to Stephen Spiewak and Leland Gordon (93 games correct) and Kevin Askeland – who went 9-1 last week – has sole control of fifth place only six games behind the leader.
Here's a look at this week's Top 10 games of the week along with predictions by MaxPreps staff writers and contributors Mitch Stephens, Steve Montoya, Stephen Spiewak, Kevin Askeland, Leland Gordon and Jamie DeMoney.
MaxPreps Top 10 Football Games of the Week
Carroll (Southlake, Texas) vs. Trinity (Euless, Texas)
Southlake (Carroll) and Trinity (Euless) are two football titans located within about 10 miles of each other but they don't battle often. This week it's a rare Southlake-Trinity tussle that leads the Top 10 Games of the Week.
Photos by Robbie Rakestraw/Kyle Dantzler. Graphic by Ryan Escobar
Carroll, the defending 5A/I champion, has won 11 straight games – all by comfortable margins – since being shut out in the season opener by nationally ranked Allen. Quarterback
Kenny Hill threw for a season-high 371 yards with three touchdowns as the Dragons steamrolled El Dorado (El Paso) last week, 73-23. The 6-foot-1, 205-pound Texas A&M recruit has thrown for 2,920 yards and ran for 1,197 with 54 total touchdowns and a 140 passer rating this season.
View the MaxPreps Texas football playoff brackets The only blemishes on Trinity's record are a pair of early losses to teams currently ranked in the Top 5 of the latest MaxPreps Xcellent 25. The Trojans (10-2) lost in overtime (31-24) to No. 5 Bellevue (Wash.) in Seattle on Aug. 30 and to No. 3 DeSoto (42-21) two weeks later. In the games that followed, Trinity returned to its typical hard-nosed, defensive-minded brand of football, allowing just more than a touchdown per game in their last 10. Last week, they defeated Mansfield, 28-7, holding the Tigers more than 25 points below their season scoring average.
Mitch Stephens: Carroll 28, Trinity 21
Steve Montoya: Carroll 21, Trinity 14
Stephen Spiewak: Carroll 24, Trinity 14
Kevin Askeland: Carroll 45, Trinity 14
Leland Gordon: Trinity 27, Carroll 21
Jamie DeMoney: Carroll 27, Trinity 13
