MaxPreps Top 10 High School Football Games of the Week

Video: Top 10 Games of the Week
Zack Poff takes you inside this week's biggest matchups.

While most of the action in this final weekend of October involves regular season and playoff showdowns, we lead off the Top 10 Games of the Week with a pair of intriguing out-of-state matchups for Top 10 teams.

No. 2 IMG Academy (Bradenton, Fla.) (7-0) will travel cross country to play traditional Southern California power Long Beach Poly. It's the Ascenders' fifth game of the year against a non-Florida team – and second versus a California opponent. After this week, IMG has only three games left to potentially pad its national championship resume.

Meanwhile, No. 7 Grayson (Loganville, Ga.) – whose only loss this season was against IMG – will venture across the state line to take on perennial Alabama powerhouse Hoover. Both teams enter Friday night's contest with seven-game winning streaks. No. 2 IMG Academy (Bradenton, Fla.) at Long Beach Poly (Long Beach, Calif.)
Friday 7 p.m. (PDT)

Why it's big: It's IMG Academy's second trip to Southern California this season. The No. 2 Ascenders edged No. 14 Centennial (Corona, Calif.), 50-49, at the Honor Bowl in Mission Viejo on Labor Day weekend. Poly (6-2) has been rolling since back-to-back losses to state powers Narbonne and Mission Viejo in early September. The Jackrabbits have five consecutive wins by a combined margin of 332-19.

Players to watch: Texas A&M commit Kellen Mond has 16 passing touchdowns and 11 rushing touchdowns to lead IMG Academy's potent offense. The top dog on defense is senior Dylan Moses. The Alabama commit is the No. 4 overall prospect in the nation, according to 247Sports, and leads the Ascenders in tackles. … Arizona commit Joshua Brown, a three-year starter at linebacker, is the leading tackler for Long Beach Poly.

No. 7 Grayson (Loganville, Ga.) at Hoover (Ala.)
Friday 7 p.m. (CDT)

Why it's big: A rare out-of-state showdown for this late in the season matches a pair of teams whose only loss was against a Top 10 team early in the year. No. 7 Grayson (7-1) has reeled off seven consecutive wins after losing to No. 2 IMG Academy (Bradenton, Fla.) in the season opener. The Rams' margin of victory the last five games is a jaw-dropping 240-12. Hoover (8-1) also has seven straight victories since an Aug. 26 loss to No. 6 Allen (Texas). The Bucs have allowed only 45 total points in their eight other games.

Players to watch: Of 247Sports' composite list of the Top 30 senior prospects in Georgia, five play for Grayson. The group includes South Carolina-bound receiver-defensive back Jamyest Williams and Clemson-committed quarterback Chase Brice. … The most talked-about up-and-coming recruit on Hoover's roster is junior receiver Shedrick Jackson. The 6-foot-1, 183-pounder is the nephew of former Heisman Trophy winner Bo Jackson.

La Salle (Cincinnati, Ohio) at Elder (Cincinnati, Ohio)
Friday 7 p.m. (EDT)

Why it's big: La Salle (7-2) could clinch its first Greater Catholic League South title outright in program history with a win. That's heady stuff for the Lancers, who prior to last year had only shared the crown on two other occasions. An Elder (6-3) win would result in a three-way tie for the championship between itself, La Salle and St. Xavier.

Players to watch: La Salle quarterback Griffin Merritt, a 6-foot-2, 190-pound junior, leads the GCL South in passing with 1,406 yard and 15 touchdowns. Linebacker Garrett Bledsoe, who started for the Lancers last season as a freshman, is third in the league in tackles. … Elder senior safety Zach Lyons leads the conference in tackles and is tied for second in interceptions. Senior Adam Schwallie leads the league in receiving yards.

Niceville (Fla.) at Crestview (Fla.)
Friday 7 p.m. (EDT)

Why it's big: The outright District 3-6A championship will be decided in this battle of unbeatens. Both squads are 8-0 and neither has won any game by less than 10 points all season. However, the edge in recency is strongly in Niceville's favor. The Eagles have won eight of nine over Crestview including a 38-3 rout last season.

Players to watch: Crestview quarterback Rusty Moorer is having a standout senior season. The 5-foot-11, 155-pounder leads the state in both passing yardage (2,490) and passing touchdowns (37). … Niceville's most productive offensive player has been senior running back Deonte' Sheffield, a three-star prospect according to 247Sports. Sheffield has 672 rushing yards and eight touchdowns in seven games. The Eagles' leading receiver is Juanyeh Thomas, a three-star junior.

Aledo (Texas) at Northwest (Justin, Texas)
Friday 7 p.m. (CDT)

Why it's big: The last unbeaten teams in District 6-5A meet on the penultimate Friday night of the regular season. An 8-0 start is nothing new for Aledo. The Bearcats are fourth in Texas with 170 wins since 2003. But it marks a huge turnaround for Northwest. The Texans haven't won more than eight games total in any season since 2004 and struggled to a 1-9 record last year.

Players to watch: The bulk of Northwest's offensive firepower comes from a pair of seniors. Iowa commit Gavin Holmes has 12 touchdown catches and 1,037 receiving yards, which ranks 13th in the state of Texas. Uncommitted running back Syrus Moore has 15 total touchdowns and 1,253 rushing yards. … Senior quarterback Dillon Davis triggers an Aledo offense that has generated over 4,400 total yards and averages more than 62 points per game. One of the unit's top playmakers is running back Jase McClellan. The freshman standout averaged over 16 yards per carry in Aledo's last three games.

Freedom (Oakley, Calif.) at Pittsburg (Calif.)
Friday 7 p.m. (PDT)

Why it's big: It's the game of the year in the Bay Valley Athletic League with a pair of unbeaten teams vying for an outright conference title. After skirting at or just above .500 the past three seasons, 8-0 is an unexpectedly strong start for Freedom. The Falcons have defeated Pittsburg only twice in the last 14 meetings, including dropping five in a row.

Players to watch: Senior running back Montaz Thompson needs only 23 rushing yards to eclipse 3,000 for the last two seasons. The 5-foot-8, 185-pounder has a remarkable 11-yard per-carry average in his two-year career at Pittsburg (8-0). … Freedom features a top-notch senior running back of its own in Ronnie Rivers. Like Thompson, Rivers stands only 5-foot-8 inches tall but has 1,179 rushing yards and 21 touchdowns this season. His 389 rushing yards three weeks ago against Antioch was a school record.

Valley Christian (San Jose, Calif.) at St. Francis (Mountain View, Calif.)
Friday 7:30 p.m. (PDT)

Why it's big: Valley Christian (8-0) would lock up no worse than a share of the West Catholic Athletic League championship with a win at St. Francis (7-1). History says that won't be easy – St. Francis has beaten the Warriors in six of the last eight meetings.

Players to watch: Valley Christian senior running back Javon Sturns has reached the 100-yard rushing mark in six of the seven games he's played in this season. The one game he fell short – a week-two win over Pleasant Valley (Chico) – he ran for 99 yards. … St. Francis also has a standout senior at running back in Cyrus Habibi-Likio. The recent Washington State decommit is rolling toward his second consecutive 1,000-yard season.

St. Edward (Lakewood, Ohio) vs. St. Ignatius (Cleveland, Ohio)
Saturday 6 p.m. (EDT)

Why it's big: This is annually one of the biggest games the Buckeye State. In fact, it's so big this year's game was moved downtown to FirstEnergy Stadium, the home of the Cleveland Browns. It's the first time this rivalry is being held on the Browns' home turf since 1980, when it was played at Cleveland Municipal Stadium. St. Edward won that game – as well as last year's meeting – but St. Ignatius still holds a 28-24-1 edge in the series all-time.

Players to watch: Two of Ohio's top prospects in the Class of 2018 are featured in this game. For St. Edward (8-1), junior safety Mike Dowell already has a four-star rating by 247Sports. His older brothers Andrew and David play at Michigan State. … St. Ignatius (8-1) junior Darian Kinnard is a 6-foot-6, 315-pound offensive lineman with all the makings of a big-time recruit.

Northwestern (Miami, Fla.) at Carol City (Miami, Fla.)
Saturday 7 p.m. (EDT)

Why it's big: The District 16-6A title will be decided in this Saturday night showdown at historic Traz Powell Stadium. It's a battle of Northwestern's explosive offense (averaging nearly 34 points per game) versus a stifling Carol City (5-2) defense that has allowed only 53 points all season and limited its last five opponents to a total of just 23 points.

Players to watch: Senior running back Kai Henry had over 100 yards with three touchdowns and the game-winning two-point conversion in Northwestern's thrilling 45-44 win over once nationally ranked Miami Central two weeks ago. It snapped Northwestern's eight-game on-field losing streak versus Central and helped eliminate four-time defending state champion from playoff contention. … The leader of Carol City's tough defense is senior linebacker De'Andre Wilder. The three-star prospect (according to 247Sports) has an impressive offer list that includes Alabama, Michigan and Notre Dame.

John Curtis Christian (River Ridge, La.) at Archbishop Rummel (Metairie, La.)
Saturday 7 p.m. (CDT)

Why it's big: To stay in the District 9-5A championship race, Archbishop Rummel (6-1) needs to bounce back from last week's loss to Brother Martin (New Orleans). A John Curtis Christian (7-0) win would virtually clinch an undisputed crown for the Patriots, who close the regular season against Archbishop Shaw (1-7) next week. These perennial New Orleans powers played both in the regular season and the state playoffs last season – with Archbishop Rummel winning both games. Prior to that, their only other meeting was a Rummel victory in 1964.

Players to watch: Senior safety Garret Wallow leads John Curtis Christian in tackles this season. The 6-foot-3, 200-pounder is committed to TCU. Marquese Albert, a slippery 5-7, 180-pound junior, leads the team in rushing. … The leaders of an Archbishop Rummel defense that's allowed only 81 points through seven games are senior linebacker Shahid Reece and junior safety Aaron Brule. Both players are rated three-star recruits by 247Sports.