High school football: No. 1 Mater Dei, No. 13 Duncanville headline MaxPreps Top 10 Games of the Week

The lineup for the initial Top 10 Games of the Week is stacked and might be the best week of high school football this season .. short of postseason. The slate of games is headlined by a California vs. Texas showdown between No. 1 Mater Dei (Santa Ana, Calif.) and No. 13 Duncanville (Texas).

This one will feature over 40 players with at least one FBS offer and is the first time a nationally ranked team from the Golden State will travel to the Lone Star State in six years. The game kick offs on Friday at 7:30 p.m. (local time) and will be streamed exclusively on FloSports.

Another MaxPreps Top 25 matchup features No. 6 St. Thomas Aquinas (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) hosting No. 8 St. Frances Academy (Baltimore) on ESPN at noon ET. The Raiders have won back-to-back 7A state titles while the Panthers are loaded with talent but were limited to two exhibition games last spring.

Three more out-of-state games are featured, including No. 10 Bergen Catholic (Oradell, N.J.) at Archbishop Hoban (Akron, Ohio), Good Counsel (Olney, Md.) at St. Joseph Regional (Montvale, N.J.) and Highland Springs (Va.) hosting back-to-back 4AA champs, Chambers (Charlotte, N.C.). All six of these teams are ranked in the MaxPreps Top 100.

MaxPreps Top 10 Games of the Week

• • 45
    Mater Dei
  • 3
    Duncanville

  8/27 Final

Mater Dei: CB Domani Jackson (6-1, 185), WR CJ Williams (6-2, 195), RB Raleek Brown (5-8, 185), LB David Bailey (6-3, 220), QB Elijah Brown (6-2, 180)

Duncanville: DL Omari Abor (6-4, 240), OL Jaylen Early (6-4, 320), OL Cameron Williams (6-5, 360), RB Malachi Medlock (6-1, 215), LB Jordan Crook (6-0, 225)

This one took home the No. 1 spot for our Top 10 Games of the Year and is the first time during the MaxPreps era that a California vs. Texas matchup features two nationally ranked teams. The Monarchs are coming off a 5-0 spring and bring back a lot of key players while the Panthers went 10-2 last fall making it to the 6A-D1 state semifinals.

• • 23
    St. Frances Academy
  • 38
    St. Thomas Aquinas

  8/28 Final

St. Frances Academy: LB Jaishawn Barham (6-3, 230), DL Derrick Moore (6-4, 260), CB Cam Johnson (6-0, 170), OL Andre Roye (6-6, 305), DL Nasir Pearce (6-3, 275)

St. Thomas Aquinas: RB Anthony Hankerson (5-10, 190), OL Julian Armella (6-6, 300), QB Zion Turner (6-1, 185), TE Mason Taylor (6-4, 230), LB David Vadala (5-10, 220)

If you don't count two exhibition games St. Frances Academy played last spring, the Panthers are 34-1 since 2017 with the only loss coming against Mater Dei (Santa Ana, Calif.) in 2019. The Raiders have gone 36-3 over the last three years and seek their third consecutive 7A state title.

• • 42
    Bergen Catholic
  • 7
    Archbishop Hoban

  8/27 Final

Bergen Catholic: CB Jaeden Gould (6-2, 190), QB Steve Angeli (6-3, 215), DL DJ Samuels (6-0, 240), RB Ryan Butler (5-11, 200), CB Jayden Bellamy (5-11, 175)

Hoban: RB Markim McKinnie (6-0, 190), WR/S Tyson Grimm (6-2, 200), OL Colton Burkhart (6-2, 280), RB Lamar Sperling (5-10, 180), DL Jason Martin III (6-1, 275)

Hoban got started last week and cruised to a 38-0 shutout victory against Bishop Sycamore (Columbus) and this will be the season opener for the 10th-ranked Crusaders. The Knights went 11-0 in 2020 and won their fifth state title in the last six years.

• • 21
    Milton
  • 40
    North Cobb

  8/27 Final

Milton: DL Lebbeus Overton (6-4, 265), QB Devin Farrell (6-0, 195), S Bryce Thornton (5-11, 185), RB Jordan McDonald (6-1, 220), WR Debron Gatling (5-11, 180)

North Cobb: QB Malachi Singleton (6-1, 220), CB Marquis Groves-Killebrew (6-0, 180), LB Joshua Josephs (6-3, 215), WR Denylon Morrissette (6-1, 200), WR Samuel Mbake (6-3, 205)

Milton was the lone new team to join the MaxPreps Top 25 high school football rankings this week and faces a huge test against a loaded North Cobb squad on ESPN2. The 21st-ranked Eagles will still likely be without Overton, the reigning MaxPreps Sophomore Football Player of the Year and Male Athlete of the Year, who's nursing a foot injury.

• • 28
    Martin
  • 40
    Lake Travis

  8/27 Final

Martin: CB/RB Javien Toviano (6-0, 185), DL Ernest Cooper (6-4, 235), LB Trevell Johnson (6-1, 200), DL Nana Boadi-Owusu (6-1, 235), QB Cydd Ford (6-1, 165)

Lake Travis: WR Caleb Burton (6-0, 170), QB Bo Edmundson (6-3, 195), S Derrick Johnson (6-0, 200), LB Watson Cusick (5-10, 195), ATH Isaac Norris (6-0, 190)

Lake Travis is ranked 40th in our Top 100 while the Warriors check in at No. 49. A big win for either program goes a long way when it comes to possibly joining the MaxPreps Top 25 national rankings.

• • 28
    Our Lady of Good Counsel
  • 21
    St. Joseph Regional

  8/28 Final

Good Counsel: DL Dylan Gooden (6-6, 200), QB Neeo Avery (6-6, 235), WR Shane Carroll (6-1, 175), OL Dylan Tulacro (6-3, 275), ATH Jacob Hardie (5-9, 185)

St. Joseph Regional: DL Jimmy Mullen (6-2, 250), QB Luke Henrich (6-1, 215), DB Peter Schuh (5-11, 185), LB Jack Smiechowski (6-2, 195), WR Jaden Wimberly (6-0, 175)

Both schools have been two of the great programs in their respective states. Good Counsel finished 2019 ranked in the MaxPreps Top 25 and won the WCAC title, which is one of the toughest postseason brackets. St. Joseph Regional won the Non-Public Group 4 championship in 2018 and has gone 23-8 over the last three years playing against the best competition in the country.

• • 45
    Southlake Carroll
  • 21
    H
    Highland Park

  8/26 Final

Carroll: WR Landon Samson (6-1, 180), RB Owen Allen (6-0, 205), TE RJ Maryland (6-4, 210), DB Avyonne Jones (6-0, 180), QB Kaden Anderson (6-4, 205)

Highland Park: DL Jack Curtis (6-4, 235), QB Brennan Storer (5-11, 185), OL Robert Sweeney (6-6, 280), WR John Rutledge (6-0, 160), LB George Wright (6-1, 200)

Even though Quinn Ewers elected to not play his senior year and enroll early at Ohio State. the Dragons will still be one of the best teams in Texas. Anderson takes over under center and the junior quarterback gets a chance to showcase his talent on ESPN with a bunch of weapons to get the ball to in Allen, Maryland and Samson. The Scots have to replace a lot of starters but expect them to stick to their winning ways. They've won more games (854) than any other school in state history.

• • 7
    Mission Viejo
  • 44
    Servite

  8/26 Final

Mission Viejo: WR Mikey Matthews (5-10, 180), QB Kadin Semonza (6-0, 190), RB Kenny Manassero (5-10, 195), WR Jackson Holman (6-3, 200), WR KJ Reed (5-11, 175)

Servite: WR Tetairoa McMillan (6-3, 185), QB Noah Fifita (5-10, 170), TE Keyan Burnett (6-5, 215), LB Jacob Manu (5-11, 210), DL Mason Graham (6-4, 295)

Expect a lot of points in this one as both schools have two of the most explosive offenses in Southern California. Servite scored 54 points in its season opener against Edison (Huntington Beach) while the Diablos beat Apple Valley 44-21. The last time these two played was in the opening round of the CIF Southern Section Division 1 playoffs in 2019 when Mission Viejo pulled out a 38-35 win.

• • 14
    Cathedral Catholic
  • 57
    Centennial

  8/27 Final

Cathedral Catholic: RB Lucky Sutton (6-1, 205), DL Jaxson Moi (6-2, 260), QB Charlie Mirer (6-6, 225), ATH Rex Haynes (6-4, 195), LB Victory Johnson (6-4, 230)

Centennial: CB Jaden Mickey (5-11, 175), CB Aaron Williams (6-2, 185), OL AJ Vaipulu (6-3, 275), WR Eric Denham (5-11, 200), DL Gavriel Lightfoot (6-3, 285)

A statement win for either school could vault either into the MaxPreps Top 25 rankings. Cathedral Catholic is the first team out at No. 26 while the Corona power checks in at No. 30. The Dons went 5-0 last spring outscoring the opposition 223-14 and started 2021 with a 28-14 win over Torrey Pines (San Diego). This will be the season opener for the Huskies but they scrimmaged No. 1 Mater Dei (Santa Ana) last week and played well.

• • 24
    Chambers
  • 13
    Highland Springs

  8/28 Final

Chambers: RB Daylan Smothers (5-11, 185), DL James Pearce (6-5, 220), DL Jalen Swindell (6-3, 290), WR Kevin Concepcion (5-11, 175), QB Anshon Camp (6-0, 190)

Highland Springs: DL Rashaud Pernell (6-4, 250), WR Quanye Veney (5-10, 165), DB Braylon Johnson (6-0, 160), WR/CB Takye Heath (5-11, 160), LB Latrell Sutton (6-3, 195)

The fifth out-of-state matchup features two teams ranked in the MaxPreps top 100. Chambers has won back-to-back 4AA titles and started the 2021 season with a 35-29 win against Cardinal Gibbons (Raleigh). The Springers won four consecutive 5A state titles from 2015-18 and finished as the state runner-up last spring.