This week's high school football slate is loaded with some big-time games but the biggest is a regular-season finale in Arizona — the only matchup between two MaxPreps Top 25 teams — as No. 15 Hamilton (Chandler) hosts No. 10 Chandler. The Wolves have the country's fourth longest active win streak with 45 and they've also won the last nine meetings against the Huskies.
Hamilton is 17-2 over the last two years with both losses coming against Chandler.
The rest of this week's games are playoff matchups headlined by two in the CIF Southern Division 1 bracket. No. 13 Centennial (Corona) puts its undefeated record on the line against Mission Viejo and No. 4 St. John Bosco (Bellflower) hosts Los Alamitos.
No. 17 Bishop Gorman (Las Vegas) faces the last in-state opponent to beat them in Friday's 5A state semifinals against Liberty (Henderson). The Patriots snapped the Gaels streak of 10 consecutive state titles with a 30-24 overtime win in the 2019 4A quarterfinals. Liberty went on to win the school's first state championship.
The Ohio Division 1 bracket has two games included as five-star Drew Allar and Medina face St. Ignatius (Cleveland) with a spot in the quarterfinals on the line while Lakota West (Chester) looks for some revenge against St. Xavier (Cincinnati) in Region 4.
Nicco Marchiol, Hamilton
Photo by Jack Beasley
Friday, 7 p.m. (All times local)
Top players
They last battled in the 2020 Open Division state championship and Chandler prevailed 23-21 win after the Huskies missed a 27-yard field goal attempt in the final seconds. That victory gave the Wolves their fifth consecutive state title and when they square off on Friday it will mean 1,183 days have passed since the last time Chandler lost a high school football game. These will be the top-two seeds in the Open Division when the playoff bracket is announced Sunday. They could potentially meet again Dec. 11 in the state championship at Arizona State University.
Friday, 7:30 p.m.
Top players
When we release our Top 10 toughest playoff brackets next week the CIF Southern Section Division 1 bracket will take home the top spot. It's the only playoff bracket featuring four Top 15 teams. The most enticing opening-round matchup is this one. The Huskies have won every game by at least 21 points and have notable wins over Cathedral Catholic (San Diego), Sierra Canyon (Chatsworth), Long Beach Poly (Long Beach) and Norco. The Diablos only loss came against No. 7 Servite (Anaheim) and they've won eight in a row since.
Friday, 7 p.m.
Top players
Another matchup in the CIF Southern Section Division 1 bracket features some of the best talent in Southern California. The Griffins only loss came against a Trinity League opponent while the Braves lone defeat came against No. 1 Mater Dei (Santa Ana). The winner faces the No. 7 Servite (Anaheim)/Santa Margarita (Rancho Santa Margarita) winner in the semifinals.
Top players
The top-two teams in the state square off with a spot in the 5A state championship on the line. Bishop Gorman's lone loss came against No. 15 Hamilton (Chandler, Ariz.) while the Patriots only defeat was against No. 1 Mater Dei (Santa Ana, Calif.). Both have dominated in-state competition this season. The Gaels have outscored their seven in-state opponents 387-6 while Liberty has outscored their nine in-state opponents 435-61.
Friday, 7 p.m.
Top players
Lakota West has gone 18-2 over the last two years with both losses coming against St. X. The Bombers knocked off the Firebirds with a 10-7 win in last year's quarterfinal matchup and opened the 2021 season with a 31-14 victory. The defending Division 1 champs have won eight playoff games in a row and this is one of the most evenly matched games of the week. St. Xavier checks in at No. 57 in the MaxPreps Top 100 while Lakota West is at No. 60.
Top players
These two played earlier this season and the Bucs cruised to a 34-10 on Oct. 1. The Huskies have won four in a row since that loss and the winner advances to the 7A semifinals awaiting the winner of No. 24 Thompson (Alabaster)/Oak Mountain (Birmingham). Hoover has won seven of the previous eight meetings with Hewitt-Trussville's lone win coming in 2018.
Saturday, 1 p.m.
Top players
You can throw records out the window when these two WCAC rivals face each other. The Cadets escaped with a 20-17 win to close out the regular season last week and now round two comes eight days later in the WCAC semifinals. The last time they squared off in the playoffs was in 2018 when
Caleb Williams led Gonzaga to a 24-14 win and handed St. John's its only loss of the season. The winner will face either DeMatha (Hyattsville, Md.) or Good Counsel (Olney, Md.) in the WCAC championship.
Saturday, noon at Franklin Field (Philadelphia)
Top players
Beating St. Joe's Prep once during the season is tough, doing it twice is unheard of and that's exactly what the Explorers are trying to do on Saturday. La Salle beat the Hawks for the first time since 2015 with a 28-21 win during the regular season and handed St. Joe's Prep its first regular season league game loss in eight years. The three-time defending 6A state champs have won five in a row since that defeat.
Friday, 7 p.m. at Brunswick Auto Mart Stadium (Brunswick)
Top players
The second Ohio Division 1 playoff matchup included in this week's slate features the front-runner for the MaxPreps Ohio Football Player of the Year in 2022 Penn State commit Allar. He finished the regular season leading Medina to its first 10-0 record and threw for over 3,000 yards and 35 touchdowns. Allar and the Battling Bees have won their first two playoff games by a combined score of 99-14. These two met in the third round of the Division 1 playoffs last year and Medina won 33-26.
Top players
After Skyridge knocked off Lone Peak 14-9 during the regular season, the Knights responded the following week snapping Corner Canyon's (Draper) 48-game win streak with a dominant 41-16 victory. The Falcons only loss came against Corner Canyon 38-23 and they've reeled off five straight since. Friday's winner advances to the 6A state championship awaiting the winner of Corner Canyon/Weber (Pleasant View) on Nov. 19 at Rice-Eccles Stadium.
