MaxPreps Top 10 High School Football Games of the Week

The first stop on our weekly trip across the nation for MaxPreps Top 10 Games of the Week is the nation's capital, where DeMatha (Hyattsville, Md.) and St. John's (Washington) will go head-to-head in the the Washington Catholic Athletic Conference championship game.

DeMatha (10-1) started off the season in the MaxPreps Xcellent 25 but exited after losing to No. 4 St. Joseph Regional (Montvale, N.J.) on Sept. 7. The Stags own a league-best 20 WCAC titles but haven't taken home the trophy since 2008. St. John's is aiming for its 11th WCAC crown and first since 1989.

Only one game in this week's preview involves a team currently in the Xcellent 25. It's No. 18 Colerain (Cincinnati), which will try to take another step toward its first state championship since 2004 with a win Saturday against Pickerington Central.

Check out the high school football playoff brackets from each state

There was a changing of the guard last week in our season-long predictions contest. Stephen Spiewak fell from first place down to third after picking only three out of 10 correct winners. Jamie DeMoney went 6-4 to recapture first place with an 83-36-1 overall record. Leland Gordon moved into second place after also going 6-4. Only two games total separate the three pickers through 12 weeks of the season.

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.


DeMatha (Hyattsville, Md.) vs. St. John's (Washington, D.C.), Saturday

What to watch: DeMatha reached Saturday's Washington Catholic Athletic Conference championship game with a thrilling 29-28 overtime win over rival Good Counsel (Olney, Md.). Virginia Tech-bound receiver Cameron Phillips scored one of his three touchdowns in the game during the extra session, then DeMatha's defense stopped a potential game-winning two-point conversion to clinch the victory. In the other WCAC semifinal, St. John's (9-2) punched its ticket by beating Gonzaga (Washington), 17-10. It was the Cadets' second win over their chief rival by identical scores in back-to-back weeks.

Just the facts: DeMatha has dominated St. John's during the last decade, winning 13 consecutive times since 2004. DeMatha was victorious in this year's regular-season matchup, 26-21. … Either DeMatha or Good Counsel has won every WCAC title since 2003. DeMatha won six in a row from 2003-08.

Mitch Stephens: DeMatha 35, St. John 20
Kevin Askeland: St. John's 35, DeMatha 28
Jamie DeMoney: DeMatha 28, St. John's 17
Stephen Spiewak: DeMatha 17, St. John's 14
Leland Gordon: DeMatha 17, St. John's 14
Colin Ward-Henninger: DeMatha 28, St. John's 14