MaxPreps Top 10 Football Games of the Week

The slogan "Everything's bigger in Texas" certainly applies to the state's high school football prowess. Not many other areas would produce even one, let alone a pair, of second-round playoff games that feature teams currently or once ranked in the MaxPreps Xcellent 25 National Football Rankings presented by the Army National Guard.

Cowboys Stadium will host the most hyped showdown of the MaxPreps Top 10 Games of the Week. No. 13 Trinity (Euless) is looking to win in a second-round playoff game for an eighth consecutive year. Standing in its way is No. 21 Allen, a team that has been less dominant than expected but is still very capable of capturing a second state title in four years. Elsewhere in the Texas 5A-I bracket, No. 16 Skyline (Dallas) will face once-nationally ranked DeSoto. It's the fourth consecutive year the teams face each other in the second round of the playoffs.

Another early-round playoff game with great appeal is a Washington Class 3A bracket quarterfinal matchup between No. 22 Bellevue and fellow unbeaten Lakes (Lakewood). These are the No. 1 and No. 2-ranked teams in the Seattle Times state rankings.

Meanwhile, championships are on the line this weekend in a number of other states. The Iowa Class 4A title will be contested between two of the most storied Iowa large-school programs when Bettendorf takes on undefeated Valley (West Des Moines). Out West, Lone Peak (Highland) – behind dynamic quarterback Chase Hansen – looks to finish the season unbeaten and with a state title when it takes on Fremont (Plain City) in the Utah 5A championship game.

Jamie DeMoney remains atop the leaderboard in our season-long predictions contest. DeMoney picked eight out of 10 games correctly last week. He is two games ahead of Stephen Spiewak, who posted a nearly perfect 9-1 record. You can track our overall results and standings all season long by clicking here.

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 and Jamie DeMoney.

MAXPREPS TOP 10 FOOTBALL GAMES OF THE WEEK

No. 13 Trinity (Euless, Texas) vs. No. 21 Allen (Texas)

Both these teams have been in the Xcellent 25 all season long. The winner of Saturday's matchup will join the survivor of the Skyline-DeSoto game as remaining favorites in the Class 5A-I bracket. Trinity hangs it hat on a run-oriented offense and a tough, physical defense. But the Trojans proved they can score a lot of points when necessary in their 55-36 win over Duncanville last week. Trinity is seeking its fourth state title since 2005. It has reached at least the state quarterfinals every season since 2004.

Not surprisingly, Allen enters this game 11-0 and ranked in every national poll. What is unexpected, however, is the difficulty with which those 11 wins came and the fact the Eagles are now 16 spots lower in the Xcellent 25 than where they began the season. The reason for Allen's fall in the rankings is the number of close wins it's had this year. It trailed Keller Central, 17-13, in the fourth quarter last week before rallying to win 30-17. Remarkably, it was the fifth time in six weeks the Eagles have trailed in the fourth quarter.

Mitch Stephens: Allen 22, Trinity 21
Steve Montoya: Trinity 21, Allen 10
Stephen Spiewak: Trinity 35, Allen 28
Kevin Askeland: Trinity 48, Allen 41
Jamie DeMoney: Trinity 33, Allen 30