MaxPreps' weekly look at the Top 10 High School Football Games of the Week begins with a Thursday night clash of Xcellent 25 teams in the southern suburbs of Dallas-Fort Worth.
A national television audience will watch one of Texas' top backyard brawls as No. 21 Cedar Hill makes the short trip east to play No. 6 DeSoto. The winner will move closer to at least a share of the District 8-6A championship.
Other action involving ranked teams this week includes No. 2 De La Salle (Concord, Calif.) playing host to fellow unbeaten Foothill (Pleasanton). The Spartans are trying to extend a 255-game unbeaten streak against Northern California opponents. In addition, No. 7 Folsom (Calif.) will be on the road trying to hand Rocklin its first loss of the year. In New Jersey, No. 9 Don Bosco Prep (Ramsey, N.J.) tries to keep its Big North United Division title hopes alive against rival Bergen Catholic (Oradell). And No. 22 Punahou (Honolulu) takes on St. Louis (Honolulu) for the championship of the Interscholastic League of Honolulu.
Jamie DeMoney continues to maintain a slim lead over Stephen Spiewak in our season-long predictions contest. Both pickers selected eight out of 10 winners last week. DeMoney is now 61-29 for the season. Leland Gordon is in third place with 58 correct picks. Mitch Stephens sits in fourth position with 57 winners. Fifth place belongs to Kevin Askeland (55), and Colin Ward-Henninger (48) continues to bring the up the rear.
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.
MaxPreps Top 10 Football Games of the Week
Cedar Hill (Texas) at DeSoto (Texas)What to watch: Cedar Hill (6-1) has stampeded to four straight wins after falling to No. 16 Skyline (Dallas), 40-30, on Sept. 12. The Longhorns' field general is LSU commit
Justin McMillan, who has 1,043 passing yards and 20 touchdowns this season. Aside from a 29-24 win against state-ranked Steele (Cibolo) on Sept. 18, DeSoto has won the rest of its games by an average margin of 33 points. The Eagles (7-0) have a phenomenal 3,689 combined passing and rushing yards, which is ahead of their pace last season when they totaled an incredible 7,464 yards in 15 games. DeSoto's individual leader in all-purpose yards is senior running back Larry Nixon. He has 835 rushing yards, 130 receiving yards, and 11 total touchdowns.
Follow live scoring of this game on QwixcoreJust the facts: Both Cedar Hill and DeSoto – whose campuses are located less than six miles apart – have won exactly 71 games since the 2008 season. … DeSoto has three consecutive wins over Cedar Hill, including a 47-20 rout over the eventual 5A/II state champion last season.
Mitch Stephens: DeSoto 35, Cedar Hill 31
Kevin Askeland: DeSoto 35, Cedar Hill 14
Jamie DeMoney: Cedar Hill 45, DeSoto 42
Stephen Spiewak: DeSoto 42, Cedar Hill 41
Leland Gordon: DeSoto 43, Cedar Hill 37
Colin Ward-Henninger: DeSoto 48, Cedar Hill 42
