Mater Dei and St. John Bosco will meet in a Trinity League rematch for the Pac-5 title this week in California.
Photos by Ted Aguirre/Graphic by Bryce Escobar
The latest edition of the MaxPreps Top 10 Games of the Week is chock-full of critical playoff games in some of the top football hotbeds across the nation.
The championship game of Southern California's rugged Pac-5 Division is a battle of teams ranked in the latest MaxPreps Xcellent 25. No. 3 St. John Bosco (Bellflower) is eying its first trip to the state bowl game playoffs, but first it must stave off No. 22 Mater Dei (Santa Ana) for the second time this season.
Three additional matchups in this week's preview involve Top 10 teams – all of which are from Texas. No. 2 Allen continues its defense of the Class 5A/I title against unbeaten Houston-area power Westfield. Fourth-ranked DeSoto has a tough quarterfinal-round game versus against red-hot Trinity (Euless). No. 9 Katy looks to extend its winning streak to 30 when it takes on emerging power Manvel.
After correctly picking just three out of 10 games last week, Jamie DeMoney's lead in our season-long predictions contest was cut in half. Jamie's 103-46-1 cumulative mark is now only two better than Stephen Spiewak's total and four ahead of Leland Gordon.
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 Games of the Week
Mater Dei (Santa Ana, Calif.) vs. St. John Bosco (Bellflower, Calif.)What to watch: In addition to trying to win its first CIF Southern Section Pac-5 title, St. John Bosco has lingering hopes of winning the MaxPreps Xcellent 25 national title. The third-ranked Braves (13-0) have been dominant all season, winning by an average margin of 35 points. Their leader is five-star junior quarterback
Josh Rosen. In three postseason games, Rosen has thrown 13 touchdown passes. Mater Dei (11-2) is trying to avenge a 24-2 loss sustained Nov. 1 and earn its first CIF title since 1999. The Monarchs are fresh off arguably their most impressive game of the season – a 30-0 shutout of last year's Pac-5 champion Long Beach Poly.
Follow this game on the CBSSports.com GameTracker
Just the facts: Saturday's game at Angel Stadium in Anaheim will be the 10th meeting between these Trinity League rivals since 2004. Mater Dei has won six of the previous nine matchups despite losing three in a row. … Mater Dei is 240-75-2 with five CIF titles and only one losing season since Bruce Rollinson became head coach in 1989.
Mitch Stephens: Mater Dei 17, St. John Bosco 14
Kevin Askeland: St. John Bosco 48, Mater Dei 42
Jamie DeMoney: St. John Bosco 27, Mater Dei 14
Stephen Spiewak: St. John Bosco 24, Mater Dei 23
Leland Gordon: St. John Bosco 17, Mater Dei 9
Colin Ward-Henninger: St. John Bosco 28, Mater Dei 21
