With regular-season showdowns and playoff matchups, the Top 10 Games of the Week might be the best high school football action we've seen all year. The premiere contest was supposed to take place in New Jersey between No. 14 St. Peter's Prep (Jersey City) and No. 19 Bergen Catholic (Oradell) but the game was postponed on Friday because of COVID concerns.
"The Battle of the Beltline," a big-time Texas rivalry is going down between two programs within 10 miles of each other as No. 33 Cedar Hill hosts No. 25 DeSoto. The schools have split the last 16 meetings with the Longhorns have winning the last two.
Two of Georgia's best face off as No. 7 Lowndes (Valdosta) travels to No. 26 Colquitt County (Moultrie). The Vikings have won two of the last three meetings after the Packers won four straight from 2013-16.
Four playoff matchups are featured this week led by an Ohio semifinal showdown between No. 15 Pickerington Central (Pickerington) and No. 35 Mentor in the Division 1 bracket.
No. 8 Corner Canyon (Draper) hosts Bingham (South Jordan) in the Utah 6A quarterfinals, Christian Brothers (St. Louis) takes on No. 10 De Smet Jesuit (St. Louis) in the 6A Missouri second round and Brownsburg battles Carmel in the Indiana 6A bracket with a quarterfinals spot for the winner.
Ryan Butler, Bergen Catholic
Photo by John Jones
Saturday, 1 p.m. (All times local)
*Game postponed on Friday because of COVID concerns
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This was supposed to be the "Game of the Year" in New Jersey and one of the best high school football games of 2020 but it was announced on Nov. 6 it was postponed because of COVID-19. They have not announced if or when it will be rescheduled to a later date.
Friday, 7 p.m.
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Cedar Hill: QB
Kaidon Salter (6-1, 185), DL
Charles Esters (6-3, 230), DL
Syncere Massey (6-5, 290), RB
Kevin Young, Jr. (5-8, 170), WR
Brian Rainey (5-10, 165)
The Eagles were the only new team to jump in the MaxPreps Top 25 rankings last week and face a huge test against Salter and a 4-0 Longhorns squad. Last year's meeting came down to the final play as Cedar Hill's defense stopped DeSoto's game-winning two-point attempt. Expect another tight game Friday in the "Battle of the Beltline."
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The Packers have been knocking at the Top 25 door for the past few weeks and a win over last year's 7A runner-up should let them in. Lowndes' only loss over the last two seasons came against Marietta in the 2019 state championship while the Packers have won every game by double digits this year.
Friday, 7 p.m. at Woody Hayes Quaker Stadium (New Philadelphia)
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The Tigers, the defending Ohio Division 1 state champs, have won 21 consecutive games and are two wins away from claiming the school's third state title in four years. They have to get by a tough Mentor squad on Friday. These two played in last year's state semifinals — a 28-21 Pickerington Central win.
Friday, 8 p.m.
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South Florida is a hotbed in producing big-time talent and these programs are a huge reason why. This game will feature 23 players rated as three-star recruits or higher. The Patriots got a huge 23-17 win last week against Cardinal Gibbons (Fort Lauderdale) and the Raiders bounced back to beat DeLand 31-7 after a seven point loss against Gibbons two weeks ago. The winner will be in a good position to jump back in the MaxPreps Top 25 rankings.
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Gary Joseph's team gets better every single week and faces a huge district matchup Thursday against a 5-0 Tompkins squad. Originally scheduled to play Oct. 15, a positive COVID case postponed the game to Nov. 27, but the schools ultimately settled on Thursday. The Tigers have won their last four games while outscoring the opposition 215-31, but the Falcons have allowed seven total points over their last four contests.
Friday, 4 p.m.
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Corner Canyon extended its win streak to 37 last week with a 59-3 victory over Westlake (Saratoga Springs) and Dart's five TD passes extended his season total to 53. He is six touchdown passes away from breaking Cammon Cooper's single-season record set in 2017 for Lehi. Bingham and the Charges played in late August on ESPN and Corner Canyon rolled to a 42-20 win. Dart accounted for over 400 yards of total offense and six touchdowns.
Thursday, 7:30 p.m. at Traz Powell Stadium (Miami)
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Northwestern has won three consecutive state titles and has the talent to four-peat. Palmetto has one of the most talented teams in the country and will be one of the favorites to win the 8A state championship. The Tigers looked outstanding in an exhibition game against Booker T. Washington (Miami) and cruised to a 35-7 win over Homestead in their season opener. Northwestern began the year with a 21-14 win over Central (Miami) and lost 49-14 to No. 1 IMG Academy (Bradenton, Fla.) last week.
Friday, 6 p.m.
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We've never seen a year in high school football like this. It's playoff time in Missouri and De Smet Jesuit, the defending 6A state champs, only played two regular-season games before entering the postseason. The Spartans won their playoff opener 55-0 against Howell Central (St. Charles) last week but face a huge test on Friday. These two played on Oct. 10 and De Smet Jesuit won 41-21. Expect a closer game the second time around.
Friday, 7 p.m.
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Carmel, the defending 6A state champs, got hot at the right time. After a 1-2 start, the Greyhounds have won seven in a row ahead of their second round matchup against an 8-1 Brownsburg squad. Both teams have the talent to win the state championship and the winner faces the winner of Ben Davis (Indianapolis) and Perry Median (Indianapolis) in the quarterfinals.
