MaxPreps Top 10 High School Football Games of the Week

This week's slate of games is the best so far in 2018 and it features three Top 25 matchups.

The CIF Southern Section Division I bracket is down to the semifinals and all four teams are ranked in the Top 25.

No. 3 Mater Dei (Santa Ana, Calif.) hosts No. 7 Corona Centennial and No. 1 St. John Bosco (Bellflower, Calif.) takes on No. 19 Oaks Christian (Westlake Village, Calif.).

This is the first meeting between the Monarchs and Huskies since the 2015 Pac-5 semifinals when Corona Centennial won 42-36. It was the last time the Inland Empire power won the section title and made it to the CIF Open Division state championship. They lost 28-21 to De La Salle (Concord, Calif.) and finished the year as the No. 5 team in the country.

The other Final Four matchup features two 12-0 teams. The Braves have won 11 of their 12 games by double-digits and three of the Lions last four wins have come by one score. Oaks Christian also will be without the top recruit in the country — Kayvon Thibodeaux — who was ejected from last week's win over JSerra Catholic (San Juan Capistrano).

The other Top 25 contest is going down in the second round of the Florida 6A playoffs between Miami powerhouses No. 4 Carol City and No. 10 Miami Central. The winner will be the hands on favorite to win the state title. These two schools met three weeks ago and Carol City won 36-28 to clinch the 6A District 16 title.

The other seven games feature two from Ohio, the WCAC championship game between No. 25 DeMatha (Hyattsville, Md.) and Gonzaga (Washington, D.C.), a state semifinal matchup in Indiana, a huge showdown in Alabama's 7A bracket, a sectional semifinal in Southern California, and Jenks (Okla.) takes on Union (Tulsa, Okla.) for the 16th time in the playoffs since 1998 with a spot in the Class 6A-I state championship on the line.

MaxPreps Top 10 Games of the Week

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Corona Centennial: WR Gary Bryant (5-10, 160), DE Drake Jackson (6-4, 260), CB Isaiah Young (5-10, 160), RB Thomas Kinslow (5-10, 180), WR Reggie Retzlaff (6-3, 205)

Mater Dei: ATH Bru Mccoy (6-2.5, 210), CB Elias Ricks (6-2, 180), QB Bryce Young (6-0, 175), CB Darion Green-Warren (6-0, 165), DT Keyon Ware-Hudson (6-2, 305)

The winner will still be alive to finish the year at No. 1. Mater Dei reeled off four straight wins since its lone loss on the field against No. 1 St. John Bosco. The Monarchs are winning by nearly 40 points per game during the winning streak and beat a very good Mission Viejo team 56-17 in the CIF Southern Section Division I quarterfinals. Corona Centennial have cruised to a 12-0 record and are winning by an average margin of 44.3 points per game. The offense is averaging more than 50 points a night and this might be Matt Logan's best defense since 2008, the year the Huskies won their only CIF state title.

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Miami Central: CB Henry Gray (5-11.5, 170), QB Maurice Underwood (6-3, 170), LB Tatum Bethune (6-0, 215), DE Jesus Machado (6-1, 205), OG Maurice Smith (6-2, 275)

Carol City: RB Nayquan Wright (5-8, 190), QB Daniel Richardson (5-11, 200), CB Jarvis Brownlee (5-9.5, 170), DT Malcolm Ray (6-2, 245), OT Wardrick Wilson (6-4, 305)

The two best teams in the Florida 6A playoff bracket meet again and the winner will be the favorite to win it all. This is the 16th meeting between the two Miami powers and the Rockets have won 10 of the previous 15 matchups. The Chiefs clinched their first district title since 2015 when they beat Miami Central 36-28 three weeks ago. It is crucial for the Rockets to get off to a better start this time as Carol City jumped out to a 16-0 first quarter lead and never looked back.

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St. John Bosco: QB DJ Uiagalelei (6-4, 240), CB Chris Steele (6-1.5, 190), CB Trent McDuffie (5-10.5, 185), WR Kris Hutson (5-10.5, 155), DT Sua'ava Poti (6-3, 285)

Oaks Christian: RB Zach Charbonnet (6-2, 215), ATH Josh Calvert (6-3, 220), LB Ryan Franke (6-4, 210), WR Sebastian Macaluso (6-1, 180), CB Nate Lenthall (5-10, 170)

It was already going to be tough for Oaks Christian to knock off the No. 1 team in the country and now the Lions have to do it without Thibodeaux, the top recruit in the Class of 2019. St. John Bosco has gone wire-to-wire as the No. 1 team this season and the Braves have been the most well-balanced squad in high school football. A Braves would put them in the section championship game for the sixth straight year.

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Gonzaga: DE Joseph Weté (6-4, 220), QB Caleb Williams (6-0, 190), CB Dean Engram (5-9.5, 165), LB Hunter Stewart (6-3, 225), TE Justin Ball (6-6, 230)

DeMatha: S Nick Cross (6-0.5, 205), S Demarcco Hellams (6-1, 200), RB Marshawn Lloyd (5-10, 210), DE Coziah Izzard (6-3, 265), WR Jermaine Johnson Jr. (5-10, 165)

Gonzaga looks to ride its momentum into the WCAC championship game after knocking off one of the best teams in the country, St. John's (Washington, D.C.), in the semifinals. DeMatha has been rolling since a season opening loss to No. 12 St. Thomas Aquinas (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) with its other loss coming against St. John's 13-7. These two programs met earlier this season and the Stags pulled out a 27-21 triple overtime win. Expect Sunday's championship game to be just as good.

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Center Grove: RB Carson Steele (5-11, 200), DE Brian Gaffney (5-10, 205), LB Caden Curry (6-3, 225), DT Lucas Hunter (6-2, 275), S Lucas Roehling (6-2, 185)

Warren Central: WR David Bell (6-2, 185), RB Romeir Elliott (5-7, 175), QB Jayden George (6-2, 185), TE Montrez Stanley (6-2, 215), S Randy Wells Jr. (5-10, 195)

Two of the best programs in Indiana face off with a spot in the 6A state championship game on the line. Warren Central has been the best team in the state all season, but Center Grove will be a big-time test on Friday night. This game features two of the best running backs in the state in Elliott and Steele. They've combined for 4,647 yards and 60 touchdowns on the ground this year. Bell always shows up in huge spots for the No. 15 team in the country. This will be the 20th meeting between the two schools since 2004 and the Warriors have won 12 of the previous 19, but Center Grove has won the last two playoff matchups (2015 and 2016).

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Colerain: ATH Deante Smith-Moore (5-9, 175), DE Eric Phillips (6-3, 280), LB Luke Bolden (6-2, 230), ATH Ivan Pace Jr. (6-0, 220), RB/CB JJ Davis (5-9, 175)

Elder: DE Spencer Bono (6-4, 235), OT Jakob James (6-5, 260), TE Joe Royer (6-5, 210), RB Joseph Catania (5-10, 190), RB/QB Matthew Luebbe (5-11, 170)

The Ohio Division I playoff bracket is down to its Final Eight. The Cardinals have been dominant this season, forcing running clock in their last 10 games on their way to a 12-0 record. Elder has won its last four games after starting the year 4-4 and has outscored its first two playoff opponents, 69-6. This will be the first meeting between the two schools since 2015. Colerain has won five of the previous seven and three in a row against the Panthers.

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Archbishop Hoban: OG Nolan Rumler (6-4, 290), LB/RB Deamonte Trayanum (5-11, 215), TE Caden Clark  (6-3, 255), RB Tyris Dickerson (5-10, 210), S Matt Salopek (6-2, 200)

Maple Heights: QB Devin Dial (5-10, 170), WR De'Von Fox (5-11, 175), WR Bernard Bates (5-6, 150), WR Antoine Holloway II (5-9, 170), C Daiquantee Glenn (6-1, 230)

Maple Heights has been one of the best stories in Ohio this season. The Mustangs have cruised to a 12-0 record and look to keep their Cinderella story going against the defending Division II state champs. Archbishop Hoban has won 26 straight games and if you include both of their Division III state championships the Knights have won three state titles in a row. The winner advances to the Division II semifinals and the winner of the Central Catholic (Toledo)-Avon with a spot in the state title game up for grabs.

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Upland: LB Justin Flowe (6-2, 225), RB Cameron Davis (6-0, 185), WR Taj Davis (6-2, 185), CB Eric Zambrano (6-3,190), LB Jonathan Flowe (6-2, 205)

Calabasas: WR Mycah Pittman (5-11, 195), WR Johnny Wilson (6-5, 215), WR Jermaine Burton (6-1, 195), QB Jaden Casey (6-1, 185), LB Connor Beautrow (6-2, 215)

A spot in the CIF Southern Section Division II championship game is on the line in a game that features some of the best talent in California. Upland's Flowe is arguably the best defensive player in high school football regardless of class and he faces one of the most dynamic offenses in California. Pittman, Wilson and Burton are as good as any trio of wide receivers in the country and Bell has been putting up big-time numbers at quarterback under first-year head coach Chris Claiborne.

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Hewitt-Trussville: QB Paul Tyson (6-4.5, 215), OT Pierce Quick (6-5, 290), WR Ja'varrius Johnson (5-8.5, 165), WR Dazalin Worsham (6-0, 170), RB Armoni Goodwin (5-8, 190)

Thompson: QB Taulia Tagovailoa (5-11, 205), OT Amari Kight (6-6.5, 315), WR Michael Pettway (6-0, 170), RB Shadrick Byrd (5-9, 210), LB Will Conner (6-2, 220)

The first time these two met this season it was wild. Hewitt-Trussville jumped out to a 28-0 lead but Tagovailoa led Thompson to a big-time comeback on ESPN2. The Warriors ended the game outscoring the Huskies 63-21 —a huge win because they now host the second round 7A playoff battle. The winner advances to the semifinals against either Hoover or Mountain Brook (Birmingham).

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Jenks: OT Brady Latham (6-5, 290), RB Noah Hernandez (5-10, 190), QB Ian Corwin (5-11.5, 180), C Hunter Hoyt (6-2, 280), RB Dreyson Watters (6-0, 185)

Union: RB Darius Boone (5-11, 190), QB Peyton Thompson (6-2, 190), OG Richard Stromberg (6-3, 220), DE Isaiah McGuire (6-5 260), CB JaTravis McCloud (6-0, 170)