The stakes in Top 100 continue to heat-up this week as the regular season nears its end and playoffs loom. There are seven featuring head-to-head meetings in our national rankings created with our proprietary algorithm.
Coming-off a shutout win over Hialeah- Miami Lakes, No. 8 Miami Central moves up further in the rankings as they switch gears to focus on a much greater opponent in No. 37 Northwestern. The Bulls finished last Friday night with a win over No. 81 Carol City in a game where their defense shined, pulling-off some key stops against the Chiefs to hold their rivals to just 100 total yards with 28 passing. Both Central and Northwestern have a loss on their records at the hands of No. 2 IMG Academy and will head into Friday night’s matchup with the hopes of keeping that as their only loss of the season.
IMG has had plenty of success against in-state opponents lately, but this week they travel west to Utah to play No. 36 East. This isn’t the first time the Ascenders are making the cross-country trip, and they have proven they know how to win on either coast. To open up the season, IMG beat No. 45 Chandler (Arizona) and followed that up with a win over No. 14 Corona Centennial (California).
East has been waiting for their opportunity to try and take down the Ascenders all season long, and it seems to come at a time where the Leopards are playing at their best. The team came up big last Friday night, shutting-out West Jordan to secure the Division 3 Championship thanks to a strong showing by the defense, which only allowed the Jaguars to generate four first downs in the entire game. East hopes to mimic that lights out performance this weekend in order to get the upset and knock off one of the country’s biggest perennial powerhouse programs.
In a rematch of the 2016 Ohio Division I state title game, No. 6 St. Xavier (8-0) will take on No. 38 St. Ignatius (7-1). St. X remains is the top team in the state after yet another dominating victory last Friday against Clarkson Football North. The Bombers will look to keep their unbeaten record against an Ignatius team that finds itself trying to pick up the pieces after suffering a stunning 41-20 upset defeat to Archbishop Moeller. With playoffs nearing, Ignatius will need the win this week in order to earn some redemption and to prevent itself from slipping any further in state and national rankings.
Another team trying to get things back on track is No. 93 DeMatha (Maryland) that faces-off against No. 24 St. John’s College High School (Washington, D.C.). The Stags have lost two straight regular season games for the first time in head coach Elijah Brooks seven year-run at the top of the program, Last week’s overtime loss came at the hands of rival, No. 92 Good Counsel, making DeMatha 0-2 in Washington Catholic Athletic Conference play. St. John’s has a couple losses this season as well, but both came against top ranked California teams in No. 12 De La Salle and No. 22 St. John Bosco, and thus, their conference record remains at 2-0 in the WCAC. With the remaining games of the season for the Stags considered must-wins, DeMatha hopes to pull-off the upset this week to ensure they’ll make the postseason to defend try to defending their run of four straight WCAC championships.
While DeMatha tries to get its first win in three weeks, No. 31 Bergen Catholic (New Jersey) is looking to build on its three-game win streak this Saturday against No. 99 Pope John XXIII (New Jersey). The Crusaders had one of their best performances of the season last Friday, with a convincing 41-14 defeat of No. 34 St. Peter’s Prep (New Jersey). They got that victory with the help of a stout defense, racking up six sacks and keeping St. Peter’s to just 90 total rushing yards. Pope John was hoping to continue on their 5-0 start, but could not get it done, losing a close 20-14 decision to No. 39 St. Joseph’s Regional (Montvale, New Jersey). The Lions will have another chance to knock off one of New Jersey’s top schools this week in their battle against the Crusaders who sit atop the Northern New Jersey Super United Red Division standings.
The two teams that played against Bergen Catholic and Pope John XXIII last week will meet up this Saturday night as No. 34 St. Peter’s Prep and No. 39 St. Joseph Regional go head-to-head. Both teams head into the game evenly matched, having accumulated overall records of 4-2 and 1-1 in conference play. They both sit just below Bergen Catholic in the North Jersey Super Football Conference United Red Division. Stakes will be high between these two squads as they battle it out for the No. 2 spot in the division knowing they have just two games left in the regular season to make an impression before playoff seeding.
Where the Top 100 Play This Week
No. 1 Mater Dei (California) vs. JSerra (California), Friday
No. 2 IMG Academy (Florida) at No. 36 East (Utah), Friday
No. 3 Allen (Texas) at Denton Guyer (Texas), Friday
No. 4 Trinity (Kentucky) at Ballard (Kentucky), Friday
No. 5 St. Xavier (Ohio) at No. 38 St. Ignatius (Ohio), Saturday
No. 6 DeSoto (Texas) at Irving (Texas), Thursday
No. 7 South Pointe (South Carolina) at Richland Northeast (South Carolina), Friday
No. 8 Miami Central (Florida) vs. No. 37 Northwestern (Florida), Friday
No. 9 American Heritage (Plantation, Florida) vs. Jackson (Florida), Friday
No. 10 St. Joseph’s Prep (Pennsylvania) vs. La Salle (Pennsylvania), Friday
No. 11 Bishop Gorman (Nevada) at Durango (Nevada), Friday
No. 12 De La Salle (California) at Monte Vista (California), Friday
No. 13 Ben Davis (Indiana) – Idle
No. 14 Corona Centennial (California) vs. Corona (California), Friday
No. 15 Brentwood Academy (Tennessee) at Montgomery Bell Academy (Tennessee), Friday
No. 16 Bingham (Utah) – Idle
No. 17 St. Frances Academy (Maryland) at Archbishop Spalding (Maryland), Friday
No. 18 St. Edward (Ohio) vs. Archbishop Moeller (Ohio), Saturday
No. 19 Katy (Texas) at Morton Ranch (Texas), Friday
No. 20 Union (Oklahoma) vs. Southmoore (Oklahoma), Thursday
No. 21 St. Thomas Aquinas (Florida) at Boyd Anderson (Florida), Friday
No. 22 St. John Bosco (California) vs. Santa Margarita (California), Friday
No. 23 Mission Viejo (California) at Trabuco Hills (California), Friday
No. 24 St. John’s College HS (Washington, DC) vs. No. 93 DeMatha (Maryland), Saturday
No. 25 Fort Dorchester (South Carolina) at West Ashley (South Carolina), Friday
No. 26 Cocoa (Florida) at Bartram Trail (Florida), Friday
No. 27 Grayson (Georgia) at Newton (Georgia), Friday
No. 28 Hoover (Alabama) at Vestavia Hills (Alabama), Friday
No. 29 Denton Ryan (Texas) at Sherman (Texas), Friday
No. 30 John Curtis (Louisiana) at Holy Cross (Louisiana), Friday
No. 31 Bergen Catholic (New Jersey) vs. No. 99 Pope John XXIII (New Jersey), Saturday
No. 32 Judson (Texas) vs. Wagner (Texas), Friday
No. 33 Pine-Richland (Pennsylvania) vs. Butler (Pennsylvania), Friday
No. 34 St. Peter’s Prep (New Jersey) vs. No. 39 St. Joseph Regional (New Jersey), Saturday
No. 35 Chaminade (California) vs. Alemany (California), Friday
No. 36 East (Utah) vs. No. 2 IMG Academy (Florida), Friday
No. 37 Northwestern (Florida) vs. No. 8 Miami Central (Florida), Friday
No. 38 St. Ignatius (Ohio) vs. No. 5 St. Xavier (Ohio), Saturday
No. 39 St. Joseph Regional (New Jersey) at No. 34 St. Peter’s Prep (New Jersey), Saturday
No. 40 Aledo (Texas) vs. V.R. Eaton (Texas), Friday
No. 41 Erie Cathedral Prep (Pennsylvania) at Fort LeBoeuf (Pennsylvania), Friday
No. 42 Archbishop Wood (Pennsylvania) at Upper Darby (Pennsylvania), Friday
No. 43 Archer (Georgia) vs. Rockdale County (Georgia), Friday
No. 44 Mountain Pointe (Arizona) at Corona del Sol (Arizona), Friday
No. 45 Chandler (Arizona) at Brophy Prep (Arizona), Friday
No. 46 DePaul Catholic (New Jersey) vs. Seton Hall Prep (New Jersey), Friday
No. 47 Cartersville (Georgia) vs. Chapel Hill (Georgia), Friday
No. 48 Westlake (Texas) – Idle
No. 49 Long Beach Poly (California) vs. Long Beach Jordan (California), Friday
No. 50 Armwood (Florida) vs. Brandon (Florida), Friday
No. 51 Lake Travis (Texas) vs. Lehman (Texas), Friday
No. 52 Dutch Fork (South Carolina) vs. Spring Valley (South Carolina), Friday
No. 53 The Woodlands (Texas) at Oak Ridge (Texas), Friday
No. 54 Hewitt-Trussville (Alabama) at Huntsville (Alabama), Friday
No. 55 Evangel Christian (Louisiana) vs. Byrd (Louisiana), Friday
No. 56 Wake Forest (North Carolina) vs. Rolesville (North Carolina), Friday
No. 57 Owasso (Oklahoma) at Norman North (Oklahoma), Friday
No. 58 East St. Louis (Illinois) vs. Alton (Illinois), Friday
No 59 West Point (Mississippi) vs. Grenada (Mississippi), Friday
No. 60 Buford (Georgia) vs. Walnut Grove (Georgia), Friday
No. 61 Central (Phenix City, Alabama) at Lee (Alabama), Friday
No. 62 Lowndes (Georgia) at Camden County (Georgia), Friday
No. 63 Manvel (Texas) vs. Fort Ben Elkins (Texas), Friday
No. 64 Colquitt County (Georgia) vs. Tift County (Georgia), Friday
No. 65 Centennial (Arizona) vs. Willow Canyon (Arizona), Friday
No. 66 Valor Christian (Colorado) at Highlands Ranch (Colorado), Friday
No. 67 Trotwood-Madison (Ohio) at Xenia (Ohio), Friday
No. 68 Pulaski Academy (Arkansas) at Parkview (Arkansas), Friday
No. 69 Klein Collins (Texas) vs. Spring Woods (Texas), Friday
No. 70 Pearl (Mississippi) vs. Jim Hill (Mississippi), Friday
No. 71 Pickerington Central (Ohio) vs. Reynoldsburg (Ohio), Friday
No. 72 Starkville (Mississippi) at Murrah (Mississippi), Friday
No. 73 Prairie Ridge (Illinois) vs. Dundee-Crown (Illinois), Friday
No. 74 Plant (Florida) vs. Freedom (Florida), Friday
No. 75 Liberty (Nevada) at Silverado (Nevada), Friday
No. 76 Lincoln-Way East (Illinois) at Bolingbrook (Illinois), Friday
No. 77 Duncanville (Texas) vs. South Grand Prairie (Texas), Friday
No. 78 Harrisburg (Pennsylvania) vs. State College (Pennsylvania), Saturday
No. 79 Kahuku (Hawaii) vs. Campbell (Hawaii), Friday
No. 80 Deerfield Beach (Florida) at Monarch (Florida), Friday
No. 81 Carol City (Florida) vs. Booker T. Washington (Florida), Saturday
No. 82 Midway (Texas) vs. Belton (Texas), Friday
No. 83 Saint Louis (Hawaii) vs. Kamehameha (Hawaii), Saturday
No. 84 Maine South (Illinois) at Niles West (Illinois), Friday
No. 85 Oakland (Tennessee) at Cookeville (Tennessee), Friday
No. 86 Archbishop Hoban (Ohio) at Notre Dame-Cathedral Latin (Ohio), Friday
No. 87 Viera (Florida) – Idle
No. 88 Gonzaga (Washington, DC) – Idle
No. 89 Venice (Florida) vs. Sarasota (Florida), Friday
No. 90 Lamar (Houston, Texas) at Houston Heights (Texas), Saturday
No. 91 Saguaro (Arizona) at Shadow Mountain (Arizona), Friday
No. 92 Good Counsel (Maryland) vs. Archbishop Carroll (Washington, DC), Friday
No. 93 DeMatha (Maryland) at No. 24 St. John’s College HS (Washington, DC), Saturday
No. 94 Bryant (Arkansas) at Cabot (Arkansas), Friday
No. 95 Narbonne (California) at San Pedro (California), Friday
No. 96 Cardinal Gibbons (Florida) at Hallandale (Florida), Friday
No. 97 Lawrence Central (Indiana)– Idle
No. 98 Warren Central (Indiana) – Idle
No. 99 Pope John Paul XXIII (New Jersey) at No. 31 Bergen Catholic (New Jersey), Saturday
No. 100 Phillips Academy (Illinois) – Idle
by Kathryn Gallo
High School Football America Writer
Follow @KathrynTGallo
