by Jeff Fisher
While four of the team’s in High School Football America’s Top 25 lost Friday, two of those defeats were to fellow Top 25 foes.
#7 St. John Bosco outlasted #13 Mater Dei 28-25 in a Trinity League battle in Southern California. In Indiana, #24 Carmel was a touchdown better than #20 Warren Central in the Greyhounds 17-10 victory.
Last week, we talked about how the La Salle’s in Ohio and Pennsylvania shook-up the rankings with victories, today, we’re going to talk about how the same La Salle’s were beaten and will lose their spots in the next set of rankings that come-out Sunday.
In Ohio, #23 La Salle lost to St. Xavier 24-21 in the never-a-breather Greater Catholic League South Division. The Bombers (5-2) won it when senior Myles Homan booted a 16-yard field goal on the final play of the game. La Salle, which suffered its first lose of the season, battled back from a 14-0 halftime deficit.
With former HSFA Top 25’er Archbishop Moeller beating Elder, which also spent a couple of weeks in our Top 25 earlier this year, 26-17 last night, there could be a three-way tie for the league championship. Moeller and St. X are now 2-1. If La Salle beats Elder in two weeks in the final league game, the Lancers would move into a tie with Moeller and St. X.
Moving east to Pennsylvania, #19 La Salle College High School (5-2) ran into an improving St. Joseph’s Prep team in Philadelphia. SJP, the state’s defending 4A champs, battled back from a ten point deficit to beat the Explorers 35-31. St. Joe’s, which began the year ranked #10 in the High School Football America Preseason Top, rallied behind senior quarterback Jack Clements, who completed 15-of-19 passes for 224 yards and a touchdown.
St. Joe’s evens its record at 3-3, but the three loses have been to #2 Don Bosco Prep (New Jersey), St. Joseph Regional (New Jersey) and St. Ignatius (Ohio). The Hawks are now tied atop the Philadelphia Catholic’s AAAA Division with Roman Catholic. Both teams are 1-0 with two games each to play in the division.
In Texas, #1 Allen, #5 DeSoto and #15 Southlake Carroll had no problems in their respective games. The Eagles’ David Feliciano rushed for 128 yards and two touchdowns in a 44-10 win over Hebron. DeSoto, two weeks away from its showdown with Cedar Hill, topped Mansfield 49-21. Southlake Carroll set-up next week’s showdown with #17 Euless Trinity by shutting-out Richland 38-0.
In Florida, #3 Booker T. Washington (7-0) extended its win streak to 33 with a 27-12 win over Northwestern (4-2). The Tornadoes had to battle back from 6-0 and 12-7 deficits in the first half. The BTW defense stiffened and did allow any second half points.
Also in the Sunshine State, #11 St. Thomas Aquinas continued its roll since losing to Don Bosco Prep (New Jersey) with a 63-0 win over Northeast. The Raiders have pitched three straight shutouts, outscoring opponents 190-0. The quality of opponent will improve next week when STA faces Cypress Bay (5-1).
Speaking of rolling, #8 Folsom and quarterback Jake Browning are on cruise control. Friday night the Bulldogs beat Nevada Union 63-6 behind Browning’s eight touchdowns. It’s the third time this year that Folsom has topped 60 points. Browning and company are averaging 55 points a game. Browning now has 43 TD’s this season.
After a bye week next week, Folsom will play undefeated Rocklin. If Rocklin (6-0) beats Woodcreek (5-1) net week, the Folsom/Rocklin game will be for the Sierra Foothill League title.
In Washington, #10 Bellevue will play Liberty for the 3A/2A KingCo title. Friday night, Bellevue handed Juanita its first loss of the year 38-6.
Both Georgia Top 25 teams – #12 Buford and #15 Colquitt County – won.
Buford beat North Hall 56-0. It was the fourth time this year that the Wolves have topped 50 points. Both Colquitt County and Lee County entered their game Friday night 6-0, but it was all CC in a 58-14 win. Packer receiver Kiel Pollard scored four touchdowns in the second quarter, three receiving and one on a punt return.
Next week, the two remaining AAAAAA Region 1 unbeatens, Colquitt County and Valdosta will square-off.
In Mississippi #16 South Panola and #21 Starkville had no problems Friday night. South Panola beat Hernando 52-3, which sets-up a tough three week stretch in 6A Region one where the Tigers will play Tupelo, Southhaven and Grenada on consecutive weekends. Grenada and Southhaven are tied atop the district with 3-0 records. Tulpelo is 5-2 overall after finishing 2013 as the 6A runner-up.
Starkville also has its toughest games in front of it after a 38-0 shutout of Greenville. It was the Yellowjackets third straight shutout. Starkville is currently tied for the 6A Region 2 lead with Warren Central (October 31st) and Clinton (November 7th).
Round-out our round-up is #25 Maryville looks like it will be on cruise control during the rest of the regular season with its final three opponents with sub-.500 marks. Friday night the Rebels moved to 7-0 with a 45-6 win over Lenoir City.
