National High School Football Games of the Week: Sept. 26-28
With seasons in full swing across the nation, regular season games are gaining importance as the chase for state titles continues.
This week, eight games will feature a pair of teams ranked inside the On3 Massey Ratings national top 100, with action set to take place in Alabama, Georgia, Texas, Indiana, Hawaii and Utah.
Below are the key matchups to watch across the nation this weekend:
The On3 Massey Ratings — which were officially used during the BCS era and have generated college high school sports team rankings since 1995 — rank sports teams by analyzing game outcomes, strength of schedule and margin of victory.
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C.E. King (Texas) vs. #4 Atascocita (Texas) — Thursday, Sept. 26
After a bustling start to the season, there’s finally a down week in the state of Texas, with just one game between national top-100 programs set for the coming days. C.E. King checks in as the No. 23 team in the state this week and will look for what would be perhaps the biggest upset of the season on Thursday night when they head to Humble to take on Atascocita. The Panthers are 2-1 after kicking off a three-game road trip with a 42-0 win over Dekaney two weeks ago. The now-No. 4 Eagles have looked dominant in its first three games and are also coming off a bye week. Their latest outing was perhaps their best — a 39-21 win on the road over Austin Westlake, the No. 12 team in the nation.
#10 IMG Academy (Fla.) vs. #24 Phenix City Central (Ala.) — Friday, Sept. 27
No. 10 IMG is now 4-1 on the season following a 43-point drubbing of Jacksonville Mandarin on the road. SMU QB commit Ty Hawkins has been as advertised under center for the Ascenders — who are now averaging 40.2 points per game. They now get back on the road for the fourth time this year and head to Alabama to take on the top-ranked team in the Yellowhammer State. No. 24 Central is a perfect 5-0 with its best win coming last week against Enterprise, the No. 9 team in the state. IMG is far and away the best roster that the Red Devils will come up against this season, but they also posses an impressive offense (47.2 points per game) and will likely look to win a shootout later this week.
Thomas County Central (Ga.) vs. #20 Lee County (Ga.) — Friday, Sept. 27
The game of the season thus far in the Peach State is set for this Friday when 5-0 Thomas County Central heads to Leesburg to take on 5-0 Lee County. The visiting Yellow Jackets enter as the No. 5 team in the state and No. 34 team in the nation. The competition has been measly thus far, but they’ve taken care of business and are outscoring opponents 272-66. The No. 20 Trojans have faced a more rigorous schedule and already have a pair of wins over top-25 teams in the state of Georgia. Senior RB Ousmane Kromah has been a force, leading an offense that has scored 45-plus points in all five games so far. Points will be plentiful on Friday night.
Westfield (Ind.) vs. #21 Brownsburg (Ind.) — Friday, Sept. 27
The top two teams in the state of Indiana thus far will throw down on Friday night. Westfield’s 5-0 record already features wins over four top-15 teams in the state, most recently a 21-14 victory over Hamilton Southeastern. Wins haven’t come easy for the Shamrocks so far and their toughest test of the year awaits in just a couple days. The No. 21 Bulldogs narrowly avoided an upset on the road against Fishers last week and are now also 5-0 with a pair of top-10 in-state victories. Brownsburg’s offense has looked much more potent and will be able to lean on its home field for the massive Hoosier State clash this week.
Clay-Chalkville (Ala.) vs. Thompson (Ala.) — Friday, Sept. 27
The top in-state matchup in Alabama this week features 4-0 Clay-Chalkville heading to Alabaster to take on 4-1 Thompson. The undefeated Cougars are the No. 4 team in the Yellowhammer State this week and are coming off a bye. The defense has been amongst the best in the nation, as it is yet to allow more than 7 points in a game and hasn’t allowed a single point in its last two outings. That’s come against below-average competition, however. Thompson is now the nation’s No. 40 program and No. 3 team in Alabama after defeating Vestavia Hills on the road by 21 points. The Warriors lost their season-opener to Grayson (Ga.) but have rebounded nicely since, picking up a trio of wins away from home and one home throttling.
Other Top-100 National High School Football games this week
Lehi (Utah) vs. Skyridge (Utah) — Thursday, Sept. 26
Camden County (Ga.) vs. Valdosta (Ga.) — Friday, Sept. 27
Kahuku (Hi.) vs. Mililani (Hi.) — Saturday, Sept. 28