New York High School Football Games of the Week: Sept. 19-21

After three weeks of the New York high school football season, the top contenders in the Empire State are beginning to take shape.

Two new teams have jumped into the top 10 in the state, while four more have entered (or re-entered) the top 25, according to the Massey Ratings. And nearly all of them are back in action this week looking to add another win to the resume.

Below are the five games to keep an eye on around the state this weekend:

The On3 Massey Ratings, officially used during the BCS era, is a model that ranks sports teams by analyzing game outcomes, strength of schedule and margin of victory. According to the model — four teams from Alabama rank inside the nationwide top 100.

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Top New York High School Football games this week

#6 Canisius @ Cathedral Prep (Pa.) – Thursday, Sept. 19
Canisius rolled to a 14-point win on the road over Scranton Prep (Pa.) last week behind sophomore athlete Elijah Kimble, who collected four touchdowns, including a kickoff return score. They were back on the road again over the weekend to face Ohio powerhouse Washington, with the home team rolling to an easy 41-7 win. Now they’ll look to get back on track on the road at Cathedral Prep, a perennial contender in the state of Pennsylvania.
Massey Ratings Prediction: Cathedral Prep 40, Canisius 20

#20 St. Anthony’s @ Monsignor Farrell – Friday, Sept. 20
After starting the season outside the top-25, St. Anthony’s has faced one of the toughest schedules in the state. After a season-opening 39-36 loss to Moore Catholic, they hosted Chaminade, who bested them 31-28. They got back on track the following weekend against University Prep Charter School for Young Men, but then had to face one of New Jersey’s perennial powerhouses, Don Bosco Prep. The Ironmen rolled to a 49-10 victory, making Friday’s game against Monsignor Farrell even more important to get back to .500.
Massey Ratings Prediction: St. Anthony’s 35, Monsignor Farrell 28

#1 Iona Preparatory School @ #10 Archbishop Stepinac – Saturday, Sept. 21
After a season-opening loss to Delbarton School (N.J.), Iona responded by beating Springfield Central (Mass.) for a 44-20 road win last week. They weren’t able to keep the momentum going against New Jersey No. 1 Bergen Catholic over the weekend though, falling 31-10. Stepinac opened the season with back-to-back losses to Maryland top-10 programs McDonogh and Archbishop Spalding to fall to 0-2. It didn’t get any easier over the weekend when they hosted the No. 2 team in New Jersey, St. Joseph Regional, who dominated en route to a 43-0 victory.
Massey Ratings Prediction: Iona Prep 35, Archbishop Stepinac 22

Catholic Memorial (Mass.) @ #5 St. Francis – Saturday, Sept. 21
St. Francis traveled to Ohio last week, besting Cleveland Benedictine for a hard-nosed 23-17 win. They were back in the Buckeye State again over the weekend to face Ironton, but fell in a 56-19 blowout to the Fighting Tiger, who are now 4-0. They’ll look to get back on track against one of the Northeast’s toughest squads: Catholic Memorial (Mass.), who fell 36-29 to Cardinal Hayes last week.
Massey Ratings Prediction: Catholic Memorial 34, St. Francis 28

#3 Cardinal Hayes @ Moore Catholic – Saturday, Sept. 21
The Cardinals picked up their first win of the season last weekend, beating Catholic Memorial (Mass.) 36-29 to get on the right side of the win-loss column. Week 3 saw them host a very tough Delbarton School (N.J.) squad, which ultimately rolled to a 36-20 win to drop Hayes to 2-1. Moore, meanwhile, comes in 3-1 after winning their first three games of the season before falling to St. Peter’s Prep out of New Jersey.
Massey Ratings Prediction: Cardinal Hayes 42, Moore Catholic 14