Five-star quarterback Faizon Brandon leads Grimsley to a 35-23 win over No. 24 Weddington

There are only two weeks left in the 2024 high school football season, but there are still some big games coming up that will play an important role in deciding who will be MaxPreps National Champions.

Mater Dei (Santa Ana, Calif.) is one win away from entering the race as the No. 1 team. The only thing standing in his way is No. 21 De La Salle (Concord, Calif.) on Saturday in the CIF Open Division state championship at Saddleback College. The Monarchs are seeking their fifth state title since 2017, while the Spartans are seeking their eighth and first since 2015.

No. 3 Duncanville will look to add another quality win to its resume when it takes on No. 9 North Crowley (Fort Worth) in the Texas Class 6A Division 1 semifinals at Eagle Stadium on Saturday. Duncanville has won back-to-back state championships behind quarterback Keelon Russell, who is 42-1 as a starter. North Crowley has a 28-1 record over the last two years, with its only loss coming in last year’s semifinal against Duncanville, 52-10.

The winner will face the No. 1 survivor in the title game on Dec. 21 at AT&T Stadium. 6 North Shore (Houston) and Westlake (Austin). Duncanville (winners in 2022 and 2023) and North Shore (winners in 2018, 2019 and 2021) have played each other in five of the last six state championship games.

Brandon connected with Kaden Catoe for three touchdowns and Mitchell Summers sealed the win with two scores on the ground in the fourth quarter.

St. Thomas Aquinas (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) won its sixth straight state title and handed No. 13 Lakeland (Fla.) its first loss of the season with a lopsided 34-0 win. The defense dominated and Chance Washington carried the weight on offense, finishing with 12 carries for 70 yards and two scores. Expect the Raiders to climb back into MaxPreps’ Top 25 next week, as they were ranked No. 29 in our expanded Top 100.

No. 19 Venice is the final MaxPreps Top 25 team from Florida to play for a state title and will face Lake Mary in the 7A state championship on Saturday.