This Week's National Matchups #16-20

#20 Skyline (Sammamish, Washington) - vs. Redmond. Last week the Spartans played their toughest opponent of the season and still came away with a 38-0 win over previously unbeaten Issaquah. Warning...stat of the week, maybe the year...Skyline has allowed eight points this season. Not average per game. EIGHT points TOTAL. Five of their seven games have ended in a shutout. They have outscored their opponents to a tune of 296-8. Coming to town this week is a struggling Redmond, 1-6 on the year. The bottom line....do I have to say it? Skyline by a lot. #19 St. Xavier (Louisville, Kentucky) - @ Pleasure Ridge Park. Another staunch defense in the Top 25 is the Tigers. They have allowed only 19 points all year, including 3 shutouts. They don't just have a defense though. Their offense is extremely potent, averaging 51 points per game. Pleasure Ridge Park is sitting at .500 on the season, at 3-3. They are currently on a two-game losing streak, but really won't have a chance to break that string of events this week. The bottom line...St. X wins going away by 28. #18 Our Lady Of Good Counsel (Wheaton, Maryland) - vs. St. John's. The Falcons have rolled through lesser competition, but should take a step up this week as they host St. John's (Washington, D.C.). They still shouldn't have too much trouble with the 6-3 Cadets. The Cadets are rounding out their six-game road swing this week and face a tough Falcons team. St. John's doesn't particularly excel in either offense or defense, but are solid in both. Good Counsel should get the win here. The bottom line...Falcons win by 17. #17 South Pointe (Rock Hill, South Carolina) - vs. Blythewood. The South Pointe Stallions have it all on both sides of the ball. Offensively they are scoring on average, 46 points per game while only allowing five. Blythewood comes in at 4-3 and have been playing much better defensively after allowing over 40 points in their first two games. In their last five games, they have only allowed 23 points total. Offensively the Bengals are struggling to put points on the board. The Stallions defense is way too much for Blythewood this week. The bottom line...South Pointe should roll by 24. #16 Lakeland (Lakeland, Florida) - vs. Jenkins. Lakeland has been winning all season, but the last three games have been really ugly, winning 27-22 over Anderson, 27-21 over Killian, and 15-14 over Lake Gibson. These aren't exactly power teams either, as their combined records are 10-8. The Dreadnaughts better find a way to put some points on the board or their stock may be slipping with teams like Skyline and St. Xavier on their tail. The Jenkins Eagles enter this game at 3-4 with their only wins over inferior competition in lower classes. This game should be a low-scoring slugfest. The bottom line...Lakeland wins 17-13. Read about matchups #21-25 Read about matchups #11-15 Read about matchups #6-10 Read about matchups #1-5