Week 8 did not go quietly. Three of the best games on the national slate came down to the final 90 seconds, three ranked unbeatens lost, and the top two teams in the country won by a combined 53 points.
National Game of the Week: IMG Academy 44, The St. James 42
No. 3 IMG Academy is still unbeaten. For most of Saturday night in Bradenton, that was not a safe bet.
No. 92 The St. James, a second-year program from Springfield, Virginia, scored first on a long run-pass option and led 21-20 at halftime. Quarterback Kash Carter pump-faked and threw a 66-yard touchdown to put the Strivers up 21-13 in the second quarter, and they went up 28-20 early in the third, converting a third-and-13 on the drive, according to USA TODAY's Alex Martin.
IMG turned it with its quarterback and its secondary. Jayden Wade ran in the tying touchdown with 4:58 left in the third, and Osani Gayles took the two-point conversion in on a reverse. Censere Gaylord intercepted Carter twice and returned one 99 yards for a touchdown, MaxPreps reported, and Wade's touchdown pass made it 41-28 with 10:16 left.
The St. James came back anyway. Carter found Camden Simmons on a catch-and-run touchdown with 7:41 left, and the Strivers ran their way to a 42-41 lead with 57 seconds to play.
Gayles answered with a 60-yard kickoff return, and Zach Brien hit a 47-yard field goal in the final seconds to win it, according to MaxPreps and Martin. Wade threw three touchdown passes and ran for another, and Gayles, the Alabama commit, caught two of them.
IMG is 6-0 and has scored 307 points. Its closest game before Saturday was a 21-point win. The St. James is 4-1 after its first loss: by two points, on the road, to the No. 3 team in the country, after leading in the final minute. Sloane Carter's full recap of the National Game of the Week is up on the site.
Bergen Catholic 34, Don Bosco Prep 30
No. 28 Don Bosco Prep led No. 57 Bergen Catholic 24-0 in the second quarter on Saturday. It did not score enough after that.
Bergen Catholic junior quarterback Trey Tagliaferri threw five touchdown passes, four of them in the second half, according to NorthJersey.com. The last one went to Bryan Porter from about 40 yards out after Tagliaferri scrambled, with 15 seconds left. Porter and Jamel Hammary each caught two touchdowns, MaxPreps reported.
Don Bosco came in unbeaten. It is the biggest comeback on a national board this season that we know of, and it reshuffles the top of New Jersey.
Friday: three escapes
St. Thomas Aquinas 21, Chaminade-Madonna 20. No. 4 St. Thomas Aquinas trailed No. 33 Chaminade-Madonna 20-7 in the third quarter. Ryan Mathis scored on a Cody Conness screen for the lead early in the fourth quarter, and Wyatt Smith blocked a Chaminade-Madonna field goal with 1:23 left. Aquinas is 6-0 and has won 20 straight, according to MaxPreps and the Sun Sentinel. Sloane Carter's full recap is up on the site.
Raines 20, Venice 17. No. 51 Raines blocked three Venice field goals, the last one late in the fourth quarter, and handed No. 53 Venice its first loss. Raines is 6-0 and has won 20 straight. Our full recap is up on the site.
Newton 40, Westlake 38. Westlake went ahead with 1:03 left. No. 63 Newton answered when sophomore Josiah Frazier hit Kevin Hartsfield from midfield in the final minute, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Newton is 6-0. Our full recap is up on the site.
The rest of the top 25
No. 1 St. Frances Academy won 46-0 at Legacy School of Sport Sciences in Texas. No. 2 Santa Margarita beat No. 19 Mater Dei 14-7 to open Trinity League play. Our full recap is up on the site.
No. 5 Baylor School beat McCallie 49-7. No. 7 Sierra Canyon shut out Loyola 41-0, No. 9 Columbus beat Southwest Miami 53-0 on Thursday and No. 11 De La Salle won 42-0 at Cathedral Catholic in San Diego.
No. 12 Thompson won 31-14 at Hoover, the team that had beaten it the last two years, and has won 11 straight. Our full recap is up on the site. No. 13 St. John Bosco beat JSerra 40-14, No. 16 North Shore beat Humble 41-0 on Thursday, No. 18 Brownsburg beat Zionsville 38-3 and No. 21 North Gwinnett beat Duluth 48-3. No. 22 Thomas County Central beat Veterans 55-12, and No. 23 Trinity shut out St. Xavier 41-0.
Saturday's other ranked games
No. 42 Iona Prep beat St. Anthony's 49-0 and is 5-0. A freshman returned the opening kickoff 99 yards for a touchdown, and Iona stopped St. Anthony's twice on fourth-and-goal, The Journal News reported.
No. 55 Loyola Academy gave up the first touchdown to St. Ignatius and then scored the next 38, per the MaxPreps line score. Loyola won 38-7 and is 7-0.
No. 58 St. John's College beat Cornerstone Christian of San Antonio 35-28 and is 5-1. No. 64 Catholic Central beat Toledo Central Catholic 31-12 in the 82nd Boys Bowl, according to the Shamrocks.
Out West, No. 82 Serra beat Valley Christian 50-19 and No. 43 Mililani won 46-7 at Kailua on Friday to move to 8-0. SPIN Cycle Out West has the rest.
No. 98 Imhotep Charter beat George Washington 43-6 on Saturday night. No. 27 Miami Central's final at Miami Springs goes on the scoreboard as soon as it is verified.
Losses on the Power 100
| Rank | Team | Result |
|---|---|---|
| 19 | Mater Dei | Lost at No. 2 Santa Margarita 14-7 |
| 28 | Don Bosco Prep | Lost at No. 57 Bergen Catholic 34-30 |
| 33 | Chaminade-Madonna | Lost to No. 4 St. Thomas Aquinas 21-20 |
| 45 | Miami Carol City | Lost at No. 84 Grayson 10-9 |
| 53 | Venice | Lost at No. 51 Raines 20-17 |
| 91 | Elder | Lost at Archbishop Moeller 35-28 |
| 92 | The St. James | Lost at No. 3 IMG Academy 44-42 |
| 93 | Bentonville | Lost at Shiloh Christian 42-15 |
The new SPIN Power 100 comes out Monday.
