Friday Night Delivered: Five High School Football Stories That Shook the National Picture
A Mater Dei defensive escape, a Roman Catholic upset of DeMatha and three running backs posting video-game numbers headline a wild September 11 slate.
By Talia Ramos | HS PrepSports
Friday night brought one major upset, a defensive Southern California thriller and three running backs producing video-game numbers.
If you went to sleep early, you missed a lot.
Here are the five biggest stories from the September 11 high school football slate.
Mater Dei survives Centennial, 10–9
Nobody expected No. 14 Mater Dei and No. 13 Corona Centennial to combine for only 19 points.
These programs usually produce fireworks. Friday’s MaxPreps Game of the Week delivered turnovers, missed opportunities and one tense finish instead.
Centennial led 9–0 at halftime and controlled much of the opening half, but three turnovers ultimately cost the Huskies.
Senior linebacker Michael Davis produced the game-changing play for Mater Dei, intercepting a tipped shovel pass deep inside Centennial territory during the fourth quarter. Junior quarterback Russell Sekona eventually scored on a short sneak, and Jerry Shifman’s extra point gave the Monarchs a 10–9 lead.
Centennial had one final opportunity. Quarterback Jaden Jefferson drove the Huskies to the Mater Dei 10-yard line, but a 27-yard field-goal attempt missed with just over a minute remaining.
Mater Dei finished with fewer than 150 yards of offense but improved to 4–0 because its defense refused to let the game get away.
The numbers were not pretty. The result still counts.
Our read: Mater Dei’s defense looks championship-ready. Its offense does not—not yet. Against the best teams in California, asking the defense to repeatedly rescue the night will eventually become a losing formula.
Read the complete MaxPreps recap
Roman Catholic knocks off No. 24 DeMatha
Friday’s biggest Top 25 upset belonged to Roman Catholic.
The Philadelphia program defeated No. 24 DeMatha 14–7 behind quarterback Jahmil Hawkins and a defense that never allowed the Stags to establish their running game.
Hawkins accounted for both Roman Catholic touchdowns, running for one score and connecting with Kaylin Bass for another. Andrew Woods and Chase Hinton helped control the secondary, while Walter Hudson and Coron Russell contributed to the shutdown of DeMatha’s rushing attack.
Roman Catholic entered the weekend outside the MaxPreps Top 25. After beating a nationally ranked opponent, that could change quickly.
DeMatha, meanwhile, is likely headed in the opposite direction.
Review the MaxPreps Top 25 scoreboard
David Gabriel Georges takes over after halftime
No. 11 Baylor entered halftime trailing No. 23 Trinity 14–7.
Then David Gabriel Georges apparently decided that was enough.
The Tennessee commit rushed for 310 yards and five touchdowns as Baylor rallied for a 35–27 victory. Four of his touchdowns came after halftime, including explosive runs of 75 and 59 yards.
Georges scored on consecutive carries late in the third quarter, helping Baylor turn a seven-point deficit into a 28–14 lead. His final touchdown stretched the advantage to 21 before Trinity mounted a late comeback.
Baylor improved to 4–0 and snapped Trinity’s 11-game winning streak.
The reigning MaxPreps National Player of the Year didn’t simply influence the result. He took control of it.
Kingston Allen scores six times—in one half
Kingston Allen needed only 15 carries and two quarters to turn Friday night into another personal highlight reel.
The Wisconsin commit rushed for 229 yards and six first-half touchdowns as Notre Dame Academy rolled past Sheboygan South 52–0.
Allen entered the contest as the nation’s leading high school rusher, according to MaxPreps. His latest performance pushed him beyond 5,000 career rushing yards.
This comes after a junior campaign in which he accumulated 3,436 rushing yards and 57 touchdowns.
Six touchdowns before halftime sounds like something somebody’s little brother does after changing the difficulty setting. Allen is doing it on actual Friday nights.
See Allen’s MaxPreps highlights
Kemon Spell dominates, but McKeesport falls
Kemon Spell produced one of Friday’s greatest individual performances—and still left without the win.
The five-star Georgia commit rushed for 296 yards and four touchdowns as McKeesport fell 40–33 to Thomas Jefferson in a rematch of the 2025 WPIAL Class 4A championship game.
Spell broke scoring runs of 31, 72 and 96 yards during the first half before adding another touchdown after halftime.
Thomas Jefferson still found a way to survive.
That result does not diminish Spell’s performance. It highlights the difference between evaluating a player and evaluating a final score. A running back can dominate his assignment and still play for the losing team.
Watch Spell’s MaxPreps highlights
The number that defines the night
David Gabriel Georges, Kingston Allen and Kemon Spell combined for:
- 835 rushing yards
- 15 rushing touchdowns
- Three unforgettable performances
Only two of them won.
That is Friday night football in one statistic: individual greatness can change a game, but it cannot always control everything around it.
Mater Dei’s defense survived without much offense. Roman Catholic made its national statement. Three elite running backs filled the stat sheet until it ran out of room.
And the national rankings? They will need some editing.
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