Recruit Roundup: Roberts bests Doost in clash of commits

Ten commits played their first playoff game last week, six of them advanced, and two commits squared off against each in a regular season matchup in Arizona.

Read about all of that and more in this week's roundup:

In the first game between two commits from the Class of 2023 this season, Dylan Roberts emerged victorious to earn some bragging rights. His Peoria (Ariz.) Centennial team beat Alex Doost and Glendale (Ariz.) Mountain Ridge, 30-17.

This is the seventh straight win for the Coyotes, who are hitting their stride at just the right time. Roberts and the defense have held opponents to 17 or fewer points in three straight games, and six times this season.

For Doost and the Mountain Lions, this is another setback. They started the season 4-2 and were riding a three-game winning streak, but have since lost to Peoria Liberty by 42 and now Centennial by 13.

Mountain Ridge (4-4) plays at Westview this week.

Centennial (7-1) plays at Peoria Liberty this week.

West Chester (Ohio) Lakota West beat Lebanon, 43-0, in the first round of their playoffs.

After an undefeated regular season, the Firebirds quashed their opponents' hopes that they would be nervous or feeling the pressure to defend their unbeaten record in the postseason.

Joshua Fussell and the defense pitched their third shutout of the season, the 10th game they've held an opponent to 14 or fewer points. Lakota West swarmed Lebanon in all three phases, returning two punts for touchdowns and intercepting the Warriors thrice on their way to lighting up the scoreboard.

Lakota West (11-0) hosts Cincinnati Princeton this week in the second round of the playoffs.

Mt. Prospect (Ill.) Prospect beat Reavis, 62-13, in a dominant first-round performance.

Prospect and Frank Covey IV have had a high-powered offense the whole season, but are kicking it up a notch now that their season is on the line. They have scored 126 points combined between their regular season finale and their playoff debut.

Covey caught a 30-yard touchdown and ran in a two-point conversion out of the wildcat formation to help secure the first-round win.

Now, No. 5 Prospect (9-1) will host No. 12 St. Rita (8-2). Covey and the Knights will not forget last year's 42-20 loss to St. Rita in the 7A semifinals that ended their season.

Last week they were city champs, now they're regional champs.

Rock Hill (S.C.) Northwestern came back beat undefeated Catawba Ridge, 28-23, to secure a regional title. Northwestern fell behind 17-0 early, but an explosive offense that averaged 50 points per game in the regular season ensured that the Trojans were never out of it.

Having followed Jordan Knox and the Trojans all year, with every regular season win coming by double digits, it's hard to remember that they know how to win the close ones too. Knox and the big guys up front paved the way, and running back Turbo Richard ran for 237 yards.

Northwestern (9-1) hosts Wade Hampton this week in the first round of the playoffs.

Aidan Gray's high school career at Naperville (Ill.) North came to a close with a loss to Marist, 42-28, in the first round of the Class 8A playoffs.

The Huskies came in with the home-field advantage as the higher seed, but if lines were set for IHSA football, then Marist would have been a heavy favorite. Marist, the alma mater of freshman OL Deuce McGuire, was only seeded 18th because of three losses to state powers on their formidable regular season slate.

Even in the face of a formidable opponent, Gray and the Huskies went down swinging. Gray finished 18-for-32 for 273 yards, three touchdowns and an interception. He connected often with his favorite receiver, 2024 NU target Luke Williams, who finished with eight catches for 168 yards and this long touchdown.

With his storied high school career coming to a close and the Wildcats calling his name next season, Gray gave a final quote about his final season for the Huskies.

"When it comes to players, coaches, students, faculty, everyone at the school just made it such a great, memorable year, putting the players in the positions to be great, making sure we’re all making memories and at the same time winning games,” Gray said to the Naperville Sun. “It was humbling to lose to a great team like Marist, but I know us seniors couldn’t be more happy how we fought to the end.”

Naperville North finished their season 7-3, earning a 15th seed in Class 8A.

Dearborn (Mich.) Divine Child head coach Chris Laney put his cards on the table pregame. He listed his offensive line by name, a unit led by Dylan Senda at center, and called on them to carry and push the team to the next round.

Per usual, Senda and Co. answered the bell. Divine Child beat Garden City, 26-12, for their first playoff win since 2017. Senda has helped create an astonishing turnaround for the Falcons, who can triple their 2021 win total with a second-round victory.

Divine Child (8-2) plays Clarenceville this week.

Lakewood (Ohio) St. Edward beat one-win Stow-Munroe Falls, 49-6, to advance to the next round of the playoffs. Michael Kilbane and the defense were locked in, allowing fewer than seven points for the fourth time this season.

St. Edward secured the top seed in their region with two major wins to close their regular season campaign: 6-0 over Archbishop Moeller and 41-20 over Archbishop Hoban. Kilbane anchored a defensive line that formed the backbone of an absolutely dominant Eagles defense.

Check out Kilbane's regular season highlights here:

No. 1 St. Edward (10-1) hosts No. 8 Massillon Jackson this week.

Owing Mills (Md.) McDonogh lost to Calvert Hall, 27-24 . After a pair of midseason wins got the Eagles back to even at 3-3, they have now lost three straight to fall to 3-6.

McDonogh's offense has done Mason Robinson and the defense few favors this season, but the Eagles led 24-7 with 7:11 remaining in the quarter. Then, Calvert Hall rattled off 20 unanswered points on their way to a win, including two scores within the last 1:10 of the game.

After Calvert Hall scored late to tie the game, McDonogh attempted to drive down and score for the win in regulation. But a deep pass was tipped, intercepted and returned by the Cardinals deep into Eagle territory. With just seven seconds remaining and no timeouts, Calvert Hall made a 19-yard field goal to win the game, 27-24.

McDonogh (3-6) plays at Gilman this week in the last game of their regular season.

Houston (Tex.) Strake Jesuit just can't find its way back over .500, losing to Pearland, 24-14.

The Crusaders have been at, or one game below, .500 for the last four weeks, struggling to recapture the rhythm that gave them a 3-1 start to the season.

Chico Holt and the offense were uncharacteristically kept in check. Fourteen points is Strake's lowest total of the season, and just the second time they have been held below 28.

Strake Jesuit (4-5) plays at Shadow Creek in the final game of their regular season.

St. Louis (Mo.) Christian Brothers affirmed the verdict of their regular season 64-6 win over winless Vianney with a 57-6 win in the first round of the MSHSAA playoffs.

Tyler Gant and the CBC defense weren't resting on their laurels in the rematch, shutting the Golden Griffins down again.

If you need a reminder that every Northwestern commit is typically as formidable in the classroom as they are on the field, congratulations to Tyler on his induction to the National Honor Society.

Christian Brothers (9-1) plays Kirkwood this week.

No. 20 Bolingbrook and Damon Walters' season came to a close after a first-round loss, 24-0, at No. 13 Maine South.

The Pirates entered the game with a formidable offense, averaging 42 points per game,. But their prolific attack ground to a halt against Peter Skoronski's alma mater.

Bolingbrook finishes their season with a 6-4 record that belies an incredibly talented team. Three of their four losses this season advanced to the next round, with Chicago Simeon and Lincoln-Way East both potentially competing for state titles.

Joliet (Ill.) Catholic Academy wasted no time getting to work in the IHSA Class 4A playoffs, dispatching Chicago Phillips in a 43-6 victory.

Anthony Birsa and the Hilltoppers spent most of their season playing above their weight class against teams like Brother Rice and Crete-Monee, so it's always apparent when they get back home to Class 4A play.

No. 5 JCA (8-2) has a rematch from the regular season this week when they play at No. 13 Providence Catholic. The Hilltoppers won 49-41 at Providence Catholic in Week 4 earlier this season.

Clayton (Ohio) Northmont lost their first-round playoff matchup with Centerville, 34-21.

The game was a rematch from Week 5, when Centerville, the alma mater of former Wildcat Ifeadi Odenigbo, beat Nigel Glover and the then-undefeated Thunderbolts, 37-0. Glover and his team narrowed the margin significantly, but it wasn't enough.

Northmont ended their season at 5-6. The Thunderbolts started their season on a 4-0 tear, fueled by three non-conference games, but hit their conference schedule and finished 1-6 in their last seven.

Justin Cryer and his teammates chalked up another monster win, 47-7 over La Marque, in a banner year for Pattison (Tex.) Royal.

The Falcons responded to a loss to Bellville in Week 6 by rattling off three straight district wins by 40, 42 and 40 points, respectively. With the help of those three wins, the Falcons finished 4-1 and second in their district, their best finish in more than a decade.

Royal (8-1) plays at Columbia this week.

After losing their regular season finale to Blue Springs South, 38-14, Liberty (Mo.) got a chance at vengeance in the first round of the playoffs. Instead, they ended up with deja vu as Blue Springs South beat the Blue Jays, 42-14, in the playoff rematch.

It was a disappointing season for Ricky Ahumaraeze and Liberty. They showed flashes, but were never able to string it all together for extended portions of their season.

When their offense was able to get off the ground, Liberty played well. When they were able to score 20 or more, they were 4-2. When they scored less than 20, they were 0-4.

The Blue Jays finished their season 4-6.

After starting 0-5, Lawndale (Calif.) Leuzinger is 4-1 in their last five games.

Jacob Lewis and the defense allowed zero points for the third time their last four played games and the Olympians beat Hawthorne, 51-0.

Lewis and Leuzinger really deserve credit for staying dedicated and focused throughout a rocky start to the season. They came out firing in the back stretch, and will host a first-round playoff game.

Leuzinger (4-6) plays Beaumont this week.

Scottsdale (Ariz.) Saguaro took another step on their road to the Open Division playoffs, beating Chaparral 59-17.

After a pair of losses, Cole Shivers and the Sabercats have clamped down to fuel three straight wins.

After winning just two of their first five games, the Sabercats allowed 19.2 points per game, including three games of 26 points allowed or more. In the three games since they are 3-0 and have allowed 15 points per game, as no opponent has cracked 20.

Saguaro (5-3) plays at Phoenix Pinnacle this week.

TE Camp Magee and Orlando (Fla.) Edgewater (9-0) were on bye last week. They will host Boone this week.