Week 4 Featured Games: Miami Central–Buford Is the One We’ve Waited For
The eight biggest games on an 18-game national slate, led by a top-10 collision in Georgia and major tests across Texas, California and beyond.
Top 25 Public HSFB9/8/202613 min read
I’ve had Miami Central at Buford circled for months.
Miami Central has already crossed the country and won. Buford has won twice without producing the complete four-quarter performance I expected from the defending Georgia Class 6A champion. Now two of the premier public-school programs in the country meet with a top-10 victory available.
The 18-game Featured slate also sends Allen to Southlake Carroll, returns Centennial to Mater Dei and puts four Texas championship programs in the Cotton Bowl on Saturday.
T25PS GAME OF THE WEEK: #9 Miami Central at #10 Buford
Thursday, September 10 | 7:30 p.m. ET | Phillip Beard Stadium, Buford, Georgia
This is much bigger than #9 against #10.
Buford is the defending Georgia Class 6A champion, the reigning T25PS public-school national champion and one of the safest program bets in high school football. Miami Central is Miami Central—a perennial national contender with the speed, confidence and schedule ambition to enter almost any stadium expecting to win.
Both began 2026 with major expectations and real questions. Buford returned a defense capable of carrying a national contender, but DJ Hunter was taking his first meaningful snaps at quarterback after missing last season with a knee injury. That uncertainty was why . Miami Central had James Perrone, Nino Joseph and enough defensive talent to play with anybody, but a reworked offensive line had to prove itself.
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Miami started answering immediately. The Rockets flew to California and escaped Orange Lutheran 23-22. What could have looked like a shaky one-point win gained value when Orange Lutheran beat Basha 23-17. Miami then handled St. Brendan 43-7 without turning the emotional trip west into an excuse for a flat follow-up.
Buford is also 2-0, beating Gainesville 39-19 and Mallard Creek 41-7, but both games stayed uneven longer than the final margins suggest. The championship defense has still shown its game-changing quality. Jameer Cantrell scored three touchdowns against Mallard Creek, including two on defense, while Elliott Hauser and Bryce Dillard also scored defensively.
The offense remains unfinished. Buford produced 222 total yards against Mallard Creek, including 94 before halftime, and Hunter completed 5 of 15 passes for 108 yards. A 41-7 final can conceal those numbers against most opponents. It will not against a Miami team too experienced, explosive and comfortable in a national setting to count on defensive touchdowns rescuing an uneven night.
Miami has shown it can travel and survive. Buford has shown its defense can change a game in a snap. The winner owns one of the best public-school victories of the young season: a second major road win for the Rockets or the result that returns Buford to the center of the national championship discussion.
This is why we have been waiting for it.
#5 Allen at #35 Southlake Carroll
Friday, September 11 | 8 p.m. ET / 7 p.m. CT | Dragon Stadium, Southlake, Texas
Allen’s opening schedule was supposed to show how quickly another young roster could grow up. Two games later, the Eagles are #5 after beating Duncanville 26-7 and defending Texas Class 6A Division II champion DeSoto 50-6.
Allen held Duncanville to 163 total yards with eight sacks and 13 tackles for loss. Against DeSoto, sophomore quarterback Ty Snell threw four touchdown passes—three to Zach Williams—and Allen led 28-0 at halftime. The question is no longer whether Allen can survive this stretch, but whether #5 is high enough.
Southlake Carroll survived Jenks 34-33 before North Crowley overwhelmed it 40-10, exposing the concern T25PS carried into the season. Lee Munn inherited seven returning offensive starters but no returning defensive starters, and the preseason question was whether that rebuilt defense could develop quickly enough. Carroll’s veteran offense must sustain drives and protect that defense, or Allen can turn another competitive matchup into a rout.
#7 Centennial at Mater Dei
Friday, September 11 | 10 p.m. ET / 7 p.m. PT | Santa Ana Bowl, Santa Ana, California
Centennial spent years trying to break through against Mater Dei. Last season, the Huskies did it twice: 43-36 in the regular season and 28-27 in the CIF Southern Section Division 1 semifinals. Before that, Mater Dei had won seven straight in the series dating to 2018.
Centennial is not arriving merely to prove it belongs; the Huskies are trying to show that 2025 changed the relationship between these programs.
Centennial beat Servite 41-21 before losing 21-20 to Santa Margarita when the potential tying extra point was blocked. T25PS kept the Huskies at #7 because one point against a strong private program does not erase the larger case. Mater Dei is 3-0 after handling American Fork, Orem and Valor Christian.
Centennial must regain its offensive efficiency against a front that makes every empty possession expensive. Beat Mater Dei a third straight time, and nobody will care about a one-point August setback.
#6 North Shore at #57 South Oak Cliff
Saturday, September 12 | 5 p.m. ET / 4 p.m. CT | Cotton Bowl Stadium, Dallas | Parrish Classic
North Shore is the defending Texas Class 6A Division I champion. South Oak Cliff has reached five straight state title games and won its third championship in five years last December.
The Golden Bears also beat North Shore 41-31 last season, rushing for 370 yards and ending the Mustangs’ 37-game regular-season winning streak. South Oak Cliff has already shown it can win this matchup.
North Shore opened with a 35-0 shutout of Lancaster and a 27-17 road win over John Curtis Christian. South Oak Cliff is 0-1 after a 20-14 loss to #48 Richmond Randle in the third meeting between programs that split the previous two Class 5A Division II title games. That record reflects a championship-level opener, not collapse.
South Oak Cliff must avoid long-yardage situations against North Shore’s defensive speed. North Shore must stop the physical running game that hurt it last year. A Golden Bears win transforms their September; a Mustangs win strengthens an already serious résumé.
#33 Duncanville at DeSoto
Saturday, September 12 | 1 p.m. ET / noon CT | Cotton Bowl Stadium, Dallas | Parrish Classic
Duncanville and DeSoto have combined for five state championships over four seasons. Both enter the Cotton Bowl under pressure.
Duncanville lost 26-7 to Allen before beating Cedar Hill 34-7. Allen’s destruction of DeSoto made that opener less alarming, though Duncanville’s offense still stalled at times in Week 2. Brayden Arnold’s four touchdowns on four carries and Maximus Denson’s playmaking supplied enough answers.
DeSoto faces the urgent problem. The defending champion lost 38-14 to St. Thomas Aquinas, then trailed Allen 50-0 before scoring late. Two games into the season, the Eagles have been outscored 88-20.
Duncanville must correct enough before facing #4 North Crowley next week. DeSoto must stop a difficult opening month from becoming a verdict. The programs are no longer district opponents after DeSoto’s move to 5A, but the rivalry has not softened.
#56 Jenks vs. #26 Bixby
Friday, September 11 | 8:30 p.m. ET / 7:30 p.m. CT | H.A. Chapman Stadium, Tulsa | QuikTrip’s Battle for the Big Q
Bixby entered the season with eight consecutive state championships but only three returning starters on each side of the ball. Replacing sixteen starters had to matter; so did Loren Montgomery’s record of reloading.
The Spartans won 35-27 at Owasso in a rematch of last year’s Class 6A-I championship game and scored 56 against Stillwater. The new lineup is developing without giving away games. Jenks lost 34-33 to Southlake Carroll before winning 50-13 at Rogers.
Jenks ended Bixby’s 58-game winning streak in 2022. Bixby answered in that season’s state semifinals, won the 2023 championship meeting and scored 66 last year. At the University of Tulsa, Bixby can prove its development machine works again—or Jenks can interrupt the dynasty before it gets comfortable.
#41 Lee County at #69 Colquitt County
Friday, September 11 | 7:30 p.m. ET | Mack Tharpe Stadium, Moultrie, Georgia
Lee County’s 3-0 start has confirmed the preseason case: the Trojans are physical enough to survive close games and athletic enough to handle different styles.
The 23-20 win over Miami Carol City is the anchor. Lee fell behind 20-8 and recovered, then went to Sequoyah and scored 43 to show more offensive range.
Colquitt County’s 57-21 loss to Thomas County Central was ugly, but TCC’s 63-14 follow-up and rise to #2 changed the context. The Packers responded by beating Monroe and Cook by a combined 90-6. Now we learn whether that was repair work or real progress.
The teams have traded road wins: Lee County won 47-35 at Mack Tharpe in 2024, and Colquitt answered 43-36 last season. Lee can add another meaningful result before #2 TCC arrives. Colquitt can show its opener was a collision, not a verdict.
#62 Longview at #63 Ruston
Friday, September 11 | 8 p.m. ET / 7 p.m. CT | James Field at L.J. “Hoss” Garrett Stadium, Ruston, Louisiana
The adjacent rankings fit almost perfectly. Longview leads the series 7-6 entering the fourteenth meeting, while Ruston won 38-35 last year. These nearby interstate programs have state-championship histories, demanding fan bases and no need for a manufactured national storyline.
Longview has overwhelmed Lufkin and Marshall by a combined 120-20. Ruston opened with a 42-16 win over Neville behind an experienced offense led by quarterback Sam Hartwell, running back Dalen Powell and LSU tight end commit Ahmad Hudson.
The preseason concern at Ruston was whether a defense returning five starters could develop quickly enough to match that offense. Longview provides the first real answer. The Lobos’ explosive start now travels into a stadium where Ruston beat them by three last year, in a series and rankings pairing that suggest another last-possession game.
10 More Featured Games
Cardinal Newman at #8 West Boca Raton
Thursday, September 10 | 6:30 p.m. ET | Frank A. Barbieri Jr. Stadium, Boca Raton, Florida
West Boca has climbed from preseason #14 to #8 after beating American Heritage 24-7, shutting out Spanish River 37-0 and allowing seven points in two games. Cardinal Newman is 3-0, has scored 129 points and beat West Boca 26-20 last season. The Crusaders also enter as defending state champions after ending Chaminade-Madonna’s four-year title run. West Boca has the higher public-school ceiling; Cardinal Newman has direct proof it can win this matchup. Now the Bulls get a championship-level test of whether their early defensive dominance is real.
#23 Waxahachie at Guyer
Thursday, September 10 | 8 p.m. ET / 7 p.m. CT | C.H. Collins Athletic Complex, Denton, Texas
Waxahachie has already shown both ends of its range, beating Ennis 72-14 and surviving Coppell 27-24. Guyer is 2-0 after wins over Rockwall-Heath and Melissa. The specific challenge is Guyer’s defensive front, led by Oregon commit Zane Rowe, Texas Tech commit Khyren Haywood and Darrien Neal. Waxahachie has proved it can win through an avalanche or a final drive. Guyer can make the Indians show they have a dependable answer when the line of scrimmage stops coming easily.
#31 Milton at Battle Ground Academy
Friday, September 11 | 8 p.m. ET / 7 p.m. CT | Battle Ground Academy, Franklin, Tennessee
Milton has beaten North Cobb 30-29, lost by one at Blessed Trinity and scored 53 against Cambridge. The upside is obvious; the weekly consistency is not. Defending Tennessee Division II-AA champion Battle Ground Academy is 3-0, has outscored opponents 152-24 and is averaging more than 50 points. Quarterback Bo Bryan has completed 44 of 57 passes for 879 yards, 13 touchdowns and no interceptions. BGA has the quarterback playing cleaner football, making this a legitimate Milton road test.
#76 Pine-Richland at Central Catholic
Friday, September 11 | 7 p.m. ET | U.S. Steel Community Field at Hazelwood Green, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Pine-Richland has forced its way into the national conversation after beginning at preseason #96, beating defending Ohio champion Avon 48-18 and West Allegheny 59-20. Central Catholic answered its own demanding start by beating Bergen Catholic 45-30 and Woodland Hills 45-0, and the Vikings will play their first game at the new U.S. Steel Community Field. Pine-Richland’s offense has overwhelmed two opponents. Friday brings a talented, tested defense and the kind of Western Pennsylvania stage that will show whether the Rams’ rise is only beginning.
#84 Kahuku at St. John Bosco
Friday, September 11 | 10 p.m. ET / 7 p.m. PT | Panish Family Stadium, Bellflower, California
Kahuku stunned St. John Bosco 30-23 in Hawaii in 2023. This time the Red Raiders must cross the Pacific. Kahuku is 3-1 after a 28-21 loss to Junipero Serra and two other one-score wins, including 16-10 over Punahou. Bosco is 2-1 after losing at Bishop Gorman and beating Roman Catholic and Pittsburg. The Red Raiders have the toughness and belief to make this uncomfortable. Recreating the 2023 result will require much cleaner offensive execution against Bosco’s size and depth.
#1 Thompson at Spain Park
Friday, September 11 | 8 p.m. ET / 7 p.m. CT | Jaguar Stadium at Bob Finley Field, Hoover, Alabama
Thompson has done nothing to loosen its grip on #1, beating Central-Phenix City by 27, Clay-Chalkville by 24 and Vestavia Hills by 49. Spain Park is also 3-0 and has scored 94 points, earning the right to make this more than another Thompson score check. The standard for the Warriors is now higher than simply winning. Spain Park gets the home opportunity to test Trent Seaborn and an opponent that has controlled every meaningful stretch of the season.
Canisius at #30 Massillon Washington
Friday, September 11 | 7 p.m. ET | Paul Brown Tiger Stadium, Massillon, Ohio
Massillon has beaten Glenville 31-18, handled GlenOak 54-7 and survived NFL Academy 21-16. The Tigers have already shown they can win a physical game, a rout and a close fourth quarter. Canisius is 1-0 and will not be intimidated by the trip, but Paul Brown Tiger Stadium brings a different kind of pressure. Massillon’s task is turning last week’s five-point escape into a more complete performance before the demanding schedule reaches St. Edward—and showing its early versatility can last.
#46 South Pointe at Rock Hill
Friday, September 11 | 7:30 p.m. ET | District 3 Stadium, Rock Hill, South Carolina
South Pointe has outscored Nation Ford and Lake Wylie 105-7. Rock Hill is 3-0 after beating Irmo, Ashley Ridge and Hilton Head Island. The city context gives this game its life: South Pointe has controlled the recent series and enters on a 16-game winning streak, while Rock Hill brings back an experienced core and finally looks equipped to challenge that local balance. The numbers have been overwhelming. The crosstown pressure should tell us more about both teams.
#22 Middletown vs. Cardinal Hayes
Friday, September 11 | 7 p.m. ET | Columbia University, New York City
Middletown started 0-3 last season, won ten straight and captured a second consecutive Delaware Class 3A championship. The Cavaliers opened 2026 by beating Tottenville 41-27. Cardinal Hayes raises the speed and the setting at Columbia. Wisconsin commit DJ Davis gives Middletown a two-way game-breaker, but the larger test is whether the Cavaliers can play cleanly enough to avoid another difficult September recovery—and show on a larger national stage that last year’s finish carried forward.
#2 Thomas County Central vs. Lithonia
Friday, September 11 | 7:30 p.m. ET | The Jacket’s Nest, Thomasville, Georgia
Thomas County Central has played like the #2 team in the country, beating Colquitt County 57-21 and Lincoln 63-14. Colquitt’s response since has only strengthened the value of that opener. Lithonia’s 22-8 loss to #61 Lowndes leaves one meaningful question: can its defense survive TCC’s opening wave and force the Yellow Jackets to play deeper into the night than either of their first two opponents? For TCC, this is a discipline test before region play and a later trip to #41 Lee County. The job is to maintain a national-contender standard when everybody expects a rout.
Miami Central and Buford own Thursday night. Friday carries the slate from Pittsburgh to South Georgia and Southern California. Saturday closes with two championship-heavy Texas matchups at the Cotton Bowl.
Keep the T25PS scoreboard close. Week 4 has too many games that can turn in a hurry—and too many results that will matter when the next Public Schools Top 100 comes together.
