Five things to watch this weekend: Servite (Calif.) vs. Bishop Gorman (Nev.)
Easily the marquee game of the week both out West and nationally. Both teams have already played a very tough schedule but you can make an argument that Gorman has played the toughest schedule in the nation having played No. 4 Armwood (Seffner, Fla.) and preseason top 10 Chaparral (Scottsdale, Ariz.).The Gaels have a balanced attack and can hurt you on the ground and through the air. Junior QB Anu Solomon will likely break just about every state record before he graduates, RB Shaquille Powell has been an all-state selection since his sophomore year and tackle Ronnie Stanley leads an offensive line that will have three players sign with BCS schools next February.Meanwhile, the Friars have won back-to-back Pac 5 championships and are annually regarded as the most physical team in the state. LB Butch Pauu, a BYU commitment, leads a fast, aggressive defense and the Friars OL is one of the state's best led by Boise State commitment Travis Averill. Junior TE/LB Ainslie Johnson will also be a major recruit next fall.Does Stanford have a shot with Sanders Jr.?
With all of his family ties to Oklahoma State, namely his father of the same name winning a Heisman Trophy, the Cowboys have to be considered the team to beat for standout running back Barry Sanders Jr. Saying that, if there is a team capable of stealing Sanders from his childhood favorite, it's the Cardinal.Sanders Jr. has already taken two unofficial visits to the Farm and is re-taking the ACT just so he can have a higher score to include on his Stanford application. If history has shown us anything in recruiting, when a player visits a campus multiple times on his own dime, there's a sincere interest there.Along with the Cowboys and Cardinal, Sanders Jr. is also looking at Florida State and Alabama and will likely visit all four before making his college choice during the Army All-American game. At this point, Oklahoma State and Stanford appear to be the teams to beat.Can the Diablos slow down Rogers?
Prior to their matchup with Carson a year ago, I got a call from Mission Viejo (Calif.) coach Bob Johnson asking if we had seen film of Colts receiver Darreus Rogers."Have you seen this Rogers kid yet, he's the best receiver I've seen on film in years," Johnson said at the time. "I don't know how you cover this kid, but he better be on your radar, he's big time."Despite the Diablos devoting much of their game plan to stopping Rogers, the receiver still lit them up to the tune of eight catches for 193 yards and a touchdown. That game helped to put Rogers on the map and he would commit to USC just a few months later."It's no secret what we do," Colts coach Elijah Asante said. "He's our best player and Mission has a great defense. Something has to give and he needs to come up big for us to have a chance to knock them off."Can Notre Dame (Ariz.) slow down Brewer and Neal?