CHAPARRAL (3-2, 0-0) vs. MURRIETA VALLEY (3-2, 0-0)

KICKOFF: 7 p.m. Friday

SITE: Murrieta Valley HS

LEAGUE: Southwestern League

LAST MEETING: Chaparral defeated Murrieta Valley, 19-14, last year.

LAST WEEK: Chaparral defeated Cathedral City, 70-0; Murrieta Valley defeated La Quinta, 49-26.

PLAYER TO WATCH: While well off his 2,000-yard, 30-touchdown pace of 2008, Pumas RB Jonathan Diaz is the centerpiece of Chaparral's offense. He's rushed for 543 yards and six TDs and caught 13 balls for 198 yards and three TDs. More importantly, Diaz is good for at least one-big play regardless of who he plays (see his 67-yard TD run vs. Corona Centennial and his 42-yard TD run on fourth down vs. Anaheim Servite).

DID YOU KNOW? Though these two teams have split the eight games played since 2001, Chaparral has won the last three meetings, including two five-point wins in 2007 and 2008.

OUTLOOK: Both the Pumas and Nighthawks have played challenging preseason schedules, with Chaparral losing competitive games to Servite (4-1), the No. 10 team in the state on calhisports.com, and Centennial (4-1), the defending state champion. Murrieta Valley lost a 40-7 game to Mission Viejo (5-0), the No. 9 team in the state on calhisports.com, and a 44-42 game to Moreno Valley Rancho Verde, an undefeated team in the Inland Valley League. "That's a good football team," Chaparral coach Tom Leach said of the Nighthawks. "They've got a 3-2 record like us, but they've played some good teams. There's a lot of teams that would be 3-2 if they played Mission Viejo and Rancho Verde. They try to play the best. They'll be big-time ready and we think we're big-time. I think they will be ready for us." ... Both QBs are the top two passers in the Valley, with the Nighthawks' Nathan Matlock (1,248 yards, 11 TDs, 7 Ints) trailing the Pumas' Mitch Glasmann (1,251 yards, 15 TDs, 4 Ints). ... Murrieta Valley RB A.J. Moore is second in The Valley with 830 yards of total offense (539 rushing, 291 receiving) and he's totaled 10 touchdowns. ... Murrieta Valley's Tyler Parmenter is third in The Valley in scoring with six TDS, one field goal and 24 PATs. .... Murrieta Valley coach Greg Ireland isn't as concerned with the Pumas' weapons on offense ---- there are too many to focus on one, he said ---- as he is with his own team's focus. "We're about a B-minus," Ireland said. "We've had too many mistakes and too many penalties, and we have to improve on defense. We're getting there, but we've got to cut down mistakes if we want to play in the Southwestern League successfully." ... DEs Jonathan Johnson and Aaron Watkins each have three sacks for Chaparral. ... WR Antoine Arnold has 11 touchdowns, good for second in The Valley, and an area-best 33 catches for 678 yards. ... The Pumas are a bubble team on the Top-25 rankings at calhisports.com.

CALPREPS.COM PREDICTION: Chaparral 35, Murrieta Valley 31

VISTA MURRIETA (5-0, 0-0) vs. TEMESCAL CANYON (3-2, 0-0)

KICKOFF: 7 p.m. Friday

SITE: Vista Murrieta HS

LEAGUE: Southwestern League

LAST MEETING: Vista Murrieta defeated Temescal Canyon, 41-26, last year.

LAST WEEK: Temescal Canyon defeated Hemet, 23-7; Vista Murrieta defeated Downey Warren, 42-28.

PLAYER TO WATCH: OLB Ryan Hofmeister is emerging as a defensive leader for Vista Murrieta. He's in on plays against the run and the pass, and is a force on special teams ---- which happens to be the Broncos' specialty under coach Coley Candaele.

DID YOU KNOW? After dropping their first two meetings against the Titans, the Broncos have won three straight games in which they've averaged 38 points scored against Temescal Canyon. This year, Vista Murrieta is averaging 32.6 points a game.

OUTLOOK: The Broncos' victory over Warren last week clinched the program's fifth straight perfect nonleague campaign. Candaele, of course, doesn't stress that aspect of his team's success as much as he does its improvement each week. "We're not really worried about that," said Candaele, whose team is a bubble team on the state's Top-25 rankings at calhisports.com. "This year, we got done what we needed to get done. We look for challenges and we try to schedule what we'll see in league. (The perfect preseason) is important, but to us, it's not the main thing. The real season begins now." ... For Temescal Canyon, the Titans are beginning their last season in the Southwestern League. Temescal Canyon will move to the Sunbelt League next fall, though coach Russ Strange will attempt to keep a few Southwestern League teams on his schedule. The Titans are already scheduled to play Murrieta Valley the next two years. "I like the teams in the Southwestern League, and the coaches are all class guys," Strange said. "When we go somewhere, the schools always have their (act) together. I'll miss it a lot. I'm hoping the league we're going to is just as quality as the Southwestern League." ... In improving its winning streak to two games, Temescal limited Hemet to 155 yards of total offense last week. Titans RB Maurice Rodriguez rushed for 118 yards and a score on 20 carries to lead a ground game that racked up 237 yards on the ground. ... The Titans' Amir Saifi, a tackle on offense and defense, has been a big play-maker on both sides of the ball. ... Vista Murrieta QB Derrick Brown is developing into one of the Valley' s biggest two-way threats. He's thrown for 598 yards, four TDs and two interceptions and he leads the Broncos in the post-Bradley Randle era with 350 yards rushing. RB Aaron Piecukonis is second with 177 yards on 26 carries and WR Casey Marquez leads the Broncos with 20 catches for 326 yards. Brown, though, will be Temescal's main concern. "That kid's a stud," Strange said. "I think the quarterback is the real deal. He's real good. We'll have our hands full just dealing with him."

CALPREPS.COM PREDICTION: Vista Murrieta 38, Temescal Canyon 7

GREAT OAK (4-1, 0-0) vs. TEMECULA VALLEY (1-4, 0-0)

KICKOFF: 7 p.m. Friday

SITE: Great Oak HS

LEAGUE: Southwestern League

LAST MEETING: Great Oak defeated Temecula Valley, 30-13, last year.

LAST WEEK: Great Oak was idle; Temecula Valley lost to Rancho Cucamonga, 48-28.

PLAYERS TO WATCH: With an option offense, QB Bubba Luna gets plenty of pub. The Wolfpack line, though, is a unit that is getting things done up front, with Matt Subish, Nick Love and Joe Orneles opening holes for Luna. "It starts with the offensive line and those three kids are playing really well," Wolfpack co-coach Robbie Robinson said.

DID YOU KNOW? Great Oak's win last year was its first in three meetings with crosstown rival Temecula Valley. The Golden Bears outscored the Wolfpack, 40-7, in the first two games before suffering a loss last year.

OUTLOOK: Temecula Valley suffered a setback last week against Rancho Cucamonga (5-0), ranked No. 17 in the state by calhisports.com. Two of the Golden Bears' losses have come in the final seconds of games. "We're certainly better than 1-4," Temecula Valley coach Mike Maxwell said. "We could easily be 3-2 and I think the coaches in our league see that and understand that. Our kids play hard from the first play to the last. They don't quit and they don't give up. I don't think anyone can overlook us." ... QB Keegan Robilotta rushed for 85 yards on 25 carries last week and threw for 163 yards and two touchdowns. For the season, he has 569 yards passing and a 272 yards rushing. RB Ben Thompson leads Temecula Valley with 75 rushes for 499 yards on the ground. Robilotta has throw for five TDs and scored five TDS, while Thompson has four TDs. ... WR Danny Manning (hip) and DE Robert Patton (shoulder) are hoping to return from injuries for the Golden Bears. ... At Great Oak, the Wolfpack are looking for their first winning season in three trips through the Southwestern League. Great Oak is 1-14 during that stretch, with its only win coming in last year's league-opening victory over Temecula Valley. "I never experienced those teams," said Robinson, who served as a coordinator for Chaparral the last three years. "This group of kids, they compete every day. They remind me of the situation I was in at Chaparral in 2006. We had a group of seniors who said, 'We're going to do this.' They put the team above themselves. Our guys now know what they want and they've worked hard to get to this point." ... RB Chief Goodwin leads the Wolfpack with seven TDs. He's one of four rushers with at least 200 yards rushing (Goodwin 203, Zach Kinney 213, Kem Simon 263 and Luna 381). ... Luna has passed for 380 yards and two TDs against six interceptions.

CALPREPS.COM PREDICTION: Great Oak 35, Temecula Valley 6

---- Jeff Sanders

HEMET (1-4) at ELSINORE (4-1)

KICKOFF: 7 p.m. Friday

SITE: Elsinore HS

LEAGUE: Sunbelt

LAST MEETING: Elsinore defeated Hemet 21-7, last year

LAST WEEK: Elsinore was idle; Temescal Canyon defeated Hemet 23-7

PLAYER TO WATCH: DB Nathan Shatzer is among the leaders in tackles for with Tigers with 44, averaging nearly nine per game. He also leads the team with two interceptions and one fumble recovery.

DID YOU KNOW? The Tigers haven't lost the game after their bye week since 2005.

OUTLOOK: After suffering its first loss of the season two weeks ago, Elsinore, a favorite in the Sunbelt League, looks to rebound. Two plays made a big difference versus Great Oak in the loss. Down 13-7, a safety late in the third quarter put the Wolfpack up by 8 points and two minutes later an interception returned for a touchdown put the game out of reach for Elsinore. ... The Tigers held Great Oak QB Bubba Luna to just 53 yards on 21 carries and 7-of-15 passing for 108 yards. ... Hemet has given up 140 points in its past three games, all losses.

CALPREPS.COM PREDICTION: Elsinore 42, Hemet 6

PERRIS (1-4) at LAKESIDE (1-4)

KICKOFF: 7 p.m. Friday

SITE: Lakeside HS

LEAGUE: Sunbelt

LAST MEETING: Lakeside defeated Perris 38-25, last year

LAST WEEK: Perris defeated Mira Loma Jurupa Valley 37-0; Lakeside defeated Calvary Murrieta 35-19

PLAYER TO WATCH: RB Nick Gates is back for Lakeside after tearing his meniscus in the spring while attending a football camp at UCLA. In his first game back, Gates rushed for 184 yards on 29 carries to go along with three touchdowns.

DID YOU KNOW? In three of Lakeside's four losses this year, the winning team has scored 42 points each time.

OUTLOOK: Both teams are coming off their first wins of the season and will look to continue that trend. Having Gates back from injury was a huge boost for the Tigers as their running game had struggled. In one game, Gates surpassed the rest of the team in rushing yards. ... QB Corey Hall also has two main targets in WRs Donnie Pollard (20 catches for 306 yards, 2 TDs) and Eric Waisanen (14, 180). ... On defense, the Tigers will turn to Ryan Byrd (34 tackles), Pollard (27) and Kyle Linton (46). ... As a team, the Tigers have 13 sacks on the year, led by Shawn Gamble with three. ... Linton leads the team with two INTs. ... Perris is led by QB David Reyes, who has passed for 936 yards and rushed for 298 to lead the team.

CALPREPS.COM PREDICTION: Lakeside 27, Perris 19

TAHQUITZ (2-3, 1-1) vs. BANNING (2-3, 0-2)

KICKOFF: 7 p.m. Friday

SITE: Nicolet Middle School

LEAGUE: Mountain Pass

LAST MEETING: Banning defeated Tahquitz 34-14, last year

LAST WEEK: Beaumont defeated Tahquitz 27-21; Heritage defeated Banning 28-14

PLAYER TO WATCH: QB Anthony Crook did a bit of everything in Tahquitz's loss last week. He caught a touchdown pass of 54 yards, rushing for 13 yards and another touchdown and also threw for 135 yards.

DID YOU KNOW? The Titans won only one league game last year and have already equalled that total

OUTLOOK: Neither one of these teams can ill afford a loss at this point in the season. So expect a hard fought game if these teams want to stay in the thick of the Mountain Pass League race, which has three teams still undefeated in league play and two undefeated this season (Citrus Hill and San Jacinto are both 5-0, 2-0). ... The Tahquitz defense ranks second in their league allowing only 13.5 points per game, while the offense is scoring 28 points per game. ... The Broncos' offense features three-star recruit Derron Smith. He has thrown for 567 yards and also rushed for 756 this season. He is being recruited by Nebraska, Nevada, San Diego State and UNLV.

CALPREPS.COM PREDICTION: Banning 21, Tahquitz 14

HERITAGE (4-1, 2-0) vs. RIVERSIDE NOTRE DAME (3-2, 0-2)

KICKOFF: 7 p.m. Friday

SITE: Riverside Community College

LEAGUE: Mountain Pass

LAST MEETING: Notre Dame defeated Heritage, 14-11, last year

LAST WEEK: Heritage defeated Banning 28-14; Citrus Hill defeated Notre Dame 52-10

PLAYER TO WATCH: RB Scott Benson continues to dominate the local leaderboard with his stats. He has rushed for 13 touchdowns so far this year to go along with 804 yards on 123 carries.

DID YOU KNOW? With another victory, Heritage could set a school record for victories.

OUTLOOK: With every single player back from last year's team, you can bet the Patriots haven't forgotten last season's game. The Titans stole the show with a touchdown with less than two minutes remaining to beat Heritage. ... QB Decoda Worth has thrown for five TDs and just one INT so far this season. His main target is Anthony Wilson, who has 18 catches for 242 yards. ... The Patriot defense is led by Cliff Smith (23 tackles), Juan Arambul (23), Lewis Medrano (29) and Nick Sbardellati (26). Jonathon Concepcion has three sacks and Sbardellati and Dustin Bornemann lead the team with two interceptions each. ... Notre Dame is led by RB Will Smith, who has 288 yards rushing. He scored the game-winning touchdown last year. They are also led by QB Chris Lopez (49-for-96 for 693 yards, eight TDs, four INTs). Smith also leads the team with 50 tackles. They can also rush the quarterback very well as they have 14 sacks on the season.

CALPREPS.COM PREDICTION: Heritage 27, Notre Dame 8

CALVARY MURRIETA (3-3, 1-0) vs. ACTON VASQUEZ (4-2)

KICKOFF: 7 p.m. Friday

SITE: Vasquez High School

LEAGUE: Nonleague

LAST MEETING: First meeting

LAST WEEK: Lakeside defeated Calvary Murrieta 35-19; Vasquez defeated Lancaster Desert Christian 20-14

PLAYER TO WATCH: QB Justin Wilson had a tough week last week in the teams loss to Lakeside. He was sacked eight times but did throw for 226 yards and two TDs.

DID YOU KNOW? Without RB Blaine Whitson (62 carries for 596 yards), Calvary Murrieta rushed for only 35 yards on 30 carries.

CALPREPS.COM PREDICTION: Calvary Murrieta 28, Vasquez 19

HUNTINGTON BEACH BRETHREN CHRISTIAN (2-3) vs. HAMILTON (4-2, 1-0)

KICKOFF: 7 p.m. Friday

SITE: Hamilton High School

LEAGUE: Nonleague

LAST MEETING: Brethren Christian defeated Hamilton 30-13, last year

LAST WEEK: Hamilton defeated California Military Institute 44-0; Palos Verdes Peninsula Chadwick defeated Brethren Christian 37-7

PLAYER TO WATCH: RB Greg Perez is doing it on the ground with nearly 500 rushing yards and nine TDs, but he is also doing in through the air with 11 catches for 233 yards and three TDs.

DID YOU KNOW? With a win Friday, Hamilton will have at least five wins in a season for the first time since 2006 when they went 7-4.

CALPREPS.COM PREDICTION: Hamilton 24, Brethren Christian 20

LINFIELD CHRISTIAN (5-0, 0-0) at CALIFORNIA MILITARY INSTITUTE (2-4, 0-2)

KICKOFF: 7 p.m. Friday

SITE: California Military Institute

LEAGUE: Big Sky League

LAST MEETING: First meeting

LAST WEEK: Hamilton defeated California Military Institute 44-0; Linfield Christian defeated San Diego Horizon 28-7

PLAYER TO WATCH: RB Austin Maranville rushed for 294 yards on 32 carries in last week's victory. He has nine TDs on the season.

DID YOU KNOW? The Lions last opened their season at 5-0 in 2004, when they started the season 8-0-1 before a Week 10 loss to Hamilton, the eventual Division XIII champion.

CALPREPS.COM PREDICTION: Linfield Christian 61, CMI 0

---- Matt Null

HIGH DESERT ACADEMY (1-2-1, 0-1) vs. CAL LUTHERAN (4-1, 0-1)

KICKOFF: 7 p.m. Friday

SITE: Cal Lutheran High School

LEAGUE: Victory League

LAST MEETING: Cal Lutheran defeated High Desert Academy 66-0 last season.

LAST WEEK: High Desert Academy lost to Desert Christian, 36-12; Cal Lutheran lost to Desert Chapel, 48-0.

PLAYER TO WATCH: Ben Rosenbaum rushed for 79 yards last weekend in the C-Hawks first lost of the season.

DID YOU KNOW? Cal Lutheran has not allowed High Desert Academy to score a point it its last two meetings.

TEMECULA PREP (0-5, 0-1) vs. PUBLIC SAFETY ACADEMY (4-1, 1-0)

KICKOFF: 7 p.m. Friday

SITE: San Bernardino Valley College

LEAGUE: Majestic League

LAST MEETING: This is the first meeting between the two teams.

LAST WEEK: Temecula Prep lost to Marywood-Palm Valley, 72-44; Public Safety Academy defeated Pacific Lutheran 59-16.

PLAYER TO WATCH: Jordan Cobb has eight touchdowns for Temecula Prep this season.

DID YOU KNOW? The Patriots scored a season high 44 points in their loss to Marywood Palm Valley last week.

CORNERSTONE CHRISTIAN (1-4, 0-0) vs. MARYWOOD-PALM VALLEY (3-1, 1-0)

KICKOFF: 7 p.m. Friday

SITE: Marywood Palm Valley High School

LEAGUE: Majestic League

LAST MEETING: Cornerstone Christian defeated Marywood Palm Valley 56-6 last season.

LAST WEEK: Cornerstone Christian lost to Moreno Valley Calvary Chapel 32-18; Marywood-Palm Valley defeated Temecula Prep 72-44

PLAYER TO WATCH: Matt Hooks looks to play an important role for the Crusaders on both sides of the ball.

DID YOU KNOW? Cornerstone has a 2-1 all-time record against Marywood Palm Valley

---- Brian Haas