John Maffei’s picks: Granite Hills-Cathedral Catholic game highlights Friday football slate

The Union-Tribune’s John Maffei picks 10 of Friday’s biggest high school football games. All games at 7 p.m., unless noted:

Nonleague

No. 6 Granite Hills (3-2) at No. 2 Cathedral Catholic (4-0)

Preview: After opening the season with three wins, Granite Hills has lost to Mission Hills (31-21), ranked No. 3 in San Diego, and Los Alamitos (49-42), ranked No. 11 in the state. Junior Zac Benitez, who has completed 137 of 189 passes for 1,582 yards and 15 touchdowns, leads Granite Hills. Davion Williams has rushed 74 times for 380 yards and a score. Benitez has five receivers with more than 243 yards, led by Noah Walker with 28 catches for 477 yards and Tristan Diaz, who has 37 receptions for 325 yards. Rocket Demery has 16 catches for 250 yards, DJ Wilkins has 19 catches for 281 yards, while Zheden Smith has 25 receptions for 243 yards. The Eagles are 36-6 over the last three seasons, winning titles in Division 2 in 2022, the Open Division in 2023 and Division 1 last season. … Cal commit Brady Palmer leads Cathedral Catholic with 885 pass yards, 253 rushing yards and 12 total TDs. Honor Fa’alave-Johnson is a threat running and receiving. Willie Flores has 56 carries for 296 yards. Isaac Cook is Palmer’s big target with 14 catches for 372 yards. Parker Johnson has seven catches for 198 yards. The Dons’ defense has allowed just 37 total points in wins over Mater Dei Catholic, Mountain View St. Francis, Chandler and Helix. Linebacker Kevin Clark (37 tackles) leads the defense. … Granite Hills is ranked No. 35 in the state by MaxPreps.com; Cathedral Catholic 13th in the state and 96th in the nation. … Cathedral Catholic stunned Granite Hills 52-6 last season.

Prediction: Cathedral Catholic 28, Granite Hills 21

La Jolla (3-1) at Point Loma (4-0)

Preview: La Jolla opened the season with a 43-19 loss to Torrey Pines, but has won three in a row since, beating Patrick Henry (52-14), La Jolla Country Day (31-10) and Grossmont (40-28). Hudson Smith threw for 386 yards vs. Grossmont. Carson Diehl has 24 catches for 437 yards and Nicholas Bardaro has 27 receptions for 244 yards. … Point Loma has outscored Del Norte, Otay Ranch, Scripps Ranch and Eastlake by a total of 130-34. Henry Heuser has thrown for 497 yards and has nine total TDs. Romeo Carter has 21 receptions for 352 yards and seven TDs. Braeden Bartocci has nine sacks.

Prediction: Point Loma 24, La Jolla 21

Ramona (2-3) at Scripps Ranch (3-2)

Preview: Two of Ramona’s losses are to top 10 teams: No. 10 Poway (48-15) and No. 3 Mission Hills (52-0). … Scripps Ranch also lost to Poway (41-6), but the Falcons snapped back with a win over Mira Mesa last week.

Prediction: Scripps Ranch 28, Ramona 17

Santana (3-1) at Fallbrook (1-4)

Preview:  After three wins to open the season, Santana fell to Olympian (35-9) last week. Ethan Miller has thrown for 709 yards and eight touchdowns. Denton Gore and Kolton Thornton are the top receivers. … Fallbrook won its opener, but has lost three in a row to Canyon Springs (35-14), Valley Center (49-41) and Imperial (56-14). Harrison Jones has thrown for 711 yards, while Josue Hernandez-Dilan has rushed for 341. Teague Lucy has 18 catches for 346 yards.

Prediction: Fallbrook 28, Santana 21

Canyon Hills (2-2) at Rancho Buena Vista (2-3)

Preview: Canyon Hills has scored just 72 points this season, but the defense has allowed only 77. Josiah Singh, who has thrown for 493 yards and seven touchdowns, and Makahi Fields-Cook, who has rushed for 585 yards on 64 carries, lead the offense. Taylon Sheriff has 13 catches for 247 yards. … RBV is led by sophomore Van Piercy, who has thrown for 560 yards this season. Sean Maron Richard has 12 catches for 237 yards. Kaipo Gutierrez has 39 rushes for 305 yards and six TDs.

Prediction: Rancho Buena Vista 28, Canyon Hills 21

Mira Mesa (3-1) at Grossmont (3-1)

Preview: Mira Mesa opened the season with wins over El Capitan, Valhalla and West Hills, but stumbled last week against Scripps Ranch. Quarterback Nico Giusti is the leader. … Grossmont bounced back from a loss to La Jolla with a 28-20 win over Otay Ranch. Tyler Holmes plays QB.

Prediction: Grossmont 24, Mira Mesa 21

No. 8 Mount Miguel (4-1) at Oceanside (1-3)

Preview: Ranked No. 87 in the state, Mount Miguel has played one of the tougher schedules in the county, beating No. 7 San Marcos (28-27), losing to No. 4 La Costa Canyon (45-13), beating Los Angeles Loyola (21-0), edging Torrey Pines (14-10) and beating No. 10 Poway (35-32). … Oceanside hasn’t shied away from the big boys, losing to No. 6 Granite Hills (45-29), No. 5 Carlsbad (48-14) and No. 3 Mission Hills (42-6) before beating Helix (41-14) last week. Sophomore Anthony Barquinero has thrown for 1,028 yards, while Kyman Noa has 16 catches for 314 yards and five TDs. The Pirates get a number of transfers eligible this week and could be the surprise team of the second half of the season.

Prediction: Oceanside 25, Mount Miguel 24

Orange Glen (1-3) at O’Farrell Charter (1-3)

Preview: Orange Glen was 0-31 over the last three seasons before beating Tri-City Christian 55-12 in the season opener. Sophomore do-everything Xadan Wilde is the leader. He has thrown for 165 yards, rushed for 167 and has 104 receiving yards. Plus, he has 14 tackles on defense. Aldair Samano has 239 total yards. DeLaTorre Israel has 49 tackles from the linebacker spot. … In four years of competition, O’Farrell hadn’t beaten a San Diego County team until breaking through last season. The Falcons beat the Rock Academy to open this season, but have dropped three in a row. Dakobi Coleman has thrown for 409 yards and rushed for 358.

Prediction: Orange Glen 27, O’Farrell Charter 21

Otay Ranch (1-4) at Olympian (5-0)

Preview: After beating Rancho Buena Vista 37-6 in the season opener, Otay Ranch has fallen on hard times, losing three in a row and being outscored 117-36. Otay has players, though: AJ Lopez has thrown for 609 yards, Jaiden Castillo has 248 rushing yards and Xander Mendez has 16 catches. … Olympian, which has outscored its opponents 202-52, is off to its first 5-0 start since 2012. Jayden Fuentes has thrown for 1,198 yards and 13 touchdowns with only one interception. Jorgani Estrada has 19 catches for 341 yards, while Patricio Flatts is averaging 22.7 yards on nine catches and Gio Ware is averaging 44.9 yards on four receptions.

Prediction: Olympian 35, Otay Ranch 21

San Diego (4-0) at No. 9 Rancho Bernardo (4-0)

Preview: San Diego hasn’t been 4-0 to open a season since 2017, when the Cavers went on to win 12 in a row. They have allowed just 12 points all season, all against Mt. Carmel. Jayden Harris has thrown for 672 yards and six touchdowns. Kye Cooper has 27 catches for 447 yards and five TDs. Xavier Wilson has 28 tackles from the linebacker spot. … Rancho Bernardo was 4-0 to start last season, but lost 3-0 to Torrey Pines in Game 5. Sophomore QB Gaige Weddle has 717 pass yards and 207 rushing yards; Hugo Gonzalez, Christian Gonzalez and Trey Durham are his favorite receivers. Linebacker Gavin Valencia has 57 tackles for a defense that has allowed just 68 points.

Prediction: Rancho Bernardo 31, San Diego 20

Last week: 9-1

Season: 42-8