Fab Five: Pennsylvania High School Football Games to Watch in Week 6

Week 6 of the high school football season in Pennsylvania doesn’t feature any head-to-head matchups between teams in this week’s High School On SI Pennsylvania Football Top 25 State Rankings.

However, that doesn’t mean there aren’t some heated rivalries taking place around the state — perhaps none more so than in Erie, where Cathedral Prep puts its undefeated season on the line against one of its fiercest rivals in McDowell (4-1).

The Ramblers are 5-0 for the second time in three years, but the only streak they’re interested in right now is their three-game losing streak in their series with the Trojans, including a 45-27 loss last season that marked their sixth in the last seven meetings.

Friday’s game is the 84th all-time meeting between the teams, with Prep leading the series 49-34, and a Ramblers’ victory would get them to 6-0 for the first time since their 2017 team went 14-0 and won a second straight PIAA Class 4A title.

It’s a battle between the immovable object — a Prep defense that allows just eight points per game, led by senior LBs Camden Miller (47 tackles, six for loss, four forced fumbles) and Jameson Hertel (five sacks, seven hurries) — and the unstoppable force — a McDowell passing game that averages 253 yards and scores 40 points per game, directed by junior QB Evan Kuhn (84-for-118, 1,261 yards, 15 TDs, two INTs).

What are some other matchups we’re watching Friday night? Here are four others to highlight.

No. 4 St. Joseph’s Prep (2-1) at Cardinal O’Hara (4-1)

The Hawks return to action and kick off Catholic League action against the Lions, who dropped out of the Top 25 after their 44-42 loss to Smyrna last week but would definitely vault back into the rankings if they can spring the upset and end a nine-game losing streak in the series.

A fun matchup could be Prep junior WR Jett Harrison, who has 18 catches for 339 yards and two touchdowns, against O’Hara junior S Simon Horta, who has two pick-6s among his three interceptions.

No. 11 Malvern Prep (2-2) at Gonzaga (DC) (5-0)

The Eagles will present a stiff test for the Friars, who snapped a two-game losing streak last week by blasting Our Lady of Good Counsel at home. This is the third all-time meeting between the schools, and the previous two have been one-score matchups, with Malvern pulling out a 13-7 win in 2024 and a 31-24 victory last year.

No. 16 Episcopal Academy (3-1) at Archbishop Carroll (4-1)

The Churchmen have won three in a row since opening the year with a loss to Lawrenceville School of New Jersey. Now, they get Archbishop Carroll, which suffered its first loss of the season last week against West Catholic, in their final game before starting Inter-Academic Conference play.

Littlestown (4-1) at Hanover (5-0)

These programs have taken advantage of the reconfiguration of the reconfigured South Central Athletic Conference, which until this year was known as the York-Adams Interscholastic Athletic Association. Besides the name change, the league went to a divisional alignment that offers promotion and relegation, with the Thunderbolts and Nighthawks placed in Division 3.

Hanover, which went 2-8 a year ago and last finished above .500 in 2015, puts its undefeated season on the line against a Littlestown team that has already matched its win total of a year ago and has won 21 of its last 22 matchups with the Nighthawks, including the last 10.

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