Florida high school football games to watch this week: Top local matchups

Jacksonville will be hosting two of Week 5 premier high school football games.

Perennial powers Mandarin and Raines are meeting for the first time in almost a decade. Columbia, which already has a pair of signature wins on its resume, travels to Trinity Christian to take on a Conquerors squad that is painfully close to being 4-0 instead of 2-2.

There are plenty of marquee matchups outside of Northeast Florida too, including American Heritage at Lakeland, IMG at The First Academy and Buchholz at Jesuit.

Not only are these big Friday night games, but this season has the added cloud of the Open Division that hovers over everything.

How will the outcomes boost or hurt a team's chances of ultimately cracking the top eight in the MaxPreps rankings?

Here's

a look at the five top games in Week 5.

Mandarin (No. 4 Class 5A) at Raines (No. 3 Class 3A)

Mandarin and Raines are meeting for the first time in eight years. Mandarin has scored at least 32 points in every game this season, while allowing just 35 total points in three games. Senior running back Shaunqueze Foster has rushed for 482 yards and seven touchdowns this season. Raines, the defending Class 3A state champion, comes into this game on a 19-game win streak and has won 30 consecutive regular season games. The Vikings have held all four of its opponents to 14 points or less this fall.

Recruiting matchup to watch: Mandarin 2028 WR Brysen Wright vs. Raines 2028 ATH Zion Green

Columbia (No. 2 Class 4A) at Trinity Christian (No. 3 Class 1A)

This is another big matchup for both teams. Columbia already has wins over Bolles and Madison County. Quarterback Amari Green threw for 96 yards and two scores and rushed for 76 yards against Ribault in Week 4. Both of Trinity Christian's losses have come in overtime this season. Quarteback Terel Davis threw for a score and rushed for another in the Week 4 loss to American Heritage.

Recruiting matchup to watch: Columbia 2027 WR Kyren Caldwell (No. 38 top 100, Maryland commit) vs. Trinity Christian DB Terrell Pinkney II (No. 80 top 100, USF commit)

American Heritage (No. 1 Class 4A) at Lakeland (No. 3 Class 5A)

Both of American Heritage's wins have come in overtime, while the two losses came against West Boca (No. 2 Class 5A) and Chaminade-Madonna (No. 1 Class 2A). Junior quarterback Neimann Lawrence (Texas commit) threw two touchdowns and had the game-winning two-point conversion against Trinity Christian in Week 4. Lakeland is coming off a 40-6 road win against Osceola. Quarterback Keelin Hendrix had thrown for 429 yards and four touchdowns and rushed for 226 yards and four scores this season.

Recruiting matchup to watch: American Heritage 2028 QB Neimann Lawrence (Texas commit) vs. Lakeland 2027 EDGE Santana Harvey (No. 24 top 100, Clemson commit)

IMG (No. 2 Super 25) at The First Academy (No. 3 Class 2A)

IMG has outscored its three opponents by a combined score of 159-13 and surrendered just one touchdown this season. Junior quarterback Jayden Wade (Georgia commit) was 13 of 15 for 228 yards and four touchdowns against St. Louis (Hawaii) in Week 3. The First Academy is back at home after three consecutive road wins. Freshman quarterback Deuce Woods Jr. has thrown for 499 yards and six touchdowns and rushed for 147 yards and two scores this season.

Recruiting matchup to watch: The First Academy 2027 OL Reed Ramsier (No. 27 top 100, Auburn commit) vs. IMG 2027 EDGE Zyron Forstall (No. 5 top 100, Texas A&M commit)

St. John's (Washington D.C.) at West Boca (No. 2 Class 5A)

St. John's has outscored its first three opponents by a combined score of 121-26. The Cadets lost four regular season games in 2025, but three of them came by three points or less. West Boca is coming off an impressive 24-7 win over Palm Beach County rival Cardinal Newman. Cornerback Larry Morgan (USF commit) has two interceptions and two pass breakups this season.

Recruiting matchup to watch: St. John's 2027 RB Da'Jon Talley Rhodes (Indiana commit) vs. West Boca 2027 DL Jamar Thompson (No. 28 top 100, Georgia Tech commit)

Other top games to watch in Week 5

Jensen Beach at Cardinal Newman (No. 5 Class 2A)

West Orange (No. 6 Class 6A) at Lake Mary

Dunbar at Spruce Creek (No. 9 Class 6A)

Evans at St. Augustine (No. 8 Class 4A)

Clearwater Central Catholic (No. 4 Class 2A) at St. Petersburg Catholic (ARV Class 1A)

Madison County (No. 4 Class 1A) at Florida High (No. 7 Class 2A)

Seminole (No. 5 Class 6A) at Mainland (No. 8 Class 6A)

Edgewater (ARV Class 6A) at Jones (No. 3 Class 3A)

Bishop Kenny (ARV Class 3A) at Merritt Island (No. 5 Class 3A)

Tampa Catholic (No. 9 Class 2A) at Miami Killian

Chaminade-Madonna (No. 1 Class 2A) at Cardinal Gibbons (No. 6 Class 3A)

St. Thomas Aquinas (No. 1 Class 5A) at Archbishop McCarthy (No. 8 Class 5A)

Gaither at Tampa Bay Tech (No. 6 Class 5A)

Naples at Palmetto (ARV Class 5A)

Buchholz (No. 5 Class 5A) at Jesuit (No. 10 Class 4A)

Ed White (No. 9 Class 4A) at Camden County (Georgia)

Manatee (ARV Class 5A) at Sarasota Riverview (No. 10 Class 6A)

Sumner at Armwood (No. 7 Class 5A)

Lakeland Christian (No. 8 Class 1A) at Sebring

This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Florida high school football games to watch this week: Top local matchups