ESPN RISE

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Tom Hauck for ESPN.com

USC-bound QB Jesse Scroggins leads Lakewood against Crenshaw Friday.

Game of the week
Elder (Cincinnati) (1-0) vs. Colerain (Cincinnati) (0-1) Sept. 6, 12 p.m. EST, ESPN
There are a ton of challenging games for ranked teams this week and this Cincinnati showdown certainly qualifies as one of them. The matchup is a terrific contrast in styles as Elder's wide-open passing attack locks horns with Colerain's power run game. However, that rushing attack was unable to get going last week for the previous FAB 50 No. 30-ranked Cardinals, who were blanked 16-0 by Cincinnati St. Xavier and fell from the rankings. The Panthers, who are No. 3 in this week's FAB 50, are itching to show the nation just what's so special about The Pit, their storied home stadium.

Player to watch
Jesse Scroggins
Lakewood (Lakewood, Calif.)
Quarterback, Class of 2010
There aren't many players nationally who skyrocketed up the ESPNU 150 quite like Scroggins. He committed to join the USC quarterback parade and will take his first snaps of the season Friday night in a game against CIF Los Angeles City Section favorite Crenshaw of Los Angeles. The Lancers jumped into the FAB 50 last week before they even played a game and have to be careful not to overlook Crenshaw, which has an explosive running game led by big-time 2011 prospect De'Anthony Thomas.

Upset special
Cedar Hill (Cedar Hill, Texas) at Rider (Wichita Falls, Texas) Friday
All the excitement of being on ESPN and winning a wild 44-41 contest last Saturday night against DeSoto (DeSoto, Texas) is now behind Cedar Hill. Rider was edged by Cedar Hill 34-27 on the road last season and will be at home this season. The Raiders were 8-4 in 2008 and have been a consistently strong team in recent years. Cedar Hill, which rose to No. 10 in this week's FAB 50, will have to avoid the letdown. Plus, the Longhorns are unsure how much standout running back and Texas A&M commit Ben Malena (ankle injury) will be able to play.

Team on the rise?
Peachtree Ridge (Suwanee, Ga.)
After moving up to No. 18 in the ESPN RISE Southeast Region Top 20 this week, the Lions could do major damage to next week's FAB 50 if they knock off No. 7 Lowndes of Valdosta. The Vikings put up a school-record 75 points last week against hapless Woodland (Stockbridge, Ga.), but should see a much stiffer test this week from Peachtree Ridge, which was 12-3 last year and lost 21-14 to Camden County (Kingsland, Ga.) in the AAAAA state title game. Peachtree Ridge and Lowndes also met in Week 2 last year, with Lowndes prevailing 22-7.