A high-profile high school football schedule on Thursday, a rivalry game and a metropolitan area matchup with Minnesota are drawing the attention of prognosticators.

High school football weekend starts early for only a few teams this week, but it’s a prominent group.

Three of Thursday night’s games feature Class 6A teams competing, and four of the 6A teams are ranked in the top eight in the state in the individual class rankings released Tuesday. The 6A games on Thursday’s schedule: No. 1 Edina vs. No. 5 Minnetonka, Prior Lake vs. No. 7 Eden Prairie, No. 6 Shakopee vs. Wayzata.

All of this means the prognosticators’ week is starting early, too. Jim Paulsen and David La Vaque have added a Thursday game to the games they’ll be analyzing this week as part of their annual contest to select high school football winners.

Each of them has missed just once in nine attempts this season. Jim didn’t expect Edina’s win over Eden Prairie last week, and David didn’t expect the Holy Angels to beat Minneapolis North the week before.

Your tips and analysis for three games of week 3:

David says: Shakopee’s triple-option offense is already in full swing. TJ Clark (269 rushing yards and four touchdowns), Carson Turner (117 yards) and the explosive Christian Peris (107 yards at an average of 26.8 yards per carry) will control the game and cause problems for Wayzata. The selection: Shakopee 21, Wayzata 10

Jim says: Which Wayzata team is in the mix? The one that knocked out Lakeville South in Week 1, or the group that let Minnetonka’s Caleb Francois and Chase Conrad combine for more than 200 yards and three scores last week? Either way, the Trojans will need to show more offensive consistency to convince me they’re back for good. The selection: Shakopee 24, Wayzata 14