By 3d Rising Staff   It’s a huge week ahead for the national high school scene, as many programs from the Northeast will finally be getting their schedules underway. This week’s edition of the Lax.com Rising High School Games to Watch features an assortment of can’t-miss contests.   That includes one of the first big conference games of the year happening in Pennsylvania while defending champs from New York, New Jersey and Oregon all get into action this week. Meanwhile, additional highly anticipated inter-state matchups between several; national powerhouses make this week even more interesting.   McDonogh (MIAA) vs. New Canaan (Conn.) April 7   New Canaan is testing itself early on with this game against MIAA “A” Conference defending champ McDonogh, just the second game of the year for the Rams. They might be facing an irritated Eagles team that lost an April 29 game against Culver Academy (Ind.) and followed with games against Bullis (Md.) and Hereford (Md.). New Canaan starts the season with an April 5 game against Wilton (Conn.) which was a one-goal game last season. The Rams will be lead by midfielder Ryan O’Connell (North Carolina) and goalie Drew Morris (Maryland).   Malvern Prep (Inter-Ac) at Haverford School (Inter-Ac), April 7   This will be the first of at least two meetings between the Fords and Friars this season. Haverford has experienced some early-season growing pains, with two losses in three games. The Fords are coming off an 8-7 double-overtime win against Culver Academy (Ind.) on March 26, but face Boys’ Latin (Md.) before Malvern. The Friars, on the other hand, have started strong with a 4-0 record thus far. They already have wins over Calvert Hall (Md.), Garnet Valley (Pa.) and Loyola-Blakefield (Md.) this season. They face La Salle College (PIAA) three days before the meet their longtime rival on April 7.   West Genesee (N.Y.) vs. Jamesville-DeWitt (N.Y.), April 8   This is an annual matchup of the two most storied programs in Central New York’s Section III. Jamesville-DeWitt is the reigning Class B champ, but with the realignment in New York this year, the Red Rams are in Class C this season. Ryan Archer (Hobart) returns to the lineup after registering 116 points last season. West Genesee is led by one of the game’s greatest coaches of all time, Mike Messere, and the Wildcats are looking to make another run at a title. The Wildcats last appeared in the state Class A championship in 2015, when they came up short to Niskayuna, This is each team’s third game of the season and all within a week.   Hun School (N.J.) vs. Lawrenceville (N.J.), April 8   The Hun School is coming off an 11-7 season and is looking to avenge its final game of the 2016 season. The Raiders lost to Big Red 12-10 in what ended up being the final game of the year for Hun. Hun School started its 2017 slate with a 9-8 double-overtime loss to Princeton Day (N.J.) before rebounding against Blair Academy (N.J.) on April 1 with a 15-0 win. Lawrenceville will be on its ninth game of the year by the time these teams meet. The Big Red has lost two tight games to Torrey Pines (SoCal) and Episcopal Academy (Inter-Ac), but posted an early-season win over Coronado (SoCal) on March 7.   Delbarton (N.J.) at Westfield (N.J.), April 8   Delbarton, the defending New Jersey Group A and Tournament of Champions winner, picked up where it left off last season – starting 2-0 with a one-sided win over West Morris Central (N.J.) and then a grinding 7-3 win over Summit (N.J.). Before the Green Wave faces Westfield they have to get through Summit (N.J.), Chatham (N.J.) and West Essex Regional (N.J.). Westfield started the season with a 14-6 win over West Essex Regional and then went on the road for three of their next four games. The Blue Devils are particularly strong on the defensive side of the ball, with players like Owen Prybylski (Villanova) leading the charge.   Oregon Episcopal (Ore.) at West Linn (Ore.), April 9   West Linn has been on a roll early this season. The Lions started 5-0 and have yet to allow more than eight goals in any game. The last time these teams met, West Linn came away with a 14-8 win on April 11, 2015. The Aardvarks started the year on March 14 with a 7-6 win over Lake Oswego (Ore.). They play Westview (Ore.) on April 6 before facing off at West Linn. The Lions are hosting the Aardvarks as part of the Fritz Hayes Classic, an annual event at West Linn featuring a collection of great Northwestern Matchups.   Cold Spring Harbor (N.Y.) at New Canaan (Conn.), April 10   The Rams continue their early-season test with a game against the reigning New York Class C champions. New Canaan will be coming off the McDonogh game before traveling to face the Seahawks. Cold Spring Harbor started 3-0 with wins over Smithtown West (N.Y.) and Syosset (N.Y.). Cold Spring Harbor is riding a seven-game win streak and features several of the top players in Long Island in attackman Ian Laviano (Virginia) and midfielders Matt Licciardi (Cornell) and Taylor Strough (Lehigh).   STAY UP TO DATE WITH LAX.COM Be sure to follow us all season long on Twitter (@3dRising) and Instagram (@3drising) for updates from lacrosse fields all over the country.   Visit Lax.com for a look at each of the games featured throughout the year, as well as the best video highlights around. Follow Lax.com on Twitter (@laxdotcom) and Instagram (@laxdotcom) for great content all throughout the year.