MaxPreps Top 25 high school scores: No. 1 Mater Dei, No. 9 St. John Bosco both win big ahead of next Friday's showdown

By Zack Poff Oct 6, 2023, 10:00pm

Centennial holds on for 29-28 win against No. 22 Chandler in MaxPreps Game of the Week.

No. 1 Mater Dei (Santa Ana, Calif.) posted its second straight shutout to open Trinity League play with a 42-0 win over JSerra Catholic (San Juan Capistrano). The Monarchs have outscored league opponents 91-0 through two games. They improved to 7-0 and have outscored the opposition 304-43. Elijah Brown threw for four scores giving him 25 touchdowns on the season.

The win for the top-ranked Monarchs sets up the biggest game of the season next Friday as they face No. 9 St. John Bosco (Bellflower, Calif.) at Panish Family Stadium. The Braves have bounced back with two dominant wins after a 30-23 loss at No. 8 Kahuku (Hawaii). They rolled to a 56-27 win over Servite (Anaheim) to improve to 6-1. They beat Santa Margarita (Rancho Santa Margarita) 42-7 to open Trinity League action last week.

These two programs have combined for four MaxPreps National Championships since 2017. St. John Bosco finished No. 1 in 2019 and 2022, while the Monarchs went wire-to-wire as the No. 1 team in the MaxPreps Top 25 in 2017 and 2021.

The MaxPreps Game of the Week looked like it was going to be a blowout win for Centennial (Peoria, Ariz.) as they jumped out to a 26-0 first half lead at No. 22 Chandler (Ariz.). The Wolves gained some momentum in the final minute of the 2nd quarter as Jeremiah Young forced a fumble and Nate Escandon scooped it up for a 62 yard touchdown. Blake Heffron ran it in for a score with 2:44 left to cut the lead to 29-26 and found Jaxon Branch for the two-point conversion to make it 29-28. Kainan Manna connected with Kenny Worthy on a key 3rd and 10 to ice the game.



The Coyotes snapped a five-game losing skid against Chandler and it was the first time they beat the Wolves since 2010. They are now 7-0 and expect to see them join the MaxPreps Top 25 on Monday. It was the first loss of the season for Chandler as they fall to 6-1.

No. 7 North Shore (Houston) was in its first competitive game of the season and pulled out a 31-21 win over Summer Creek (Houston). The Mustangs took their first two score lead after a 22-yard field goal with 1:34 remaining. Junior quarterback Kaleb Bailey accounted for all four touchdowns as the Houston power improved to 6-0. It was the first loss for the Bulldogs as they fall to 5-1.

The Mustangs have outscored opponents 258-60 and have a huge matchup coming up on Oct. 27 against Atascocita (Humble). The Eagles are 5-0 and ranked at No. 38 in our expanded top 100.

No. 15 Walton (Marietta, Ga.) fell into an early 21-0 hole but scored 28 unanswered points in the 2nd quarter to take a 28-21 halftime lead. They held on for a 35-27 win to improve to 6-0. Senior quarterback Jeremy Hecklinski threw for nearly 300 yards and four scores. Cameran Loyd had 196 yards receiving and three touchdowns while Austin Williams added 134 yards on the ground and a score.

No. 4 IMG Academy (Bradenton, Fla.) returned to action and beat Bartram Trail (St. Johns, Fla.), 49-20. The Ascenders improved to 5-0 and are winning by an average margin of 19.8 points per game. Up next for IMG is a home matchup against Pine Forest (Pensacola, Fla.) next Friday.

MaxPreps Top 25 National Scoreboard



No. 1 Mater Dei (Santa Ana, Calif.) vs. JSerra Catholic (San Juan Capistrano)
Friday, 7 p.m. (All times local) - Watch live on NFHS Network

No. 2 Bishop Gorman (Las Vegas) at Shadow Ridge (Las Vegas)

No. 3 Chaminade-Madonna (Hollywood, Fla.) at Dillard (Fort Lauderdale)

No. 4 IMG Academy (Bradenton, Fla.) at Bartram Trail (Jacksonville)

Idle

No. 6 Duncanville (Texas) at Waxahachie



No. 7 North Shore (Houston) vs. Summer Creek (Houston)
Thursday, 7 p.m. - Watch live on NFHS Network

No. 8 Kahuku (Hawaii) vs. Campbell (Ewa Beach)
Saturday, 6:30 p.m.

No. 9 St. John Bosco (Bellflower, Calif.) vs. Servite (Anaheim)

No. 10 Central (Miami) vs. Northwestern (Miami)
Friday, 7:30 p.m.

No. 11 St. Joseph's Prep (Philadelphia) vs. La Salle College (Wyndmoor)
Friday, 7:30 p.m.

No. 12 St. Thomas Aquinas (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) vs. Boyd Anderson (Lauderdale Lakes)



Idle

No. 14 DeSoto (Texas) at Mansfield Legacy (Mansfield)

No. 15 Walton (Marietta, Ga.) at North Cobb (Kennesaw)
Friday, 7:30 p.m. - Watch live on NFHS Network

No. 16 Washington (Massillon, Ohio) at Austintown-Fitch (Youngstown)
Friday, 7 p.m.

No. 17 Carrollton (Ga.) at East Coweta (Sharpsburg)
Friday, 7:30 p.m.

No. 18 Corner Canyon (Draper, Utah) vs. Bingham (South Jordan)
Friday, 7 p.m.



No. 19 Centennial (Corona, Calif.) vs. Roosevelt (Eastvale)

No. 20 American Heritage (Plantation, Fla.) at Western (Davie)

No. 21 Sierra Canyon (Chatsworth, Calif.) at Bishop Amat (La Puente)

No. 22 Chandler (Ariz.) vs. Centennial (Peoria)

No. 23 St. Edward (Lakewood, Ohio) vs. Clarkson North (Canada)
Saturday, 3 p.m.

No. 24 Liberty (Peoria, Ariz.) at Pinnacle (Phoenix)



No. 25 Columbus (Miami, Fla.) vs. Homestead
Saturday, 7 p.m. - Watch live on NFHS Network