Nation's top-ranked team will need to overpower No. 2 St. John Bosco and No. 4 Servite in league play to claim state's top prize.
The 2021 high school football season in California kicks off next week and MaxPreps has your look at the state's top teams. Coming off a 5-0 campaign in the spring, Mater Dei (Santa) owns the No. 1 spot in our preseason rankings.
The Monarchs, No. 1 nationally in the
MaxPreps Top 25 preseason rankings, boast 11 of the top 100 senior prospects in the state, according to
247Sports, including four of the top seven. That includes California's No. 1 recruit in cornerback
Domani Jackson, who has committed to USC.
Second-ranked St. John Bosco (Bellflower), ranked third nationally, also is loaded with talent, claiming nine of the top 100 seniors and seven of the
top 100 juniors. That includes tight end and defensive end
Matayo Uiagalelei, ranked No. 9 among all 2023 recruits. Bosco is the defending state Open Division champion from 2019 (no state championships were played in 2020 due to the pandemic).
The two schools have been battling for Trinity League, Southern Section, state and national supremacy since 2016, though last season COVID-19 limited bragging rights to a local fight. Mater Dei, which also features the
Sophomore Preseason All-Americans
Elijah Brown (quarterback) and 6-foot-5, 350-pound offensive lineman
DeAndre Carter, defeated St. John Bosco 34-17 in the spring.
A third team from the Trinity League, Servite (Anaheim), promises to challenge both Mater Dei and Bosco. The Friars, led by preseason
All-American wide receiver
Tetairoa McMillan, is ranked No. 4. De La Salle, which hasn't lost to a Northern California opponent since 1991 (a span of 316 games), is No. 3.
See the complete list below.
Sophomore quarterback Elijah Brown leads Mater Dei into the 2021 fall season as the No. 1 team in California and the country.
File photo by Heston Quan
2.
St. John Bosco (Bellflower), 5-1
3.
De La Salle (Concord), 6-0
4.
Servite (Anaheim), 4-2
5.
Cathedral Catholic (San Diego), 5-0
6.
Centennial (Corona), 4-1
7.
Sierra Canyon (Chatsworth), 5-1
8.
Folsom, 6-0
9.
Alemany (Mission Hills), 4-1
10.
Mission Viejo, 4-1
11.
Los Alamitos, 6-0
12.
Serra (San Mateo), 5-0
13.
Long Beach Poly (Long Beach), 4-0
14.
Inglewood, 4-0
15.
Pittsburg, 5-0
16.
Loyola (Los Angeles), 4-0
17.
Oaks Christian (Westlake Village), 4-1
18.
St. Mary's (Stockton), 3-1
19.
Lincoln (San Diego), 4-1
20.
Santa Margarita (Rancho Santa Margarita), 2-3
21.
Lincoln (Stockton), 4-0
22.
Apple Valley (Apple Valley), 5-0
25.
McClymonds (Oakland), 4-0
