High school football: No. 1 Mater Dei to face No. 15 Duncanville in August

Ranked No. 1 in the Preseason MaxPreps Top 25 released earlier this week, Mater Dei (Santa Ana, Calif.) will travel to Texas for a showdown with No. 15 Duncanville on Aug. 27, the schools announced Friday. The Monarchs' first trip to the Lone Star State will be among the most highly-anticipated games of the 2021 high school football season.

Joe Maimone of Prep Gridiron Logistics has played a major role in setting up heavyweight out-of-state matchups at the prep level and helped get this one done. Mater Dei is 45-3 over the past five seasons while Duncanville is 50-5 over the same span.

The last time a nationally-ranked California team traveled to Texas was in 2015 when Trinity (Euless, Texas) upset then-No. 1 De La Salle (Concord, Calif.), 26-21.

Mater Dei is expected to feature 12 players rated as a three-star recruit or better by 247Sports from the Class of 2022, including cornerback Domani Jackson, running back Raleek Brown (committed to Oklahoma), wide receiver C.J. Williams and linebacker David Bailey. Linebacker Leviticus Su'a, offensive linemen DeAndre Carter and  B.J. Tolo, quarterback Elijah Brown, defensive back Zabien Brown and defensive lineman Aydin Breland are some of the notable underclassmen who will be impact players for the Monarchs.

Duncanville head coach Reginald Samples counters with another talented squad that will compete for the 6A Division 1 state title.

Edge rusher Omari Abor, offensive lineman Jaylen Early and Oklahoma State commit Jordan Crook are among the 10 players rated as three-star recruits or better in the Class of 2022 by 247Sports. 

Defensive backs Deldrick Madison and Ka'Davion Dotson, wide receiver Lontrell Turner and freshman wide receiver Dakorien Moore are some of the notable underclassmen who have already landed Power 5 offers.

Mater Dei has notable games lined up against Centennial (Corona) on Aug. 20, No. 3 St. John Bosco (Bellflower) on Oct. 1 and No. 21 Servite (Anaheim) on Oct. 22.

Duncanville's schedule includes showdowns against district rivals DeSoto on Sept. 17 and Cedar Hill on Oct. 22 along with another out-of-state matchup against Bishop Sycamore (Columbus, Ohio) on Sept. 10.

MaxPreps will highlight the 10 biggest games of the 2021 season July 5 as part of our preview series. See the full lineup below.

June 29 — MaxPreps Top 100 high school football teams

July 1 — Best team in all 50 states

July 5 — Top 10 games

July 7 — Top 10 toughest schedules

July 9 — Top 10 quarterbacks

July 12 — Top 10 running backs

July 14 — Top 10 wide receivers

July 15 — Top 10 tight ends

July 16 — Top 10 offensive lineman

July 19 — Top 10 defensive lineman

July 20 — Top 10 linebackers

July 21 — Top 10 defensive backs

July 23 — Top 10 players

July 26 — Preseason Sophomore All-America Team

July 28 — Preseason Junior All-America Team

July 30 — Preseason All-America Team

Aug. 3 — Top football player in all 50 states