High school football rankings: No. 1 Mater Dei, No. 9 St. John Bosco set for huge MaxPreps Top 25 showdown

By Zack Poff Oct 9, 2023, 8:30am

Centennial earns spot in this week's rankings after 29-28 win over Chandler.

Mater Dei (Santa Ana, Calif.) added another dominant win to its resume with a 42-0 victory over JSerra Catholic (San Juan Capistrano, Calif.) to improve to 7-0. It was the second consecutive shutout for the No. 1 team in this week's MaxPreps Top 25 high school football rankings. 

The top-ranked Monarchs have outscored opponents 304-43 and have not trailed at any point this season. Mater Dei is in the midst of a historic run of success, winning 36 of its last 37 games and 90 of 94 dating going back to 2016.

All four of the setbacks over that span have come against No. 9 St. John Bosco (Bellflower, Calif.), who Mater Dei will face once again on the road Friday. This has become the best rivalry in high school football over the last eight years and will feature over 70 players that have landed at least one FBS offer. 

St. John Bosco has rebounded from a September loss at No. 8 Kahuku (Hawaii) with a pair of impressive wins, outscoring a pair of Trinity League opponents 98-34.



The Braves won the last meeting 24-22 in the 2022 CIF Southern Section Division 1 championship en route to being crowned MaxPreps National Champion for the second time. Prior to that meeting, the Monarchs had won eight of the last 11. The Southern California powers have combined for four national titles since 2017.

Centennial (Peoria, Ariz.) was one of two new teams to join the MaxPreps Top 25 after a 29-28 road victory against Chandler (Ariz.). Debuting at No. 22, the Coyotes jumped out to a 26-0 lead and held off a late rally to improve to 7-0.

Mill Creek (Hoschton, Ga.) joins Centennial as the other newcomer to the rankings. The defending AAAAAAA state champs have won all six game by at least 10 points this season. The Hawks have a huge matchup Friday as they host No. 5 Buford (Ga.) on ESPN2.

Julian Lewis continued his strong sophomore season for No. 17 Carrollton (Ga.), completing 19 of 29 passes for 455 yards and six touchdowns in a 56-24 win over East Coweta (Sharpsburg, Ga.). The USC commit has thrown for 1,575 yards and 24 touchdowns without an interception.
Senior running back Cameron Jones of St. John Bosco will be one of over 70 players with FBS offers on the field Friday when the No. 9 Braves face No. 1 Mater Dei. Jones is headed to UCLA next year. (Photo: Heston Quan)
Senior running back Cameron Jones of St. John Bosco will be one of over 70 players with FBS offers on the field Friday when the No. 9 Braves face No. 1 Mater Dei. Jones is headed to UCLA next year. (Photo: Heston Quan)
MaxPreps Top 25 football rankings

Record: 7-0 | Last week: 1
Last week: Beat JSerra Catholic (San Juan Capistrano) 42-0
This week: Friday at No. 9 St. John Bosco (Bellflower)

Record: 8-0 | Last week: 2
Last week: Beat Shadow Ridge (Las Vegas) 48-17
This week: Friday at Desert Pines (Las Vegas)



Record: 7-0 | Last week: 3
Last week: Beat Dillard (Fort Lauderdale) 55-20
This week: Idle

Record: 5-0 | Last week: 4
Last week: Beat Bartram Trail (St. Johns) 49-20
This week: Friday vs. Pine Forest (Pensacola)

Record: 6-0 | Last week: 5
Last week: Idle
This week: Friday at No. 25 Mill Creek (Hoschton)

Record: 5-0 | Last week: 6
Last week: Beat Waxahachie 44-10
This week: Thursday at Mansfield

Record: 6-0 | Last week: 7
Last week: Beat Summer Creek (Houston)
This week: Friday vs. West Brook (Beaumont)

Record: 8-1 | Last week: 8
Last week: Beat Campbell (Ewa Beach) 38-7
This week: Saturday vs. Leilehua (Wahiawa)

Record: 6-1 | Last week: 9
Last week: Beat Servite (Anaheim) 56-27
This week: Friday vs. No. 1 Mater Dei (Santa Ana)

Record: 3-2 | Last week: 10
Last week: Beat Northwestern (Miami) 17-10
This week: Friday vs. Norland (Miami)



Record: 5-1 | Last week: 11
Last week: Beat La Salle College (Wyndmoor) 42-7
This week: Friday vs. Father Judge (Philadelphia)

Record: 6-1 | Last week: 12
Last week: Beat Body Anderson (Lauderdale Lakes) 58-0
This week: Friday at Fort Lauderdale

Record: 6-0 | Last week: 13
Last week: Idle
This week: Friday at Camden County (Kingsland)

Record: 5-0 | Last week: 14
Last week: Beat Mansfield Legacy (Mansfield) 64-3
This week: Friday vs. Lake Ridge (Mansfield)

Record: 6-0 | Last week: 15
Last week: Beat North Cobb (Kennesaw) 35-27
This week: Friday vs. Kennesaw Mountain (Kennesaw)

Record: 8-0 | Last week: 16
Last week: Beat Austintown-Fitch (Youngstown) 42-7
This week: Friday vs. Harding (Warren)



Record: 6-1 | Last week: 17
Last week: Beat East Coweta (Sharpsburg) 56-24
This week: Friday vs. Pebblebrook (Mableton)

Record: 8-1 | Last week: 18
Last week: Beat Bingham (South Jordan) 38-3
This week: Friday vs. Herriman (West Herriman)

Record: 5-2 | Last week: 19
Last week: Beat Roosevelt (Eastvale) 63-14
This week: Thursday vs. Vista Murrieta (Murrieta)

Record: 4-1 | Last week: 20
Last week: Beat Western (Davie) 28-14
This week: Friday vs. Stranahan (Fort Lauderdale)

Record: 7-0 | Last week: 21
Last week: Beat Bishop Amat (La Puente) 56-14
This week: Friday at Alemany (Mission Hills)

Record: 7-0 | Last week: NR
Last week: Beat Chandler 29-28
This week: Idle



Record: 7-1 | Last week: 23
Last week: Beat Clarkson North (Canada) 35-15
This week: Saturday vs. Archbishop Moeller (Cincinnati)

Record: 5-1 | Last week: 24
Last week: Beat Pinnacle (Phoenix) 57-19
This week: Friday vs. Salpointe Catholic (Tucson)

Record: 6-0 | Last week: NR
Last week: Idle
This week: Friday vs. No. 5 Buford