High school football rankings: No. 3 St. John Bosco, No. 5 Mater Dei set for rematch in huge MaxPreps Top 25 showdown

By Zack Poff Nov 20, 2023, 8:30am

Braves, Monarchs square off in CIF Southern Section Division 1 championship for sixth time since 2016.

The rematch is set as No. 3 St. John Bosco (Bellflower, Calif.) and No. 5 Mater Dei (Santa Ana, Calif.) will meet for the CIF Southern Section Division 1 title after each won their semifinal matchup. The Braves escaped with a 43-42 win over No. 19 Centennial (Corona, Calif.) in one of the wildest games of the year. Senior quarterback Caleb Sanchez had a huge night throwing for 330 yards and six touchdowns.

Mater Dei cruised to a dominant 42-14 win over Sierra Canyon (Chatsworth, Calif.) to clinch a spot in the section title game for the seventh straight year. The Monarchs have won four in a row since a 28-0 loss at St. John Bosco. The have outscored their last four opponents 170-46. The Braves dominated the regular season meeting, handing Mater Dei its first shutout loss since 2011.

This is the sixth meeting between the two SoCal powers in the Division 1 championship since 2016. The Braves have won three of those five meetings and two in a row. They won in 2016, 2019 and 2022 while the Monarchs won in 2017 and 2018. Mater Dei also won in 2021 beating Servite (Anaheim) 27-7.

There are two other MaxPreps Top 25 matchups this week. No. 12 Walton (Marietta) plays at No. 17 Carrollton in the Georgia AAAAAAA quarterfinals and No. 13 Norland (Miami) faces No. 25 Central (Miami) in Florida's 2M quarterfinals.



Carrollton ended Walton's season last year with a 52-27 quarterfinal win as Julian Lewis completed 22 of 32 passes for 333 yards and four touchdowns. The Raiders head into Friday's showdown 12-0 having won 11 games by double digits. The Trojans have won 11 in a row after a season-opening 39-34 loss against Langston Hughes (Fairburn).

Norland overcame a 20-0 halftime deficit to beat Miami Central for the first time in school history just over a month ago in overtime. The Rockets are the four-time defending state champs and have won five straight outscoring opponents 219-25. Three losses this season against No. 1 Bishop Gorman (Las Vegas), No. 2 Chaminade-Madonna (Hollywood, Fla.) and Norland have been by a combined 10 points.

No. 4 IMG Academy (Bradenton, Fla.) finished its season with a 17-14 win over St. Frances Academy (Baltimore). Five-star defensive lineman David Stone iced the game jumping on a fumble after a bad snap in the final minute. The Ascenders improved to 10-0 and have won 18 in a row dating back to last year.

Isaac Wilson and No. 18 Corner Canyon (Draper) won Utah's 6A state championship with a 41-27 win over Skyridge (Lehi). Wilson finished the game completing 15 of 23 passes for 251 yards and two touchdowns to go with 20 carries for 192 yards and three more scores. The four-star Utah commit racked up 5,901 yards of total offense and 62 touchdowns during his senior season. He broke Jaxson Dart's state record (5,886 yards in 2020) for total offense.
Isaac Wilson led Corner Canyon to the Utah 6A state championship with a 41-27 win over Skyridge. Wilson finished the game completing 15 of 23 passes for 251 yards and two touchdowns to go with 20 carries for 192 yards and three more scores. (Photo: Caleb Brown)
Isaac Wilson led Corner Canyon to the Utah 6A state championship with a 41-27 win over Skyridge. Wilson finished the game completing 15 of 23 passes for 251 yards and two touchdowns to go with 20 carries for 192 yards and three more scores. (Photo: Caleb Brown)
MaxPreps Top 25 football rankings

Record: 11-0 | Last week: 1
Last week: Idle
This week: Tuesday vs. Liberty (Henderson)

Record: 11-0 | Last week: 2
Last week: Beat Avant Garde Academy (Hollywood)
This week: Friday vs. Cardinal Newman (West Palm Beach)



Record: 11-1 | Last week: 3
Last week: Beat Centennial (Corona) 43-42
This week: Friday vs. No. 5 Mater Dei (Santa Ana)

Record: 10-0 | Last week: 4
Last week: Beat St. Frances Academy (Baltimore) 17-14
Season complete

Record: 11-1 | Last week: 5
Last week: Beat Sierra Canyon (Chatsworth) 42-14
This week: Friday vs. No. 3 St. John Bosco (Bellflower)

Record: 12-0 | Last week: 6
Last week: Beat Clear Springs (League City) 49-21
This week: Friday vs. Cy-Fair (Cypress)

Record: 11-0 | Last week: 7
Last week: Beat Wylie East (Wylie) 42-20
This week: Friday vs. Willis

Record: 12-0 | Last week: 8
Last week: Beat Peachtree Ridge (Suwanee) 59-20
This week: Friday vs. Camden County (Kingsland)

Record: 10-1 | Last week: 9
Last week: Beat Abraham Lincoln (Philadelphia) 35-0
This week: TBD vs. Nazareth Area (Nazareth)



Record: 11-1 | Last week: 10
Last week: Beat Blanche Ely (Pompano Beach) 40-0
This week: Friday vs. Coconut Creek

Record: 12-0 | Last week: 11
Last week: Beat Westlake (Atlanta) 38-19
This week: Friday vs. Milton

Record: 12-0 | Last week: 12
Last week: Beat North Gwinnett (Suwanee) 48-19
This week: Friday at No. 17 Carrollton

Record: 12-0 | Last week: 13
Last week: Beat Monsignor Pace (Miami) 52-27
This week: Friday vs. Central (Miami)

Record: 14-0 | Last week: 14
Last week: Beat Green (Uniontown) 31-6
This week: Friday vs. Anderson (Cincinnati)

Record: 10-1 | Last week: 15
Last week: Beat Rockwall-Heath (Rockwall) 62-24
This week: Friday vs. The Woodlands

Record: 11-1 | Last week: 16
Last week: Beat Norcross 28-25
This week: Friday at Grayson (Loganville)

Record: 11-1 | Last week: 17
Last week: Beat Valdosta 45-28
This week: Friday vs. No. 12 Walton (Marietta)



Record: 13-1 | Last week: 18
Last week: Beat Skyridge (Lehi) 41-27
Season complete

Record: 9-3 | Last week: 19
Last week: Lost 43-42 to St. John Bosco (Bellflower)
Season complete

Record: 9-1 | Last week: 20
Last week: Beat King's Academy (West Palm Beach) 49-7
This week: Friday vs. Cardinal Gibbons (Fort Lauderdale)

Record: 10-1 | Last week: 22
Last week: Beat Hamilton (Chandler) 39-27
This week: Saturday vs. Highland (Gilbert)

Record: 13-1 | Last week: 23
Last week: Beat Medina 42-7
This week: Friday vs. Hilliard Bradley (Hilliard)

Record: 13-0 | Last week: 24
Last week: Beat Davison 63-21
This week: Sunday vs. Southfield A&T (Southfield)

Record: 12-0 | Last week: 25
Last week: Beat Wilcox (Santa Clara) 63-27
This week: Idle

Record: 8-3 | Last week: NR
Last week: Beat Booker T. Washington (Miami) 35-12
This week: Friday vs. No. 13 Norland (Miami)