High school football rankings: Bishop Gorman finishes No. 1 in final 2023 MaxPreps Top 25

For the second time in eight seasons, Bishop Gorman (Las Vegas) has finished No. 1 in the MaxPreps Top 25 high school football rankings. The Gaels were also crowned MaxPreps National Champion in 2016, becoming the fourth program to win multiple titles.

Bishop Gorman began the season at No. 2 and ascended to the top spot after St. John Bosco (Bellflower, Calif.) posted a 28-0 shutout win over then-No. 1 Mater Dei (Santa Ana, Calif.) on Oct. 13. The Gaels held the top spot over the final two months of the season, capping a 12-0 campaign with a dominant 56-11 win against Liberty (Henderson) in the Class 5A Division I state championship.

Behind senior quarterback Micah Alejado, Gorman featured an explosive offense that put up 54.1 points per game. Alejado threw for 2,714 yards and 35 touchdowns. Incredibly, the Hawaii commit finished his three-year career as a starter without throwing an interception. Arizona-bound wideout Audric Harris and four-star Miami commit Elija Lofton both had big senior years, accounting for 1,742 total yards and 33 touchdowns. The offensive line was headlined by a pair of standout juniors in S.J. Alofaituli and Douglas Utu. Micah Kaapana and Devon Rice helped form one of the best backfields in high school football.

The Gorman defense was led by sophomore Prince Williams and freshman Tamatoa Gaoteote. Williams tallied a team-high 96 tackles, 24 tackles for loss and 10 sacks. Gaoteote finished second on the team with 84 tackles. His cousin, Palaie Gaoteote IV, was part of the program's last national title team in 2016.

Bishop Gorman went 2-0 against teams that finished in the MaxPreps Top 25 and 3-0 against teams that appeared in the national rankings at some point during the year. The Gaels opened the season with a 63-42 win at No. 13 Corner Canyon (Draper, Utah) and posted a dominant 56-28 win against No. 14 Centennial (Corona, Calif.). There were also out-of-state wins over Central (Miami) 39-35 and Long Beach Poly (Long Beach, Calif.) 60-15.

Against in-state competition, Gorman went 7-0 while outscoring opponents 376-65. Liberty finished as the second-ranked team in the state and the Gaels outscored the Patriots 105-17 in two matchups.

Bishop Gorman joins Southlake Carroll (Southlake, Texas), Don Bosco Prep (Ramsey, N.J.), Mater Dei and St. John Bosco as the only two-time MaxPreps National Champions.

 

2005 — Southlake Carroll (Southlake)

2006 — Southlake Carroll

2007 — St. Xavier (Cincinnati)

2008 — St. Thomas Aquinas (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.)

2009 — Don Bosco Prep (Ramsey, N.J.)

2010 — South Panola (Batesville, Miss.)

2011 — Don Bosco Prep

2012 — John Curtis Christian (River Ridge, La.)

2013 — Booker T. Washington (Miami)

2014 — Allen (Texas)

2015 — Katy (Texas)

2016 — Bishop Gorman (Las Vegas)

2017 — Mater Dei (Santa Ana, Calif.)

2018 — North Shore (Houston)

2019 — St. John Bosco (Bellflower, Calif.)

2020 — IMG Academy (Bradenton, Fla.)

2021 — Mater Dei

2022 — St. John Bosco

Record: 12-0 | Last week: 1

Record: 14-0 | Last week: 2

Record: 13-1 | Last week: 3

Record: 10-0 | Last week: 4

Record: 15-0 | Last week: 6

Record: 11-2 | Last week: 7

Record: 13-1 | Last week: 9

Record: 14-1 | Last week: 12

Record: 14-1 | Last week: 10

Record: 16-0 | Last week: 11

Record: 13-2 | Last week: 17

Record: 15-1 | Last week: 5

Record: 13-1 | Last week: 13

Record: 9-3 | Last week: 14

Record: 12-1 | Last week: 15

Record: 15-1 | Last week: 16

Record: 14-1 | Last week: 18

Record: 14-1 | Last week: 8

Record: 13-1 | Last week: 19

Record: 10-1 | Last week: 20

21. Bergen Catholic (Oradell, N.J.)
Record: 11-1 | Last week: 21

Record: 14-0 | Last week: 22

Record: 13-2 | Last week: 23

Record: 14-1 | Last week: 24

Record: 13-0 | Last week: 25