High school football rankings: Mater Dei earns No. 1 billing from five media outlets to top preseason composite top 25

Defending MaxPreps National Champion Bishop Gorman also earns No. 1 ranking from National HSFB, SC Next.

Thumbnail image of this articles writer: Steve Montoya
By
Aug 6, 2024, 3:30pm
Mater Dei (Santa Ana, Calif.) begins the 2024 high school football season as the No. 1 team in the media composite top 25 rankings.

The Monarchs enter the fall as the top-ranked team in five of the seven sets of rankings, giving them an average ranking of 1.2. Mater Dei has eight teams on its schedule who are ranked by at least one media outlet. National HSFB and SC Next have Bishop Gorman (Las Vegas, Nev.) as the top team. 

Thankfully, we won't have to wait long to settle that debate as Mater Dei and Bishop Gorman meet Sept. 6 at Santa Ana Stadium.

The composite rankings incorporate computer algorithms by CalPreps and High School Football America along with expert rankings like the MaxPreps Top 25, SB Live, Blue Star Media, SC Next and National HSFB.

To be considered for the media composite top 25 a team must be included in the rankings by two or more media outlets. Teams were assigned a score of 40 for each media outlet that did not recognize them as part of their top 25, rewarding teams that received consensus acclaim.
Oklahoma commit Marcus Harris has caught 68 passes for 1,288 yards and 18 touchdowns over the past two seasons for Mater Dei, the No. 1 team in the preseason media composite top 25. (Photo: Heston Quan)
Oklahoma commit Marcus Harris has caught 68 passes for 1,288 yards and 18 touchdowns over the past two seasons for Mater Dei, the No. 1 team in the preseason media composite top 25. (Photo: Heston Quan)
Media composite top 25

1. Mater Dei (Santa Ana, Calif.)
Average rank: 1.2
MaxPreps Top 25: 1
CalPreps: 1
High School Football America: 1
SB Live: 1
Blue Star Media: 1
National HSFB: 2
SC Next: 2

Average rank: 2.1
MaxPreps Top 25: 2
CalPreps: 2
High School Football America: 2
SB Live: 2
Blue Star Media: 5
National HSFB: 1
SC Next: 1

3. IMG Academy (Bradenton, Fla.)
Average rank: 3.5
MaxPreps Top 25: 3
CalPreps: 4
High School Football America: 4
SB Live: 4
Blue Star Media: 4
National HSFB: 3
SC Next: 3

4. St. John Bosco (Bellflower, Calif.)
Average rank: 4.7
MaxPreps Top 25: 4
CalPreps: 5
High School Football America: 5
SB Live: 3
Blue Star Media: 2
National HSFB: 5
SC Next: 9

5. DeSoto (Texas)
Average rank: 6.5
MaxPreps Top 25: 5
CalPreps: 9
High School Football America: 6
SB Live: 5
Blue Star Media: 3
National HSFB: 12
SC Next: 6

6.Duncanville (Texas)
Average rank: 7.5
MaxPreps Top 25: 7
CalPreps: 3
High School Football America: 8
SB Live: 9
Blue Star Media: 6
National HSFB: 16
SC Next: 4

Average rank: 8
MaxPreps Top 25: 6
CalPreps: 10
High School Football America: 9
SB Live: 6
Blue Star Media: 9
National HSFB: 9
SC Next: 7

Average rank: 8.7
MaxPreps Top 25: 9
CalPreps: 19
High School Football America: 3
SB Live: 7
Blue Star Media: 11
National HSFB: 4
SC Next: 8

9. Centennial (Corona, Calif.)
Average rank: 10
MaxPreps Top 25: 8
CalPreps: 6
High School Football America: 12
SB Live: 8
Blue Star Media: 16
National HSFB: 8
SC Next: 13

Average rank: 12.5
MaxPreps Top 25: 16
CalPreps: 17
High School Football America: 16
SB Live: 10
Blue Star Media: 8
National HSFB: 10
SC Next: 11

11. St. Thomas Aquinas (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.)
Average rank: 13.8
MaxPreps Top 25: 11
CalPreps: NR
High School Football America: 7
SB Live: 21
Blue Star Media: 7
National HSFB: 6
SC Next: 5

12. North Shore (Houston, Texas)
Average rank: 15.1
MaxPreps Top 25: 10
CalPreps: 16
High School Football America: 17
SB Live: 11
Blue Star Media: 13
National HSFB: 22
SC Next: 17

13. Bergen Catholic (Oradell, N.J.)
Average rank: 15.4
MaxPreps Top 25: 19
CalPreps: 22
High School Football America: 10
SB Live: 12
Blue Star Media: 16
National HSFB: 11
SC Next: 18

14. Buford (Ga.)
Average rank: 19.5
MaxPreps Top 25: 21
CalPreps: 13
High School Football America: NR
SB Live: 13
Blue Star Media: 12
National HSFB: 18
SC Next: 20

Average rank: 21.8
MaxPreps Top 25: 14
CalPreps: NR
High School Football America: 18
SB Live: 14
Blue Star Media: NR
National HSFB: 7
SC Next: 19

16. Washington (Massillon, Ohio)
Average rank: 22.4
MaxPreps Top 25: NR
CalPreps: NR
High School Football America: 11
SB Live: 14
Blue Star Media: 17
National HSFB: 13
SC Next: 22

Average rank: 22.5
MaxPreps Top 25: 13
CalPreps: 21
High School Football America: 14
SB Live: 16
Blue Star Media: NR
National HSFB: NR
SC Next: 14

Average rank: 23
MaxPreps Top 25: 12
CalPreps: 25
High School Football America: NR
SB Live: 18
Blue Star Media: 10
National HSFB: NR
SC Next: 16

Average rank: 23.7
MaxPreps Top 25: NR
CalPreps: NR
High School Football America: 13
SB Live: 17
Blue Star Media: 18
National HSFB: 14
SC Next: 24

Average rank: 24.2
MaxPreps Top 25: 18
CalPreps: 11
High School Football America: 22
SB Live: 19
Blue Star Media: NR
National HSFB: 20
SC Next: NR

Average rank: 24.5
MaxPreps Top 25: 20
CalPreps: NR
High School Football America: 24
SB Live: NR
Blue Star Media: 19
National HSFB: 17
SC Next: 12

Average rank: 26.5
MaxPreps Top 25: 22
CalPreps: NR
High School Football America: 21
SB Live: 23
Blue Star Media: NR
National HSFB: 19
SC Next: 21

Average rank: 26.7
MaxPreps Top 25: 15
CalPreps: NR
High School Football America: NR
SB Live: 20
Blue Star Media: 22
National HSFB: NR
SC Next: 10

Average rank: 28.4
MaxPreps Top 25: 17
CalPreps: 7
High School Football America: NR
SB Live: NR
Blue Star Media: NR
National HSFB: NR
SC Next: 15

Average rank: 30.1
MaxPreps Top 25: NR
CalPreps: NR
High School Football America: 20
SB Live: 24
Blue Star Media: 23
National HSFB: 24
SC Next: NR

Ranked by three media outlets
Orange Lutheran (Orange, Calif.) — MaxPreps Top 25, 24; CalPreps, 15; Blue Star Media, 20

Ranked by two media outlets
Mission Viejo (Calif.) — CalPreps, 8; SB Live, 22
DeMatha (Hyattsville, Md.) — High School Football America, 19; National HSFB, 15
Our Lady of Good Counsel (Olney, Md.) — High School Football America, 15; National HSFB, 21
Kahuku (Hawaii) — CalPreps, 14; SC Next, 23
North Crowley (Fort Worth, Texas) — CalPreps, 23; Blue Star Media, 21
Berkeley Prep (Tampa, Fla.) — MaxPreps Top 23, 24; SB Live, 25
Folsom (Calif.)— MaxPreps Top 23, 25; SC Next, 25
Center Grove (Greenwood, Ind.) — High School Football America, 25; SC Next, 25

Ranked by one media outlet
Westlake (Austin, Texas) — Blue Star Media, 14
Southlake Carroll (Southlake, Texas) — CalPreps,18
JSerra Catholic (San Juan Capistrano, Calif.) — CalPreps,20
Colquitt County (Norman Park, Ga.) — High School Football America, 23
Archbishop Hoban (Akron, Ohio) — National HSFB, 23
Loyola Academy (Wilmette, Ill.) — Blue Star Media, 24
Lincoln (San Diego, Calif.) — CalPreps,24
Gaffney (S.C.) — Blue Star Media, 25

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