High school football rankings: California rivals Mater Dei, St. John Bosco 1-2 in composite top 25

Chaminade-Madonna, St. Edward climb into top 10 after impressive wins.

Thumbnail image of this articles writer: Steve Montoya

By Steve Montoya

Aug 31, 2023, 11:30am

MaxPreps National Football Editor Zack Poff joins Jeremy St. Louis on CBS HQ to recap No. 3 St. John Bosco's (Bellflower, CA) 20-7 win over No. 9 St. Thomas Aquinas (Fort Lauderdale, FL).

RECAP: No. 3 St. John Bosco beats No. 9 St. Thomas Aquinas 20-7 19,500 views 1:46

For the first time this season, Mater Dei (Santa Ana, Calif.) is not a unanimous No. 1 overall pick in the top 25 media composite high school football rankings.

The Monarchs still have an average rank of 1.1 but Trinity League rival St. John Bosco (Bellflower, Calif.) has earned the top spot in High School Football America's rankings after a big win against St. Thomas Aquinas (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) on Saturday.

Chaminade-Madonna (Hollywood, Fla.) and St. Edward (Lakewood, Ohio) both climbed in the rankings after impressive wins. Chaminade-Madonna jumped four spots to No. 7 after a 35-14 win over St. Frances Academy (Baltimore, Md.). St. Edward improved their standing in the eyes of all six media outlets polled after a 28-7 win over Our Lady of Good Counsel (Olney, Md.).

Saraland (Ala.) is one of three new teams this week to join the top 25. The Spartans' 31-30 overtime victory over Lipscomb Academy (Nashville, Tenn.) was enough to push them to No. 22 overall.

The composite top 25 takes into account a wide range of approaches to high school football rankings by six different media outlets. That includes computer algorithms by CalPreps and High School Football America as well as expert rankings from MaxPreps, SBLive, Blue Star Media and National HSFB.

To be considered for the rankings a team must be recognized 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.

Saraland (Ala.) head coach Jeff Kelly talks to his team after a big win over Lipscomb Academy of Tennessee. The victory helped the Spartans earn a top 25 national ranking from three media outlets. (Photo: Brad Boland)

Top 25 composite high school football rankings

1. (last week:1) Mater Dei (Santa Ana, Calif.)

Average rank: 1.1
MaxPreps Top 25: 1
CalPreps: 1
High School Football America: 2
SB Live: 1
Blue Star Media: 1
National HSFB: 1

2. (2) St. John Bosco (Bellflower, Calif.)

Average rank: 2.3
MaxPreps Top 25: 3
CalPreps: 3
High School Football America: 1
SB Live: 2
Blue Star Media: 2
National HSFB: 3

3. (3) IMG Academy (Bradenton, Fla.)

Average rank: 3
MaxPreps Top 25: 4
CalPreps: 2
High School Football America: 4
SB Live: 3
Blue Star Media: 3
National HSFB: 2

4. (4) Bishop Gorman (Las Vegas, Nev.)

Average rank: 3.8
MaxPreps Top 25: 2
CalPreps: 4
High School Football America: 3
SB Live: 4
Blue Star Media: 5
National HSFB: 4

5. (5) Buford (Ga.)

Average rank: 6
MaxPreps Top 25: 5
CalPreps: 4
High School Football America: 5
SB Live: 5
Blue Star Media: 7
National HSFB: 10

6. (6) Duncanville (Texas)

Average rank: 7.1
MaxPreps Top 25: 8
CalPreps: 6
High School Football America: 6
SB Live: 6
Blue Star Media: 4
National HSFB: 13

7. (11) Chaminade-Madonna (Hollywood, Fla.)

Average rank: 8.6
MaxPreps Top 25: 7
CalPreps: 8
High School Football America: 10
SB Live: 8
Blue Star Media: 13
National HSFB: 6

8. (7) Central (Miami, Fla.)

Average rank: 8.8
MaxPreps Top 25: 6
CalPreps: 20
High School Football America: 9
SB Live: 7
Blue Star Media: 6
National HSFB: 5

9. (8) St. Joseph's Prep (Philadelphia, Pa.)

Average rank: 9.8
MaxPreps Top 25: 13
CalPreps: 7
High School Football America: 11
SB Live: 10
Blue Star Media: 11
National HSFB: 7

10. (12) St. Edward (Lakewood, Ohio)

Average rank: 11.3
MaxPreps Top 25: 11
CalPreps: 13
High School Football America: 8
SB Live: 9
Blue Star Media: 9
National HSFB: 18

11. (9) St. Thomas Aquinas (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.)

Average rank: 11.6
MaxPreps Top 25: 12
CalPreps: 12
High School Football America: 7
SB Live: 21
Blue Star Media: 10
National HSFB: 8

12. (16) North Shore (Houston, Texas)

Average rank: 14
MaxPreps Top 25: 10
CalPreps: 17
High School Football America: 18
SB Live: 12
Blue Star Media: 8
National HSFB: 19

T13. (14) DeSoto (Texas)

Average rank: 14.5
MaxPreps Top 25: 16
CalPreps: 9
High School Football America: 19
SB Live: 11
Blue Star Media: 12
National HSFB: 20

T13. (13) Langston Hughes (Fairburn, Ga.)

Average rank: 14.5

MaxPreps Top 25: 9
CalPreps: 14
High School Football America: 17
SB Live: 15
Blue Star Media: 18
National HSFB: 14

15. (10) St. Frances Academy (Baltimore, Md.)

Average rank: 16
MaxPreps Top 25: 20
CalPreps: 11
High School Football America: 13
SB Live: 16
Blue Star Media: 25
National HSFB: 11

16. (17) Centennial (Corona, Calif.)

Average rank: 17.6
MaxPreps Top 25: 14
CalPreps: 15
High School Football America: 22
SB Live: 19
Blue Star Media: 21
National HSFB: 15

17. (15) Colquitt County (Norman Park, Ga.)

Average rank: 18.5
MaxPreps Top 25: 15
CalPreps: NR
High School Football America: 15
SB Live: 13
Blue Star Media: 16
National HSFB: 12

18. (19) American Heritage (Plantation, Fla.)

Average rank: 19.3
MaxPreps Top 25: 17
CalPreps: NR
High School Football America: 14
SB Live: 17
Blue Star Media: 19
National HSFB: 9

19. (18) Bergen Catholic (Oradell, N.J.)

Average rank: 22
MaxPreps Top 25: 22
CalPreps: NR
High School Football America: 20
SB Live: 14
Blue Star Media: 20
National HSFB: 16

20. (22) Mission Viejo (Calif.)

Average rank: 24.8
MaxPreps Top 25: 23
CalPreps: NR
High School Football America: 24
SB Live: 23
Blue Star Media: 22
National HSFB: 17

21. (20) Basha (Chandler, Ariz.)

Average rank: 26.1
MaxPreps Top 25: 19
CalPreps: 21
High School Football America: NR
SB Live: 20
Blue Star Media: 17
National HSFB: NR

22. (NR) Saraland (Ala.)

Average rank: 29.3
MaxPreps Top 25: NR
CalPreps: 10
High School Football America: NR
SB Live: 22
Blue Star Media: NR
National HSFB: 24

23. (25) Mill Creek (Hoschton, Ga.)

Average rank: 29.5
MaxPreps Top 25: NR
CalPreps: 18
High School Football America: 21
SB Live: 18
Blue Star Media: NR
National HSFB: NR

24. (NR) Columbus (Miami, Fla.)

Average rank: 30.1
MaxPreps Top 25: 25
CalPreps: NR
High School Football America: 12
SB Live: 24
Blue Star Media: NR
National HSFB: NR

25. (NR) Corner Canyon (Draper, Utah)

Average rank: 31
MaxPreps Top 25: NR
CalPreps: 19
High School Football America: NR
SB Live: NR
Blue Star Media: 24
National HSFB: 23

Ranked by two media outlets

Carrollton (Ga.)

Lipscomb Academy (Nashville, Tenn.)

Walton (Marietta, Ga.)

Westlake (Austin, Texas)

Ranked by one media outlet

Belleville (Mich.)

Bixby (Okla.)

Cardinal Gibbons (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.)

Kahuku (Hawaii)

Katy (Texas)

Mallard Creek (Charlotte, N.C.)