High school football rankings: Mater Dei finishes No. 1 in final MaxPreps Top 25 of 2024

For the third time in the last eight years, Mater Dei (Santa Ana, Calif.) has finished No. 1 in the MaxPreps Top 25 high school football rankings. In 2017, 2021 and now 2024, the Monarchs went wire-to-wire as the top-ranked team in the country to become MaxPreps National Champions.

Mater Dei finished 13-0 with eight wins against teams ranked in the final MaxPreps Top 25 — No. 4 Bishop Gorman (Las Vegas) No. 5 St. John Bosco (Bellflower) twice, No. 8 St. Frances Academy (Baltimore), No. 13 Orange Lutheran (Orange), No. 14 Centennial (Corona) twice and No. 22 De La Salle (Concord).

The Monarchs won by an average margin of 22.3 points per game and held 11 of 13 opponents to 18 points or less. In the Open Division state championship game, senior quarterback Dash Beierly completed 18 of 27 passes for 355 yards and three touchdowns while Oregon-bound running back Jordon Davison added 17 carries for 107 yards and two scores to lead Mater Dei to a 37-15 win over De La Salle. The Monarchs have won five state titles since 2017.

Davison was named the MaxPreps California High School Football Player of the Year after rushing for 1,233 yards and 19 touchdowns. His best game came in a 31-24 win over St. John Bosco during the rematch in the Southern Section Division 1 championship, rushing 28 times for a season-high 196 yards and three touchdowns.

The Monarchs play in the toughest league in the country and went 5-0 in Trinity League action. They won by an average margin of 27.4 points per game. The most emphatic win came in a 59-14 rout of St. John Bosco — the first time head coach Jason Negro's program has been subjected to a running clock in his 15-year tenure.

That was one of two wins against the No. 2 team in the MaxPreps Top 25 at the time. The other came in a 31-15 win against Bishop Gorman. The Monarchs went 3-0 against out-of-state competition and are 20-0 against teams outside of California during the MaxPreps era.

Mater Dei's defense was one of the best units in recent memory. Lucas Campizta, Daryus Dixson, C.J. Lavender, Ace Leutele, Chuck McDonald, Abduall Sanders, Shaun Scott, Semi Taulanga, Tomuhini Topui and Nasir Wyatt headlined a defense that allowed just 14.5 points per game.

Beierly, Mark Bowman, Davison, Kayden Dixon-Wyatt, Jojo Genova, Kodi Greene, Marcus Harris, Gavin Honore, Lex Mailangi, and Sione Tohi led the way for an offense that averaged 36.8 points per game.

2005 — Southlake Carroll (Southlake, Texas)

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

2018 — North Shore (Houston)

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

2020 — IMG Academy (Bradenton, Fla.)

2021 — Mater Dei

2022 — St. John Bosco

2023 — Bishop Gorman

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Record: 14-0 | Last week: NR