MaxPreps Top 25 high school football scores: No. 21 Centennial takes down No. 1 Mater Dei 43-36

No. 21 Centennial (Corona, Calif.) won a rollercoaster game against No. 1 Mater Dei (Santa Ana, Calif.) 43-36 in a rumble that had everything. 

Junior Jaden Walk-Green of Centennial intercepted his second pass of the night with under two minutes left on a jump ball with four-star wide receiver Kayden Dixon-Wyatt of Mater Dei. Both players wanted the call, and the ball went to the Huskies.

This is the first time a team not named St. John Bosco has beaten Mater Dei since 2015 and the Monarchs turned the ball over seven times in this one. 

The Huskies led 33-7 at halftime before Mater Dei roared back to score 29 unanswered points in the third quarter that gave the Monarchs a 36-33 lead. 

Centennial then kicked a field goal to tie the game, before forcing a turnover to get the ball back. Led by senior quarterback Dominick Catalano, the Huskies used a lot of clock and with 2:27 left in the game, sophomore Malaki Davis rumbled into the end zone for his third touchdown of the game and a 43-36 lead.

Cal commit Jonathan McKinley II recorded multiple sacks for Centennial and had a pressure in the first quarter that led to Mater Dei quarterback Ryan Hopkins throwing an interception that was returned for a touchdown by Walk-Green. Walk-Green also made two field goals. 

By the end of the first quarter, the Huskies led 28-0.

Mater Dei will now travel to Las Vegas to take on Bishop Gorman next week in the MaxPreps Game of the Week. 

No. 3 Bishop Gorman (Las Vegas) has continued its domination this season by defeating East St. Louis (Ill.) 35-10. Senior quarterback Maika Eugenio ran for a touchdown and passed for two more. Both passing touchdowns went to sophomore Zyren Menor, who also returned a kickoff for a score.

No. 25 Carrollton defeated Gainesville 43-21 in the MaxPreps Game of the Week and improved to 5-0. Carrollton dominated on the ground as senior Cameron Wood went for 144 yards with four touchdowns.

With Carrollton holding a 29-21 lead midway through the fourth quarter, sophomore Tyler Boyd intercepted a Gainesville pass to give the Trojans the ball back. Wood then got his fourth touchdown on the ensuing Trojans drive. On the next Gainesville possession, senior Peyton Zachary returned an interception for a touchdown with under a minute left to extend the lead to 43-21. 

Freshman quarterback C.J. Cypher started at quarterback for Carrollton and he hit Georgia commit Ryan Mosley for a touchdown in the first half.

Gainesville trailed 22-8 before roaring back to cut the deficit to 22-21. Clemson quarterback commit Kharim Hughley threw two touchdowns and junior linebacker Darryn Williams returned an interception for a touchdown.

Another big matchup in Georgia featured No. 8 Buford taking on Douglas County (Douglasville). In a high scoring contest the Wolves won 34-26. Buford improved to 4-0 behind a strong rushing attack that saw Dylan McCoy rush for two touchdowns and Tyriq Green get another.

No. 15 Bergen Catholic (Oradell, N.J.) defeated Winslow Township (Atco, N.J.) 41-14 behind five first half touchdowns. Sophomore quarterback Trey Tagliaferri threw three of them and found Austin Busso, Bryan Porter and Jamel Hammary. On the ground Dante Kain, Najee Calhoun and Aidan Talley had rushing scores for the Crusaders. 

No. 20 North Crowley (Fort Worth, Texas) trailed 27-14 before roaring back to win 28-27 against Guyer (Denton, Texas). Jayden Shaw rushed for two touchdowns in the win while four-star sophomore Damarion Mays went over 100 receiving yards with a touchdown.

No. 12 Edna Karr (New Orleans) scored a touchdown in overtime to defeat No. 23 American Heritage (Plantation, Fla.) at Caesars Superdome 24-17. Quarterback John Johnson ran for the game winning score after throwing two touchdowns in regulation. 

The Patriots tied the game up 17-17 on a field goal as time expired in the fourth quarter. Senior wide receiver Jamar Denson had two receiving touchdowns while Terrance Johnson had two interceptions for the Patriots in the loss. 

No. 4 St. Frances Academy (Baltimore) held off a late surge from St. Joseph's Prep (Philadelphia) to hang on for a 34-26 win. Five-star Alabama commit Jireh Edwards had two interceptions and Jett Harrison had his best game of his high school career hauling in four scores for the Hawks.

No. 6 IMG Academy (Bradenton, Fla.) improved to 3-0 with a 79-6 win over Coronado (Henderson, Nev.). The Ascenders were up 65-6 at halftime. IMG faces Class of 2028 standout receiver Brysen Wright and Mandarin (Jacksonville, Fla.) next Friday. 

• • 36
    Mater Dei
  • 43
    Centennial

  9/12 Final

• • 0
    Junipero Serra
  • 42
    St. John Bosco

  9/12 Final

• • 10
    East St. Louis
  • 35
    Bishop Gorman

  9/12 Final

• • 34
    St. Frances Academy
  • 26
    St. Joseph's Prep

  9/13 Final

• • 79
    IMG Academy
  • 6
    Coronado

  9/13 Final

• • 26
    Douglas County
  • 34
    Buford

  9/12 Final

• • 34
    Mission Viejo
  • 24
    Lincoln

  9/12 Final

• • 6
    Western
  • 45
    St. Thomas Aquinas

  9/12 Final

• • 49
    Sierra Canyon
  • 7
    Downey

  9/12 Final

• • 17
    American Heritage
  • 24
    Edna Karr

  9/12 Final

• • 14
    Brighton
  • 56
    Corner Canyon

  9/12 Final

• • 44
    DeMatha
  • 7
    Roman Catholic

  9/12 Final

• • 41
    Bergen Catholic
  • 14
    Winslow Township

  9/12 Final

• • 44
    Santa Margarita
  • 14
    Oaks Christian

  9/12 Final

• • 52
    Southlake Carroll
  • 3
    Byron Nelson

  9/12 Final

• • 56
    Chaminade-Madonna
  • 6
    Edison

  9/22 Final

• • 28
    North Crowley
  • 27
    Guyer

  9/12 Final

• • 41
    Thompson
  • 0
    Oak Mountain

  9/12 Final

• • 0
    Renaissance
  • 71
    Cass Tech

  9/12 Final

• • 43
    Carrollton
  • 21
    Gainesville

  9/12 Final