Mater Dei (Santa Ana, Calif.) returned to action Friday and cruised to a 49-7 win over Liberty (Henderson, Nev.) at the Polynesian Football Classic, cementing its status as the No. 1 team in the MaxPreps Top 25 high school football rankings. The Monarchs are one of three teams from Southern California's Trinity League in this week's rankings.
Sophomore quarterback
Elijah Brown completed 15 of 16 passes for 213 yards and accounted for three touchdowns while Oklahoma-bound running back
Raleek Brown rushed for nearly 100 yards and four scores in Mater Dei's win.
Rival and No. 3 St. John Bosco (Bellflower, Calif.) improved to 4-0 with another impressive win Friday,
beating Illinois power East St. Louis 42-26. Checking in at No. 9, Servite (Anaheim, Calif.) is the third Trinity League squad in the top 10.
Mater Dei, St. John Bosco and Servite haven't trailed at any point this season, outscoring opponents 398-86.
Three new teams joined this week's MaxPreps Top 25 after De La Salle (Concord, Calif.), North Shore (Houston) and St. Joseph's Prep (Philadelphia) dropped out.
Saint Francis (Mountain View) scored a touchdown with 16 seconds remaining to knock off De La Salle 31-28, becoming the first Northern California team to beat the Spartans since 1991 – a span of 318 games.
Catholic (Baton Rouge, La.) joins the rankings at No. 20 after adding another quality win, beating the back-to-back Class 5A state champs Acadiana (Lafayette) 20-0. The Bears opened the 2021 season with a dominant 38-10 win over Good Counsel (Olney, Md.).
North Cobb (Kennesaw) is the third team from Georgia to join the rankings. The Warriors have won two straight after a season-opening 35-27 loss to Buford. North Cobb's 40-21 win over Milton looks even more impressive after the Eagles snapped St. Joseph's Prep's (Philadelphia) 18-game win streak Saturday.
Dutch Fork (Irmo, S.C.) checks in at No. 25 after outscoring its first two opponents 126-33. The Silver Foxes have won five consecutive Class 5A state titles in South Carolina and haven't lost a game in their last 52 outings.
Houston Thomas, Servite
Photo by Terry Jack
Record: 2-0 | Last week: 1
Last week: Beat Liberty (Henderson, Nev.) 49-7
Next week: Idle
Record: 3-0 | Last week: 2
Last week: Beat Northwestern (Miami) 52-21
Next week: Sept. 17 vs. Jones (Orlando)
Record: 4-0 | Last week: 3
Last week: Beat East St. Louis (Ill.) 42-26
Next week: Sept. 17 at Oscar Smith (Chesapeake, Va.)
Record: 3-0 | Last week: 4
Last week: Beat Mansfield Summit (Arlington) 59-21
Next week: Idle
Record: 4-0 | Last week: 5
Last week: Beat Spain Park (Hoover) 49-3
Next week: Sept. 17 vs. Hewitt-Trussville (Trussville)
Record: 2-0 | Last week: 6
Last week: Idle
Next week: Sept. 18 vs. Delbarton (Morristown)
Record: 3-0 | Last week: 7
Last week: Beat Lone Peak (Highland, Utah) 35-7
Next week: Sept. 17 at Hamilton (Chandler, Ariz.)
Record: 3-0 | Last week: 8
Last week: Beat Rome 34-0
Next week: Sept. 17 vs. Alpharetta
Record: 3-0 | Last week: 11
Last week: Beat Bishop Amat (La Puente) 58-7
Next week: Sept. 17 at Sierra Canyon (Chatsworth)
Record: 4-0 | Last week: 10
Last week: Beat Ben Davis (Indianapolis) 45-21
Next week: Sept. 17 at North Central (Indianapolis)
Record: 3-0 | Last week: 13
Last week: Beat Dickinson 28-21
Next week: Sept. 16 vs. The Woodlands
Record: 2-0 | Last week: 14
Last week: Beat Cherry Creek (Greenwood Village, Colo.) 17-7
Next week: Sept. 17 at O'Connor (Phoenix)
Record: 4-0 | Last week: 16
Last week: Beat Penn (Mishawaka, Ind.) 41-10
Next week: Sept. 17 at Archbishop Moeller (Cincinnati)
Record: 3-0 | Last week: 17
Last week: Beat Prosper 31-0
Next week: Sept. 17 vs. Martin (Arlington)
Record: 3-0 | Last week: 19
Last week: Beat Myers Park (Charlotte, N.C.) 44-17
Next week: Sept. 17 vs. Chaminade-Madonna (Hollywood, Fla.)
Record: 5-0 | Last week: 18
Last week: Beat Lehi 52-7
Next week: Sept. 17 at American Fork
Record: 3-0 | Last week: 20
Last week: Beat Bloomingdale (Valrico) 32-14
Next week: Sept. 17 at Hillsborough (Tampa)
Record: 3-0 | Last week: 21
Last week: Beat JSerra Catholic (San Juan Capistrano) 49-0
Next week: Sept. 17 vs. Long Beach Poly (Long Beach)
Record: 2-1 | Last week: 22
Last week: Beat American Heritage (Plantation) 24-16
Next week: Sept. 17 vs. Monsignor Pace (Miami)
Record: 2-0 | Last week: NR
Last week: Beat Acadiana (Lafayette) 20-0
Next week: Sept. 17 at West Monroe
Record: 2-0 | Last week: 23
Last week: Idle
Next week: Sept. 17 at Stillwater
Record: 1-1 | Last week: 24
Last week: Beat Franklin (Reisterstown) 47-6
Next week: Sept. 17 vs. Good Counsel (Olney)
Record: 3-0 | Last week: 25
Last week: Beat St. Mary's Ryken (Leonardtown, Md.) 19-0
Next week: Sept. 17 at St. Joseph's Prep (Philadelphia)
Record: 2-1 | Last week: NR
Last week: Beat Alpharetta 43-7
Next week: Sept. 17 at Etowah (Woodstock)
Record: 2-0 | Last week: NR
Last week: Idle
Next week: Sept. 17 at Greenwood
