High school football rankings: No. 13 Mater Dei improves 4-0, gains ground in MaxPreps Top 25 after win against Centennial

Mater Dei (Santa Ana, Calif.) got its biggest win of the season with a hard-fought, 10-9 victory over Centennial (Corona, Calif.) to improve to 4-0. The Monarchs moved up one spot to No. 13 in this week's MaxPreps Top 25 high school football rankings.

The Mater Dei defense forced three turnovers with the biggest coming in the fourth quarter when Mike Davis Jr. intercepted a pass setting up the Monarchs at the Centennial 15-yard line. Four plays later Russell Sekona scored from two-yards out to give the Monarchs a 10-9 lead with 6:57 left. 

Centennial drove down the field but missed a go-ahead 27-yard field goal attempt with 2:31 left. Freshman quarterback Ace Guess made some big plays for the Monarchs including an 18-yard completion to Gavin Honore on third down to ice the game. 

Up next for Mater Dei is No. 8 Bishop Gorman (Las Vegas, Nev.) on Friday at Santa Ana Stadium in the MaxPreps Game of the Week. The showdown between perennial powers will stream live on the NFHS Network at 7 p.m. 

Mater Dei has won all five meetings against Gorman since 2017. No. 5 Buford (Ga.) added another quality win to its resume with an 18-7 victory over Central (Miami, Fla.) to improve to 3-0. The defending national champions have won 18 games in a row dating back to last year. Five-star defensive lineman Jalen Brewster made his debut and will be a huge addition to a defense that was already one of the best in the country. Up next is a road test Friday at Grayson (Loganville, Ga.), which has won two in a row after an 0-2 start. 

David Gabriel Georges had another huge performance for No. 11 Baylor (Chattanooga, Tenn.) rushing 24 times for 305 yards and five touchdowns in a 35-27 win at Trinity (Louisville, Ky.). The 2025 MaxPreps National Player of the Year has 750 yards rushing and 12 scores through his first four games. 

In Alabama, No. 14 Thompson (Alabaster) improved to 4-0 with a 48-14 win over Spain Park (Hoover). Trent Seaborn is playing as well as any quarterback in the country, completing 77 of 101 passes for 1,252 yards and 16 touchdowns without an interception. 

Chaminade-Madonna (Hollywood, Fla.) rejoins the rankings at No. 24 with back-to-back wins after a 24-7 loss against No. 6 Sierra Canyon (Chatsworth, Calif.) on Aug. 27. Don Bosco Prep (Ramsey, N.J.) was the only other new team to join the MaxPreps Top 25 and take the last spot at No. 25. The Ironmen have outscored their first three opponents 118-28.