Making this go-around unique, it will be the first August No. 1 vs. No. 2 matchup. Friday will mark the season opener for Bosco while Gorman is coming off a dominant win over
Somerset Academy Losee (North Las Vegas) last week.
Bosco is ranked No. 1 based largely on a beefed-up roster that features at least 16 players rated as three-star prospects or higher. Gorman went 11-1 a year ago and finished ranked No. 3 nationally. The roster is stacked led by Oregon commit
Hayden Stepp at cornerback.
MaxPreps Game of the WeekNo. 1 St. John Bosco at No. 2 Bishop GormanDate: Friday, Aug. 21, 2026
Time: 7 p.m. PT
Streaming: MaxPreps YouTubeLocation: Bishop Gorman High School
Bosco is 3-4 in seven previous No. 1 vs. No. 2 matchups since 2015, splitting six showdowns with
Mater Dei (Santa Ana, Calif.).
Gorman lost to Mater Dei in both of its previous No. 1 vs. No. 2 games (2017, 2024).
Friday will mark the 11th straight 1 vs. 2 pairing featuring either St. John Bosco or Mater Dei and the 13th time that at least one California team has been involved.
De La Salle (Concord) and
Centennial (Corona) also hold victories in such games.
Three Florida programs –
Northwestern (Miami) in 2007,
St. Thomas Aquinas (Fort Lauderdale) in 2009 and
Booker T. Washington (Miami) in 2013 – are the only non-California schools to have won a 1 vs. 2 matchup since 2000.
No. 1 teams have won nine of the previous 15 contests and five of the previous winners have gone on to be crowned national champions at season's end – Booker T. Washington in 2013, Mater Dei in 2017 and 2024 and Bosco in 2019 and 2022.
No. 1 vs. No. 2 since 2000
Oct. 6, 2001
No. 2 De La Salle (Concord, Calif.) 29, No. 1 Long Beach Poly (Long Beach, Calif.) 15
Maurice Jones-Drew totaled 165 yards and scored all four touchdowns as De La Salle won its 117th straight game. The historic streak eventually reached 151 games from 1992 to 2004.
Oct. 12, 2002
No. 1 De La Salle 28, No. 2 Long Beach Poly 7De La Salle beat Poly once more a year later, extending its winning streak to 130 games. Jones-Drew rushed for 161 yards while Britt Cecil accounted for four touchdowns.
Sept. 15, 2007
No. 2 Northwestern (Miami, Fla.) 29, No. 1 Southlake Carroll (Southlake, Texas) 21Jacory Harris threw for 280 yards and four touchdowns as the Bulls snapped Southlake Carroll's 49-game winning streak before nearly 32,000 fans.
Tommy Streeter caught three touchdowns for 140 yards.
Oct. 2, 2009
No. 1 St. Thomas Aquinas (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) 42, No. 2 Byrnes (Florence, S.C.) 34This game featured five future NFL players for St. Thomas Aquinas making their presence felt as
Jake Rudock threw touchdown passes to
Rashad Greene,
Lamarcus Joyner,
Phillip Dorsett and
James White.
Marcus Lattimore starred in defeat with 212 total yards and two touchdowns.
Sept. 6, 2013
No. 1 Booker T. Washington (Miami, Fla.) 28, No. 2 Central (Miami, Fla.) 17Treon Harris accounted for 222 total yards and three touchdowns to lead Booker T. Washington past its rival.
Terry Jefferson sealed the win with a 65-yard pick-six while
Dalvin Cook and
Joseph Yearby combined for 200 rushing yards and two scores.
Dec. 5, 2015
No. 2 Centennial (Corona, Calif.) 62, No. 1 St. John Bosco (Bellflower, Calif.) 52The Southern California powers combined for 1,202 yards and 114 points in a wild Pac-5 championship game.
J.J. Taylor led the way with 261 rushing yards and five touchdowns while
Sean McGrew and
Re-al Mitchell combined for 312 yards and four scores.
Sept. 1, 2017
No. 1 Mater Dei (Santa Ana, Calif.) 35, No. 2 Bishop Gorman (Las Vegas, Nev.) 21Mater Dei snapped Bishop Gorman's 55-game winning streak, handing the Gaels their first loss in nearly four years.
J.T. Daniels threw for 313 yards and two touchdowns with
Bru McCoy and
Nikko Remigio both topping 100 receiving yards.
Oct. 13, 2018
No. 1 St. John Bosco 41, No. 2 Mater Dei 18St. John Bosco dominated the first No. 1 vs. No. 2 matchup between the Trinity League rivals behind five touchdown passes from
D.J. Uiagalelei.
Jake Bailey had 161 yards and three scores while Mater Dei's
Bryce Young – a future No. 1 NFL Draft pick – threw for 306 yards and two touchdowns.
Sept. 14, 2019
No. 1 Mater Dei 34, No. 2 St. Frances Academy (Baltimore, Md.) 18Bryce Young and
Blake Corum starred in the Trinity League vs. USA Showcase, with both topping 200 total yards. Young accounted for 352 yards and four rushing touchdowns while Corum added a score.
Oct. 25, 2019
No. 1 Mater Dei 38, No. 2 St. John Bosco 24Bryce Young improved to 2-1 against D.J. Uiagalelei, accounting for 334 total yards and five touchdowns. Uiagalelei threw for 320 yards and two scores while
Kody Epps had 175 receiving yards and three touchdowns.
Nov. 20, 2019
No. 2 St. John Bosco 39, No. 1 Mater Dei 34Bosco erased a 28-5 deficit by scoring 34 unanswered points to win a thrilling Southern Section Division 1 championship. Uiagalelei threw for 446 yards and five touchdowns while Young finished with 405 yards and five scores but threw three interceptions.
Oct. 7, 2022
No. 2 Mater Dei 17, No. 1 St. John Bosco 7Mater Dei won a defensive battle after taking a 7-0 halftime lead and scoring the game's final 10 points.
Jordon Davison scored on a late 38-yard touchdown to extend his team's win streak to 24 games.
Nov. 25, 2022
No. 2 St. John Bosco 24, No. 1 Mater Dei 22Bosco snapped Mater Dei's 29-game winning streak at the Rose Bowl to capture its second national championship.
Pierce Clarkson threw for 264 yards and three touchdowns while the Braves' defense stopped a late two-point conversion to preserve the win.
Sept. 6, 2024
No. 1 Mater Dei 31, No. 2 Bishop Gorman 15Jordon Davison ran 19 times for 90 yards and two scores while
Chris Henry had a touchdown catch to lead the Monarchs to an early signature win.
Oct. 25, 2024
No. 1 Mater Dei 59, No. 2 St. John Bosco 14This matchup led to Mater Dei being crowned national champions for the third time in the MaxPreps era. Senior quarterback
Dash Beierly threw for 308 yards and a season-high four touchdowns. His favorite targets were
Kayden Dixon-Wyatt (126 receiving yards) and
Marcus Harris (106) in the most lopsided 1 vs. 2 outcome.
