MaxPreps Top 25 high school football scores: Defending MaxPreps National Champs Buford roll past Gainesville, 39-19

No. 2 Bishop Gorman (Las Vegas, Nev.) took down No. 1 St. John Bosco (Bellflower, Calif.) 38-28 at Fertitta Field in the 16th matchup between the top-two ranked teams since 2000. Junior quarterback Ace Amina threw for over 200 yards and four touchdowns in the victory.

The Gaels went into halftime with a 21-0 lead but the Braves started the second half out strong cutting the deficit to 21-14 with back-to-back touchdown drives. After Amina connected with Zyren Menor for his second touchdown of the night, St. John Bosco responded with 14 unanswered point to even the score at 28-28 early in the fourth quarter.

Amina threw his fourth touchdown of the night to Corey Hinton to give the Gaels a 35-28 lead on the following drive. The Gaels improved to 3-0 all-time against St. John Bosco and will travel to Florida to play A'mir Sears and Columbus (Miami, Fla.) in the Broward County Football Showcase next Saturday. 

No. 7 Buford (Ga.) opened its 2026 season with an impressive 39-19 win over a very talented Gainesville (Ga.) squad on Saturday. After the Red Elephants took a 13-10 lead in the third quarter, the defending MaxPreps National Champs responded with 29 unanswered points. The Wolves dominated on defense and took advantage of some special team miscues to claim their 17th consecutive win. 

On Thursday No. 24 Thompson (Alabaster, Ala.) took down Central (Phenix City, Ala.). With the game tied 14-14 in the second quarter, the Warriors, led by Alabama commit Trent Seaborn ripped off 27 unanswered points to win 41-14. Seaborn threw four touchdowns to four different receivers as the Warriors win their opener.

No. 8 Centennial (Corona, Calif.) scored early and often as the Huskies opened their season with a 41-21 win over Servite (Anaheim, Calif.). Hawaii commit Jaden Jefferson used his speed to run for two touchdowns while tossing two more scores to USC pledge Quentin Hale. Next week the Huskies take on No. 6 Santa Margarita (Rancho Santa Margarita, Calif.) in a matchup of top 10 teams. 

No. 5 IMG Academy (Bradenton, Fla.) won 59-3 over Lone Peak (Highland, Utah) as five-star junior quarterback Jayden Wade threw two touchdowns and ran for one. Senior running back Elijah Newman Hall also scored two touchdowns on the ground.

West Boca Raton (Boca Raton, Fla.) pulled an upset over No. 15 American Heritage (Plantation, Fla.) 24-7 and led from beginning to end. The Bulls were led by senior quarterback Trey Moran ran for a score while throwing touchdowns to Lorontae Davis and Billy Clancy III. 

No. 6 Santa Margarita (Rancho Santa Margarita, Calif.) starts the season 1-0 under head coach Carson Palmer after a 27-0 win over Jones (Orlando, Fla.). Junior Fletch Palmer, the son of the head coach, got his first career start and threw two touchdowns, including a 40-yard scoring strike in the second half.

No. 23 Brownsburg (Ind.) opened its season with a 48-25 victory over Lawrence North (Indianapolis, Ind.). Senior quarterback Oscar Frye slung three touchdowns while running back Brady Lewis scored three on the ground.

No. 11 Carol City (Miami, Fla.) and Clay-Chalkville (Pinson, Ala.) both survived weather delays longer than two hours to win their respective games. Carol City topped Mainland (Daytona Beach, Fla.) 38-3 as five-star Miami commit Nicholas Lennear caught a touchdown.

Clay-Chalkville pulled a 29-20 upset over No. 21 Creekside (Fairburn, Ga.) on the road. Junior quarterback Cornelius Eldridge Jr. threw two touchdowns over 60 yards and senior Jalen Melton had a big first half interception in the win. 

In a game that got pushed back to Saturday, No. 20 Hough (Cornelius, N.C.) will play Northwestern (Rock Hill, S.C.) on Saturday. 

Saturday also features last year's MaxPreps National Champs in No. 7 Buford (Ga.) hosting Gainesville (Ga.) at 5 p.m. Santavious Bryant makes his head coaching debut at Gainesville after spending the last three years at Grayson (Loganville, Ga.), leading the Rams to a 37-5 record and Class AAAAAA state title in 2024. 

Friday, 7 p.m. (All times local) - Watch live on MaxPreps YouTube

• • 28
    St. John Bosco
  • 38
    Bishop Gorman

  8/21 Final

• • 42
    St. Thomas Aquinas
  • 0
    Western

  8/21 Final

• • 59
    IMG Academy
  • 3
    Lone Peak

  8/21 Final

• • 0
    Jones
  • 27
    Santa Margarita

  8/21 Final

• • 19
    Gainesville
  • 39
    Buford

  8/22 Final

• • 41
    Centennial
  • 21
    Servite

  8/20 Final

• • 11
    American Fork
  • 31
    Mater Dei

  8/21 Final

• • F
    Carol City
  • 3
    Mainland

  8/21 Final

• • 20
    Brentwood Academy
  • 38
    Baylor

  8/20 Final

• • 24
    West Boca Raton
  • 7
    American Heritage

  8/21 Final

• • 42
    Sierra Canyon
  • 21
    JSerra Catholic

  8/21 Final

• • 55
    Carrollton
  • 7
    Rome

  8/21 Final

• • 15
    Hough
  • 10
    Northwestern

  8/22 Final

• • 29
    Clay-Chalkville
  • 20
    Creekside

  8/21 Final

• • 48
    Brownsburg
  • 25
    Lawrence North

  8/21 Final

• • 41
    Thompson
  • 14
    Central

  8/20 Final

• • 49
    Chaminade-Madonna
  • 22
    Monarch

  8/20 Final