MaxPreps Top 25 high school football scores: Cardinal Newman pulls off huge upset over No. 21 Chaminade-Madonna in 1A state championship

There are two weeks left in the high school football season and the No. 1 spot in the MaxPreps Top 25 is still up for grabs. Current No. 1 Carrollton faces No. 6 Buford in Georgia's AAAAAA state championship Dec. 16 in a game with major rankings implications.

No. 2 St. Frances Academy (Baltimore) made its claim for the No. 1 spot with an impressive 37-20 win over No. 23 Corner Canyon (Draper, Utah) on Wednesday in the Overtime Nationals in Baltimore. The Panthers showed why they have one of the best defenses in the country as that unit did not give up any points until the game was out of hand in the fourth quarter.

St. Frances Academy jumped out to a 7-0 lead in the first quarter after Jae'Oyn Williams connected with Destin Mitchell for an 11-yard score. Jaylen Burke extended the lead to 14-0 in the second quarter with a nine-yard score. Williams threw his second touchdown of the first half connecting with Michael Nnabuife for an 18-yard score.

The Panthers started the second half with a six-plus minute drive capped off with Williams' third touchdown pass from 14 yards out to Jesse Legree to make it 28-0.

Corner Canyon got its first points after a fumbled punt attempt was recovered in the endzone by Eli Borg late in the third quarter.

After a Jaoquin Rodriguez interception set up the Chargers at their own three, five-star safety Jireh Edwards flew in for a tackle for loss that resulted in a safety to make it 30-7. Legree housed the ensuing kickoff to extend the lead to 37-7. 

Bronson Evans threw two fourth quarter touchdown passes to cut the deficit to 37-20. 

Cardinal Newman (West Palm Beach, Fla.) pulled off one of the biggest upsets of the 2025 season with a 17-14 win over the four-time defending state champs and No. 21 Chaminade-Madonna (Hollywood, Fla.) on Thursday in the FHSAA Class 1A state championship.

Three-star West Virginia signee Jyron Hughley got the scoring started with a 69-yard touchdown run early in the second quarter to give Cardinal Newman a 7-0 lead. The Lions answered right back after a long run from Lee Prince Jr. to set up a one-yard rushing score from four-star Texas signee Derrek Cooper.

Hughley connected with Ethan Holland for a 35-yard touchdown late in the third quarter to take a 14-7 lead. The Crusaders turned a Malik Leonard fumble into three points to extend the lead to 17-7 with 6:35 left. 

The Lions cut the deficit to 17-14 after a second Cooper rushing score with 48 seconds remaining. Cardinal Newman recovered the ensuing onside kick and ran out the clock to win its first state title in school history.

Hughley was named MVP of the game after finishing with 20 carries for 111 yards and a touchdown to go with 69 yards passing and another score.

No. 11 St. Thomas Aquinas (Fort Lauderdale) won its seventh straight state title on Thursday with a 29-0 win over Lakeland in the Class 7A title game. The Raiders shut out the Dreadnaughts in last year's state title game, 34-0. Senior quarterback Mason Mallory accounted for over 350 yards of total offense, while Johnny DiSalvatore went five-for-five on field goals. 

No. 3 Southlake Carroll (Southlake, Texas) has been a consistent mover in the MaxPreps Top 25 over the last few weeks as it keeps stacking wins in one of the toughest playoff brackets in the country. The Dragons face a red-hot DeSoto squad in the Conference 6A Division 2 semifinals Saturday. 

The biggest game of the week takes place in California as No. 5 Santa Margarita (Rancho Santa Margarita) faces No. 15 De La Salle (Concord) in the Open Division state championship on Saturday. Head coach Carson Palmer and the Eagles are seeking their first state title since 2011 while the Spartans are looking for their first in a decade. 

Another marquee matchup is taking place in Texas as No. 24 Allen locks horns with Duncanville on Saturday. Allen is making its first Conference 6A Division 1 semifinal appearance since 2018 while Duncanville is making its eighth consecutive semifinal appearance. The programs have split a pair of playoff meetings going back to 2016.

No. 20 Northwestern (Miami) is looking to repeat as 3A state champs against an undefeated Raines (Jacksonville) squad Friday. This is a rematch from last year's title game won by Northwestern 41-0. 

In Louisiana, No. 8 Edna Karr (New Orleans) looks to extend its 27-game win streak Saturday against St. Augustine (New Orleans) in the Division I Select state championship. The Cougars handed the Purple Knights their only loss of the season with a 42-21 defeat during the regular season. 

In North Carolina, No. 12 Grimsley (Greensboro) puts its 30-game win streak on the line against Clayton in the 7A state championship Friday. The Whirlies are coming off a hard-fought 13-7 win over Weddington (Matthews) while the Comets won their seventh game in a row with a 35-32 win over Cardinal Gibbons (Raleigh) in the other semifinal. 

• • 20
    Corner Canyon
  • 37
    St. Frances Academy

  12/10 Final

• • 11-3
    DeSoto
  • 14-0
    Southlake Carroll

  12/13

• • 10-3
    Santa Margarita
  • 12-0
    De La Salle

  12/13

• • 12-1
    St. Augustine
  • 13-0
    Edna Karr

  12/13

• • 0
    Lakeland
  • 29
    St. Thomas Aquinas

  12/11 Final

• • 12-2
    Clayton
  • 14-0
    Grimsley

  8p

• • 13-0
    Northwestern
  • 13-0
    Raines

  7:30p

• • 17
    Cardinal Newman
  • 14
    Chaminade-Madonna

  12/11 Final

• • 11-1
    Duncanville
  • 14-0
    Allen

  12/13