Defending high school football national champion No. 2
Mater Dei (Santa Ana, Calif.) is set for a duel in the desert Friday against No. 6
Bishop Gorman (Las Vegas). The hosts are hoping for a better result than the last meeting between the teams in 2018 when Mater Dei blanked Bishop Gorman 42-0 in Las Vegas.
Bishop Gorman is coming off an impressive 42-7 win over Corner Canyon (Draper, Utah) with junior quarterback
Micah Alejado throwing for three touchdowns and running for another. The Gaels – winners of 18 state titles dating back to 1970 and 12 of the last 14 contested in Nevada – have come out on top in 15 of their last 16 games dating back to 2020.
Mater Dei opened last week with a 42-0 thrashing of West (Salt Lake City). Junior quarterback
Elijah Brown completed 20 of 26 pass attempts for 291 yards and five touchdowns in that contest.
Jordon Onovughe was on the receiving end of eight of those passes for 105 yards and a score. West managed just 73 yards of offense against the Monarch defense.
Now in his 34th season as the head coach at Mater Dei, Bruce Rollinson is looking to guide his program to its third national title in six seasons after finishing No. 1 in 2017 and 2021. The Monarchs are riding an 18-game win streak and are 72-3 since the start of the 2016 season.
How to watch
When: Friday, Aug. 26, 7 p.m. PDT
Where: Fertitta Field, Las Vegas
Streaming: NFHS Network
Players to watch
Mater Dei: QB
Elijah Brown (6-2, 185, Jr.), OL
DeAndre Carter (6-5, 340, Jr.), OL
B.J. Tolo (6-2, 330, Sr.), LB
Leviticus Su'a (6-1, 220, Sr.), DB
Zabien Brown (6-1, 175, Jr.)
Bishop Gorman: WR
Zachariah Branch (5-10, 175, Sr.), QB
Micah Alejado (5-10, 170, Jr.), DB
Justyn Rhett (6-1, 195, Sr.), LB
Palaie Faoa (6-1, 215, Sr.), LB
Jamih Otis (6-0, 220, Sr.)
Micah Alejado and Bishop Gorman hope to hand Mater Dei just its fourth loss since 2016.
Photo: Jules Karney
