High school football rankings: St. Frances Academy joins MaxPreps Top 25 ahead of showdown with No. 5 IMG Academy

Mater Dei (Santa Ana, Calif.) left no doubt who the best team in high school football is. The No. 1 team in the MaxPreps Top 25 high school football rankings rolled to a dominant 59-14 win Friday over St. John Bosco (Bellflower, Calif.), the first time the Braves have been subjected to a running clock since Jason Negro took over as head coach in 2010.

It was the worst defeat for St. John Bosco since the Monarchs beat them 49-24 in the 2017 CIF Southern Section Division 1 championship.

Senior quarterback Dash Beierly had his best game at Mater Dei, completing 20 of 28 passes for 308 yards and four touchdowns. He added a 40-yard score on the ground. The Monarchs close out the regular season Friday as they host No. 15 Orange Lutheran (Orange).

Bosco dropped six spots to No. 8 and looks to bounce back against JSerra Catholic (San Juan Capistrano) on Friday.

St. Frances Academy (Baltimore, Md.) is the only new team to join the MaxPreps Top 25 as it checks in at No. 17 after a dominant 35-7 win over Clearwater Central Catholic (Clearwater, Fla.). The Panthers have won four in a row ahead of their showdown against No. 5 IMG Academy (Bradenton, Fla.) on Friday. Their only three losses came against No. 1 Mater Dei, No. 4 Duncanville (Texas) and No. 15 Orange Lutheran by a combined 17 points.

No. 7 North Shore (Houston) secured its biggest win of the season with a 27-23 victory over Atascocita (Humble, Texas) to improve to 8-0. Kaleb Bailey connected with Quanell Farrahkan Jr. for a 5-yard touchdown in the final seconds for the go-ahead score.

Atascocita dropped three spots to No. 19 ahead of a road trip at Channelview (Texas) on Friday.

No. 20 Corner Canyon (Draper, Utah) is the only MaxPreps Top 25 team that begins postseason action this week. The Chargers host Westlake (Saratoga Springs) on Friday. The defending 6A state champs have won seven in a row heading into the playoffs and the last four without four-star junior quarterback Helaman Casuga. He was injured in a 21-14 win over Mountain Ridge (Herriman, Utah) on Sept. 20.

Record: 8-0 | Last week: 1

Last week: Beat St. John Bosco (Bellflower) 59-14

This week: Friday vs. No. 15 Orange Lutheran (Orange)

Record: 9-0 | Last week: 3

Last week: Beat Johns Creek 56-0

This week: Friday vs. Roswell

Record: 7-0 | Last week: 4

Last week: Beat Horn (Mesquite) 52-7

This week: Friday vs. Mesquite

Record: 8-1 | Last week: 5

Last week: Beat Desert Pines (Las Vegas) 61-0

This week: Friday at Coronado (Henderson)

Record: 6-1 | Last week: 6

Last week: Beat East St. Louis (Ill.) 14-13

This week: Friday at No. 17 St. Frances Academy (Baltimore)

Record: 9-0 | Last week: 7

Last week: Idle

This week: Friday at Douglas County (Douglasville)

Record: 8-0 | Last week: 8

Last week: Beat Atascocita (Humble) 27-23

This week: Friday vs. King (Houston)

Record: 8-1 | Last week: 2

Last week: Lost 59-14 to Mater Dei (Santa Ana)

This week: Friday vs. JSerra Catholic (San Juan Capistrano)

Record: 9-0 | Last week: 9

Last week: Beat Edison (Huntington Beach) 49-24

This week: Friday vs. Los Alamitos

Record: 8-0 | Last week: 10

Last week: Beat Boswell (Fort Worth) 67-0

This week: Friday vs. Mansfield

Record: 9-0 | Last week: 11

Last week: Beat Loyola Blakefield (Towson) 56-3

This week: Saturday at Mount St. Joseph (Baltimore)

Record: 8-1 | Last week: 12

Last week: Beat Mountain View (Lawrenceville) 49-7

This week: Friday at Mill Creek (Hoschton)

Record: 9-0 | Last week: 13

Last week: Beat Wayne County (Monticello) 55-0

This week: Friday vs. Frederick Douglass (Lexington)

Record: 8-0 | Last week: 14

Last week: Beat Kathleen (Lakeland) 47-6

This week: Idle

Record: 7-2 | Last week: 15

Last week: Beat Servite (Anaheim) 38-0

This week: Friday at No. 1 Mater Dei (Santa Ana)

Record: 8-2 | Last week: 17

Last week: Beat Cardinal Gibbons (Fort Lauderdale) 62-17

This week: Idle

Record: 6-3 | Last week: NR

Last week: Beat Clearwater Central Catholic (Clearwater, Fla.) 35-7

This week: Friday vs. No. 5 IMG Academy (Bradenton, Fla.)

Record: 8-1 | Last week: 18

Last week: Beat Sarasota 76-0

This week: Friday at Riverview Sarasota (Sarasota)

Record: 7-1 | Last week: 16

Last week: Lost 27-23 to North Shore (Houston)

This week: Friday at Channelview

Record: 9-1 | Last week: 19

Last week: Idle

This week: Friday vs. Westlake (Saratoga Springs)

Record: 7-1 | Last week: 20

Last week: Beat St. Joseph Regional (Montvale) 28-17

This week: Saturday vs. Seton Hall Prep (West Orange)

Record: 8-0 | Last week: 22

Last week: Beat Monte Vista (Danville) 42-7

This week: Friday at California (San Ramon)

Record: 7-2 | Last week: 23

Last week: Beat Norco 60-21

This week: Friday at Chaparral (Temecula)

Record: 7-1 | Last week: 24

Last week: Beat St. John's (Washington, D.C.) 31-15

This week: Friday vs. Bishop McNamara (Forestville)

Record: 6-2 | Last week: 25

Last week: Beat Cedar Hill 63-24