One of the most anticipated matchups of the high school football season will take place this Friday at the Santa Ana Bowl, where No. 1 Mater Dei (Santa Ana, Calif.) will face No. 2 St. John Bosco (Bellflower, Calif.). This marks the sixth time since 2018 that these fierce rivals have met as the top two ranked teams in the MaxPreps Top 25, with St. John Bosco holding a slight 3-2 advantage in previous encounters.
Their last meeting as No. 1 and No. 2 occurred during the 2022 Southern Section Division 1 championship at the Rose Bowl, where Bosco handed Mater Dei’s quarterback Elijah Brown his first career loss, securing a 24-22 victory and their fourth section title. Over the past decade, Mater Dei holds a 9-6 record against St. John Bosco.
In another MaxPreps Top 25 clash, No. 16 Atascocita (Humble, Texas) will host No. 8 North Shore (Houston, Texas) on Friday. North Shore has dominated the series, winning eight consecutive games since Atascocita’s last victory in 2017.
No. 6 IMG Academy (Bradenton, Fla.) will also be in action as they visit undefeated East St. Louis (Ill.), looking to add to their winning streak after five consecutive victories since a narrow season-opening loss to No. 19 Corner Canyon (Draper, Utah).
American Heritage (Plantation, Fla.), despite facing one of the toughest schedules in the nation, will take on another challenge as they face No. 21 St. Thomas Aquinas (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.). The Patriots’ four losses have been by a combined 20 points, all against top-ranked teams. Aquinas bounced back with a dominant 44-6 win over Monarch (Coconut Creek, Fla.) after seeing their six-game win streak end against Chaminade-Madonna.
Another exciting matchup in the Trinity League features No. 15 Orange Lutheran (Orange, Calif.) taking on Servite (Anaheim, Calif.) in a pivotal Friday game.
In Texas, a fierce rivalry continues as Lake Travis (Austin) takes on Westlake (Austin) on Friday, with Westlake winning the last four matchups. However, Lake Travis holds an 11-8 lead in the series since 2006.
MaxPreps Top 10 Games of the Week
- No. 2 St. John Bosco (Bellflower, Calif.) at No. 1 Mater Dei (Santa Ana, Calif.)
Friday, 7 p.m.
Top Players: Mater Dei – RB Jordon Davison, DL Tomuhini Topui; St. John Bosco – WR Madden Williams, QB Koa Malau’ulu. - No. 8 North Shore (Houston) at No. 16 Atascocita (Humble, Texas)
Friday, 7 p.m.
Top Players: North Shore – QB Kaleb Bailey, DB Devin Sanchez; Atascocita – RB Tory Blaylock, QB Cardae Mack. - No. 6 IMG Academy (Bradenton, Fla.) at East St. Louis (Ill.)
Friday, 7 p.m.
Top Players: IMG Academy – QB Ty Hawkins, OL Michael Carroll; East St. Louis – RB TaRyan Martin, WR Ronnie Gomiller. - American Heritage (Plantation, Fla.) at No. 21 St. Thomas Aquinas (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.)
Friday, 7 p.m.
Top Players: American Heritage – QB Dia Bell, WR Malachi Toney; St. Thomas Aquinas – WR Julius Jones, DL Trevor Sommers. - Servite (Anaheim, Calif.) at No. 15 Orange Lutheran (Orange, Calif.)
Friday, 7 p.m.
Top Players: Servite – RB Quaid Carr, LB Isaiah Leilua; Orange Lutheran – QB T.J. Lateef, LB Talanoa Ili. - Westlake (Austin, Texas) at Lake Travis (Austin, Texas)
Friday, 7:30 p.m.
Top Players: Westlake – QB Rees Wise, LB Elliott Schaper; Lake Travis – QB Chaston Ditta, DL Gus Cordova. - St. Frances Academy (Baltimore) at Clearwater Central Catholic (Clearwater, Fla.)
Friday, 7:30 p.m.
Top Players: St. Frances – DL Zion Elee, DB Blake Woodby; Clearwater Central Catholic – QB Jershaun Newton, RB Sean Cuono. - No. 20 Bergen Catholic (Oradell, N.J.) at St. Joseph Regional (Montvale, N.J.)
Saturday, 1 p.m.
Top Players: Bergen Catholic – WR Quincy Porter, RB Najee Calhoun; St. Joseph Regional – DB Jahmir Joseph, QB Lamar Best. - Archbishop Hoban (Akron, Ohio) at St. Edward (Lakewood, Ohio)
Saturday, 2 p.m.
Top Players: Archbishop Hoban – ATH Brayton Feister, LB Eli Lee; St. Edward – LB Nate Gregory, DL Jaden Woods. - Gainesville (Ga.) at Roswell (Ga.)
Friday, 7:30 p.m.
Top Players: Gainesville – LB Xavier Griffin, QB Kharim Hughley; Roswell – DL Kobby Sakyi-Prah, QB Trey Smith.
