Mater Dei and St. John Bosco are the top two high school football teams not only in the state of California but in the entire United States, according to MaxPreps' Xcellent 25 rankings.
On Friday night, they will meet to hash out who deserves top billing.
It isn't often when the No. 1- and No. 2-ranked teams in the nation come together during the regular season for what's commonly called a "Prep Super Bowl." In fact, it's only happened seven times since 2000, according to MaxPreps. But that means there's even more anticipation surrounding Friday night's clash between No. 1 St. John Bosco and No. 2 Mater Dei at Santa Ana Stadium in a showdown that will pit more than 40 FBS-bound players against each other. MaxPreps is calling it "one of the most star-studded" high school football games ever.
Ranked second in the Xcellent 25 behind St. John Bosco, Mater Dei is the defending Super 25 national champion and enters Friday's battle with a 6-1 record. Its only loss, which occurred in the season opener, was actually a 42-14 win over Bishop Amat that had to be forfeited due to the use of an ineligible player -- a violation Mater Dei self-reported. Led by five-star quarterback prospect and USC commit Bryce Young, coveted wide receiver recruit Bru McCoy and a slew of other big names in college football circles, Mater Dei has outscored opponents 259-31 in its last five games, including a 28-24 win over powerhouse IMG Academy.
St. John Bosco lost to Mater Dei two times in 2017 during the Monarchs' title run, but they aren't lacking for firepower this year. The Braves have cruised to a 7-0 start behind the strength of their own future college QB, DJ Uiagalelei, and a strong secondary headlined by multiple elite cornerbacks. Fresh off a 63-28 blowout of Orange Lutheran, St. John Bosco last topped Mater Dei in the 2016 CIF-SS Division I final in Anaheim, and it will look to revive its winning streak against the Monarchs on Friday.
Both sides' quarterbacks are just a few of the headlining recruits that figure to be on display in the big showdown:
Notable recruits:
- QB BRYCE YOUNG (MD) -- USC commit
- QB DJ UIAGALELEI (SJB) -- Alabama, Clemson, Oregon, USC interest
- WR BRU MCCOY (MD) -- Texas, Washington, Oklahoma, Oregon, USC interest
- OG MYLES MURAO (MD) -- USC interest
- LB MASE FUNA (MD) -- Oregon commit
- CB CHRIS STEELE (SJB) -- USC commit
- CB ELIAS RICKS (MD) -- LSU, Ohio State, USC interest
- CB TRENT MCDUFFIE (SJB) -- Washington, Oregon, Stanford, UCLA, USC interest
How to watch No. 1 St. John Bosco vs. No. 2 Mater Dei
- Date: Friday, Oct. 12
- Time: 7:30 p.m. PT
- Location: Santa Ana Stadium (Santa Ana, California)
- Stream: FOX Sports Prime Ticket, FOX Sports app
