Wins by No. 1 Mater Dei High School (Santa Ana, California) and No. 2 St. John Bosco (Bellflower, California) set up a showdown between the top two ranked teams in the Stadium Talk Top 25 High School Football Rankings on Friday at Santa Ana Stadium.
Mater Dei held on for a 21-13 win over JSerra Catholic High School (San Juan Capistrano, California), and St. John Bosco cruised to a 49-3 win over Servite High School (Anaheim, California).
In the Top 10, all eight teams in action came out with victories. St. Frances Academy (Baltimore, Maryland) moved up one spot to No. 4 after traveling to Hawaii and rallying for a 22-15 win over No. 23 Kahuku High School (Kahuku, Hawaii).
One team joined the poll for the first time this season with Belleville High School (Belleville, Michigan) coming in at No. 25 in the Week 7 poll. Kahuku dropped out of the Top 25 after its loss to St. Frances Academy.
Thirteen different states are represented in this week’s poll. Texas leads the way with five teams, followed by Florida with four teams. California and Georgia each have three teams in the Top 25.
The Stadium Talk Top 25 High School Football Rankings are released every Tuesday morning throughout the regular season with a national champion crowned following the final state championship games across the country.
25. Belleville High School (Belleville, Michigan)
Previous ranking: NR
Record: 6-0
Last game: Defeated Glenn 56-0
Next game: Oct. 7 at Stevenson (3-3)
Bottom line: Defending Michigan Division I state champion Belleville improved to 6-0 with a blowout win over Glenn behind three touchdown passes from sophomore quarterback Bryce Underwood to junior Kevin Simes. Underwood, last season’s MaxPreps National Freshman of the Year, threw four touchdown passes in the first half.
Simes currently has one FBS offer from Bowling Green, and Underwood, 6-foot-2 and 200 pounds, is one of the top quarterbacks from the Class of 2025 and has offers from Notre Dame, Michigan, Miami, Michigan State and Tennessee, among others.
16. Chaminade-Madonna High School (Hollywood, Florida)
Previous ranking: 16
Record: 5-0
Last game: Defeated Gulliver Prep 28-0 (Sept. 22)
Next game: Oct. 4 vs. Treasure Coast (1-4)
Bottom line: Chaminade-Madonna saw its Sept. 30 game against Treasure Coast postponed to Oct. 4 because of the impact of Hurricane Ian.
Chaminade-Madonna quarterback Cedrick Bailey is having a season that should garner some All-American consideration. The 6-foot-7, 195-pound junior has 1,399 passing yards, 15 touchdowns and three interceptions through five games. He also has 100 rushing yards and two touchdowns on just 14 carries.
Bailey threw 19 touchdowns in 12 starts as a junior in 2021, along with 155 rushing yards and two touchdowns.
8. Chandler High School (Chandler, Arizona)
Previous ranking: 8
Record: 5-0
Last game: Defeated Red Mountain 59-27
Next game: Oct. 7 at Casteel (5-0)
Bottom line: Chandler junior quarterback Dylan Raiola was sharp in a blowout win over Red Mountain, helping the Wolves improve to 5-0.
Raiola, an Ohio State commit and the No. 1 player in the Class of 2024, was 17-of-21 passing for 211 yards and four touchdowns.
Chandler junior running back Ca’lil Valentine had another big game with 224 yards of total offense and four touchdowns, including three receiving touchdowns. Through five games, Valentine already has 1,101 yards of total offense and 14 touchdowns.
5. North Shore High School (Houston, Texas)
Previous ranking: 4
Record: 5-0
Last game: Defeated C.E. King 38-3
Next game: Oct. 7 at Summer Creek (3-2)
Bottom line: Trailing 3-0 early against C.E. King, North Shore replaced injured star quarterback Kaleb Bailey with star wide receiver David Amador before rolling to a blowout win.
Amador, a Texas-San Antonio commit, stepped in for Bailey after a leg injury and reeled off three touchdown runs of 17, 38 and 75 yards to jump-start the win. Amador threw for two touchdowns.
North Shore’s defense was also sharp, giving up just 53 yards of total offense to King.
1. Mater Dei High School (Santa Ana, California)
Previous ranking: 1
Record: 6-0
Last game: Defeated JSerra Catholic 21-13
Next game: Oct. 7 vs. No. 2 St. John Bosco (6-0)
Bottom line: JSerra Catholic gave Mater Dei all it could handle before the Monarchs escaped with a 21-13 win to improve to 6-0 and set up Friday’s 1-2 showdown against St. John Bosco at Santa Ana Stadium.
Mater Dei junior quarterback Elijah Brown was sharp against JSerra Catholic, going 14-of-21 passing for 259 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions. Mater Dei’s defense was the real star of the game, racking up five interceptions.
Since 2016, Mater Dei has an overall record of 72-3 with all three of its losses coming at the hands of St. John Bosco.