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The Sporting News High School Football Game of the Week: No. 7 Mater Dei at No. 1 Bishop Gorman

We were all set for a big clash between No. 1 and No. 2.

Instead, we ended up with two No. 1's – last week's No. 1 Mater Dei [Santa Ana, CA] Monarchs at this week's No. 1 Bishop Gorman [Las Vegas, NV] Gaels.

Of course, last week's No. 1 Mater Dei is No. 7 now, thanks to the Monarchs' 43-36 loss at the No. 20 Centennial [Corona, CA] Huskies last Friday night. In truth, Mater Dei had never really looked like the nation's top team, an honor that fell to last week's No. 2 Bishop Gorman after the Monarchs' loss.

It could just as easily have gone to the No. 3 St. John Bosco [Bellflower, CA] Braves who own a victory over the current No. 6 St. Frances Academy [Baltimore, MD] Panthers who were No. 4 two weeks ago when they lost to the Braves, 21-14, in California.

And it's even possible that the nation's best high school football team resides in Bradenton, Florida, where the IMG Academy Ascenders have looked dominant early on.

For now, we'll ride with the Gaels who have looked pretty salty, too, rolling up four wins while outscoring their opponents 160-24. That includes games against two teams – Utah's Lone Peak [Highland] Knights and the East St. Louis Flyers of Illinois – that have spent time in The Sporting News Composite Rankings this year.

It also includes a 38-0 win by Bishop Gorman in a trip to Hawaii to play the Kahuku Red Raiders who then came to the mainland a week later and gave Mater Dei all it could handle in a 21-18 loss. That suggests that the Monarchs could be in for another long night this Friday when they travel to Vegas to take on the Gaels in The Sporting News High School Football Game of the Week.

MORE NATIONAL HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL

No. 7 Mater Dei [Santa Ana, CA] Monarchs at No. 1 Bishop Gorman [Las Vegas, NV] Gaels

LAST WEEK'S GAME OF THE WEEK No. 19 Edna Karr [New Orleans, LA] Cougars 24, No. 18 American Heritage [Plantation, FL] Patriots 17 (OT)

Friday, September 19, 2025
Fertitta Field at Bishop Gorman High School | 10 p.m. EST (7 p.m. PST local)
TV/Streaming: MaxPreps

Local Media Coverage: Los Angeles Times High School Sports | Las Vegas Sun High School Sports

School Athletics Websites: Mater Dei Athletics | Bishop Gorman Athletics

School Social Media: Mater Dei Athletics on X.com @MD_Athletics | Bishop Gorman Football on X.com @BishopGormanFB

The Background

Mater Dei limps into this game in unfamiliar territory. The Monarchs' 21-game win streak ended in the loss to Centennial, but it's also the first time Mater Dei has lost to anybody other than their rivals from St. John Bosco in 10 years. The Monarchs' previous five losses in that span all came at the hands of the Braves.

So, it's unclear where this team goes from here. Mater Dei has only had two quarters where they truly looked like the Monarchs of old – a 26-point second-quarter outburst at the St. Thomas Aquinas [Fort Lauderdale, FL] Raiders in the season opener and a 29-point third quarter barrage at Centennial Friday night. Those stretches suggest that this Mater Dei squad could still be the nation's best team in short spurts, but they've yet to put it all together for a full game.

Bishop Gorman, on the other hand, has looked worthy of the No. 1 ranking they now hold. The Gaels opened the season with back-to-back shutouts over the Centennial [Las Vegas, NV] Bulldogs (52-0) and Hawaii's Kahuku Red Raiders (38-0) before dispatching Utah's Lone Peak Knights (35-14) who were ranked No. 8 in SN's The NEXT 25 bubble rankings at the time.

Then Friday night, the Gaels beat the best opponent they've faced, yet, in the East St. Louis Flyers, ranked No. 26 in the SN Composite Rankings, by a count of 35-10. Gorman is at a bit of a disadvantage when it comes to schedule compared to No. 3 St. John Bosco; the Gaels only have two more games to prove their worth as the nation's top team, and both are against Trinity League teams from California that are conference mates to Bosco. After that, they'll move to their Nevada state schedule which isn't on par with Bosco's remaining schedule.

That includes Mater Dei, of course, and next week the Gaels will also visit the current No. 16 Santa Margarita [Rancho Santa Margarita, CA] Eagles. Those two games will provide the only two direct comparisons to St. John Bosco should both teams eventually end up undefeated.

Their win over East St. Louis, meanwhile, provides a direct link to No. 3 IMG Academy should the Ascenders also make it through the 2025 season undefeated. IMG will host East St. Louis on October 25.

Top Recruits

Mater Dei's problems aren't talent-related, of course. They have as much Division I talent as any team in the country, including prospects in every position group. They have 10 seniors listed on the 247sports.com Class of 2026 for California, and they've got 12 more in their junior class. That doesn't even begin to count the sophomores and freshmen that will eventually receive star ratings in the future. Those underclassmen have been particularly helpful on defense where a number of freshmen and sophomores are among the team leaders in tackles. Top senior prospects include 5-star TE Mark Bowman (USC) and 4-star recruits like OT Kodi Green (6-6, 320 lbs., Washington), WR Chris Henry Jr. (Ohio State), WR Kayden Dixon-Wyatt (Ohio State), DL Tomuhini Topui (6-3, 320 lbs, USC) and EDGE Shaun Scott (6-3, 230 lbs., USC). Top 4-star junior prospects include CB Aaryn Washington and CB Danny Lang.
Bishop Gorman has a wealth of talent, too, starting with nine seniors listed on the 247sports.com Class of 2026 for Nevada. Safety Jett Washington is the only 5-star recruit, but 3-star talent includes EDGE Prince Williams (6-3, 255 lbs., Arizona), WR Massiah Mingo (New Mexico), WR Kaina Watson, and QB Maika Eugenio (Hawaii). Junior 4-star CB Hayden Stepp, meanwhile, is Nevada's top junior prospect in the Class of 2027.

When Mater Dei has the ball ...

Senior 3-star QB Ryan Hopkins (Wisconsin) is the triggerman for Mater Dei's offense, and he has plenty of talent in receiver in Dixon-Wyatt and Henry Jr., both of whom are committed to Ohio State. They'll look to stretch the field with their two senior wideouts while creating running lanes for an offense that has relied heavily on senior RB Justin Lewis to help move the chains. And, of course, there's Bowman, the 5-star tight end, who's got skills more like a wideout but is big enough (6-4, 225 lbs.) to go across the middle on underneath routes to give Hopkins another option. They've had some trouble early in 2025 getting their big prospect the ball, and he only managed one catch for 7 yards against Centennial.

Gorman will try to replicate that performance, and Bowman is likely to run into the 5-star safety Jett Washington at times in coverage. Williams will try to apply pressure upfront, and under duress, Hopkins can make costly mistakes. The cornerback Stepp will be counted on to at least limit the damage in the passing game whenever he's defending either Dixon-Wyatt or Henry Jr.

When Bishop Gorman has the ball ...

Gorman won't be afraid to take to the airways where Eugenio has been exceptionally accurate, completing 80.5 percent of his passes so far through four games. He's already thrown for 1,044 yards and 14 touchdowns with just two interceptions, and if Eugenio is clicking, then you can bet the Gaels' offense is moving efficiently up and down the field. Part of what makes it work is the fact they are spreading the ball evenly to four different receivers with the senior Mingo (16 rec.-253 yards) leading a quartet of receivers that each has at least 11 catches. Mingo has only found the end zone once, but senior Isaiah Nickels (12 rec.-164 yards) and sophomore Zyren Menor (11 rec.-284 yards) have each scored four times. Sophomore Noah Cole has been the main option at running back and for good reason; he's averaging 11.1 yards per carry with 233 yards on 21 totes.

Mater Dei has a lot of talent all across its defense, but it looked shaky early on against Centennial. With Eugenio's accuracy and Cole's rushing average, it could turn into a case of "pick your poison" trying to defend the Gaels, and the Monarchs might be satisfied with a bend-but-don't-break philosophy that limits big plays and forces the Gaels to drive the field.

Keys to the game

Mater Dei wins if it can string at least three quarters together that are similar to their second quarter vs. St. Thomas Aquinas or last week's third quarter at Centennial. But if any of those quarters look like last week's 28-0 disaster against the Huskies, then it could be lights out again for the Monarchs on the road in Vegas. With the Gaels' effectiveness in both phases on the offensive side, it feels like a game where field position could make a difference. If Mater Dei can force Gorman to go on long drives and maybe limit some of those possessions to field goals, then the Monarchs will stand a better chance of putting up a number on their own side of the board that will allow them to get out of Vegas with a win.

Bishop Gorman wins if they limit mistakes, and can bring out the worst in Mater Dei in the same ways that the Monarchs' first three opponents have. That includes studying the game film of the Kahuku game – the same team the Gaels' beat 38-0 three weeks ago – to see how the overmatched Red Raiders managed to disrupt Mater Dei's offensive rhythm. That will be key because if they let the Monarchs' go on one of their quarter-long scoring rampages, this one could get away from the Gaels.

Looking Ahead

If Bishop Gorman can get past Mater Dei, then the Gaels really only have to pass one more test at current No. 16 Santa Margarita next Saturday. After that, they'll enter their Nevada league schedule, and they've won 152 out of 153 against in-state opponents. That means the Gaels will be looking to make a statement against Mater Dei and again next week at Santa Margarita.

For Mater Dei, this is basically an elimination game when it comes to the national championship picture. If they win, they'll move ahead of Gorman in the pecking order, and they still get a head-to-head opportunity at the end of the season against St. John Bosco. Depending on how those games go, the Monarchs could still potentially win a national title even with a loss. But a loss at Gorman would be their second, and for all intents and purposes, the Monarchs' two-year national championship run would end.

Series history

These two teams have played four times with Mater Dei winning every matchup so far.

The first meeting took place on September 1, 2017, at Mater Dei, and the Monarchs won 35-21. The two teams then played in Las Vegas on August 24, and the Monarchs won again in a 42-0 shutout.

They didn't play again until 2022 when Gorman again played host, losing in a 24-21 nailbiter. Then last year, they met at Mater Dei, and the Monarchs defended their home field in a 31-15 victory.