A stifling defense, a dual-threat quarterback and an undefeated record against strong competition — all that helped Mater Dei (Santa Ana, CA) move into the No. 1 spot of the latest Super 25 Rankings.
The team most recently beat then-No. 4 St. Frances 34-18. Quarterback Bryce Young scored all four of Mater Dei’s touchdowns in the victory.
FULL RANKINGS: Super 25 Football Rankings, Week 4
Seeing Mater Dei’s offense thrive makes sense when looking at Young behind center. The game before St. Frances, he had over 500 yards passing. The 4-star quarterback is committed to USC for next season.
When talking about Mater Dei’s success so far, both sides of the ball should be mentioned. Five-star LSU commit Elias Ricks and 4-star Darion Green-Warren transferred this season, leaving Mater Dei without two starting cornerbacks. But into their spots stepped Jaylin Davies and Domani Jackson, who have helped not only in the passing game, but the running game as well.
MORE SUPER 25: REGIONAL | TOP STAR
St. Frances’ quarterback John Griffith went just 2-for-6 with 28 yards in the first half of his game against Mater Dei. Jackson also had two nice chase-down tackles on Blake Corum, where he forced the running back out of bounds before he could score. No opponent has scored more than 21 points on Mater Dei this season, and three of the four teams it’s played have scored under 20.
St. Thomas Aquinas (Fort Lauderdale, Florida) was the team atop the Super 25 Rankings until now. It has started the year at 2-0 and is still ranked No. 1 in the Southeast Regional. The team has dropped to No. 2 in the national rankings.
St. John Bosco (Bellflower, California) comes in at No. 3 yet again. The fourth and fifth spot are filled out by two new teams this week.
Duncanville (Texas), ranked No. 4, and IMG Academy (Bradenton, Fla.), at No. 5. Both are 3-0 to start the season.
