The 2024 high school football season is shaping up to be super exciting! There are some major match on the horizon, none are as big the showdown between No.1 Mater Dei from Ana, California, and No. 2 Bishop Gorman out of Las Vegas. This big game is set for September 6 at Santa Ana Stadium If both teams stay, it’ll be the 14th time since the year 2000 that we get to see a No. 1 vs. No. 2 clash.

The last time this happened was back in 2022 when St. John Bosco, from Bellflower, California, pulled off a close victory against Mater Dei with a score of 24-22 in the Southern Section Division 1 championship. That marked the sixth time that a No. 2 team has taken down a No. 1 since 2000! Quite a streak!

Mater Dei and Bishop Gorman have faced off before as top teams in the MaxPreps Top 25 rankings. Remember back in 2017? J.T. Daniels & Bru McCoy led Mater Dei to a win over Gorman, with a score of 35-21, which ended Gorman’s incredible 55-game winning streak!

Besides the epic game against Bishop Gorman, Mater Dei has more action coming up this fall too! They’re gearing up to face their longtime rival St. John Bosco in late October and kick off the season against No. 8 Centennial from Corona, California on August 22.

Bishop Gorman isn’t just sitting around waiting either! They’ll be going head-to-head with No. 11 St. Thomas Aquinas from Fort Lauderdale, Florida in the Broward County National Showcase too! That same showcase will also highlight No. 4 St. John Bosco facing off against No. 9 Chaminade-Madonna from Hollywood, Florida.

Now let’s talk Texas: The only matchup of two Lone Star State teams features No. 7 Duncanville battling against No. 5 DeSoto! This is our third-best game of the entire season! Both teams have been amazing lately; they’re back-to-back state champs! Over the past two years, Duncanville has an impressive record of 29-1, with their only loss coming last season against DeSoto, where they fell short at 49-35. What a rivalry!