SANTA ANA, CALIFORNIA – Who is the best high school football team in America?
The question was answered convincingly on Friday evening.
No. 1 seed Mater Dei showed off its defense in a convincing 31-15 home win over No. 2 seed Bishop Gorman of Nevada in front of an estimated 7,500 fans at the Santa Ana Bowl.
Bishop Gorman can apparently beat anyone except Mater Dei.
The Monarchs (2-0) have now won all four meetings in the series, including the last time the two top teams played each other in Las Vegas in September 2022. The Monarchs won that game 24-21. It was the last time Bishop Gorman lost. Friday night’s loss ended a 27-game winning streak for the Gaels.
Bishop Gorman (2-1) had only seven first downs in the first three quarters. Four of those came from rushing and three from penalties. Gorman didn’t manage a first down by passing until the 8:08 mark of the final quarter.
Mater Dei had six sacks and one interception in the game, while Bishop Gorman — which scored 62 points in its first two games — was held to fewer than 200 yards (84 rushing, 68 passing). Gorman had just 11 first downs.
Derek Meadows, a five-star wide receiver and new recruit to LSU, caught only one pass for nine yards.
Mater Dei quarterback Dash Beierly completed 13 of 15 passes for 100 yards and one touchdown on 61 rushing yards on seven carries. It’s clear he’s settling into his role as QB 1 for the Monarchs after transferring from Temecula Chaparral.
“The week off really helped,” Beierly said. “I just worked on building a better connection with my receivers after the first game against Centennial. I think I was able to shake off some rust and play with confidence.”
Beierly, who has committed to Washington, completed his first seven passes of the game.
“Dash is playing at a different level now (at Mater Dei),” Mater Dei coach Raul Lara said. “He just has to play at that level consistently. He was great tonight.”
Running back Jordon Davison, who is transferring to Oregon, rushed for 90 yards on 19 carries and scored two touchdowns. Wideout Kayden Dixon-Wyatt was the Monarchs’ best receiver with six catches for 58 yards.
Beierly completed a 12-yard touchdown pass to Chris Henry Jr. in the back corner of the end zone to make it 14-0 after Davison scored a 1-yard touchdown on the Monarchs’ opening drive. Gorman’s Maika Eugenio threw a 4-yard touchdown pass to Anthony Hickman to give the Gaels some life and cut the Monarchs’ lead to 14-7 at halftime.
Davison then scored a 23-yard touchdown on Mater Dei’s opening drive of the second half to give the Monarchs a 21-7 lead. A CJ Lavender Jr. interception allowed Mater Dei to tie the score at 31-7 after Trenton Dunn scored a 24-yard touchdown.
Eugenio threw his second touchdown of the night to Brandon Gaea with 1:16 left, but the hit was irrelevant.
