High School

California football's Mater Dei, St. John Bosco, Orange Lutheran go 3-0 in Florida

California's top high school football teams travel 3,000 miles to collect three wins in Florida in one weekend.

Tarek Fattal

Mater Dei's Kayden Dixon Wyatt hauls in a reception against St. Thomas Aquinas at the 2025 Broward County National Football Showcase.
Mater Dei's Kayden Dixon Wyatt hauls in a reception against St. Thomas Aquinas at the 2025 Broward County National Football Showcase. / Robson Lopes

"The West Coast is the best coast."

It's cliche, but on this particular weekend it's true.

Mater Dei, St. John Bosco and Orange Lutheran — all located in the Trinity League based in Southern California — traveled to Florida and each came away with victory in California vs. Florida showdowns.

No. 1 Mater Dei defeated St. Thomas Aquinas 26-23. St. John Bosco rolled Manatee 31-0. Orange Lutheran edged Miami Northwestern 17-13.

MATER DEI REIGNS SURPREME

The St. Thomas defense applies some heavy pressure to Mater Dei quarterback Ryan Hopkins.
The St. Thomas defense applies some heavy pressure to Mater Dei quarterback Ryan Hopkins. / Robson Lopes

The back-to-back national champs opened up a convincing 26-3 lead at halftime before St. Thomas Aquinas made things interesting with a late surge. Mater Dei QB Ryan Hopkins (Nebraska commit) had a stretch of passes in the first half where three straight completions went for touchdowns of 22, 81 and 62 yards.

Chris Henry Jr. (Ohio State) hauled in two of those touchdowns while Gavin Honore (Georgia) caught the other.

Henry finished with three catches for 122 yards and two scores. Hopkins threw for 272 yards.

Mater Dei plagued itself with 13 penalties, which is unlike a Raul Lara coached team. He won't be pleased with that.

ST. JOHN BOSCO DOMINATES IN TWO QUARTERS

It's a long way to travel for just two quarters, but a win is a win.

The Braves chalked up the victory in Florida Friday night in just one half of football after the game was called due to lightning/thunder at halftime.

Sophomore QB Koa Malau'ulu threw for 121 yards and three TDs.

LOKI-BLAND LEAD O-LU

Orange Lutheran's Reagan Loki threw two TDs to Nico Bland.

The victory cemented the third leg of a Trinity League sweep in Florida.

Once again, another indicator that California high school football seems to be the best in the country. Home to the defending national champions. Home to the best league in the country — the Trinity League.

Miami Northwestern was nationally ranked. Orange Lutheran was not, yet somehow the Trinity League power came away with the win on the road.

WEEK 0 IN SOCAL

In case you missed it, Week 0 in Southern California was thrilling — filled with great performances, shocking results and tight finishes.

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Tarek Fattal, SBLive Sports
TAREK FATTAL

Tarek Fattal has been covering high school sports since 2015 in Southern California and primarily in Los Angeles, covering notable athletes such as Bronny James, Kayvon Thibodeaux and Alyssa Thompson. He was with the LA Daily News for eight years, which included being the beat reporter for the UCLA men's basketball team. Tarek can be seen on TV regularly on CBS/KCAL as a sports analyst with Jim Hill.

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