After Mater Dei defeated St. John Bosco in the CIF Southern Section Division 1 football championship game last year, Mater Dei coach Frank McManus said, “We’re going to take them right in the middle of Bristol and take them on!”

He talked about Las Vegas-based Bishop Gorman, which finished last season as the nation’s top team in the MaxPreps rankings and several others.

Mater Dei and Bishop Gorman are playing each other this week, not on the street outside the Mater Dei campus, but a few blocks away.

They play Friday at 7 p.m. at Santa Ana Stadium. The teams played each other in 2022 when Mater Dei defeated the Gaels 24-21 in Las Vegas. The Monarchs scored 10 points in the fourth quarter to earn the win.

Mater Dei, now coached by former Long Beach Poly coach Raul Lara, is ranked No. 1 in the MaxPreps national rankings. The Monarchs won the CIF-SS and CIF state championships last season.

Bishop Gorman is No. 2 in the Maxpreps rankings. The Gaels won the Nevada state championship last season and enter this week on a 27-game winning streak.

Both teams are coming off a week off from playing, and together they have 21 players committed to NCAA Division I football schools.

Mater Dei opened its season with a 42-25 win over Centennial of Corona, which entered the season as a top-10 team nationally. Centennial was without its standout quarterback Husan Longstreet.

Bishop Gorman opened with a 33-7 home win over Kahuku of Hawaii and then won 29-21 at St. Thomas Aquinas of Florida, the No. 8 team in the Maxpreps rankings.

The Monarchs and Gaels have everything you’d expect from the No. 1 and No. 2 teams in the country: gigantic linemen for high school, speed and talent at specialty positions, and coaches with championship rings and college-sized coaching staffs.

Bishop Gorman averages 236 yards per game passing and 224 yards per game running, a good balance and certainly a challenge for the Mater Dei defense.

Another challenge Gorman presents is the offensive ability of his defense. Edge rusher Prince Williams (6-3, 255) had 10 sacks in 11 games last year as a sophomore and has one sack and seven quarterback hurries in two games this year.

Here, Mater Dei is predicted to win narrowly.

Why? Since you asked…

Mater Dei quarterback Dash Beirely. In the Centennial game, he threw a few open receivers too far on deep balls. That’s OK – he might have been overwhelmed by the situation, as it was his first game for Mater Dei after transferring from Chaparral of Temecula and a home game against a nationally ranked opponent. He will be far calmer and more accurate against Bishop Gorman.

Mater Dei receiver Chris Henry Jr. He’s 6’6″ and fast, making him virtually uncatchable, although the Gaels could have a good match for Henry if they put 6’3″ sophomore cornerback Hayden Stepp on him with some help from 6’3″ junior safety Jett Washington, a nephew of Kobe Bryant. Henry had two catches for eight yards against Centennial; expect him to be more involved in the offense on Friday.

Mater Dei tight end Mark Bowman. He had the team’s most catches of three balls for 43 yards and a touchdown against Centennial. Bowman looks and plays like the kind of tight end that seems to come out of San Clemente High every year. At 6’4″ and 220 pounds, he has the right size for the position, he finds the open spaces on the field, and he has great hands. Give him a half-dozen catches to make way for wideouts Henry, Marcus Harris, Gavin Honore, and Kayden Dixon-Wyatt.

Mater Dei linebacker Nasir Wyatt. He will have some rewarding moments in the Bishop Gorman backfield and he will be important in keeping Gaels quarterback Melvin Spicer from escaping on big runs. Move Wyatt as often as possible to keep the Gaels offense shaky.

If all these things happen, it is a victory for Mater Dei.

Of course, this is a pretty tough opponent for the Monarchs. Bishop Gorman is capable of making anything he wants happen. And the Gaels might be a bit more excited than usual if they interpreted McManus’ challenge as an indication that Bishop Gorman is avoiding the Monarchs.

We’ll see.