Is Mater Dei's 2024 football team the best ever? Defense, schedule make strong case

The Monarchs went 13-0 and won their second straight CIF State Open Division title, could this year's edition of Mater Dei could be the best ever?

Mater Dei football players are all smiles with the 2024 CIF State Open Division trophy after beating De La Salle 37-15 at Saddleback College. / David Dennis

Mater Dei is likely to be named high school football's national champion again.

HighSchoolFootballAmerica.com already crowned the Monarchs national champions for the fifth time after they beat De La Salle 37-15 in the CIF State Open Division final at Saddleback College Saturday night.

It's hard to argue. Mater Dei went 13-0 and outscored its opponents 479-189 this fall.

But is this year's edition of Mater Dei the best ever?

Columnist Steve Fryer of the Orange County Register has been covering Mater Dei since 1990. There's nobody better to pose the question to.

"Mater Dei has been so good the last three or four years, I find myself asking that question after each year," Fryer said. "We can't be a victim of the moment, but talent-wise this team is up there. To me, this team doesn't have the ace quarterback like teams in the past (JT Daniels, Bryce Young), though (Dash) Beierly is very good."

Fryer did acquiesce a little bit when it came to Mater Dei's defensive unit.

"This may be the best defense they've ever had," he added.

Mater Dei football coach Raul Lara accepts the CIF State Open Division trophy after beating De La Salle 37-15 on December 14, 2024 at Saddleback College. / David Dennis

When considering the dominant defense and opponents the Monarchs took down, the answer to the question could be yes - and that would be hard to argue, too.

Mater Dei defeated Corona Centennial twice. Beat St. John Bosco twice, including a 59-14 rout in October. Beat Las Vegas Bishop Gorman 31-15, Baltimore St. Frances Academy 25-14, and Hawaii's best team in Kahuku, 38-7, in consecutive weeks.

Let's not forget that Kahuku beat St. John Bosco in 2023.

And lastly, beating California's most storied high school football program in De La Salle to win the CIF State Open Division crown. The Spartans have the most CIF State titles with seven. Mater Dei's win Saturday put the program at five.

Mater Dei running the table with that juggernaut schedule certainly garners the 'best-ever?' conversation. Calpreps.com - a data website that computes rankings, ratings and projections - has a 75.8 strength of schedule (SOS) rating for Mater Dei, which is the best in the country.

St. John Bosco (70.1 SOS rating), Bishop Gorman (46.7), Orange Lutheran (72.8), Centennial (65), and St. Frances (55) are all in the Top 10 of Calpreps' Top 25 national rankings. Mater Dei went 7-0 against those teams. Santa Margarita, Sierra Canyon, De La Salle, JSerra and Kahuku are ranked No. 14, 15, 17, 19 and 22, respectively, in the national Top 25.

The only opponent not nationally ranked on Mater Dei's schedule was Servite.

Simply put, 12 of Mater Dei's 13 victories were against Top 25 nationally-ranked teams.

THE DEFENSE

As explosive as Mater Dei's offense was, with Washington QB commit Dash Beierly, Oregon-bound RB Jordon Davison and Washington signee WR Marcus Harris - all seniors - it was the defense that wow'd the pundits ... especially when considering the linemen and linebackers.

Mater Dei's defense gets a safety against De La Salle in the CIF State Open Division final on December 14, 2024 at Saddleback College. / David Dennis

Nasir Wyatt (Oregon), Abduall Sanders (Alabama), Shaun Scott, Lucas Campizta, Semi Taulanga (Utah), and Trinity League MVP Tomuhini Topui (Oregon), a junior interior lineman that disrupted offenses all year long.

In the secondary, Mater Dei has Chuck McDonald (Alabama), Daryus Dixson (Penn State) and one of the best freshman defensive backs in the country in Ace Leutele, who had a sensational one-handed interception to seal the game.

Ace Leutele with a one handed INT in the end zone, just a freshman but one of the top safeties out West right now, regardless of class

— Greg Biggins (@GregBiggins) December 15, 2024

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