High school football: Mater Dei at St. Frances Academy headlines 2023 out-of-state games

The 2023 high school football season is shaping up to be a big one when it comes to out-of-state matchups. Among the headliners will be St. Frances Academy (Baltimore) traveling to Southern California to face last year’s MaxPreps National Champion St. John Bosco (Bellflower, Calif.). The game is at Panish Family Stadium on Sept. 8 in the Trinity League vs. USA Showcase.

The Panthers will host Mater Dei (Santa Ana, Calif.) two weeks later on Sept. 22.

St. Frances Academy will also have road or neutral site matchups against Buford (Ga.), Chaminade-Madonna (Hollywood, Fla.), East St. Louis (Ill.) and IMG Academy (Bradenton, Fla.).

St. John Bosco also has a very difficult out-of-state schedule headlined by a road trip to Florida at St. Thomas Aquinas (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) on Aug. 26.

Another huge matchup was announced as Central (Miami) will travel to Las Vegas to take on Bishop Gorman (Las Vegas) on Sept. 1. The Rockets are coming off a 14-0 season and finished ranked at No. 2 in the final MaxPreps Top 25. The Gaels went 14-1 and finished ranked at No. 4. This will be the third meeting between the two national powers. James Cook led Miami Central to a 24-20 win in 2017, while the Gaels returned the favor with a 21-20 victory in 2021.

Other out-of-state games that will impact the MaxPreps Top 25 national rankings during the 2023 season include IMG Academy vs. St. Joseph’s Prep (Philadelphia), IMG Academy (Bradenton, Fla.) at Thompson (Alabaster, Ala.), St. John’s (Washington, D.C.) at American Heritage (Plantation, Fla.), Centennial (Corona, Calif.) at Bishop Gorman (Las Vegas) and Bergen Catholic (Oradell, N.J.) at Chaminade-Madonna (Hollywood, Fla.).

There are still games in the works and we will continue to add out-of-state matchups as they are announced leading up to the season.