There are plenty of similarities between the Bishop Gorman and Mater Dei football programs.
The two programs have combined for 12 mythical national championships – Mater Dei with eight and Bishop Gorman with four. Each team has eight players on active NFL rosters.
Bishop Gorman (3-1), ranked No. 8 nationally by MaxPreps, plays at No. 13 Mater Dei at 7 p.m. Friday in Santa Ana Stadium.
Mater Dei went 8-3 last year, which includes a 27-24 win at Gorman. The Monarchs are not national title contenders or favorites to finish atop the difficult Trinity League in California like they usually are, but that hasn’t impacted the significance of Friday’s game, as the Gaels are 0-5 all-time against Mater Dei.
Here are three things to know about Mater Dei before its game against Bishop Gorman
1. A familiar face
Gavin Honore finished his junior season last year with Mater Dei and transferred to Gorman. But according to a report from Rivals on Aug. 17, Honore transferred back to Mater Dei after Gorman’s first game because he was not cleared as eligible to play by the NIAA.
Honore, listed at 5-foot-10 and 180 pounds, transferred back to Mater Dei and has made an immediate impact back with his old team. He is the Monarchs’ leading wide receiver with 16 catches for 2024 yards and two touchdowns.
Honore’s production has been much-needed after Mater Dei graduated its top three receivers from last year, who are all playing Division I college football — Chris Henry Jr. (Ohio State) and Kayden Dixon-Wyatt and Mark Bowman (both at USC).
Honore is a three-star recruit with more than 20 Division I offers, which include Georgia, Michigan and Texas. Honore has a total of 62 catches for 925 receiving yards and 10 touchdowns in his high school career at Mater Dei.
2. Lots of new faces
Mater Dei graduated 21 seniors from last year’s team that defeated Gorman.
Aside from its leading wide receivers, the Monarchs also graduated QB Ryan Hopkins (Wisconsin), leading rusher Justin Lewis (51.7 yards per game), linebacker Shaun Scott (13.5 sacks) and defensive back CJ Lavender Jr. (seven interceptions).
That’s led to a new cast of contributors for Mater Dei this season. Sophomore running back Asir Nembhard leads Mater Dei, averaging 101 rushing yards per game. The Monarchs have played a trio of quarterbacks — Colorado commit Cameron Pooley, freshman Paytyn Guess and junior Russell Sekona.
All three played in Mater Dei’s most recent game, a 10-9 win over Centennial (Corona, California), against whom Sekona had a rushing touchdown.
3. Strong defense
Mater Dei’s strengths come from its defense. The Monarchs are holding opponents to an average of 17 points per game.
Sophomore Isaiah Danns is one of Mater Dei’s newcomers on defense with two interceptions. Senior Dailon Clanton has stepped up to lead the other side of the defense with a team-high five sacks and 6.8 tackles per game.
Against Centennial last week, Mater Dei forced three turnovers. The Monarchs’ defense has forced 10 turnovers and 14 sacks through four games.
Contact Alex Wright at awright@reviewjournal.com. Follow @AlexWright1028 on X.
Up next
Who: No. 8 Bishop Gorman (3-1) at No. 13 Mater Dei (California) (4-0)
When: 7 p.m. Friday
Where: Santa Ana Stadium, Santa Ana, California
Stream: NFHS Network
All-time series: Mater Dei 5-0
