Not quite to Labor Day, and high school football is getting set for a national showcase pitting its top two teams -- and a pair of tradition-rich programs -- against one another.
No. 1 Mater Dei (Santa Ana, California) will play host to No. 2 Bishop Gorman (Las Vegas) on Sept. 6 at the Santa Ana Bowl
Mater Dei will host Bishop Gorman at the 9,000-seat Santa Ana Bowl.
Though the game is nearly two weeks out, the rankings will not change; both programs have an open date this week in advance of the national showdown.
The Gaels of Bishop Gorman opened their 2024 season Aug. 16 with a comfortable win before traveling cross-country this week.
Gorman kept its winning going Saturday when it toppled nationally ranked St. Thomas Aquinas (Florida) in an ESPN-televised contest that also was delayed for hours due to severe weather in South Florida.
The Gaels came from behind to notch the 29-21 road win, the program's 27th consecutive win. Bishop Gorman was named MaxPreps's national champion a year ago.
Mater Dei, which is 1-0 after an opening 17-point win Thursday night against Centennial (California), is considered among the nation's most talented teams after posting a 13-1 ledger in 2023.
Cornerback Chuck McDonald is committed to Alabama and teammate as well as fellow defensive back Daryus Dixson is committed to Penn State.
The pair are California's No. 6-7 players, per 247Sports.
Edge rusher Nasir Wyatt is California's No. 11 player and pledged to Dan Lanning's Oregon Ducks.
Bishop Gorman has Nevada's top-four players on its roster, per 247Sports, and each individual is pledged to a Power Conference program.
Coveted five-star wideout Derek Meadows verbally committed to LSU over Alabama and Notre Dame this summer while SeuSeu Alofaituli is pledged to Miami.
Four-star offensive lineman Douglas Utu is committed to Josh Heupel's Tennessee Vols and Alai Kalaniuvalu is also an Oregon commitment.