Ask Farrell: Who wins hyped Mater Dei-St. Frances matchup?
Arguably the best high school game of the year will be played this weekend at Bellflower (Calif.) St. John Bosco, although the Braves won’t be participating.
The Trinity League vs. USA Showcase kicks off Saturday and the headline matchup is Santa Ana (Calif.) Mater Dei vs. Baltimore (Md.) St. Frances.
Both teams are insanely loaded with talented players.
Mater Dei is led by USC commit Bryce Young, Washington pledge Myles Murao, a killer wide receiver corps with Kody Epps, Cristian Dixon, Kyron Ware-Hudson, CJ Williams and others and then 2021 standouts Raesjon Davis and Jaylin Davies lead the defense along with 2020 defensive back Domani Jackson.
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The Monarchs have beaten their first three opponents, 42-12, 63-7 and 71-21.
Baltimore St. Frances has even more high-level FBS prospects on a roster that includes Alabama commit Chris Braswell, LSU pledges Jordan Toles and Demon Clowney, Michigan commits Osman Savage, Blake Corum and Nikhai Hill-Green, Tennessee pledge Dominic Bailey, and Oregon commit Luke Hill.
St. Frances beat Miami Central 49-13 in the season opener followed by a 55-0 win over Chicago Simeon and then a 64-0 decision over Clearwater (Fla.) American Collegiate Academy.
This could be the two best high school football teams in the country and they meet Saturday night.
FARRELL'S TAKE
We ask Rivals.com National Recruiting Director Mike Farrell how he sees this matchup playing out and we ask him to pick a winner and final score.
“This is hard to call because Mater Dei has the better quarterback in Young and that usually wins out. But St. Frances is so loaded, especially on defense, that it’s a tough call. Young is hard to check and betting against him is not smart. He reminds me of a Kyler Murray, Tate Martell kind of competitor in high school that you just shouldn’t count out.
"But after seeing both teams this season on film I’m going with St. Frances and that defense to pull out a 41-34 win. Young will get his, he can’t be stopped at this level, but St. Frances has too many weapons and Braswell and others do a good enough job shadowing him.”