With the news of the highly anticipated IMG Academy–St. Frances Academy, No. 1-2 in the latest Rivals National High School Football Composite Rankings, being tabled ran rampant through high school football circles around the country, the topic has arisen has the contest being viewed by some as a de facto national title game. Andy’s Take this week turns to some hypotheticals on the national scene.

It’s all hypothetical as the Ascenders-Panthers game has been put on ice for the time being, but it does bring to many’s minds what would the most ideal national high school football championship game be?

Yes, though the two aforementioned powerhouses meeting might be the easiest to lean into, is there other worthy teams that should be in the conversation? Since there’s no ‘High School Football Playoff’ or any actual real national championship game, Andy’s Take dives into some of the other teams that may have an argument when it comes to challenging a team like undefeated No. 1 IMG Academy, other than St. Frances Academy. Oh, and an added caveat I’m throwing in the Massey Ratings prediction and my own.

(Every game is No. 1 IMG Academy vs. other opponents other than No. 2 St. Frances Academy in a hypothetical national championship game)

St. John Bosco Braves (Calif.)

St. John Bosco (9-1) dropped to No. 3 in the latest Rivals National High School Football Composite Rankings, after a 36-31 loss to No. 8 ranked Mater Dei on Halloween. Now being someone that has seen the Braves up close and many the teams that folks want to put in the conversation, there’s plenty of reasons to believe they would matchup well against IMG Academy. St. John Bosco would challenge IMG’s offensive front with a pretty talented defensive line, led by Oregon commitment Dutch Horisk coming off the edge.

Looking at the skill positions on offense, there’s very few wide receiving duos better than the tandem of Madden Williams (Texas A&M commit) and Daniel Odom (Oklahoma commit). What would ultimately be the difference maker for the Braves is the improved play of sophomore quarterback Koa Malau’ulu, who has shown against the best defenses in the country that he can dice up the best of ’em on any given Friday night.

What I think would happen is IMG Academy wouldn’t mess around here with trying to be fancy. Ascenders’ head coach Greg Studrawa would lean on his offensive line of studs and give St. John Bosco a heavy dosage of the battering ram, Lekhy Thompkins, and that would eventually wear down the Braves. Give me the Ascenders by a touchdown.

Massey Prediction: IMG Academy 28, St. John Bosco 27

Andy’s Take: IMG Academy 35, St. John Bosco 28

Grayson Rams (Ga.)

Folks up in Georgia definitely have their opinion on the national high school football scene as they have a couple of public schools that very much so believe they’re in the conversation. Grayson (9-0) is one of those teams that likely feels they could hold their own against IMG Academy or St. Frances Academy.

Now, I know the Rams have throughly dominated their last seven opponents, winning by a combined 342-41. What gets me is that narrow 24-23 win over Thompson in their third game of this season. Losing four-star quarterback Travis Burgess (North Carolina commit) to me certainly makes a big difference, not taking away everything that junior signal caller Deuce Smith has done playing for the Rams’ offense.

I would like Grayson’s chances a lot more if Burgess was playing against the Ascenders as the quarterback had the offense humming in their 51-3 win over Collins Hill. Being someone who watched that game in-person, if Burgess is playing, this could get real interesting. Because he isn’t this year unfortunately, I just don’t see how the Rams keep up with the Ascenders offensively. I liken this matchup to a 31-14-kinda game, like most of IMG’s results have played out to.

Massey Prediction: IMG Academy 35, Grayson 26

Andy’s Take: IMG Academy 31, Grayson 14

Buford Wolves (Ga.)

Now when you’re taking about similar playing styles, I really feel like Buford (10-0) and IMG Academy or even St. Frances Academy for that matter, match up pretty well. A couple things all three teams want to do is play elite level defense and establish the run game.

Seeing Buford in the opening week of the Georgia high school football season against Milton when the Wolves opened their $62-million palace of a stadium was a narrow 20-13 win and since then, it has been pretty much a breeze for head coach Bryant Appling and crew. I think that the level of difficulty when it comes to the schedules would play a factor because one could make the argument that Milton is the toughest team Buford has played to this point.

Well, the Eagles played down in Florida against The First Academy, sneaking away with a 24-17 victory. The Royals were crushed in the preseason by IMG Academy, 41-7, leaving this sports reporter to believe it wouldn’t bode well for a Buford-IMG Academy or St. Frances Academy matchup. We go down the rabbit hole of scenarios and what not, but at the end of the day, this will be decided in the trenches and we think the Ascenders or Panthers would hold the edge there.

Massey Prediction: IMG Academy 32, Buford 28

Andy’s Take: IMG Academy 28, Buford 14

Southlake Carroll Dragons (TX)

I feel remiss if I didn’t mention a single team out of the Lone Star State in this hypothetical scenarios when it comes to a high school football national title game. The undefeated Southlake Carroll Dragons (10-0) has been Texas’ most impressive and consistent high school football team and has been the state’s No. 1 team for several weeks now.

Reason I just couldn’t see this being a highly competitive game is because the path to unbeaten prosperity for the Dragons has been just too easy for them. Yes, we can just say they’ve been so dominant, which they have been in Texas as Southlake Carroll is winning by an average of 44.5 points per game. That’s also the issue: They’re not playing anyone of national relevance.

For as good as players like Pittsburgh commit Angelo Renda and Ohio State pledge Brock Boydare, Studrawa’s staff would look to take that away and leave the Dragons to run the ball at them. I’m here to say good luck with that as I see the Ascenders rolling here. Though Massey Ratings disagrees with me, I just don’t see anyway it plays out any other than a dominant IMG Academy win.

Massey Prediction: Southlake Carroll 31, IMG Academy 28

Andy’s Take: IMG Academy 42, Southlake Carroll 14

Mater Dei Monarchs (Calif.)

If you don’t think Mater Dei (7-2) couldn’t play with IMG Academy, you may want to re-think all of that.

Yes, the Monarchs have lost a couple games, but when locked in and motivated, this group is as good as they comes in high school football nationally. What may plague this team is slow starts that put them in holes they can’t dig themselves out of.

Looking at their loss against Corona Centennial, Mater Dei got behind 28-0 after just the first quarter and by intermission of that 43-36 decision, were down 33-7. The Monarchs nearly stormed all the way back in that loss, but the puzzling one because of the amount of firepower offensively was the 7-6 loss to Santa Margarita Catholic.

The skill position matchups would be off the charts and seeing who IMG Academy would assign to cover guys like Mark Bowman (USC commit) and Ohio State pledges Chris Henry Jr. and Kayden Dixon-Wyatt would be fascinating. Not to mention some of the trench battles going on, potentially a 6-foot-2, 337-pound Tomuhini Topui (USC commit) head-to-head with fellow Trojan pledge Breck Kolojay.

For myself, seeing how this team played for a half against St. Thomas Aquinas down in Fort Lauderdale and over in Las Vegas versus Bishop Gorman, when motivated and playing at the top of their game, Mater Dei can be the best team in the country. With that said, I see IMG just barely beating Mater Dei in a close one, down to the wire.

Massey Prediction: IMG Academy 28, Mater Dei 22

Andy’s Take: IMG Academy 28, Mater Dei 27

How to Follow National High School Football

For national high school football fans looking to keep up with scores around the nation, staying updated on the action is now easier than ever with the Rivals National High School Scoreboard. This comprehensive resource provides real-time updates and final scores from across the state, ensuring you never miss a moment of the Friday night frenzy. From nail-biting finishes to dominant performances, the Rivals National High School Scoreboard is your one-stop destination for tracking all the gridiron excitement across the country.