Semi Taulanga raises CIF Open Division state title trophy as Mater Dei teammates whoop it up around him after win last Saturday vs De La Salle. Photo: Mark Tennis.
Here is the official updated list of the California high school football state teams of the year that goes back for more than 120 years with Mater Dei of Santa Ana now added for 2024. Since the Monarchs also were No. 1 in the pandemic season when there were no section/state playoffs, it’s now four years in the past five and six out of the past eight that they’ve been State Team of the Year.
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Consideration for this year’s team at Mater Dei of Santa Ana to be among the best in state history began fairly quickly after the Monarchs had posted their 37-15 win over De La Salle of Concord for the 2024 CIF Open Division state championship.
Going undefeated and getting two wins over arch-rival St. John Bosco of Bellflower? Check. Consensus national champions in every ranking by a media group or computer? Check. There just wasn’t anything that this year’s team at Mater Dei wasn’t able to accomplish and it was done without even much drama.
“The schedule that we had and the way we won each game is what really stands out to me,” said head coach Raul Lara in a scrum of reporters. “It was only the second game against Bosco where we really got a challenge.”
In the first game against the Braves, several turnovers that the Mater Dei defense forced made it a one-sided rout of 59-14 and it was 45-0 at halftime. Bosco kept it close with a one-score game in the rematch, but Mater Dei recovered an onside kick and ran out the clock for a 31-24 win.
Mater Dei head coach Raul Lara accepts CIF Open Division state title trophy, which is his first as a head coach. Photo: Mark Tennis.
As L.A. Times sportswriter Eric Sondheimer said, “I have never seen a high school football team go through an entire season without ever looking like they might lose. Mater Dei is that team. St. John Bosco came closest at 31-24 but I never thought Mater Dei was in jeopardy of losing that game either.”
The one Mater Dei team that we thought similarly of was for 2017. That group went undefeated, beat Bosco twice, had a huge national win vs Bishop Gorman of Las Vegas and was consensus No. 1 for the nation.
That 2017 team also was the first one at the school to win the CIF Open Division state title. The Monarchs repeated in 2018 and won it again in 2021. Those first three were when the program was still under the direction of longtime head coach Bruce Rollinson. St. John Bosco won it in 2022 and then last year it was MD again under former head coach Frank McManus. Lara took over prior to this season.
Counting the pandemic season of 2020-21 when there were no section or state playoffs, Mater Dei has now been No. 1 in the state four times in the last five years. The school’s first-ever State Team of the Year honor was for 1991. There also were two USA Today national No. 1 finishes in two seasons (1994, 1996) when De La Salle was State Team of the Year. The CIF did not have state games in the 1990s and didn’t begin to have them until 2006.
“To me, I don’t think there’s ever been a California team that has dominated like we did against the schedule that we played,” Lara said. “It’s got to be one of the best football teams ever. We’ve got the most Power 5 recruits than we’ve ever had.”
Many of the leading Monarchs’ players will be leaving for their future colleges within the next week. And part of the lasting legacy of this team will be how many of those players do at their colleges and even beyond. Will any of them be like Amon-Ra St. Brown of the Detroit Lions or Bryce Young of the Carolina Panthers? We will see.
CAL-HI SPORTS STATE
TEAMS OF THE YEAR
ALL-TIME HONOR ROLL
(Last 120 years listed, but it goes back further than that to 1891 in our files, as compiled from 1891 to 2003 by the late Nelson Tennis)
(*Forfeits not included; **Spring season 2021 due to worldwide pandemic in fall 2020)
Elijah Brown holds the CIF Open Division state championship trophy after final game in 2023 season. Photo: Fernando M. Donado / For OC Sports Zone.
2024 — Santa Ana Mater Dei (13-0)
2023 — Santa Ana Mater Dei (13-1)
2022 — Bellflower St. John Bosco (13-1)
2021 — Santa Ana Mater Dei (12-0)
2020 — Santa Ana Mater Dei (5-0)**
2019 — Bellflower St. John Bosco (13-1)
2018 — Santa Ana Mater Dei (14-1)*
2017 — Santa Ana Mater Dei (15-0)
2016 — Bellflower St. John Bosco (13-2)
2015 — Concord De La Salle (13-1)
2014 — Concord De La Salle (15-0)
2013 — Bellflower St. John Bosco (16-0)
2012 — Concord De La Salle (15-0)
2011 — Concord De La Salle (13-1)
2010 — Concord De La Salle (14-0)
2009 — Concord De La Salle (13-2)
2008 — Corona Centennial (15-0)
2007 — Concord De La Salle (13-0)
2006 — Westlake Village Oaks Christian (15-0)
2005 — Ventura St. Bonaventure (14-0)
2004 — Mission Viejo (14-0)
2003 — Concord De La Salle (13-0)
2002 — Concord De La Salle (13-0)
2001 — Concord De La Salle (12-0)
2000 — Concord De La Salle (13-0)
1999 — Concord De La Salle (12-0)
1998 — Concord De La Salle (12-0)
1997 — Concord De La Salle (12-0)
1996 — Concord De La Salle (12-0)
1995 — Concord De La Salle (13-0)
1994 — Concord De La Salle (13-0)
1993 — Rialto Eisenhower (14-0)
1992 — Concord De La Salle (13-0)
1991 — Santa Ana Mater Dei (13-1)
1990 — Merced (14-0)
1989 — Fontana (14-0)
1988 — Carson (12-1)
1987 — Fontana (14-0)
1986 — El Toro (14-0)
1985 — Vista (13-0)
1984 — Riverside Poly (13-1)
1983 — Mountain View St. Francis (13-0)
1982 — Anaheim Servite (11-1)
1981 — San Jose Bellarmine (12-0)
1980 — Wilmington Banning (12-0)
1979 — Huntington Beach Edison (12-2)
1978 — Visalia Mt. Whitney (13-0)
1977 — Rancho Cordova (12-0)
1976 — Wilmington Banning (12-1)
1975 — Rancho Cordova (11-0)
1974 — Vista (13-0)
1973 — Hacienda Heights Los Altos (12-1)
1972 — Santa Fe Springs St. Paul (13-0)
1971 — Carson (12-0)
1970 — La Puente Bishop Amat (12-1)
1969 — Pasadena Blair (13-0)
1968 — Alameda (9-0)
1967 — Anaheim (12-1)
1966 — Pico Rivera El Rancho (13-0)
1965 — San Jose Bellarmine (9-0)
1964 — Stockton Stagg (10-0)
1963 — Los Angeles Loyola (12-0)
1962 — Los Angeles Loyola (12-0)
1961 — Monterey (8-0)
1960 — Redwood City Sequoia (9-0)
1959 — Long Beach Poly (11-0)
1958 — Long Beach Poly (11-0-1)
1957 — Berkeley (8-0)
1956 — Downey (12-0-1)
1955 — San Diego (11-0-1)
1954 — Vallejo (9-0)
1953 — Santa Monica (10-0-1)
1952 — Santa Monica (11-0-1)
1951 — Pomona (12-0)
1950 — Compton (11-1)
1949 — Compton (10-1)
1948 — Long Beach St. Anthony (11-1-1)
1947 — L.A. Washington (8-0)
1946 — Alhambra Keppel (8-0)
1945 — Santa Ana (11-1)
1944 — Alhambra Keppel (8-0)
1943 — Redondo Beach Redondo (6-0)
1942 — La Verne Bonita (11-0)
1941 — Piedmont (9-0)
1940 — Piedmont (8-0)
1939 — Alhambra (10-0)
1938 — Stockton (8-0)
1937 — L.A. Manual Arts (8-0)
1936 — L.A. Manual Arts (8-0-1)
1935 — Long Beach Poly (9-0)
1934 — Piedmont (8-0)
1933 — S.F. Galileo (8-2-1)
1932 — Inglewood (10-2)
1931 — Santa Ana (13-0)
1930 — Berkeley (11-0-1)
1929 — Berkeley (11-0-1)
1928 — Lodi (9-0)
1927 — Bakersfield (12-0)
1926 — San Mateo (9-1-1)
1925 — Los Angeles (10-0)
1924 — Berkeley (11-0)
1923 — Bakersfield (10-0-1)
1922 — Bakersfield (10-0-1)
1921 — Bakersfield (9-0-1)
1920 — Bakersfield (9-1)
1919 — Long Beach Poly (12-0)
1918 — L.A. Manual Arts (9-0)
1917 — L.A. Manual Arts (11-1)
1916 — San Diego (12-0)
1915 — Pasadena (7-1)
1914 — Pomona Rugby (12-0)
1913 — Pomona Rugby (11-0)
1912 — Berkeley Rugby (7-2-1)
1911 — Los Angeles Rugby (9-0)
1910 — Alameda (5-0)
1909 — Los Angeles Poly Rugby (8-0-2)
1908 — Belmont Academy (8-0-1)
1907 — Los Angeles (5-1)
1906 — Belmont Academy (5-0)
1905 — Berkeley (5-1-3)
1904 — Belmont Academy (1-0-1)
1903 — Belmont Academy (5-1)
1902 — Belmont Academy (4-0-2)
1901 — Belmont Academy (3-2)
1900 — San Francisco Lowell (5-1-2)
Mark Tennis is the co-founder and publisher of CalHiSports.com. He can be reached at markjtennis@gmail.com. Don’t forget to follow Mark on the Cal-Hi Sports Twitter handle:
