There are 1,031 high schools in California that play football.

Only three have finished this season undefeated – Santa Ana Mater Dei (12-0), San Diego Chapter’s own Catholic Mater Dei (13-0) and McArthur Fall River (13-0).

Santa Ana Mater Dei defeated San Mateo Serra 44-7 to win the state title in Division 1-A – the Premier League.

Mater Dei Catholic defeated Modesto Central Catholic 34-25 to win the 2-AA Championship.

Fall River defeated Morro Bay 43-13 to win the Division 7-AA title.

“It has been a great season,” said Catholic Mater Dei coach John Joyner. “To go undefeated and win a state championship is amazing.

“This is to the credit of the players, the coaches and the administration of our school.

As for the state’s three undefeated teams, 52 teams remained winless, including three from San Diego – Olympian (0-7), Castle Park (0-9) and Monte Vista (0-10).

Santa Ana Mater Dei finished the season number one in the country according to MaxPreps.

Cathedral Catholic – the state’s Division 1-AA champion – is the only school in San Diego ranked in the top 100, finishing No.45.

Cathedral Catholic is ranked # 5 in the state, followed by Mater Dei Catholic (23), Carlsbad (25), Mission Hills (39), Scripps Ranch (40), Helix (43), Lincoln (44), Torrey Pines (71) and Madison (84).

Look ahead

For the first time, the San Diego chapter had three state football champions, and all three have plenty of athletes who will be returning next year.

Cathedral Catholic dismisses 29 juniors, including Victory Johnson, Will Bond and two sophomores.

Mater Dei Catholic fires 26 juniors and six sophomores including Jerry McClure, Chris Snyder, Tre Edwards, Surahz Buncom, Jaylen Hall, Cruz Estrada, quarterback Dominic Nankil, Rollin George, Isahia Buxton and Anthony McMillian.

Scripps Ranch fires nine juniors and 12 sophomores, including quarterback Jax Leatherwood, Dean Pauley, Reece Keahey, Joshua Nguyen, Noah Gardinera, Hudson Wanner and Trevor Granucci.

Distance coaching

Braden Suprenant is an assistant coach at Cathedral Catholic, working primarily with lower level teams. He also works with John Kentera on Kentera’s radio show on 97.3-FM The Fan.

Kentera and Suprenant were in New York this weekend for the Army-Navy game.

So Suprenant had to watch Friday’s Catholic Cathedral game on the internet with the kickoff after 11 p.m. on the East Coast.

“I stood and watched everything! Said Suprénant. “I almost missed the bus to the stadium the next morning, but it was worth it. “

Final numbers

• Scripps Ranch junior quarterback Leatherwood finished the season 242 of 353 for 3,884 yards and 52 touchdowns. In five playoff games, he completed 89 of 143 passes for 1,375 yards and 14 touchdowns without interceptions. He has only been sacked twice all season. Senior receiver Conor Lawlor made 72 receptions for 1,566 yards and 23 touchdowns. Lawlor caught 28 passes for 667 yards and eight touchdowns in the playoffs.

• Catholic cathedral running back Lucky Sutton finished with 245 carries for 2,612 yards and 41 touchdowns. In three playoff games, Sutton had 71 carries for 942 yards and 10 touchdowns.

• Mater Dei Catholic junior quarterback Nankil was 185 of 311 for 3,509 yards, 4 interceptions and 40 touchdowns for the season. In five playoff games, Nankil finished 70 of 118 for 1,239 yards with two interceptions and 14 touchdowns.

Final countdown

Thanks to the San Diego chapter, the South swept all five games at Saddleback College with wins from Cathedral Catholic, Mater Dei Catholic, Scripps Ranch, Santa Ana Mater Dei and Serra Gardena.

The South, however, was swept away in matches in Northern California.

Fairfield Vaden defeated San Bernardino Aquinas 14-13, Oakland McClymonds defeated Lake Balboa Birmingham 54-7, Kentfield Marin Catholic defeated Visalia Central Valley Christian 33-14, San Francisco Sacred Heart Prep defeated Santa Maria Righetti 16-0, Jackson Argonaut defeated Quartz Hill 47-14, Richmond Salesian defeated Riverside Arlington 42-21, McArthur Fall River defeated Morro Bay 43-13 and San Francisco Balboa defeated Woodland Hills Taft 43-0.

Great site

Saddleback College has hosted the state’s top five games. And the site was spectacular.

The on-campus sports complex, which underwent a $ 60 million renovation, features an 8,000-seat stadium with modern changing rooms, a huge press room, a nice scoreboard and a Field Turf pitch.

Behind the stadium there are two full football training grounds and one full football field. All are illuminated.