Mater Dei High School names new head football coach
Officials say Cody Hess will take the reins from longtime head coach Mike Goebel, who led Mater Dei to sustained success during his tenure.
USI Athletics accelerates transition to Division I
Mater Dei High School says Hess is a Mater Dei alumnus and a 2017 graduate of the University of Southern Indiana. Hess brings a blend of leadership, teaching and coaching experience. After graduating, he served as the Athletic Director and Social Studies teacher at Resurrection Catholic School, which is also his home parish. In 2023, he returned to Mater Dei as a Social Studies and Physical Education teacher.
Officials say over the past 12 years, Hess has served Mater Dei football in multiple roles, including Assistant Head Coach, Head Strength Training Coach, Offensive Coordinator, Assistant Defensive Coordinator, Running Backs Coach, and Defensive Backs Coach. During his time on the coaching staff, Mater Dei's football program achieved numerous accolades, including:
State Championship: 2022
State Runner-Up: 2014, 2021
Regional Championships: 2014, 2020, 2021, 2022
Sectional Championships: 2014, 2015, 2016, 2020, 2021, 2022
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'The opportunity to lead this program is both humbling and a dream come true,' said Hess. 'I have big plans for this program – both on and off the field. On the field, we will pursue excellence through preparation, effort and execution. Off the field, we want to develop young men who respect themselves and others and consistently strive to make the right choices in all aspects of life. My goal is that every young man that leaves our program is not just a better athlete, but also a better person ready to excel in life beyond football.'
Mater Dei High School says Hess's coaching philosophy is deeply rooted in five key principles: discipline, accountability, dependability, faith and coachability. He credits these values with helping to build a strong and unified team culture at Mater Dei that extends beyond the gridiron.
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The Sporting News High School Football Game of the Week: Mater Dei [CA] at St. Thomas Aquinas [FL] originally appeared on The Sporting News There will be bigger games down the road during this high school football season. There will be other Top 10 games that will increase in importance as the season progresses. There will be undefeated teams clashing late in the season with state, and possibly, national title hopes on the line. And there will be state playoff games with national implications that carry far more weight than a season opener possibly when it comes to those season openers, this is about as big as it gets. The No. 1 Mater Dei [Santa Ana, CA] Monarchs will pack their bags Friday and fly across the country to another sun-drenched locale more than 2,500 miles away. There, the Monarchs will take on the No. 6 St. Thomas Aquinas [Fort Lauderdale, FL] Raiders late Saturday afternoon in one of the feature games of the Broward County National Football Showcase. 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MORE NATIONAL HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALLThe Sporting News Roadmap to the National ChampionshipHigh School Football Start Dates by State The Sporting News High School Preseason All-American Offense 2025 The Sporting News High School Preseason All-American Defense 2025 No. 1 Mater Dei [Santa Ana, CA] Monarchs at No. 6 St. Thomas Aquinas [Fort Lauderdale, FL] Raiders LAST WEEK'S GAME OF THE WEEK Saturday, August 23, 2025Brian Piccolo Memorial Stadium | 4 p.m. local (EST)TV: ESPN | Radio: N/A Local Media Coverage: The Orange County Register (Santa Ana, CA edition) | | The South Florida Sun-Sentinel School Athletics Websites: Mater Dei Monarchs Football |St. Thomas Aquinas Raiders Football School Social Media: Mater Dei Monarchs on @MD_Athletics | St. Thomas Aquinas Raiders on @AquinasRaiders Weather: Hurricane Erin will already be up the East Coast by Saturday, but a tropical wave behind it is something to keep an eye on. The path is uncertain for now, and it isn't likely to impact Florida until early next week. The long-range forecast is calling for a high of 90 with mostly sunny conditions early. That could change in the afternoon to evening hours as thunderstorms develop with a 50 percent overall chance of rain Saturday. The Background Mater Dei enters the game on one of the great runs in high school football history. The Monarchs are the two-time defending national champions entering the game, and they've won at least a share of the mythical title in six of the past eight seasons. They've passed several of the nation's historical leaders in terms of total number of national titles during that span. That includes legendary programs like the Archbishop Moeller [Cincinnati, OH] Fighting Crusaders, Miami [FL] Stingarees, and Valdosta [GA] Wildcats. Last year's title was their fourth unanimous selection, following a consensus title in 2023 when four of the seven national selectors deemed the Monarchs to be the nation's best. Last year there was no disagreement; all seven of those selectors were in Mater Dei's corner.* The Monarchs are the unanimous No. 1 team heading into the 2025 season, including here in The Sporting News High School Football Top 25. If they win all their games this fall, starting with this clash with No. 6 St. Thomas Aquinas, they will add a seventh national title to their collection, and it will likely be their fifth of the unanimous variety. They will still be chasing the Washington [Massillon, OH] Tigers (9 national titles) and the De La Salle [Concord, CA] Spartans (12 national titles), but they will own one record all to themselves. Their six titles in eight years already equals De La Salle's haul from 1998-2003 when the Spartans won six consecutive titles, and technically, six in an eight-year period if you count either the two years before or after that run. With a seventh national championship this season, Mater Dei will have authored the best nine-year story in high school football history – a record that even their California grid mates from De La Salle can't match. * — BlueStar Media, High School Football America, Massey Ratings, MaxPreps, SBLive, and USA Today Super 25 Top Recruits Mater Dei's Class of 2026 includes 10 ranked prospects with at least another 13 in their Class of 2027. As if that isn't enough, five of those players are ranked in the Top 10 of those classes. We're talking about California here which produces hundreds of Division I-caliber players every years, and almost half of the Class of 2026's Top 10 is enrolled at Mater Dei. It starts with tight end Mark Bowman (USC), who stands above all others as a 5-star prospect, but also includes 4-star talents in OT Kodi Greene (Washington), WR Chris Henry Jr. (Ohio State), and WR Kayden Dixon-Wyatt (Ohio State). It's one of the greatest assemblages of talent a team could possibly have at the high school level. St. Thomas Aquinas has 12 ranked prospects of its own, the best of which might be 4-star OT Mark Matthews. Matthews (6-6, 270 lbs) is the No. 2 prospect so far in Florida's Class of 2027, and he remains uncommitted for now. Two more 4-star juniors in safety Zayden Gamble and WR Julius Jones are also in the fold and uncommitted when it comes to their future college plans. Senior CB Justice Fitzpatrick (Georgia) is the only other 4-star talent on the team. When Mater Dei has the ball ... It's an embarrassment of riches for the Monarchs no matter where you look, and the offense is loaded. The one big question mark is senior QB Ryan Hopkins who will make his debut in the pivot for the Monarchs after serving as the starter for the JSerra Catholic [San Juan Capistrano, CA] Lions a year ago. Playing for the Monarchs' Trinity League rivals, Hopkins threw for 1,111 yards a year ago with 13 touchdowns and five interceptions. Those aren't huge numbers, but they're likely to go through the roof in 2025 with Hopkins surrounded by an even stronger supporting cast. Bowman, Henry Jr., and Dixon-Wyatt are the top three tight end/wide receiver prospects in the entire Golden State, and they'll all be on the same field playing for the same team. Dixon-Wyatt was the Monarchs leading receiver a year ago with 50 catches for 693 yards and five touchdowns. Bowman, meanwhile, latched on to 31 receptions for 427 yards and eight scores of his own. Henry missed most of last season with a knee injury, but if he stays healthy, the Monarchs might be even better than they were last year. It doesn't stop there. Greene is back to pave the way upfront for RB Justin Lewis (UMass) who was toting the rock for the Thousand Oaks [CA] Lancers in 2024 with 233 carries for 1,306 yards and 15 touchdowns. He's also an effective fourth option for Hopkins as a receiver out of the backfield with 24 catches for 324 yards and a touchdown. Preparing to stop the Mater Dei machine is a nightmare, but St. Thomas Aquinas does have some big guns on defense capable of holding their own. Fitzpatrick is a player described in analysis by as a player with good footwork who puts himself in position to make plays. Playing safety behind him is the junior Gamble who isn't afraid to live up to his name with four interceptions for 133 yards and a touchdown a year ago. Junior defensive backs Jaden Carey and Samari Howard are also ranked, giving the Raiders a fighting chance against Mater Dei's big receiving corps. Seniors Daniel Norman (Oklahoma) on the edge and linebacker Phillip Goodrich (Navy), meanwhile, provide good leadership in the front seven. When St. Thomas Aquinas has the ball ... St. Thomas Aquinas will also be breaking in a transfer quarterback. Brady Palmer is one of the top quarterback prospects playing in the Sunshine State this fall, but a year ago, he was plying his trade for St. Francis of Wheaton, Illinois, leading the Spartans to the Illinois IHSA Class 5A semifinals while throwing 33 touchdown passes. He's got two highly-ranked prospects at receiver, juniors Sean Thompson and Julius Jones, the latter of whom was the team's leading receiver a year ago with 51 catches for 750 yards and six touchdowns. Most of the leading rushers from 2024 have moved on with junior Virgil Lemons' 27 carries a year ago leading the returnees. Whoever picks up the load will have Matthews and IOL Dylan Steen (6-5, 295 lbs), a Mississippi State commit, clearing the way upfront. The Raiders' challenge will be figuring out a way to attack a Mater Dei defense that doesn't really have any weaknesses. Parker didn't see anything like this lineup playing in Illinois, and he'll have to be quick on his feet and quick with his mind to avoid the rush of senior 4-star talents like DL Tomuhini Topui (USC) and Shaun Scott (uncommitted) coming off the edge. Junior Montana Toilolo and Matamatagi Uiagalelei are both uncommitted 3-stars who add depth along the interior. The top linebackers are both uncommitted 3-star juniors as well with DJ Clanton and Ezekiel Su'a patrolling the middle of the field and cleaning up plays. But it's the defensive backfield where Mater Dei is particularly loaded on this side of the ball with five ranked cornerbacks led by 4-star talents Danny Lang and Aaryn Washington. Keys to the game Mater Dei wins if they show up with the swagger of a back-to-back national champion and intimidate the Raiders out of the gate. This will be a big environment, and the Raiders will have a supportive crowd and a national television audience hoping for an upset. But if Mater Dei can make plays early and take the energy out of the crowd, then there's a chance this game might not even be close at the end. St. Thomas Aquinas wins if they can make Hopkins uncomfortable and force him to make some risky throws. Fitzpatrick is a master at identifying routes before they develop, and he and Gamble both can jump lanes and make plays. Mater Dei won't make many mistakes, but if the Raiders can make them pay for a couple of them, they could give the offense opportunities on a shorter field. On offense the new quarterback Parker will have to make quick reads and take what the Monarchs give him which won't be much. It goes without saying that he can't make big mistakes on his own end of the field, but it's equally important to capitalize on any trips to the Monarchs' red zone. If they do, then the Raiders could pull the surprise on home ground in Florida. Looking Ahead It won't get much easier for either of these teams, but at least in St. Thomas Aquinas's case, they are unlikely to have to face the No. 1 team in the country again. They likely won't be seriously challenged again until back-to-back games against the No. 9 American Heritage [Plantation, FL] Patriots and the No. 10 Chaminade-Madonna [Hollywood, FL] Lions on October 24 and October 31, respectively. Mater Dei, meanwhile, will face its next really big test in three weeks when they visit Corona, California, to take on the No. 11 Centennial Huskies. Series history This will be the first meeting between the two national powers, and Mater Dei's impressive resume is detailed above. St. Thomas Aquinas has two national championships of its own, winning a consensus title in 2008 before splitting the 2010 title with four other programs. MORE HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL HEADLINES
