No. 3 St. John Bosco edges No. 1 Mater Dei for California Southern Section Division 1 championship

Twitter photo by @BoscoFootball
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There will be a new No. 1 in the High School Football America 300 national rankings, powered by NFL Play Football, on Sunday.

Friday night before a crowd of nearly 16,000 at the historic Rose Bowl, No. 3 St. John Bosco beat No. 1 Mater Dei 24-22. The win snapped the reigning HSFA national champs 29-game win streak and handed Mater Dei quarterback Elijah Brown his first-ever high school loss as a starting QB.

Related: HSFA 300 national rankings

Mater Dei grabbed an early 7-0 lead on Brown’s 28-yard touchdown pass to Marcus Harris.

Bosco’s Pierce Clarkson’s 45-yard TD to Jahil McClain tied the game at 7-7 at the half.

SJB took a 14-7 lead on its first drive of the second half when Clarkson connected with Matayo Uiagalelei on a 20-yard touchdown pass.

Like a great heavyweight title fight, Mater Dei came right back on another strike between Brown and Howard. However, the extra point was no good, which gave Bosco a 14-13 lead.

Clarkson’s third touchdown passes gave the Braves a 21-13 on their next drive.

Mater Dei cut into a 24-13 Bosco lead in the fourth quarter. After a field and a Jordan Davison 1-yard touchdown run, the Monarchs line-up for a 2-point conversion attempt with 3:08 left to play.

MD gave the ball to Davison again, but this time, the Braves defense was equal to the task.

Bosco’s win avenged a 17-7 loss to Mater Dei in mid-October. It was the fourth time since 2017 that the two schools met twice in the same season with the Trinity League winner losing in the rematch.

Mater Dei vs. St. John Bosco Parts I & II

2022

Regular season – Mater Dei 17, St. John Bosco 7

Playoffs – St. John Bosco 24, Mater Dei 22

2019

Regular Season – Mater Dei 38, St. John Bosco 24

Playoffs – St. John Bosco 39, Mater Dei 34

2018

Regular Season – St. John Bosco 41, Mater Dei 18

Playoffs – Mater Dei 17, St. John Bosco 13

Playoffs –

2017

Regular Season – Mater Dei 31, St. John Bosco 21

Playoffs – Mater Dei 49, St. John Bosco 24

2016

Regular Season – Mater Dei 26, St. John Bosco 21

Playoffs – St. John Bosco 42, Mater Dei 28

2013

Regular Season – St. John Bosco 24, Mater Dei 2

Playoffs – St. John Bosco 34, Mater Dei 7

The win sends St. John Bosco into the California Open Division championship against Serra (San Mateo). Friday night, the Padres beat Archbishop Mitty 41-14 for the Central Coast Section Division 1 title.

Serra entered last night’s game ranked No. 36 in the HSFA 300.

The game drops the curtain on legendary Bruce Rollinson’s coaching career. Rollinson, a Mater Dei alum, closes-out his career with a record of 339-86-2 with three High School Football America national championships.

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About the Author

Jeff Fisher
Jeff is an award-winning journalist and expert in the field of high school sports, underscored with his appearance on CNBC in 2010 to talk about the big business of high school football in America.Jeff turned to his passion for high school football into an entrepreneurial venture called High School Football America, a digital media company focused on producing original high school sports content for radio, television and the internet.Jeff is co-founder and editor-in-chief of High School Football America, a partner with NFL Play Football.