Defending High School Football America national champ St. John Bosco and Mater Dei both took different routes to next week’s CIF-Southern Section Division 1 championship game at the famed Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Friday night, No. 1 Bosco edged No. 20 Corona Centennial 43-42, in an instant classic. No. 2 Mater Dei had little trouble in a 42-14 win over No. 13 Sierra Canyon.
St. John Bosco needed to battle back from a 24-14 second quarter deficit in a game that saw the Southern California heavyweights go toe-to-toe until the final whistle.
The game came down to Centennial going for the win instead of overtime with :08 seconds to play in regulation. After Cornell Hatcher, Jr. scored on a 1-yard touchdown run, CC head coach Matt Logan decided to go for two and the win. The Bosco defense rose to the occasion, when Husky QB Husan Longstreet slipped after faking a handoff to Hatcher.
Corona Centennial kept the pressure on the Braves when it recovered an onside kick at the Bosco 41. However, the Brave defense rose again, getting to sttops to close-out the victory and set-up a rematch against Mater Dei next Friday.
After battling back from a ten point deficit, Bosco owned its first lead, 28-24, at halftime on four Caleb Sanchez touchdown passes. The senior signal-caller finished the game completing 13-of-21 passes for 328 yards with six touchdown passes.
The loss puts to rest an incredible 9-3 season for Matt Logan’s Huskies, whose only losses were to the No. 1, No. 2 and No. 3 teams in the High School Football America 300, powered by NFL Play Football. Centennial lost to Mater Dei 28-24 in its season opener. Then on national television to Bishop Gorman (56-28) on September 8.
Mater Dei punched its in easier fashion. The Monarchs roared to a 28-7 halftime lead and never looked back. Stanford-recruit Elijah Brown threw two touchdowns in the win that sends the school into its seventh straight CIF championship game.
Brown and his teammates will now begin focusing on avenging their October 13 shutout loss (28-0) to their arch-rivals. Next Friday’s game will mark the sixth time in seven games that they heavyweights battle for CIF Southern Section supremacy.
