For the second straight year there will be a Mater Dei-St. John Bosco Part II.
Friday night, top-ranked Mater Dei beat No. 21 Mission Viejo 49-21 to advance to the CIF Southern Section Division 1 championship game next Saturday against the Braves, who beat No. 9 Corona Centennial 62-34. Last year, Bosco won the Division 1 title with a 42-28, which came after Mater Dei beat the Braves 26-21 during the regular season. On October 13, Mater Dei beat SJB 31-21 on the way to its second straight Trinity League title.
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Friday night, Mater Dei raced-out to a 35-7 halftime lead with junior quarterback JT Daniels doing it with his arm and his feet. Daniels, who holds just about every Orange County passing record as a junior, had a 52 yard touchdown run in the second quarter.
Mater Dei’s win brings an end to the great coaching career of Mission Viejo head coach Bob Johnson, who announced earlier this year, that this year would be his last. Johnson finishes his career with 342 lifetime victories at Mission Viejo, El Toro and Los Amigos.
Listen to Bob Johnson of the High School Football America Radio Show
The Monarchs will be looking to break a long title drought next week against Bosco. Mater Dei hasn’t won a CIF title since 1999.
St. John Bosco, which will improve its current No. 19 ranking when the new High School Football America Top 100 is released on Sunday, will be playing in its fifth straight CIF-SS championship next week at Cerritos College.
Friday night, the Braves got-out to a 27-0 lead against the Huskies behind sophomore quarterback DJ Uiagalelei, who finished with 259 yards passing, 131 yards rushing with three TDs on the ground and one passing. Running back George Holani scored four touchdowns, plus the Bosco defense grabbed four interceptions.
The Huskies, whose only other loss this year was to No. 2 IMG Academy (Florida), were without the services of star quarterback Tanner McKee, who was sidelined after taking a hard hit to the head in the team’s quarterfinal win over Murrieta Valley.
