GAME OF THE WEEK
NO. 1 MATER DEI (7-0, 2-0) VS. ST. JOHN BOSCO (6-1, 2-0)
Where, when: St. John Bosco High, Friday, 7 p.m.
Live coverage: Bally Sports West
Analysis: Mater Dei and St. John Bosco are playing for the championship of the Trinity League, the best football league in California and perhaps beyond. They are playing for national rankings. A national championship certainly is in play here for Mater Dei. The Monarchs are No. 1 in several national rankings including the MaxPreps rankings that have St. John Bosco at No. 9. Mater Dei beat St. John Bosco 17-7 in their Trinity League game last year at Santa Ana Stadium. The Braves beat the Monarchs 24-22 in last year’s CIF Southern Section Division 1 championship game at the Rose Bowl. Mater Dei has won eight of its past 12 games against St. John Bosco. Mater Dei and St. John Bosco have two common opponents on their 2023 schedules – St. Frances Academy of Baltimore and Kahuku of Hawaii. Mater Dei beat Kahuku at Santa Ana Stadium 55-8 on Sept. 9 and traveled east to beat St. Frances 20-7 on Sept. 22. St. John Bosco defeated St. Frances 37-14 at St. John Bosco before traveling to Hawaii, where it lost 30-23 to Kahuku.
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More than 70 players on the rosters have received NCAA Division I football scholarship offers. Mater Dei senior quarterback Elijah Brown (Stanford commit) rarely makes a mistake. All of the Monarchs receivers look like All-County-level players, as do running backs Jordan Davison and Nathaniel Frazier. The offensive line is huge. Junior linebacker Nasir Wyatt is having an Orange County Defensive Player of the Year type of season.
Bosco has its usual great players, including senior quarterback Caleb Sanchez who has completed 78 percent of his passes for 1,856 yards and 17 touchdowns in seven games. Senior linebacker Kyngstonn Vilamu-Asa, last year’s CIF-SS Division 1 defensive player of the year, committed to Notre Dame.
So far it looks like the only team that can beat Mater Dei is Mater Dei. As long as the Monarchs stay with their one-game-at-a-time, one-play-at-a-time approach that first-year coach Frank McManus has expertly coaxed from the players, they will beat St. John Bosco.
And here’s the score: Mater Dei 42, St. John Bosco 28.
Winner: Mater Dei
