It's here, No. 1 St. John Bosco vs. No. 2 Mater Dei: 'Let's get ready to rumble'
SANTA ANA, Calif. — Drum roll please. Cue the marching band. Rise for the national anthem.
No. 1 St. John Bosco (Bellflower, Calif.) versus No. 2 Mater Dei (Santa Ana) is at last upon us.
The kickoff for the regular season Super Bowl of 2022 high school football is just a few hours away, a 7:30 p.m. start with close to 10,000 people expected to jam like sardines into Santa Ana Stadium and a national television audience tuned in on Bally Sports.
College coaches, celebrities, internet influencers, famous alums, scouting gurus, national and local media alike figure to stroll the stadium floor at some point — pre, post or in game — to witness perhaps the largest gathering of present and budding future football stars on a high school football field.
A staggering 76 future college players with either FBS offers or recruiting rankings will go at it, making this a true happening, a spectacle of gridiron prodigies, an embarrassment of prep riches.
In fact, the pageantry of most Friday Night Light games — marching bands, cheer and dance leaders — takes a backseat to the showcase of players.
It feels like Michael Buffer should be making pregame introductions.
Since the turn of the century, this is the 12th time the top two ranked teams in the country have faced off and for the fourth time, the matchup features the Braves of Bosco versus the Monarchs of Mater Dei.
Besides alliteration, this one definitely has a ring and familiarity to it. Especially of late.
Since 2016, the Southern California powers have taken over supremacy of The Golden State, once largely controlled by Northern California and national power De La Salle-Concord, owners of a national record 151-game win streak and subject of a Hollywood movie, "When the Game Stands Tall."
Besides a 2013 CIF Open Division crown, Bosco has won it in 2017 and 2019. Mater Dei has won it 2016, 2018 and 2021 (there was no CIF championships in 2020 due to the pandemic).
The teams have met 12 times since 2014 with Mater Dei winning seven by a cumulative score of 371-325. The games have been more than a little tight and intense and scrutinized.
Ultimately, St. John Bosco coach Jason Negro told John Davis of the Long Beach Press-Telegram this week that the game very likely could come down to something as basic as 50-50 balls.
He pointed to Mater Dei quarterback Elijah Brown's ability to complete the fade pattern and the Braves' inability to win those competitive balls as a big reason why Mater Dei has won the last two meetings, 42-21 last season and 34-17 in the spring of 2021.
Elijah Brown (12), Mater Dei. Photo: Heston Quan.
Indeed, Mater Dei won the turnover battle handily in both wins, intercepting four passes to none by the Braves.
"We gotta win the 50-50 balls," Negro said. "That's something we have not done and didn't do (in the last two games). At the end of the day, those were the difference why we didn't win."
St. John Bosco did come down with the ball in perhaps the most famous finish between the two teams.
A Hail Mary pass from midfield in the 2019 Southern Section Division I finals from Bryce Young — then Mater Dei's senior quarterback and future Heisman winner at Alabama — landed in the middle of the end zone between approximately eight of the finest athletes in the state, four from each team.
Bosco's Kris Hutson, now a sophomore at Oregon, leapt over all to grab the ball and preserve his team's wild 39-34 win. Young threw for 405 yards and five touchdowns. His counterpart, D.J. Uiagalelei (now at Clemson) threw for 446 yards and also five scores.
The finish, the quarterback duel between likely future NFL stars, and the competitive edge of that game epitomized this recent series. The happening. The spectacle.
A continuation of it all is expected in a few hours.
"I'd be lying to you if I didn't think that we had the best team in the country," Negro told Davis. "Hopefully we can go out there and prove it. If not then we have some work to do."
Here's some of the work we've put together this week in preparation for another Bosco-Mater Dei showdown:
St. John Bosco and Mater Dei at top of the Power 25
Mater Dei sophomore CB Chuck McDonald III
St. John Bosco-Mater Dei sells out in minutes
Mater Dei coach Bruce Rollinson plans Season 35
Top Southern California Games of Week
Southern Section rankings: Bosco-Mater Dei ready to roll
List of all 76 college recruits
Sophomore Mater Dei RB Jordon Davison
How to Watch: Bally Sports goes national with game
CIF-SS This Week Episode 8 previewing game
