St. John Bosco vs. Mater Dei: Offensive Standouts

Two of the top teams in the country played each other Saturday in the Trinity League championship game at the Santa Ana Bowl. Mater Dei cruised to a 34-17 win over the Braves and there are plenty of great pieces you can read for a traditional game recap. There were dozens of media outlets covering the game. Instead of giving you a scoring summary with some quotes and big picture thoughts, I am going to breakdown the players who stood out on both sides of the ball and some under the radar players who stepped up in the big game. Here are some players on each team that had the best performances on offense: <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="25266" first="Jabari" last="Bates"], St. John Bosco, 2022</strong> In <a href="https://prepredzone.com/2021/04/st-john-bosco-vs-mater-dei-preview-players-to-watch/">my preview of the game</a>, I wrote about how [player_tooltip player_id="25233" first="Rayshon" last="Luke"] was the big play running back for the Braves and had breakaway speed but Bates proved to be the more effective back Saturday. Luke made plays in the passing game and played well, but was clearly banged up and didn’t play much in the second half. Bates had a 66-yard touchdown run in the first quarter to open the scoring for Bosco and rushed for 124 yards on just 11 carries. He has excellent field vision and despite being only 160 pounds can lower his shoulder and absorb big hits. Bates has offers from Arizona State, Michigan, Nevada, Oregon, Oregon State and San Jose State. https://twitter.com/prepzone/status/1383609010004193281?s=20 <hr /> <strong>Edward Riley, St. John Bosco, 2021</strong> In a game full of great offensive linemen, Riley played very well. He was playing center for St. John Bosco and did a great job picking up blitzes and was aggressive in the running game. He suffered a leg injury in the fourth quarter and came back into the game and played incredibly hard for the Braves. When he was hurt at the trainer’s table, several players stopped by to pat him on the helmet which shows that he is a leader and respected by his peers. Riley is under recruited, largely because of the Power 5 talent around him, but he has an offer from Black Hills State. Should he decide to go there, he will be the most talented lineman on the team. <hr /> <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="25067" first="Maximus" last="Gibbs"], St. John Bosco, 2021</strong> I had seen Gibbs in person before but watching the game from the sidelines gave me a new appreciation of him. He is so versatile and the Braves move him around the line during the game depending on the play. He was the most aggressive lineman for Bosco and was not called for a holding penalty, which was a rarity in this game. A guy of his size shouldn’t be able to move the way he does and his ability to stay in front of more athletic linebackers in the running game is impressive. USC is getting a multiple year starter in Gibbs. <hr /> <strong>Elijah Brown, Mater Dei, 2024</strong> Quarterbacks often get the credit when the team wins, but Brown was the breakout star of the game. He was on the biggest stage of his young career against the best opponent he has ever played and he rose to the occasion. He was accurate on short passes, threw the ball downfield effectively and the Mater Dei receivers raved about him after the game. He isn’t the first freshman quarterback to start as the Mater Dei quarterback (JT Daniels, Matt Barkley) and he will be a joy to watch for the next three years. Brown was offered by Pittsburgh recently and will be a national recruit by the end of the summer. https://twitter.com/mikehuntley63/status/1383648421752446980?s=20 <hr /> <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="25224" first="CJ" last="Williams"], Mater Dei, 2022</strong> Williams quite frankly dominated the St. John Bosco corners, who are all major recruits. Bosco was only able to contain him when getting safety help in zone coverage. He lined up in various spots on the field and ran routes of all depths. He had two touchdown catches, one on a remarkable catch and one where he burned a corner in man coverage. Greg Biggins of 247Sports compared him to <strong>Keenan Allen</strong> of the Los Angeles Chargers and it’s a very good comparison. Williams has 49 offers including major schools like Alabama, Ohio State, Notre Dame and Texas. https://twitter.com/prepzone/status/1383608141493936145?s=20 <hr /> <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="25103" first="George" last="Miki-Han"], Mater Dei, 2021</strong> Bosco was playing elite pass rusher [player_tooltip player_id="25245" first="Nathan" last="Burrell"] at the nose tackle spot and would also send A gap blitzers to try to put interior pressure on Brown and stop the run. Mike-Han did an outstanding job of picking up blitzes, helping his guards navigate blitzes in the running game and got a strong push on whoever he was blocking. Other Mater Dei linemen played well like [player_tooltip player_id="25453" first="BJ" last="Tolo"] and [player_tooltip player_id="25083" first="Ross" last="Maseuli"], but Miki-Han stoodout as the most crucial Mater Dei lineman of the game. He is signed with Colorado State and should get to play early there. <hr /> <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="25109" first="Marceese" last="Yetts"], Mater Dei, 2021</strong> Mater Dei ran the ball very well against Bosco and the key was bouncing runs to the outside and getting into space. [player_tooltip player_id="25225" first="Raleek" last="Brown"] did that well but Yetts was crucial in preserving the Monarch’s lead late in the game. He had 86 yards on 15 carries and a lot of his success came on third down. He is an outstanding back who is stronger than he looks when you see him in pregame. He is going to Air Force and will be a major threat as one of the wings in their offense. <hr /> <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="25051" first="Kyron" last="Ware-Hudson"], Mater Dei, 2021</strong> Kyron didn’t get a lot of action this season, probably because he is already signed with USC and Mater Dei wanted to showcase its younger receivers and not get him injured. I predicted they would unleash him in this game and they did to a degree. He is a big and strong receiver at over 200 pounds and has long strides for a guy who is 6-foot-1. He scored a 64-yard touchdown pass on a fade route where he outran the Bosco secondary and used his strength to score. USC is getting a versatile receiver with a college-ready body who can step in and play almost immediately. https://twitter.com/prepzone/status/1383616577686302732?s=20