St. John Bosco vs. Mater Dei: Under the Radar Standouts
In this article:
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…
Access all of Prep Redzone
Continue reading this article and more.
Continue ReadingTwo 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 my offensive standouts from the game.
Here are my defensive standouts from the game.
Below are the under the radar players who impressed me in the game.
Logan Booher, St. John Bosco, 2022
Booher doesn’t even have a profile on some recruiting sites and it baffles me. He isn’t the fastest or most college-ready receiver on Bosco’s team but whenever I would look at the secondary, Booher would be open at least for a second. He is a good route runner and a decent sized guy at 6-foot-2 and 200 pounds. He has good speed but he creates separation with his agility and route running. He is a 4.4 GPA student with an offer from Brown and should be on many other schools’ radar.
Been too long, finally back in the end zone!@_pierceclarkson 🏹 💰 pic.twitter.com/mz04jtgY8z
— Logan Booher (@booher_logan) March 8, 2021
Jairus Satele Jairus Satele 6'1" | 300 lbs | DL St. John Bosco | 2022 State CA , St. John Bosco, 2022
Satele stood out as the most effective defensive lineman on Bosco which is impressive considering the names on that front. He stays low throughout the play, keeps his feet moving and his motor is off the charts. As a pass rusher, he gets skinny and has a good club move. He was constantly in the backfield and making Mater Dei’s freshman quarterback make decisions on run/pass options quicker than he wanted to. He did a good job of eating up double teams which gave his linebackers room to make plays. Satele has offers from Army, Colorado and Kansas.
Very impressed with 2021 LB Andrew Simpson (@dreww___2 ) He will be a fantastic late addition to any class and provides value in versatility early on.
Jairus Satele (@satele56) does not get the recognition he deserves. Quick first step, consistently disruptive, high motor. pic.twitter.com/qhSCtgqrAf
— Kyle Morgan CATAPULT Southwest Regional Scout (@KyleMorgan_XOS) April 18, 2021
Jaxon Harley Jaxon Harley 5'10" | 150 lbs | DB St. John Bosco | 2022 State CA , St. John Bosco, 2022
Harley isn’t the highest-profile defensive back on the Braves, but he did a good job defending deep balls to elite Mater Dei receivers. He can be a safety or a nickel corner that Bosco can rely on in man-to-man coverage against anyone. He’s an asset because when the other team motions their best receiver to him, you can bump the man coverage to him instead of having your top corner run with him. He is small at 5-foot-9 and 165 pounds and has offers from Kansas and Nevada. Harley should get some more offers during the fall.
Mater Dei takes a shot. Deep pass to CJ Williams, broken up by Jaxon Harley of St. John Bosco. @PrepRedzoneCA @ocvarsity pic.twitter.com/hRPQovmk26
— Michael Huntley (@mikehuntley63) April 18, 2021
Josiah Zamora, Mater Dei, 2021
Zamora has no offers but is just as important to the Mater Dei offense as highly-touted receivers Kyron Ware-Hudson Kyron Ware-Hudson 6'1" | 205 lbs | WR Mater Dei | 2021 State CA and CJ Williams CJ Williams 6'2" | 195 lbs | WR Mater Dei | 2022 State CA . He had seven catches for 58 yards with a touchdown. He lines up all over the field and he clearly was a safety blanket for Monarchs’ quarterback Elijah Brown. He was so effective on bubble and short routes that the defense began keying on him which resulted in a deep touchdown for Ware-Hudson. When asked if his performance in a big game like this will effect his recruiting, he said, “Hopefully. It’s out of my hands. Hopefully it does but if not, I’m not too worried about it. It’s in God’s hands.” Zamora is a great teammate and player and would be a fantastic addition to any college who needs a late addition to its roster.
Elijah Brown with a 12-yd touchdown pass to Josiah Zamora.
Mater Dei 31, St. John Bosco 17 with 2:58 left in the 3rd. @ocvarsity @MDFootball @_JosiahZ_ pic.twitter.com/2v5vPxZ8NM
— Michael Huntley (@mikehuntley63) April 18, 2021
Zabien Brown, Mater Dei, 2024
There were a ton of high-profile freshmen in this game, but Brown was laying big hits confidently like a senior playing his last game. It’s hard to call him an under the radar guy when he has offers from Penn State and USC, but he wasn’t talked about much in pregame coverage and came to play. He was laying big hits on Bosco receivers on crossing routes and coming up in the running game and making tackles. He will be a fun one to watch for the next three years and is already a national recruit.
Zabien Brown (@zabien_brown) is a fluid athlete with excellent length.
Very impressed with his instincts and ability to close on the ball.
Bright future for this 2024 DB. pic.twitter.com/5qyEH60Qj7— Kyle Morgan CATAPULT Southwest Regional Scout (@KyleMorgan_XOS) April 20, 2021
Austin Bressler, Mater Dei, 2021
Bressler is a linebacker who doesn’t get a lot of shine because he plays with elite backers like Raesjon Davis Raesjon Davis 6'1" | 215 lbs | LB Mater Dei | 2021 State CA , David Bailey David Bailey 6'3" | 220 lbs | LB Mater Dei | 2022 State CA and Eoghan Kerry Eoghan Kerry 6'3" | 235 lbs | DL Mater Dei | 2022 State CA . Bressler is a solid high school player who can rush the passer, play spy on the quarterback and come up and stop the run. He is a good athlete who would lead most teams in Orange County in tackles if given the chance. He is 6-foot-2 and 230 pounds and the lack of college offers for him surprises me. He made some big plays against Bosco with a lot of eyes on him so it wouldn’t surprise me if a small school came in and tried to add him to their roster late in the game.
No offers, No stars, making big plays when it matters for the #1 TEAM IN THE NATION! @MDFootball @UTRScouting @GregBiggins @BrandonHuffman pic.twitter.com/p0nPMUDkTs
— Austin Bressler 21’ (@austin_bressler) April 18, 2021
Jack Ressler Jack Ressler 5'11" | 185 lbs | WR Mater Dei | 2024 State CA , Mater Dei, 2024
Another guy who isn’t really a sleeper, but impressed me in limited playing time on Saturday. He’s a freshman who runs crisp routes and is physical enough to shake cornerbacks free in press coverage. He is just under 6 feet and will grow to about 190-200 pounds with good speed and football instincts. Mater Dei receivers coach James Finley was raving to me about him after the game and said he will be a big contributor this fall and a national recruit. He has four offers as a freshman from Arizona, Arizona State, Hawaii and Pittsburgh. I look forward to seeing senior quarterback Elijah Brown throwing to senior star receiver Jack Ressler Jack Ressler 5'11" | 185 lbs | WR Mater Dei | 2024 State CA in a few years.