Servite vs. St. John Bosco Preview: Players to Watch

After suffering a disappointing loss to St. John Bosco just three weeks ago, Servite gets another crack at the Braves in the Division 1 semifinals Friday. Bosco held Servite to just 10 points, 179 yards of total offense and 82 passing yards. The Braves’ secondary, led by [player_tooltip player_id="25252" first="Tayvion" last="Beasley"] and [player_tooltip player_id="115432" first="Marcelles" last="Williams"], held Servite receiver [player_tooltip player_id="25227" first="Tetairoa" last="McMillan"] to just 23 yards on two receptions. Servite’s offense has struggled since losing to Mater Dei. Last week against Santa Margarita, the Friars scored 34 points, but one touchdown was on a pick-six and two others were late in the game due to short fields. [player_tooltip player_id="25286" first="Noah" last="Fifita"] was held to 82 yards against Bosco and had less than 180 yards against Santa Margarita. Servite is capable of running the ball but they need to get the passing game going again if they want to beat Bosco. https://twitter.com/prepzone/status/1461118201991811076?s=20 I expect Bosco to once again dare Servite to run the ball against them. [player_tooltip player_id="187307" first="Houston" last="Thomas"] is a quality running back, but Bosco can score and for Servite to keep pace, they need to throw the ball. Bosco’s running game was fantastic against Los Alamitos in round one. The Braves rushed for 585 yards with [player_tooltip player_id="25233" first="Rayshon" last="Luke"] leading the pack with 248 yards on just 9 carries. [player_tooltip player_id="25266" first="Jabari" last="Bates"] ran for 189 yards on 17 carries and [player_tooltip player_id="25315" first="Michael" last="Hayes"] ran for 133 yards on 11 carries. https://twitter.com/prepzone/status/1459392015679074304?s=20 The Braves will not rush for that many yards against Servite with <strong>Aden Eckenwiler</strong> and [player_tooltip player_id="143131" first="Jacob" last="Manu"] at linebacker, but they may not need to. [player_tooltip player_id="25367" first="Pierce" last="Clarkson"] and [player_tooltip player_id="25273" first="Katin" last="Houser"] are both capable of picking apart defenses. [player_tooltip player_id="143115" first="Chedon" last="James"] can get open against multiple coverages. [player_tooltip player_id="141958" first="Logan" last="Booher"] and <strong>Colin Chase</strong> have been effective receivers as well and [player_tooltip player_id="25456" first="Matayo" last="Uiagalelei"] is a matchup nightmare. Servite would love to have [player_tooltip player_id="115420" first="Emmett" last="Mosley"] healthy for this game. Mosley played well at corner against Mater Dei which allowed McMillan to move over to safety. Mosley is questionable for the game. The Friars would also love to pick apart Bosco’s defense on intermediate routes. Bosco has the weapons at linebacker and safety to prevent that from happening. [player_tooltip player_id="25253" first="Sione" last="Hala"] and [player_tooltip player_id="115433" first="Peyton" last="Woodyard"] are hard hitting safeties. [player_tooltip player_id="145132" first="Ty" last="Lee"] is a great cover secondary player. [player_tooltip player_id="25257" first="Jalen" last="Woods"] is a star at linebacker and [player_tooltip player_id="145191" first="Deven" last="Bryant"] has been outstanding the past month. https://twitter.com/ServiteSports/status/1460323711710470144?s=20 Some local media members are picking Servite to win this game and I understand why. The Friars have one of their most talented rosters in school history and are saying the right things. “Every year we talk about beating them,” McMillan said. “Enough with the talking, we just have to go out there and beat them. The excitement is through the roof. We know it is going to be a dogfight, we just have to be prepared.” Servite can absolutely win this game. I trust the Bosco coaching staff to be able to once again contain Servite’s offense and adjust on the fly if need be.