Mater Dei vs. St. John Bosco Preview
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Two of the nation’s best teams will play each other on Friday: Mater Dei and St. John Bosco. Mater Dei has a 90-4 record since 2016 and all four losses came to St. John Bosco, including the 2022 CIF-SS Division…
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Continue ReadingTwo of the nation’s best teams will play each other on Friday: Mater Dei and St. John Bosco.
Mater Dei has a 90-4 record since 2016 and all four losses came to St. John Bosco, including the 2022 CIF-SS Division 1 championship game.
St. John Bosco is 84-12 since 2016, eight of those losses have come to Mater Dei.
Here is a breakdown of each position group and who I think has the advantage:
QUARTERBACK
Elijah Brown Elijah Brown 6'2" | 180 lbs | DB Narbonne | 2024 State CA of Mater Dei has completed 73 percent of his passes for 239 yards per game with 25 touchdowns and four interceptions.
Caleb Sanchez Caleb Sanchez 6'4" | 225 lbs | QB St. John Bosco | 2024 State CA of St. John Bosco has completed 78 percent of his passes for 265 yards per game with 17 touchdowns and four interceptions.
It’s important to note that six of Mater Dei’s seven games have been blowouts in which Brown was not throwing much in the second half. Brown is committed to Stanford and Sanchez recently got an offer from Houston Christian.
Advantage: Mater Dei
RUNNING BACKS
Mater Dei has run for 980 yards on 159 carries with 11 touchdowns. Jordon Davison Jordon Davison 6'0" | 210 lbs | RB Mater Dei | 2025 State CA has run for 579 yards and seven touchdowns. Nate Frazier Nate Frazier 6'0" | 210 lbs | RB Mater Dei | 2024 State CA has 328 yards on just 41 carries with two touchdowns. Ajon Bryant Ajon Bryant 5'7" | 160 lbs | RB Mater Dei | 2024 State CA is also a high-level running back who Mater Dei uses more in the passing game than the running game.
St. John Bosco has run for 1078 yards on 191 attempts with 16 touchdowns. UCLA commit Cameron Jones Cameron Jones 6'2" | 220 lbs | RB St. John Bosco | 2024 State CA leads the team with 449 yard on just 56 carries with eight touchdowns. Chauncey Sylvester Chauncey Sylvester 5'11" | 190 lbs | RB St. John Bosco | 2024 State CA has 364 yards with six touchdowns. The breakout back for the Braves has been Jeremy Lenore and Khalil Warren Khalil Warren 5'10" | 200 lbs | RB St. John Bosco | 2024 State CA has five yards per attempt.
This is incredibly difficult to judge.
Advantage: Mater Dei (slightly)
RECEIVERS
Marcus Brown Marcus Brown 5'10" | 170 lbs | WR Mater Dei | 2024 State CA is averaging 21 yards per catch for Mater Dei and has eight touchdowns. Kayden Dixon-Wyatt Kayden Dixon-Wyatt 6'3" | 185 lbs | WR Mater Dei | 2026 State CA is a rising sophomore with 19 yards per catch with five touchdowns. Marcus Harris Marcus Harris 6'1" | 175 lbs | WR Mater Dei | 2025 State CA is a big play receiver and Jack Ressler Jack Ressler 5'11" | 185 lbs | WR Mater Dei | 2024 State CA is always capable of making plays after the catch. Two rising sophomores get playing time for the Monarchs in Jonah Smith Jonah Smith 6'1" | 180 lbs | WR Santa Margarita | 2026 State CA and JuJu Parm JuJu Parm 5'11" | 155 lbs | WR Mater Dei | 2026 State CA .
Chaparral transfer Stacy Dobbins Stacy Dobbins 5'7" | 145 lbs | WR St. John Bosco | 2024 State CA is the leading receiver for the Braves. Tommy Maher Tommy Maher 5'10" | 180 lbs | WR St. John Bosco | 2024 CA is the safety blanket for Sanchez and the sophomore duo of Daniel Odom Daniel Odom 6'2" | 180 lbs | WR St. John Bosco | 2026 State CA and Madden Williams Madden Williams 6'2" | 180 lbs | WR St John Bosco | 2026 State CA is electric. Kamryn Jones Kamryn Jones 6'3" | 200 lbs | WR Rancho Cucamonga | 2025 State CA is capable of big plays and Owen Tomich Owen Tomich 6'1" | 175 lbs | WR St. John Bosco | 2024 State CA is overqualified to be a fifth or sixth receiver.
OFFENSIVE LINE
Mater Dei is loaded up front with two of the top tackles in the state: DeAndre Carter DeAndre Carter 6'5" | 350 lbs | OL Mater Dei | 2024 State CA and Brandon Baker Brandon Baker 6'5" | 290 lbs | OL Mater Dei | 2024 State CA . Baker is committed to Texas and Carter is committed to Auburn. Sione Tohi Sione Tohi 6'4" | 300 lbs | OL Mater Dei | 2025 State CA is an elite junior on the offensive line. Christian Fallani is the center and freshman Lex Mailangi Lex Mailangi 6'3" | 325 lbs | OL Mater Dei | 2027 State CA are the other two starters.
St. John Bosco is led by SMU commit King Large King Large 6'5" | 295 lbs | OL St. John Bosco | 2024 State CA on the offensive line. Matai Jefferson Matai Jefferson 6'6" | 350 lbs | OL St. John Bosco | 2025 State CA is a very good run blocker up front and Matthew Perdue has some sneaky strength.
Advantage: Mater Dei
DEFENSIVE LINE/EDGE RUSHERS
Mater Dei is led by Aydin Breland Aydin Breland 6'5" | 290 lbs | DL Mater Dei | 2024 State CA on the interior of the defensive line along with Semi Taulanga Semi Taulanga 6'1" | 295 lbs | DL Mater Dei | 2025 State CA and Zeus Venegas Zeus Venegas 6'3" | 260 lbs | DL Mater Dei | 2024 State CA . The Monarchs defense has 78 tackles for a loss. The edge rushers are Tanner Williams Tanner Williams 6'1" | 210 lbs | LB Mater Dei | 2024 State CA and Nasir Wyatt Nasir Wyatt 6'2" | 225 lbs | LB Mater Dei | 2025 State CA , arguably the best edge rushing combination in the state. Sophomore Shaun Scott Shaun Scott 6'3" | 225 lbs | LB Mater Dei | 2026 State CA is also a rising edge rusher.
St. John Bosco has fewer big names on the defensive line, but sophomore edge rusher Dutch Horisk Dutch Horisk 6'3" | 240 lbs | DL St. John Bosco | 2026 State CA is one of the Trinity League leaders in sacks. Lance Olive-Enos is another quality sophomore on the defensive line.
Advantage: Mater Dei
LINEBACKERS
Ramere Davis Ramere Davis 6'1" | 190 lbs | LB Mater Dei | 2024 State CA is a linebacker who is tough for offensive linemen to bounce to at the second level. 9 of his 12 tackles this season are for a loss. Abduall Sanders Abduall Sanders 6'2" | 215 lbs | LB Mater Dei | 2025 State CA leads Mater Dei in tackles and has been one of the breakout defensive players of the season. Dash Fifita Dash Fifita LB Mater Dei | 2026 CA is another linebacker to keep an eye on.
This is the strength of Bosco’s team. Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa 6'3" | 225 lbs | LB St. John Bosco | 2024 State CA (Notre Dame), Jordan Lockhart Jordan Lockhart 6'3" | 220 lbs | ATH St. John Bosco | 2024 State CA (Texas A&M) and Khmori House Khmori House 6'2" | 205 lbs | LB St. John Bosco | 2024 State CA (Washington) are the best linebacker trio I have ever seen. Ashtin Kekahuna-Lopes Ashtin Kekahuna-Lopes 6'3" | 210 lbs | LB St. John Bosco | 2024 State CA is another linebacker to watch for the Braves.
Advantage: St. John Bosco
SECONDARY
Mater Dei is younger in the secondary but they are athletic. Alabama commit Zabien Brown Zabien Brown 6'1" | 180 lbs | DB Mater Dei | 2024 State CA leads the secondary. Jeilani Davis Jeilani Davis 6'1" | 190 lbs | DB Mater Dei | 2024 State CA leads the team with four interceptions and Daryus Dixson Daryus Dixson 6'1" | 180 lbs | DB Mater Dei | 2025 State CA has three. Chuck McDonald III Chuck McDonald III 6'1" | 180 lbs | DB Mater Dei | 2025 State CA is a strong cover corner and Jayden Crowder Jayden Crowder 5'11" | 165 lbs | DB Santa Margarita | 2026 State CA is always in the mix. Keep an eye out for long snapper Rylan Vagana Rylan Vagana 6'1" | 200 lbs | DB Mater Dei | 2024 State CA who also plays some safety.
St. John Bosco is incredibly difficult to move the ball on through the air because of its secondary. USC commit Marcelles Williams Marcelles Williams 6'0" | 185 lbs | DB St. John Bosco | 2024 State CA leads the pack along with Alabama commit Peyton Woodyard Peyton Woodyard 6'2" | 195 lbs | DB St. John Bosco | 2024 State CA . Frankie Edwards III Frankie Edwards III 5'11" | 175 lbs | DB St. John Bosco | 2024 State CA has been good at corner along with Tamal Johnson Tamal Johnson 6'0" | 170 lbs | DB St. John Bosco | 2024 State CA and young Tay Lockett Tay Lockett 6'0" | 175 lbs | DB St. John Bosco | 2026 State CA . Dillon Rickenbacker Dillon Rickenbacker 6'1" | 200 lbs | DB St. John Bosco | 2024 State CA is not as big a name as the others, but leads the secondary in tackles with 34.