High school football: No. 3 St. John Bosco takes down No. 9 St. Thomas Aquinas 20-7

By Thomas Frey Aug 26, 2023, 4:00pm

Braves extend out-of-state winning streak to 16 with marquee win in Broward County Showcase.

No. 3 St. John Bosco (Bellflower, Calif.) pushed its out-of-state win streak to 16 games on Saturday after taking down No. 9 St. Thomas Aquinas (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) 20-7 at the Broward County High School Football Showcase.

Aquinas, which has won four straight state championships in Florida, was the last out-of-state squad team to beat Bosco, 9-3 in overtime in 2017.

After trading punts on the first possession, St. John Bosco senior quarterback Caleb Sanchez got the Braves on the scoreboard after hitting sophomore wide receiver Daniel Odom for a 50-yard touchdown with 2:35 to play in the first quarter.

The score stood at 7-0 until the final second of the first half when the Braves drove down to the St. Thomas Aquinas 2-yard line. St. John Bosco initially had its field goal unit on the field, but after a Raiders timeout, the Braves brought their offense back on the field.
Senior Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa of St. John Bosco surveys the offense of St. Thomas Aquinas in the Broward County Showcase. St. John Bosco won the game 20-7. (Photo: Patrick Tewey)
Senior Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa of St. John Bosco surveys the offense of St. Thomas Aquinas in the Broward County Showcase. St. John Bosco won the game 20-7. (Photo: Patrick Tewey)
Sanchez took the snap, handed it to UCLA running back commit Cameron Jones who ran into a brick wall. Senior Kedrick Burley got to Jones first then senior Pitt commit Bryant Allen brought him down to send the Raiders into halftime with momentum with the score intact at 7-0.



Aquinas forced Bosco into a punt on the first possession of the second half, and Allen returned the punt 45 yards down to the 23-yard line. Two plays later St. Thomas Aquinas tied the game as junior quarterback Andrew Indorf hit senior Missouri commit James Madison II in the end zone.

Bosco drove down the field and hit a field goal from senior kicker Marcus Lee from 30 yards out to take a 10-7 lead with 5:44 to play in the third quarter.

After stopping Aquinas, Bosco went on a long drive down the field that culminated in a 6-yard touchdown pass from Sanchez to sophomore Madden Williams that made the score 17-7 with 10:19 to play in the fourth.
St. John Bosco quarterback Caleb Sanchez threw for 340 yards and two touchdowns in the 20-7 win. (Photo: Patrick Tewey)
St. John Bosco quarterback Caleb Sanchez threw for 340 yards and two touchdowns in the 20-7 win. (Photo: Patrick Tewey)
Less than a minute later, St. John Bosco sophomore Tay Lockett intercepted an Aquinas pass with 9:37 left. Bosco ran more than six minutes off the clock before Lee made a field goal to make the score 20-7 with 2:54 remaining.

That score remained and became the final. Sanchez finished with 340 passing yards and two touchdowns.

St. John Bosco moves to 2-0 and will face its third consecutive out-of-state opponent this week in a home game against Friendship Collegiate Academy (Washington, DC). St. Thomas Aquinas hosts Fort Myers on Friday.
Chauncey Sylvester of St. John Bosco dives for the end zone. (Photo: Patrick Tewey)
Chauncey Sylvester of St. John Bosco dives for the end zone. (Photo: Patrick Tewey)