The victory upends the Southern Section playoff bracket as well the race for the national title as Mater Dei handed the Braves their first loss of the season.
Trailing 24-10 at half,
Ryan Hopkins engineered a masterful second half going 9 of 12 for 175 yards and four touchdowns as the Monarchs outscored the Braves 33-7 over the game's final 25 minutes. He threw five touchdown passes, three to
Kayden Dixon-Wyatt and two to
Chris Henry Jr.. Hopkins finished with nearly 300 yards passing and five touchdowns.
Mater Dei quarterback Ryan Hopkins came up big Friday night, helping the Monarchs knock off the nation's No. 1-ranked team and earn a share of the Trinity League title. (PHOTO: Rene Morales)
Henry Jr., an Ohio State commit, ignited the comeback with an electric 56-yard catch toward the end of the first half. He added a 70-yard TD catch on his first reception of the second half and finished the game with five catches for 213 yards and the two TDs.
Dixon-Wyatt caught four passes for 47 yards and the three scores.
As electric as the Mater Dei offense was after intermission, the defense also stood stout holding Bosco out of the end zone twice late in the fourth quarter.
The Braves failed to score on a first-and-goal from the one as
C.J. Lavender Jr. came up with his second interception of the night in the end zone. After Mater Dei failed to pick up a game-sealing first down, the defense forced four straight incompletions to set off the victory celebration.
The win extended Mater Dei's win streak over Bosco to four games. The Monarchs have won seven of the last 10 over their Trinity League rival.
Kayden Dixon-Wyatt hauls in one of his three touchdown receptions in Mater Dei's upset of St. John Bosco. (PHOTO: Rene Morales)
After spotting Mater Dei a 3-0 lead early in the first after a fumble, St. John Bosco roared back with 24 straight points.
Sophomore
Koa Malau'ulu got the Braves on the board near the end of the first quarter with a 77-yard scoring strike to
D.J. Tubbs. They tacked on a 33-yard
C.J. Wallace field goal for a 10-3 lead just inside the second quarter.
Then the Bosco defense showed out as
Dillon Davis returned a
Malachi Roby fumble 20 yards for the scoop and score to put the Braves up 17-3. They added a
Maliq Allen scoring drive — he carried the ball three times for 44 yards and capped it with a 2-yard plunge to go up 24-3.
While the Bosco offense was efficient, its defense was smothering. The Braves were limiting their rivals to to about one yard per play before Henry's TD reception started the Mater Dei comeback.
Both Bosco (9-1) and Mater Dei (7-2) will be back in action next week in the Southern Section Division 1 playoffs. Check back with MaxPreps on Sunday to see the brackets.
