St. John Bosco (Bellflower, Calif.) finishes the year where it began — as the No. 1 team in the MaxPreps Top 25 high school football rankings. The Braves are national champions for the second time in four years.
After starting the season in the top spot, Bosco overcame a 17-7 loss against
Mater Dei (Santa Ana, Calif.) in early October to work its way back to the No. 1 ranking. The Braves outscored their next five opponents 225-41, including a dominant 41-6 win over
Mission Viejo to set up a rematch with Mater Dei in the CIF Southern Section Division 1 championship.
St. John Bosco avenged its only loss of the season, beating the Monarchs 24-22 to win their fourth section championship since 2013. Two weeks later, the Los Angeles-area powerhouse became the first team since 2011 to post a shutout in the CIF Open Division state championship, blanking previously-unbeaten Serra (San Mateo) 45-0.
Bosco (13-1) outscored opponents 592-111 on the season with wins over teams from Hawaii, Oregon and Texas in addition to No. 3 Mater Dei and several other in-state heavyweights.
Senior quarterback
Pierce Clarkson provided steady guidance for the Braves, throwing for 2,351 yards and 30 touchdowns to go with nearly 500 yards rushing and five more scores. He threw for 264 yards and three touchdowns in the 24-22 victory over Mater Dei that snapped a 29-game win streak.
Uiagalelei,
Vaka Hansen,
Max Amasio and freshman
Dutch Horisk led the way up front for a dominant Bosco defense hat allowed less than eight points per game.
Deven Bryant,
Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa, Jordan Lockhart,
Khmori House and
Sir Tyler Thomas led the linebackers. The secondary may have been the best in the country led by
Marcelles Williams,
Aaron Williams,
Peyton Woodyard,
Jshawn Frausto-Ramos,
R.J. Jones,
Ty Lee and
Tamal Johnson.
Head coach Jason Negro has led the Braves to four CIF Open Division state titles (2013, 2016, 2019, 2022) and two MaxPreps National Championships (2019, 2022). He is 139-26 during his 13-year tenure as head coach with the program. Bosco has finished ranked in the top 10 nationally seven straight years and have finished ranked in the MaxPreps Top 25 in nine straight seasons, the longest active streak of any school in the country.
Past MaxPreps National Champions
2005 — Southlake Carroll (Southlake, Texas)
2006 — Southlake Carroll
2007 — St. Xavier (Cincinnati)
2008 — St. Thomas Aquinas (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.)
2009 — Don Bosco Prep (Ramsey, N.J.)
2010 — South Panola (Batesville, Miss.)
2011 — Don Bosco Prep
2012 — John Curtis Christian (River Ridge, La.)
2013 — Booker T. Washington (Miami)
2014 — Allen (Texas)
2015 — Katy (Texas)
2016 — Bishop Gorman (Las Vegas)
2017 — Mater Dei (Santa Ana, Calif.)
2018 — North Shore (Houston)
2019 — St. John Bosco (Bellflower, Calif.)
2020 — IMG Academy (Bradenton, Fla.)
2021 — Mater Dei
MaxPreps Top 25 football rankings
Record: 13-1 | Last week: 1
Season complete
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Last week: Beat American Heritage (Plantation) 38-31
Season complete
Record: 12-1 | Last week: 2
Season complete
Record: 14-1 | Last week: 4
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Season complete
Record: 8-1 | Last week: 6
Season complete
Record: 14-0 | Last week: 7
Last week: Beat Homestead 38-21
Season complete
Record: 15-0 | Last week: 9
Last week: Beat North Shore (Houston) 28-21
Season complete
Record: 9-1 | Last week: 11
Season complete
Record: 15-1 | Last week: 8
Last week: Lost 28-21 to Duncanville
Season complete
Record: 13-1 | Last week: 5
Last week: Lost 49-14 to Bishop Gorman (Las Vegas)
Season complete
Record: 14-1 | Last week: 12
Season complete
Record: 13-2 | Last week: 10
Last week: Lost 38-31 to Central (Miami)
Season complete
Record: 13-0 | Last week: 13
Season complete
Record: 14-0 | Last week: 14
Last week: Beat Venice 21-14
Season complete
Record: 15-0 | Last week: 15
Season complete
Record: 14-1 | Last week: 16
Season complete
Record: 15-1 | Last week: 17
Season complete
Record: 12-1 | Last week: 18
Season complete
Record: 12-1 | Last week: 19
Season complete
Record: 11-1 | Last week: 20
Season complete
Record: 14-2 | Last week: 21
Last week: Beat Vandegrift (Austin) 42-17
Season complete
Record: 14-1 | Last week: 22
Season complete
Record: 14-1 | Last week: 23
Last week: Beat Apopka 16-13
Season complete
Record: 11-1 | Last week: 24
Season complete
Record: 12-2 | Last week: 25
Season complete