High school football: No. 3 St. John Bosco hangs on to beat East St. Louis 42-26

In high school football's most eagerly-anticipated national matchup Friday night, No. 3 St. John Bosco (Bellflower, Calif.) held off a late rally to beat East St. Louis (Ill.) 42-26. The victorious Braves scored 21 unanswered points in the second quarter to take control.

East St. Louis (2-1), which has already knocked off two of the top teams in Missouri and will face No. 2 IMG Academy (Bradenton, Fla.) at a neutral site in Mississippi later this season, scored all 26 of its points in the second half.

St. John Bosco (4-0) junior quarterback Pierce Clarkson had touchdown runs of 51 and 10 yards while Chedon James added a 17-yard TD run off a double reverse to give the Braves a 21-0 halftime lead.

When Rayshon Luke broke off a 60-yard touchdown run to start the third quarter, this one appeared long gone. The Flyers entered 55-6 since 2016 under coach Darren Sunkett and feature numerous FBS prospects, including five-star receiver Luther Burden III (Oklahoma commit), top sophomore quarterback Robert Battle and Arkansas State-bound cornerback Ahmad Robinson.

East St. Louis moved the ball well in the first half but couldn't turn it into points. After a 12-yard touchdown pass from Katin Houser to Matayo Uiagalelei made it 35-0, the Flyers finally got things going.

Battle completed a 30-yard touchdown pass to Burden to cut the lead to 35-6. Burden was just getting started. His 65-yard punt return for a score, closed the gap to 35-12 late in the third quarter.

The Flyers got two more fourth-quarter touchdowns on a fumble return and an 18-yard pass from Ryan Boyd to Burden for his third touchdown, making it 35-26. But Clarkson put it away with an 86-yard touchdown pass to Logan Booher, making it 42-26.

East St. Louis returns home to face Belleville East (Belleville).

Bosco, which opened the season with an impressive 35-12 win over Florida power Miami Central, travels all the way across the country next week to face Virginia's top program Oscar Smith (Chesapeake).