Bryce Young, Kody Epps lead No. 1 Mater Dei past No. 2 St. John Bosco

Video: Mater Dei-Bosco first half highlights

BELLFLOWER, Calif. — Usually when things get repetitive and predictable they become boring. That couldn't be further from the truth when watching Mater Dei (Santa Ana, Calif.) senior Bryce Young.

The Alabama-bound quarterback once again dominated play in a marquee matchup, this time accounting for 329 yards and five touchdowns, leading the nation's top-ranked team to a 38-24 wire-to-wire victory over host, second-ranked and a never-say-die St. John Bosco (Bellflower) squad at sold out Panish Family Stadium.

Young completed 19-of-33 for 256 yards and three touchdowns, all to Kody Epps (10 catches, 160 yards), and rushed for 73 yards and two more scores, leaving Mater Dei coach Bruce Rollinson gasping for superlatives.

"I've had some great ones, but you might be looking at the greatest," said the 70-year coach, who has piled up 308 career wins and coached Heisman Trophy winner Matt Leinart, current Buffalo Bills quarterback Matt Barkley and 2017 MaxPreps National Player of the Year JT Daniels, to name a few. "What he brings to the table is crazy.

"I'll tell you this, he's fun to watch. He makes me look like a pretty good coach."

It was the fourth straight signature win for the Monarchs that Young starred in, lifting his team to their ninth victory in as many games this season.

After throwing for a school-record 538 yards and seven touchdowns in a 71-21 win over Centennial (Ariz.), he accounted for 352 yards and all four touchdowns in a 34-18 win over St. Frances Academy (Baltimore) in another battle of the top two ranked teams in the country.

Two weeks later in Washington D.C., he passed for 428 yards and five touchdowns in 53-24 win at St. John's, a game that was televised nationally. 

Friday's game, only the ninth time since 2000 the top two ranked teams in the country squared off, he made every big play in a contest also pitting the nation's top two rated quarterbacks.

Bosco's DJ Uiagalelei, rated No. 1 by 247Sports, didn't disappoint by completing 19 of 31 for 312 yards and two touchdowns. He constantly brought back the Braves from three score deficits, and almost cut the lead to a single touchdown in the final four minutes.

But Young always had an answer, Mater Dei didn't turn the ball over and Bosco (8-1) committed three turnovers.

"This is the kind of stage (Young) likes," Rollinson said. "He's good friends with D.J., but this is the kind of competition he thrives in."

Said Young: "The atmosphere was definitely electric. Everyone has had this game circled for a long time. But we still have a lot of things to clean up. And this isn't our end point."

After holding Bosco to a three-and-out, Young stood in the pocket under a heavy rush and fired a strike over the middle to Epps at the 25. The speedy senior receiver snapped the ball up and sprinted untouched into the end zone for a 51-yard score with 1:59 gone in the game. Two beautiful connections from Uiagalelei to Jode McDuffie of 39 and 23 yards set up a Logan Loya 21-yard field, cutting the deficit to 7-3 with 5:50 left in the first.

Young and Epps connected again over the middle, again for 50 yards, setting up a 1-yard touchdown run by the Alabama-bound quarterback. On a fourth-and-goal play, Young faked a handoff inside, got hit hard at the goal line but made it in, making it 14-3 with 2:07 left in the first.

Young used his legs to set up the next touchdown drive with a 27-yard scamper across the field. A couple plays later, Young and Epps hooked up again, this time on an 11-yard fade touchdown to the right corner of the end zone, making it 21-3 with 10:26 left in the half.

By that time, Young had completed eight of his first nine passes for 147 yards and accounted for three touchdowns. Five of his completions went to Epps for 126 yards at that point and two touchdowns.

"Kody was on fire tonight," Young said.

Said Rollinson of Epps: "What a night he had. Against some lockdown guys too."

Four Mater Dei defensive penalties — the Monarchs had 10 overall in the first half — helped Bosco temporarily get back in the game during an 80-yard drive, capped with a 9-yard touchdown pass from Uiagalelei to Loya with 8:23 left in the second. Bosco seemed to have gained total momentum on three consecutive sacks of Young, one each by Jarius Satele, Jalen Woods and Jonathan Hardy, but the Braves fumbled the ball away late in the half. A 35-yard field goal from Race Mahlum gave the Monarchs a commanding 24-10 halftime lead.

'We had a little lull there on offense — that can't happen — but the defense really picked us up," Young said. "And Bosco is super tough. We have a lot of respect for them."

When Young connected with Epps on yet another touchdown, this one a scrambling 3-yard strike to the back right corner of the end zone with 7:56 left in the third, Mater Dei again looked again in complete command, up 31-10.

Once again, Bosco wouldn't go away. Impressive sophomore Rayshon Luke burst through the right side and ran over a referee en route to a 34-yard touchdown, cutting the lead to 31-17 with 4:48 left in the third.

But the Braves couldn't slow the Monarchs. Nobody has all season and Young had yet another answer, taking just 39 seconds to make it a three-score game. He capped an 80-yard drive with a seven-yard scramble for a score, and the Monarchs were up 38-17 with 4:09 left in the third.

The Braves responded again as Uiagalelei avoided a big rush and connected on a 48-yard touchdown bomb to Kris Hutson, making it 38-24 with 10:44 left in the game. After holding the Monarchs, Uiagalelei fired a 35-yard completion and then scrambled for a 31-yard gain to the Mater Dei 8.

"DJ was amazing," Young said. "He made some really tough throws."

Uiagalelei scrambled up the middle again, flipping into the end zone on a 5-yard run and the Braves looked to be within one score for the first time since the second quarter. But Bosco was called for holding and the Monarchs held on downs.

But Uigalelei wasn't done yet. He drove Bosco down field again in the final two minutes, but he was intercepted by Jaylin Davies in the red zone. It was Bosco's third turnover of the night. Mater Dei had no turnovers but constantly shot itself in the foot with penalties, 16 of them for 160 yards..

"We have to clean that up," Young said.

With Young, the Monarchs can make up for mistakes. The team's talented and cohessive offensive line also paved the way for 452 yards, including 199 on the ground, 104 on 14 carries from impressive running back Marceese Yetts. 

But everything revolves around Young, Rollinson said, who is immensely popular among his teammates.

"Kids gravitate to him," Rollinson said. "They take pride in protecting him. ... He's the whole package. He's extremely smart. He sees the game, feels it, smells it. It's uncanny the decisions he makes. Yet if he doesn't make a right decision, he points to himself."

Just about everybody was pointing at him too Friday night. Clearly, none were bored.