Five takes from No. 1 Mater Dei's win over No. 5 St. John Bosco

Video: Amon-Ra St. Brown interview
Wide receiver came in big in win for No. 1 Mater Dei.

Five Takes: No. 1 Mater Dei 31, No. 5 St. John Bosco 21
Quick thoughts on statement win for the nation's top-ranked team.

1. Run JT run! When did JT Daniels of Mater Dei (Santa Ana, Calif.) get such mad running skills? What we recall of him last year: Not so nimble once out of the pocket. On Friday, he broke loose a couple of times, including a 65-yard scamper in the third quarter setting up a field goal. He finished with 103 yards, the first time breaking the century mark in his career. In fact, his first two seasons he rushed for a combined minus-four yards. That includes sacks of course. This year, he's already rushed for 256 yards. In 33 career games, the 6-foot-2, 210-pound junior has passed for close to 10,000 yards (9,832). If the USC-commit and nation's top-rated junior quarterback continues to develop his speed and feet, it simply won't be fair.

2. DJ rocks If Alabama and USC have offered, which they have, then it's pretty obvious St. John Bosco (Bellflower, Calif.) sophomore QB DJ Uiagalelei is a special talent. But the 6-foot-5, 240-pounder flashed even more amazing skills in defeat. After a slow start, he completed 12 of 22 for 257 yards and two long touchdowns of 85 and 75 yards. He showed his impressive arm strength on those throws, but more so on a 19-yard fourth-quarter slant to Jake Bailey. It was an absolute rope into a very tight window. More impressive even was how he shed would-be tacklers and showed nimble feet during scrambles. It doesn't show in stat book — 16 attempts, 10 yards — but that's only because of being sacked seven times, which is the one area Uiagalelei will get better on. He simply needs to get rid of the ball sooner. That will come with experience. Considering the magnitude of the game, in his first start, it was an "A" performance.

3. What if? As fantastic as Uiagalelei played, everyone wonders what if two-year starter Re-Al Mitchell had split time with him. Mitchell, the Iowa state commit with 10.5-second-100-meter speed, was unavailable due to an "undisclosed injury," according to coach Jason Negro and Mitchell. He and Uiagalelei complimented each other beautifully the week before in a 42-21 win over Orange Lutheran. That extra dimension would have certainly given Mater Dei headaches and quite frankly, may have swayed the score. Bosco had a long punt return nullified by penalty late, and the Monarchs blocked a chip-shot field goal attempt in the final two minutes. That said, Mater Dei also had 14 penalties for 111 yards or the score might have been more lopsided. Final answer: Mitchell definitely would have helped Bosco's cause, but the result would have only been tighter. 

4. Offensive We've seen some prolific offenses over the last three decades, but none more so than this Mater Dei squad. Granted, Centennial (Corona) has put up way more numbers and points the last 15 years under coach Matt Logan. The Bishop Gorman (Las Vegas) squads from 2014-16 with the trio of quarterback Tate Martell, receiver Tyjon Lindsey and running back Biaggio Ali-Walsh was literally unbeatable. But the combination of Daniels, who will end up Southern California's most prolific passer, with the massive and skilled offensive line, led by Tommy Brown, along with Mater Dei's deep core of receivers, the reaction is simply "wow." Amon-Ra St. Brown (eight catches, 238 yards, 2 TDs, 51-yard punt return for TD) showed in about every way possible on Friday, he may be the best receiver in the country. There are three more Division I talents catching passes too. That leaves the running backs, who are vastly under-rated according to coach Bruce Rollinson, led by Shakobe Harper.

5. Next time Last year, Mater Dei won the Trinity League regular season game against Bosco, which reversed the score when it counted most, the Southern Section Pac-5 championship game. Can that happen again? Sure. Will it? If I was betting man, I'd say no. First off, Bosco's road to get back to Mater Dei will be tougher. Not only is national seventh-ranked Centennial (Corona) in the way, but so is No. 20 Mission Viejo. And getting through that gauntlet might just take too much out of the Braves. Besides that, the quarterback situation and the emotional toll it apparently has taken on the squad has been significant, we hear. Besides all that, even if all is smooth in Bosco's world, Mater Dei just looks like a superior team, for all the reasons mentioned above, plus a highly under-rated defense. The Monarchs did get burned on a couple big plays in the first half, but Rollinson challenged his team, and a group of experienced players, who have been through the wringer, responded. Experience goes a long way in high school sports. When Mater Dei beat then No. 1 Bishop Gorman 35-21 early, to snap Gorman's 55-game win streak, it was very apparent the Monarchs have a bigger goal in mind. They've never even been to a state-championship game. There was a calm and confidence about them that appears unbeatable. That said, they're high school kids and they've committed 29 penalties the last two weeks. Nothing is a sure thing with teens.