No. 2 Mater Dei declines offer to play No. 1 St. John Bosco at SoFi Stadium in high school football's game of the year

The most highly-anticipated high school football game of 2022 between No. 1 St. John Bosco (Bellflower, Calif.) and No. 2 Mater Dei (Santa Ana, Calif.) scheduled for Oct. 7 will remain at Santa Ana Stadium after the Monarchs declined an offer to hold the game at SoFi Stadium, home of the NFL's Rams and Chargers.

Mater Dei would have given up a home game for the chance to play in the first high school game held in one of the country's premier sporting venues.

The two powerhouse programs have taken turns representing Southern California in the state championship game in recent years and have combined to capture three of the last five national titles as recognized by MaxPreps. Mater Dei finished No. 1 in 2017 and 2021 while Bosco claimed top billing in 2019.

Both teams are undefeated this season. St. John Bosco beat Allen (Texas) on the road 52-14 to open the season and has won its three games by an average of 40 points per game. The Braves are led by four-star senior Louisville commit Pierce Clarkson at quarterback and five-star senior Matayo Uiagalelei, who plays tight end and defensive end.

Sophomore Nasir Wyatt had two sacks in each of Mater Dei's big wins. The offense is led by junior four-star signal caller Elijah Brown, who has completed 73 percent of his passes to top targets that include Jordan Onovughe and junior Marcus Brown.