MaxPreps is pleased to announce that the
St. John Bosco (Bellflower, Calif.) Braves have officially been named to the 12th Annual MaxPreps Tour of Champions presented by the Army National Guard, which is in its 12th year honoring football.
This is one of the most prestigious team awards in all of high school sports and it is an exclusive honor reserved for the top 100 teams nationwide. In order to be eligible, a team must win a state championship and be highly ranked in the
MaxPreps National Rankings. For football, only 50 of the country's best are invited and with nearly 17,000 competing varsity teams. This puts the Braves ahead of 99.9 percent of their opponents!
St. John Bosco was undeniably one of the best teams in the nation this season. Trying to curb the Braves rushing attack was near impossible with QB Re-al Mitchell rushing for over 1,000 yards and Terrance Beasley going for over 1,400 on the year. Both players were able to benefit from fantastic offensive line play that was led by Ohio State-bound OT Wyatt Davis.
Even with the strong rushing attack, the Braves had to go through a trio of California heavyweights in the
CIF playoffs (Centennial, Mater Dei and De La Salle). If any team proved their spot at the top of the national rankings it undoubtedly was Head Coach Jason Negro's football team.
After beating Centennial in a wild shootout 49-47, the Braves would match up with undefeated Mater Dei for the
Southern Section final. They dominated the line of scrimmage from the get go and there wasn't an adjustment Mater Dei could make to keep the game close. The Braves were able to record a 42-28 victory and it wasn't as close as the score indicated. This set up the highly anticipated matchup in the
Prep Bowl against De La Salle.
On Dec. 17 St. John Bosco and Del La Salle put everything they had on display at Hornet Stadium in Sacramento. De La Salle knew they would need to contain the running game, but that didn't detour the Braves from using the same
strategy that brought them to Sacramento. They were able to rack up 357 rushing yards on the shoulders of Beasley who had 150, and Demetrious Flowers who had 91 yards and three touchdowns. Del La Salle running back Kairee Robinson did his best to keep the game within reach by rushing for 202 yards and two touchdowns, but it wouldn't be enough. In the end, the Braves pulled out a 56-33 win to capture the coveted State Title.
In order to be eligible, the team not only had to be nationally ranked, but also had to win a state championship. Beating De La Salle 56-33 on Dec. 17 marked the completion of an incredible 13-2 season — and earned St. John Bosco an invitation to the Tour of Champions.The Braves finished
No.1 in the state, and
No. 2 in MaxPreps National Rankings!
These incredible season achievements have earned the St. John Bosco Braves an invitation to the 12th Annual Tour of Champions.
Please join us as we celebrate with the football team, coaching staff, students and fans on Feb. 22 at 11:10 a.m. in the Gym.
For more information about the Tour of Champions, please visit the
MaxPreps Tour of Champions site.
