High school football: Defending national champion St. John Bosco opens season with 42-22 win over Liberty

Defending high school football national champion St. John Bosco (Bellflower, Calif.) opened its 2023 season Friday with a 42-22 win over Liberty (Henderson, Nev.). With the victory, the No. 3-ranked Braves extended their win streak against out-of-state opponents to 16.

Bosco's last setback against a non-California team came in August of 2017 against St. Thomas Aquinas (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.), who the Braves will meet again next Saturday in Florida.

Running back Chauncey Sylvester put St. John Bosco on the board first Friday night with an 11-yard touchdown run in the first quarter.

But an Isaiah Lauofo touchdown run followed by a safety gave Liberty a 10-7 lead and fueled upset hopes for the 2019 Nevada state champions.

Bosco regained control quickly in the second quarter as senior quarterback Caleb Sanchez hit sophomore wide receiver Daniel Odom for a 40-yard touchdown pass and then Owen Tomich for another from 19 yards out. With less than a minute to go in the first half, UCLA-bound running back Cameron Jones slammed the door on Liberty with a two-yard touchdown run to give Bosco a 28-10 lead.

Sanchez hit Tommy Maher on a 17-yard touchdown pass in the second half to give him his third of the night in his first start for arguably the nation's premier prep program.

Bosco backups provided what looked like they might be the night's final points late in the fourth quarter as sophomore quarterback Matai Fuiava connected with classmate Christian Davis for a 14-yard touchdown pass.

But Liberty's Yasir Moses took the ensuing kickoff 97 yards for a touchdown to help the visitors from Nevada finish on a positive note.

St. John Bosco (1-0) was pegged No. 3 nationally in the Preseason MaxPreps Top 25 following a 13-1 campaign in 2022 that resulted in section, state and national titles. Under head coach Jason Negro, the Braves are 120-14 since 2013 with four state titles and two national titles as recognized by MaxPreps.

Liberty (0-1) continues its always-rugged non-league slate by hosting perennial Hawaii powerhouse St. Louis (Honolulu) next Saturday.