High school football: Preview, how to watch Friday's showdown between No. 1 Mater Dei and No. 3 St. John Bosco

The biggest high school football game of the 2021 season to date is 7:30 p.m. Friday when No. 1 Mater Dei (Santa Ana, Calif.) travels to No. 3 St. John Bosco (Bellflower) at Panish Family Stadium. The game will be broadcast on Bally Sports, but the live scoring can be followed on MaxPreps.

Jason Negro took the job at St. John Bosco, his alma mater, 12 years ago hoping, if not dreaming, about playing in games like this — a national showdown home tilt with the No. 1 team in the country. Little did he know this would be an annual regular-season occurrence or that the game would be sold out in four minutes. More than 6,000 tickets were gobbled up Monday morning.

"We take tremendous pride in playing games that draw as much attention as this one," Negro said. "I'm sure (Mater Dei) does as well."

Said 72-year-old Bruce Rollinson, in his 33rd season as head coach at Mater Dei: "It doesn't get bigger or better than this."

Mater Dei-St. John Bosco has "become the best high school football rivalry in the country over the last five years," MaxPreps National Football Editor Zack Poff said. The teams have met 10 times in that span with Mater Dei winning six times, including 34-17 during the abbreviated spring season. The cumulative score of 10 meetings: Mater Dei 296, Bosco 284.

From 2016 to 2019, the SoCal super powers played eight times, twice each year. The winner of the second meeting advanced to win the California State Open Division title.

Other than last fall, when California canceled sports due to the pandemic, both teams have finished among the top 10 teams in the MaxPreps Top 25 every year since 2016. Mater Dei won a MaxPreps National Championship in 2017, finished No. 2 in 2018. St. John Bosco was the MaxPreps National Champion in 2019. "The winner of this (regular season) game usually controls their own destiny when it comes to finishing the season at No. 1," Poff said.

Negro, a former quarterback and St. John Bosco alum, took over the program in 2010 after leading Trabuco Hills to five straight playoff appearances and two CIF finals appearances. Prior to his arrival, the Braves hadn't had a winning season in the Trinity League since 2004.

Winning league, state and certainly national titles weren't on his immediate radar. That's why he pinches himself heading into another "Prep Super Bowl," game that will feature more than 40 players with FBS offers and one that has produced more than 120 FBS standouts since 2016.

"When we took over the program, we were in no position to even talk about a game of this magnitude," Negro said. "The bottom line is we take a lot of pride in being in this position. It's taken a lot of hard work, planning, diligence and dedication from a countless amount of people, even beyond the players and coaches themselves, to be in this spot.

"Of course, in a big game like this there will be a lot of nerves. For us, it's not so much for winning, but we just want to play well and represent our school and alumni. If we do play well and to our potential, all other things will take care of itself."

The two teams feature a combined 18 MaxPreps preseason All-State players, including 10 for Mater Dei. They include running back Raleek Brown, wide receiver CJ Williams, offensive linemen BJ Tolo and DeAndre Carter kicker Chase Meyer, defensive lineman Sione Moa, linebackers David Bailey and Leviticus Su'a and defensive back Joshua Hunter.

The Braves counter with running back Rayshon Luke, offensive linemen Earnest Greene and Tyson Molio'o, tight end and defensive lineman Matayo Uiagalelei, defensive lineman Nathan Burrell and defensive backs Sione Hala and Tayvion Beasley.

Each team lost All-State players for the season with injuries: Mater Dei five-star defensive back Domani Jackson, a preseason All-American, and Bosco sophomore linebacker Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa.

Both teams feature relatively inexperienced, but talented players, at quarterback after replacing two of the most accomplished signal-callers in state history: Bosco's D.J. Uiagalelei and Mater Dei's Bryce Young, now leading college powers Clemson and Alabama, respectively.

Bosco rotates two future college quarterbacks in Katin Houser (Michigan State commit) and junior Pierce Clarkson. Houser has completed 45-of-73 passes (61 percent) for 659 yards, five touchdowns and one interception while Clarkson is 26 of 51 for 491 yards with eight TDs and no interceptions.

"The two quarterbacks have handled the (rotation) incredibly well," Negro said. "It's really been seamless."

Mater Dei sophomore Elijah Brown has been flawless in three games with 36 completions in 44 attempts (82 percent) for 573 yards, six TDs and no interceptions. The 6-1, 185-pounder threw for four touchdowns in the spring win over the Braves. "There's a lot to be impressed at (with Brown), but his composure is pretty remarkable," Negro said. "His body language, efficiency, accuracy are really off the charts for a kid who's played, what seven or eight games? His legacy is yet to be determined. We're going to have to put some pressure on him and make him uncomfortable."

More keys for the Braves?

"How we protect the ball and what we do in the red zone," Negro said. "We struggled in both areas in April. We can't do that again if we expect to win."

• Neither team has trailed this season. Mater Dei holds a 157-17 edge over opponents, St. John Bosco, 197-48.

• In his 12th season at Bosco, Negro is 122-25. Rollinson is 320-86-2 with four national championships.

• Mater Dei is the only California team St. John Bosco has lost to since a 62-52 defeat in the 2015 Southern California Regional Pac-5 Division final to Centennial (Corona). "As long as you have Bruce Rollinson as head coach, and Dave Money (offense) and Eric Johnson (defense) as coordinators they're going to be as good as it gets in high school football," Negro said. "They plug in new kids at every position and continue to be great."

• Much has been made of Mater Dei's scant three-game schedule, losing two contests to COVID-19. While the Braves took a bye week off, the Monarchs tuned up last week with a 58-7 home win over La Mirada. Elijah Brown was out before the end of the first quarter while holding a 21-0 lead.

With a pair of two-week breaks between games, Rollinson told Steve Fryer at the Orange County Register that his players have been uninspired at practice: "The carrot at the end of the stick is not there. … Last week was worse than the first week we had off. The kids just weren't interested."

That is until the week of Sept. 13, when Rollinson committed a coaching no-no — focusing his team's attention two weeks ahead. The team watched video of Bosco heading into its game with La Mirada. Rollinson said the Monarchs responded with their two best practices of the season.

• Mater Dei has been a model of balance, averaging 198 yards per game on the ground, and 197 through the air. Bosco has been more prolific, averaging 245 yards passing and 168 yards per game rushing.