St. John Bosco has 16 returning starters and among those players are (front row left to right) Chandler Leniu and Jaleel Wadood; (back row) Damien Mama, Josh Rosen, Malik Dorton, Naijiel Hale.
Photo by Louis Lopez
The 2012 record says 8-5, but there's an asterisk — a big one.
St. John Bosco (Bellflower, Calif.) was dealt a huge blow last season when it was forced to forfeit four nonleague wins for using an ineligible player. On the field, however, the Braves went 12-1.
That one loss was couldn't have come at a worse time, though.
St. John Bosco appeared to be on its way to the Pac-5 Division title game, with a No. 1 national ranking in the MaxPreps Computer Rankings, before
suffering a tough 13-10 loss to eventual state runner-up Long Beach Poly in the CIF Southern Section semifinals.
Trailing by three in the final minute, the Braves were driving at the Poly 45-yard line before an interception put an end to the comeback attempt and ended the season for St. John Bosco.
The forfeit losses and bitter end to an otherwise spectacular season could make St. John Bosco that much hungrier in 2013.
Quarterback Josh Rosen
Photo by Louis Lopez
The Braves return 10 starters from a stingy defense that was the team's trademark last season. With seniors like linebacker
Chandler Leniu, linemen
Jacob Tuioti-Mariner,
Malik Dorton and
Ivan Martinez, and a secondary featuring
Naijiel Hale,
Chandler Hawkins and
Jaleel Wadood, points will not be easy to come by for St. John Bosco opponents.
On offense, the Braves will have to overcome the loss of their leading rusher, Darren Walker, and leading receiver, A.J. Holman. But quarterback
Josh Rosen, who had a fine campaign as a sophomore starter last season passing for more than 2,000 yards with 22 touchdowns and just eight interceptions, is poised to take a huge leap forward.
Shay Fields will look to replace Holman as Rosen's top target, and the backfield of senior
Lonell Woodhouse and newcomers
Sean McGrew and
Clifford Simms will attempt to keep the running game strong.
See the entire Preseason Xcellent 25Making holes for the running backs will be returning 300-plus-pounders
Emery Sefo,
Damien Mama and
Elijiah Zabludoff, who will look to fill the extremely large void left by first team
MaxPreps All-American and USC-bound Nico Falah.
St. John Bosco will travel for games against
Clovis North (Fresno) and
Chandler (Ariz.), but the toughest competition will come from the top-notch Trinity League, the toughest league in Southern California and one of the best in the nation. League play features games against perennial Southern California powers Mater Dei and Santa Margarita, as well as a Servite team that went to the state championship two years ago.
Even if they get through the league unscathed, as they did last season, the Braves then enter Pac-5 playoffs where they could face the likes of Notre Dame, Mission Viejo, St. Bonaventure and quite possibly a rematch with Long Beach Poly.
Long story short — if St. John Bosco manages to get through the gauntlet and win a California state title, a national championship is not out of the question.
Local look: "St. John Bosco, under coach Jason Negro, will be a force to be reckoned with once again this year. The Braves are coming off their first-ever Trinity League title and potentially could be even better than their one-loss (on the field) season of 2012. With another year of experience, junior quarerback Josh Rosen should improve on his stellar sophomore campaign. He has a beast of a lineman in front of him in 6-foot-5, 340-pound Damien Mama, and a lot of talent around him at the skill positions. Defense will be SJB's strength, with the likes of impact linebacker Chandler Leniu, defensive end Malik Dortman and defensive backs Jaleel Wadood and Naijiel Hale set to return."
- Dave Werstine, Long Beach Press-Telegram (@LBPrepSports)
