Video: St. John Bosco-Mater Dei previewZack Poff and Myckena Guerrero break down the Southern Section title showdown
The top two teams in the MaxPreps Composite national rankings,
St. John Bosco (Bellflower, Calif.) and
Mater Dei (Santa Ana, Calif.), square off a third consecutive year for the Southern Section Division I title Friday night at Cerritos College.
No surprise there.
Here are some surprising, if not startling numbers, heading into the game.
524 — The season point differential for St. John Bosco (674-150). The Braves have been even more impressive in one of the nation's toughest playoff brackets, with a 161-16 advantage.
417 — The season point differential for Mater Dei (554-137). Also a startling lopsided playoff bracket score: 148-37. Though Bosco's season point differential is bigger by 107, Mater Dei had two far more impressive nonleague wins, 42-0 at Bishop Gorman (Las Vegas) and 28-24 over IMG Academy (Bradenton, Fla.).
135 — The amount of tackles for loss recorded by Mater Dei's defense, led by a combined 28 from sophomore linebacker
Raesjon Davis and senior defensive lineman
Keyon Ware-Hudson.
69 — The number of total yards that separate the two starting quarterbacks,
DJ Uiagalelei (3,565), of St. John Bosco, and Mater Dei's
Bryce Young (3,634). Though vastly different in stature, the two have remarkably similar statistics: The 6-foot-5, 245-pound Uiagalelei has completed 173 of 238 (73 percent) for 3,251 yards, 47 touchdowns and five interceptions. He's rushed for 314 yards and six scores. The 6-foot, 185-pound Young has completed 198 of 284 (70 percent) for 3,373 yards, 36 touchdowns and six interceptions. He's rushed for 261 yards and four scores. Uiagalelei has a QB rating of 145.6, Young 140.4.
23 — The point differential when Bosco defeated Mater Dei 41-18 on Oct. 13 at Santa Ana Stadium.
St. John Bosco receiver Jake Bailey enjoys a touchdown catch in during his team's 41-18 win over Mater Dei on Oct. 13.
File photo by Heston Quan
The number of sacks by Bosco senior defensive end
Cole Aubrey (6-2, 225). The Braves have 52.5 as a team, but no one else has more than six.
8 — The national overall 247Sports recruiting ranking of Mater Dei receiver/linebacker
Bru McCoy who is by far Young's No. 1 target. He has 65 catches for 1,240 yards and 16 touchdowns. He's also ranked the nation's No. 1 overall athlete by 247Sports.
6 — The number of touchdown receptions each for the team's 4-star tight ends: Mater Dei's
Mike Martinez (32 catches, 488 yards) and SJB's
Jude Wolfe (13-206).
3 — The number of receptions that separate Bosco's top three receivers:
Kristopher Hutson (46 catches, 844 yards, 13 touchdowns),
Colby Bowman (44-873-8) and
Jake Bailey (43-760-11).
2 — The number of yards and touchdowns that separates the team's top rushers, Bosco's
George Holani (124 carries, 1,098 yards, 18 touchdowns) and Mater Dei's
Glenn (Shakobe) Harper (139-1,096-16).
1 — Victories for each team in the past two Southern Section title games. St. John Bosco won 42-28 in 2016 en route to a resounding 56-33 Open Division state title victory over De La Salle and a No. 5 national ranking. In 2017, Mater Dei returned the favor with a 49-24 win en route to a 52-21 trouncing of De La Salle in the state title game and a national championship.
Mater Dei athlete Bru McCoy hauls in a pass in the Monarchs' Oct. 13 meeting with St. John Bosco. The squads meet for the third straight year in the Southern Section Division I title game.
File photy by Heston Quan
