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THREAD: Super 25 St. John Bosco and Mater Dei fight for championship

Photo: EC Sabin, St. John Bosco Football

Mater Dei avenged its October loss to St. John Bosco.

The Super 25 No. 2 Monarchs won their second consecutive championship over the No. 1 Braves on Friday night.

Here’s a running game thread with highlight plays from the CIF-Southern Section Div. 1 championship.

Videos are courtesy of Fox Sports West.

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No. 2 Mater Dei repeats as champions, avenges loss to St. John Bosco

Come at me, bro

Bosco quarterback DJ Uiagalelei isn’t afraid of a little contact.

After driving down field, the Braves allowed Mater Dei to blitz. Tight end Jude Wolfe let the defense get past him with minimal challenge and then broke out.

There wasn’t a gray jersey in sight.

With two men coming at Uiagalelei, he threw the ball softly to the wide open Wolfe. Easy touchdown. Quick Bosco lead.

Sack party

Bryce Young is the No. 1 dual-threat quarterback in the nation.

It’s just his first season on Mater Dei, but Bosco is well-aware of his talent to get out of the pocket and make plays with his legs.

One of the most important tasks for the Braves: contain Young.

Three-star linebacker Ralen Goforth made sure to introduce himself.

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Rivalry between St. John Bosco and Mater Dei based on mutual respect

It was one of two sacks Young took on the drive, helping force Mater Dei to take — and end up missing — a field goal.

At the end of the first quarter, St. John Bosco led 7-0.

Go hit your 6-foot-6 TE

When these two teams played against each other in October, the receivers could not get an inch of window space for Young.

Luckily for the Monarchs, 6-foot-6 tight end Mike Martinez doesn’t need to make his own windows.

He’s tall enough to see through any of them.

Martinez had three grabs in the first two drives, including this one that hit him in the face mask over double-coverage:

Later, he had an 11-yard catch. On the next play, as the FOX Sports West broadcasters said he wore 5x gloves and size 19 shoes two years ago as a sophomore, Martinez got space in a route up the middle and gained 35 yards.

This helped the Monarchs get excellent field position, but they weren’t able to score.

Fumble in the red zone

Mater Dei had a long drive in the first quarter but weren’t able to get any points on the board after missing a field goal.

After another long drive that began in the first quarter and took nearly five and a half minutes off the second quarter, they looked to make it count.

But Young fumbled as he tried to take the ball up the middle. It looked like the ball slipped out of his hands.

Bosco recovered on the five-yard line.

Mater Dei ties it up

Not much more can be said about Bru McCoy, the 5-star USC commit who is 247 Sports’ No. 1 athlete recruit, the No. 2 player in California and No. 8 player in the nation.

Words aren’t necessary. He showed viewers instead.

With four-star cornerback Chris Steele all over him, McCoy caught a deep pass at the two-yard line.

A play later, running back Shakobe Harper ran the ball home to tie the score at seven points apiece for his 17 touchdown of the season.

BuhBuhBru

After after possession for almost 19 minutes in the first half and only getting one touchdown to show for it, Mater Dei turned to a short drive late in the third to take its first lead of the game.

After great defense forcing a punt and then a good return by Josh Lorick, Mater Dei was in good position to drive.

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A face mask penalty then set up a five-yard rush by Sean Dollars and then 19-yard reception by McCoy to complete the two-play, 1:19 drive.

The Mater Dei offensive line did a good job allowing Young to extend the play and move into optimal pocket position to make the throw to his star receiver.

Quick score, quick takeaway

Mater Dei’s key to the first half was limiting the Braves’ time of possession.

Bosco only had the ball for 5:06 over the first two quarters.

After the Monarchs finished their 1:19 drive, sophomore linebacker Raesjon Davis quickly got the ball back.

On the third play of the ensuing Bosco drive, Davis tipped a Uiagalelei pass high in the air and came down with it. It was only the quarterback’s sixth interception of the year.

Bosco managed to not only prevent the touchdown — they blocked the field goal and scored on the return.

‘I know we are’ the best CB duo

Chris Steele and Trent McDuffie told USA TODAY High School Sports that they’re the best cornerback duo in the nation.

“I’m like the muscle of the corners and he’s like the flash,” Steele said.

Turns out, they might be the best special teams duo.

After Steele’s strong defense prevented McCoy from catching a touchdown on third down, Mater Dei lined up for the field goal to take a 17-7 lead in the fourth quarter.

The muscle blocked the field goal. Flash took it the other way.

Instead of a 10-point Mater Dei lead, Bosco cut it to a one-point game.

Elias Ricks: Not so fast

Maybe Bosco doesn’t have the best cornerback duo in the nation.

At the very least, five-star Elias Ricks and four-star Darion Green-Warren would debate that notion.

Ricks showed his argument in his play.

As Bosco gained momentum and energy, he read a pass and dove to intercept it, giving Mater Dei strong field position.

Last week, Ricks had three interception returns for touchdowns. This week, he got a huge fourth-quarter pick.

Mater Dei was forced into another field goal, but after missing one earlier and having another blocked, Nick Lopez sunk this 42-yarder.

The Monarchs took a 17-13 lead.

Your 2018 champion: Mater Dei

With the defensive line placing immense pressure on Uiagalelei, Mater Dei held off any late magic in the final 30 seconds.

The Monarchs are back-to-back champions.

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