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Highlights: Every touchdown in the Mater Dei win over St. John Bosco

Logan Newman
·4 min read

Mater Dei has yet to pass on the crown. St. John Bosco could not force the No. 1 team in the Super 25 out of pole position on Friday night as the Monarchs maintained the upper hand and won 42-21.

After a back-and-forth first half in which neither team led by more than a touchdown, Mater Dei outscored the Braves 21-0 in the second half to get the victory over its rival. Between the second quarter and end of the game, the Monarchs scored 28 straight points.

Elijah Brown was phenomenal, throwing five touchdown passes, two of which were to C.J. Williams and two to Cooper Barkate.

Despite that dominance, it was not a simple victory for Mater Dei. St. John Bosco took the lead multiple times in the first half, and the chess match wasn’t won until halftime adjustments were instituted. Here is every touchdown from the game, with Mater Dei scoring first.

It didn’t take long for the Braves to answer. Katin Houser did a nice job avoiding the rush and scrambled into the end zone.

Bosco kept the momentum with another touchdown, taking the 14-7 lead off a Colin Chase score. He caught the reception over the middle, bounced off a defender and took off for the end zone.

The Monarchs wouldn’t stay down. Brown connected with his star receiver for another score, as he dropped a dime to the contested Williams for the receiver’s second touchdown of the game.

Bosco answered. James added to his impressive performance with a 22-yard score.

In the first half, Bosco quarterbacks Houser and Pierce Clarkson combined for 13-for-17 passing for 245 yards, according to the LA Time’s Eric Sondheimer.

It continued going back-and-forth with neither team able to take a substantial lead over the other. The Monarchs tied the game at 21, which would hold for the remainder of the half.

Barkate, who caught the final touchdown of the first half, would open the second with a score as well.

Williams lofted the ball over another Monarchs-Braves receiver-defender matchup, and Barkate caught it and walked it home.

Finally, as the third quarter was coming to an end, a team took a two-touchdown lead. Jack Ressler was targeted over the middle, bobbled it as a defender tried to wrap him up, but managed to pull it down and get to the end zone.

The Monarchs held for defensive stop after defensive stop. After five Brown passing touchdowns, Ajon Bryant broke free for a 29-yard rushing touchdown to ice the game with just over two minutes left.

The Monarchs beat Bosco 34-17 in the only matchup between the two in last year’s shortened season. If this year is truly back to normal, the two will likely play each other one more time — for the Southern Section Championship.