As much as they want to beat each other for state/national supremacy, there’s a lot of mutual respect between the programs at St. John Bosco and Mater Dei. Photo: @BoscoFootball/Twitter.com.
For the last several seasons, with Mater Dei and St. John Bosco, it’s almost like we have two major blockbuster movies with a guaranteed sequel coming out about six weeks after the initial release. Part I is this Friday in Santa Ana and also will be a matchup of No. 1 and No. 2 teams in various national rankings. For this week’s state rankings, Mater Dei is still in the top spot with Bosco right behind. That team that owns a forfeit win over the Monarchs, Bishop Amat of La Puente, has been rolling on the field the last two weeks and is now in the top 10 of this week’s rankings. Two other teams getting solid bumps this week are new No. 19 Del Oro of Loomis and new No. 25 Vista Murrieta. Note: Late-breaking info Mission Viejo’s four forfeits also added.
For teams ranked No. 26 to No. 50 (Also Gold Club post), CLICK HERE.
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(Last week’s ranking in parentheses)
(After games of Saturday, Oct. 6)
(Contributing: Chuck Nan for Orange County, Daniel Poulter for Northern California, Todd Cataldi for L.A. & Ventura counties & Bill Hutton for CIF Central Coast Section)
*Forfeit wins/losses not included
1. (1) Mater Dei (Santa Ana) 7-0*
Nothing much was different when No. 1 Mater Dei hosted No. 23 Santa Margarita Catholic at the Santa Ana Bowl. The Monarchs got their usual early jump on an opponent and then cruised in the second half. The final was 49-7. Perhaps the only question that was to be answered was whether-or-not Mater Dei would surrender any points to the Eagles. After all, the Monarchs have shutout four opponents this season. That question was answered early as Santa Margarita scored on a pass play in the first quarter. Bryce Young was smooth as ever at QB, going 11-of-14 (78.6%), throwing for 283 yards and four touchdowns. Talented Horace “Bru” McCoy and tight end Mike Martinez each caught two scores. MD has given up a little-less than a touchdown per game on average — 6.4 points per. Next week is the big showdown with No. 2 St. John Bosco at the Bowl. For many observers, these are the de facto No.1 and No. 2 (interchangeable by poll) schools in the country. It’s a massive game for sure, but not as massive as many No. 1 vs. No. 2 national rankings showdowns because most observers know that these two teams will likely play again in a more important CIF Southern Section Division I playoff game later on.
