High school football: Every matchup between Mater Dei and St. John Bosco since 2016

Mater Dei (Santa Ana, Calif.) vs. St. John Bosco (Bellflower, Calif.) has become the best rivalry in high school football since 2016. Both programs have finished ranked in the top 10 nationally in each of the last eight years excluding the pandemic-impacted 2020 season.

They have combined for four MaxPreps National Championships with Mater Dei going wire-to-wire as the No. 1 team in the country in 2017 and 2021. St. John Bosco finished No. 1 in 2019 and 2022.

Friday's matchup at the Santa Ana Bowl will be the 15th meeting since 2016 with Mater Dei holding a 9-5 edge. Those five defeats are the only losses the Monarchs have suffered over the last eight-plus years. They are 94-0 against everyone else. The success of the programs has been fueled by an assembly line of top-notch individual talent. 

Amon-Ra St. Brown, Bryce Young, Elias Ricks, Nikko Remigio and Quentin Lake have all contributed to Mater Dei's dominance during that span and are now in the NFL.

Trent McDuffie, Wyatt Davis, George Holani, Jaiden Woodbey, Chris Steele and Terrell Bynum of St. John Bosco have all spent time on NFL rosters.

The league rivals have combined to win seven Open Division state titles since 2016. The Monarchs won in 2017, 2018, 2021 and 2023. The Braves did it in 2016, 2019 and 2022.

This will be the 15th meeting between No. 1 and No. 2 in the MaxPreps Top 25 since 2000 and the sixth time featuring Mater Dei vs. St. John Bosco with the latter holding a 3-2 edge.

The Monarchs ended the Braves' six-game win streak against them after erasing a 21-12 fourth quarter deficit. It was Mater Dei's first win over St. John Bosco since 2010 and snapped a 23-game Trinity League win streak. J.T. Daniels connected with Osiris St. Brown for a 15-yard touchdown to cut the deficit to 21-19 with 8:47 left. After a Jalen Cole interception, Shakobe Harper scampered in for a one-yard score to give the Monarchs a 26-21 lead with 7:01 remaining. Amon-Ra St. Brown helped give Mater Dei some momentum with a key 75-yard punt return touchdown in the third quarter.

St. John Bosco got its revenge in the Southern Section Division 1 championship at Angel Stadium. They used a strong rushing attack as Re-al Mitchell, Terrance Beasley and Demetrious Flowers all eclipsed the century mark. They combined for 405 yards and five scores. The defense forced three interceptions from J.T. Daniels, who had just three interceptions all season leading up to that game. Amon-Ra St. Brown had six receptions for 140 yards and a touchdown in the loss.

Mater Dei went wire-to-wire as the No. 1 team in the country in 2017 and this was the closest game it was in all season. J.T. Daniels completed 18 of 24 passes for 326 yards and two touchdowns. He added eight carries for 97 yards. Amon-Ra St. Brown posted eight catches for 206 yards and two scores. This was D.J. Uiagalelei's first career start and he finished with 257 yards passing and two touchdowns.

The playoff rematch came in the Southern Section Division 1 championship and the Monarchs handed the Braves their largest loss since 2009. J.T. Daniels completed 19 of 26 passes for 299 yards and five touchdowns. Amon-Ra St. Brown had eight receptions for 150 yards and a score. Bru McCoy added four grabs for 66 yards and three touchdowns. The win clinched the Monarchs' first appearance in a CIF state championship game. They beat De La Salle (Concord)  52-21 to claim the Open Division state title.

This was the first No. 1 vs. No. 2 matchup between the two and the Braves dominated from start to finish. D.J. Uiagalelei completed 15 of 21 passes for 278 yards and five touchdowns. Jake Bailey was his favorite target hauling in six catches for 161 yards and three scores. George Holani had a big night rushing for 118 yards and one score on 12 carries to go with a 27-yard touchdown reception. This was the first start for Bryce Young against the Braves and he threw for 306 yards and two touchdowns.

The Monarchs got revenge in the Southern Section Division 1 championship and had the perfect game plan against D.J. Uiagalelei and an explosive offense. They held Uiagalelei to 7 of 19 passing for 110 yards and one touchdown. Raesjon Davis and Elias Ricks both had an interception. The game was tied 7-7 at halftime and Bryce Young gave the Monarchs a 14-7 lead with 1:22 left in the third quarter after connecting with Bru McCoy for a 20-yard touchdown. Chris Steele blocked a field goal attempt early in the fourth quarter and Trent McDuffie scooped it up and returned it for a 74-yard touchdown to cut the lead to 14-13, but the Braves missed the PAT. The Monarchs added a late field goal and dominated the time of possession holding the ball for over 31 minutes.

Bryce Young put together a phenomenal senior season and this was one of his signature performances. He finished with 256 yards passing and three touchdowns to go with 78 yards rushing and two more scores. Kody Epps was his favorite target finishing with 11 catches for 175 yards and three touchdowns. D.J. Uiagalelei was the only quarterback to throw for at least 300 yards against Mater Dei with 320 and two scores. Logan Loya and Jode McDuffie both had over 100 yards receiving. Jaylin Davies ended the Braves' comeback attempt with a fourth quarter interception to seal the victory.

This one was legendary. The Monarchs jumped out to a 28-5 lead in the first half but the Braves got momentum right before halftime when D.J. Uiagalelei connected with Kris Hutson for a touchdown to cut the deficit to 28-12. That led to 34 unanswered points for St. John Bosco as it took a 39-28 lead with 8:52 left. Bryce Young found Kyron Ware-Hudson for a 23-yard touchdown to make it 39-34 with five minutes remaining. Mater Dei had two more drives to take the lead but St. John Bosco's defense held strong. Ma'a Gaoteote forced a fumble on Young and on the Monarchs' last hope, Hutson intercepted Young's Hail Mary attempt on the final play. Uiagalelei threw for 446 yards and five touchdowns. Young was stellar as well throwing for 405 yards and five touchdowns but the Bosco defense forced three interceptions.

Neither team was ranked nationally after the CIF moved the season because of COVID. Elijah Brown made his first start against St. John Bosco as a freshman throwing for 203 yards and four touchdowns. Kyron Ware-Hudson led the Monarchs with 71 yards and a touchdown. C.J. Williams had three grabs for 55 yards and two scores. Matayo Uialgalelei had Bosco's only touchdown reception and Kyngtstonn Viliamu-Asa had 1.5 sacks as a freshman but tore his ACL and missed his sophomore season.

Elijah Brown completed 13 of 18 passes for 263 yards and five touchdowns. Cooper Barkate had four receptions for 126 yards and two touchdowns while C.J. Williams added four catches for 70 yards and two scores. The game went back and forth in the first half as they went into halftime tied at 21. Mater Dei outscored the Braves 21-0 in the second half and improved to 4-0 on the season. They went wire-to-wire as the No. 1 team in the MaxPreps Top 25, beating Servite (Anaheim) 28-7 in the Southern Section Division 1 championship and Serra (San Mateo) 44-7 in the Open Division state championship. This was the first year Mater Dei and St. John Bosco did not play in the section title game since 2015.

Both defenses played great as the only points in the first half came on a touchdown run from Elijah Brown early in the second quarter. St. John Bosco's starting quarterback Pierce Clarkson took a huge hit in the first half and did not play in the second half because of concussion protocol. Cameron Jones tied the game with a six-yard touchdown run on fourth down with about four minutes remaining in the third quarter. The Monarchs added a field goal early in the fourth quarter to take a 10-7 lead. Jordon Davison iced the game with a 38-yard touchdown run in the final minute to give the Monarchs their third straight win over the Braves.

The second No. 1 vs. No. 2 matchup between the two during the 2022 season and this time the Braves turned the tables. They handed Elijah Brown his first high school loss at the Rose Bowl in the Southern Section Division 1 championship. The Braves scored on their opening drive of the second half after Pierce Clarkson connected with Matayo Uiagalelei for a 14-7 lead. After the Monarchs cut the deficit to 14-13, St. John Bosco scored 10 unanswered points thanks to a 72-yard touchdown pass from Clarkson to DeAndre Moore and a forced turnover on the ensuing kickoff that turned into a field goal. The Monarchs cut the deficit to 24-22 after a Jordon Davison touchdown run with just under three minutes left but St. John Bosco stuffed Mater Dei's two-point attempt to hold on to the lead. Clarkson found Uiagalelei for a third down conversion to ice the game as this win led the Braves to their second MaxPreps National Championship. They snapped Mater Dei's 29-game win streak and sent Bruce Rollinson out with a loss in his last game as head coach. He retired with a 339-86-2 record.

This was one of the more shocking results between the two Trinity League powers. The Braves dropped to No. 9 in the MaxPreps Top 25 after a 30-23 loss at Kahuku (Hawaii) earlier in the season. The Monarchs were the preseason No. 1 choice and won every contest by at least 13 points through their first seven games. St. John Bosco dominated on defense and held Mater Dei to under 200 total yards. Elijah Brown completed 10 of 18 passes for 81 yards. Cameron Jones rushed for 142 yards and one score to go with a 17-yard touchdown reception. Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa finished with a game-high 11 tackles.

Mater Dei got its revenge in the Southern Section Division 1 championship at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Abduall Sanders put the Monarchs on the board first with a 52-yard pick-six. Jordon Davison added a 10-yard touchdown run in the second quarter to give Mater Dei a 14-0 halftime lead. Elijah Brown connected with Kayden Dixon-Wyatt to expand the lead to 21-0 on a 44-yard score with about four minutes left in the third quarter. The Braves lone touchdown came on a one-handed touchdown grab from Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa to cut the deficit to 21-7. Mater Dei responded with a Tomu Topui touchdown and a Zabien Brown pick-six to win its fourth CIF Southern Section Division 1 championship since 2017. The Monarchs held the Braves to 14 yards rushing and 191 total yards.