The Monarchs didn't dominate their Trinity League rival like they did in October when they put a running clock on them in a 59-14 pasting. But in the postseason, style points aren't necessary to advance.
Mater Dei now faces
De La Salle (Concord) on Dec. 14 at Saddleback College looking for its fifth state title since 2016. The Monarchs beat the Spartans in 2016 and 2017 for their first two state titles and then added two more over
Serra (San Mateo) in 2021 and last season.
Jordon Davison ran 28 times for 196 yards and three touchdowns while
Dash Beierly added a 7-yard touchdown with 6:15 left in the fourth quarter to give Mater Dei a 31-21 lead. The Monarchs controlled the clock most of the night with the run-heavy attack to thwart a scrappy Bosco squad that used several momentum plays to keep it closer than any Mater Dei opponent all year.
Mater Dei senior running back Jordon Davison ran for 196 yards and three touchdown as the top-ranked Monarchs beat No. 7 St. John Bosco 31-24 on Friday to win the Southern Section Division 1 title.(Photo: Rene Morales)
Mater Dei controlled the first half and led at intermission but the underdog Braves had the momentum going into the locker room.
The Monarchs scored on three of their four first-half possessions but the final one ended with a blocked field goal attempt as
Joshua Holland came off the edge and ensured Mater Dei's halftime lead was only three points, 17-14.
Midway through the third quarter, Mater Dei led 24-14 before St. John Bosco again used a big play to cut the deficit to one score. Facing a second-and-32 on their own 9, freshman
Koa Malau'ulu hit
Carson Clark on a tunnel screen that the junior turned into an 89-yard
gain before stepping out at the 2.
Maliq Allen scored on the next play
and the Monarchs' lead was again trimmed to three, 24-21, near the end of
the third period.
The ensuing Mater Dei possession looked like it would be the difference-maker as Beierly scampered on a naked bootleg and was steps from the end zone when
Justin Coach punched the ball out for a touchback. But a three-and-out turned the ball back to the No. 1 team in the MaxPreps Top 25. Beierly found senior
Marcus Harris for the back-breaker and a 31-21 lead with 6:14 left.
Bosco's last gasp produced a 48-yard
C.J. Wallace field goal to keep the Braves' hopes alive with 2:12 left. But
Daryus Dixson pulled in the onside kick that allowed head coach Raul Lara's team to salt away the clock for the second straight section title and program's 14th overall.
The game started with what looked like a harbinger of the Oct. 25 beating as
Kayden Dixon-Wyatt intercepted Koa Malau'ulu on Bosco's first possession. The four-star returned the ball deep into Bosco territory but Mater Dei had to settle for a 28-yard field goal.
The Monarchs extended their lead to 11-0 on a 4-yard TD plunge by Davison, capping a 14-play drive that zapped more than seven minutes off the clock. Bosco answered the score with a touchdown of its own as Malau'ulu found
Madden Williams from nine yards out to finish an 11-play, 71-yard drive that took nearly six minutes.
And while both teams showed they could grind out a scoring drive, they traded quick strikes to close the half.
Mater Dei needed 100 seconds to take a 17-7 lead as Davison found the end zone for the second time to close out an 80-yard drive. Bosco needed half that time to trim the lead to 17-14 as freshman
Darren Tubbs caught a crossing route and turned it into a 53-yard catch-and-run score.
The only team to beat Mater Dei since 2016 is St. John Bosco, which has bested the Monarchs five times in that span. The last Mater Dei loss to a team other than the Braves is
Centennial (Corona) in the 2015 playoffs.
St. John Bosco's Madden Williams scores in the first half of the Braves' 31-24 loss to No. 1 Mater Dei on Friday. Jason Negro's Bosco team lost 59-14 to Mater Dei on ct. 25 but nearly pulled off the upset on Friday. (Photo: Rene Morales)
