St. John Bosco, Chaminade gridders reach state title games
St. John Bosco High School of Bellflower and Chaminade Preparatory High School of West Hills reached the state high school championship games in their respective division.
In the title games (played Dec. 21, after press time for this issue), St. John Bosco --- undefeated at 15-0 and ranked No. 1 in California --- played De La Salle for the Open Division crown at StubHub Center in Carson. Chaminade (13-2) took on Enterprise in the Division II final.
St. John Bosco reached the final by outscoring Centennial 70-49 on Dec. 14 at Cerritos College in the Southern California regional final. The Braves broke a 21-21 halftime tie with 28 unanswered third quarter points, led by sophomore Sean McGrew’s 372 yards rushing on 17 carries and six touchdowns, and quarterback Josh Rosen’s 247 yards passing and four TDs.
Chaminade’s Eagles qualified for the state final by rolling up 317 yards rushing in its 28-10 win over Hart of Newhall on Dec. 14 at College of the Canyons, breaking open a tight 7-3 contest after halftime.
The Eagles earned the right to play in the state tournament by defeating previously unbeaten Serra of Gardena in a thrilling, come-from-behind 38-35 win for the CIF Western Division championship, with Donovan Lee rushing for four touchdowns. Serra had beaten Chaminade 36-0 in an October Mission League contest.
St. John Bosco won the Pac-5 Division championship on Dec. 7, beating Trinity League rival Mater Dei 34-7.
In the Mid-Valley Division championship game on Dec. 6, Paraclete High School of Lancaster (9-5), the Alpha League titlist, was edged by San Dimas, 20-14.
In addition to St. John Bosco, Serra and Paraclete, league title champions in 2013 included Santa Clara (tied with Fillmore for the Frontier League title), La Salle (Del Rey League), Salesian (Santa Fe League), and Alemany and Notre Dame of Sherman Oaks (tied for the Mission League title).
La Salle volleyball star earns All-America honors
Caroline Knop, one of the leaders of La Salle High School’s CIF-Southern Section Division 1A girls volleyball champions, was named to MaxPreps’ second team All-America squad.
The multi-talented 5-11 senior led the Lancers to a 32-6 record with 381 kills, 608 digs and 26 aces (96 percent on 541 serves). She is on track to earn 16 varsity letters in her athletic career at the Pasadena school while playing four varsity sports each year: volleyball, golf, basketball and softball. She plans to attend the University of Michigan.
