Football: Monarchs, Braves lead Catholic schools’ advance to CIF QFs

On a Friday night flooded with scoring, Mater Dei and St. John Bosco rolled to victories, but their fellow Catholic school Division 1 competitors were not as fortunate in the first-round of the CIF-Southern Section football playoffs on Nov. 10.

The top-ranked Monarchs ran over Vista Murrieta, 45-7, while the No. 2 Braves got past Bishop Amat, 35-21. But No. 4 Chaminade, the Mission League winner, was ousted, 28-25, by Orange Lutheran, winless in the tough Trinity League but winners of their five non-league games.

Also falling in the first round were J. Serra, 60-44 to Long Beach Poly; Servite, 38-36 to Mission Viejo; Santa Margarita, 59-56 to Murrieta Valley; and Serra/Gardena, 35-21 to Centennial/Corona. Mater Dei (11-0) meets Long Beach Poly (902), the Moore League champion, in the Nov. 17 quarterfinals, while St. John Bosco (9-2) takes on Rancho Cucamonga (11-1), Baseline League runner-up.

Nine other Catholic school teams also advanced to the quarterfinals this Friday, including Cathedral (10-1), who will take play Baseline League winner Upland (11-0) in the Division 2 quarterfinals after a 43-26 win over Redlands East Valley, 43-26. Calabasas defeated Notre Dame/Sherman Oaks, 30-7, ended the Knights’ season in which coach Kevin Rooney recorded his 300th career victory.

In Division 3, St. Francis edged La Serna, 31-27, to earn a quarterfinal match against Citrus Hill (10-1), Mountain Pass League champion, but Charter Oak downed Crespi, 55-14. Damien (7-4) moved forward in Division 4, beating Paso Robles, 45-28, and will play Sea View champion Capistrano Valley (11-0).

One Catholic school berth in the Nov. 24 semifinals is assured, with No. 1 Paraclete (10-1) facing St. Joseph/Santa Maria (7-4) in the Division 5 quarters. The Spirits overwhelmed Ventura, 42-0, and St. Joseph outscored Harvard-Westlake, 49-44 in first-round play.

In the Division 6 first round, Bishop Diego (10-1) resumed its dominance by clobbering Norte Vista, 63-13, and St. Paul (5-6) buried West Torrance, 48-14. This week, Bishop Diego plays San Marino (Rio Hondo # 2, 8-2), and St. Paul meets Saugus (Foothill #3, 5-6).

St. Anthony, last year’s D-10 champion, stayed alive in the D-9 title hunt, beating Norwalk, 31-19, and will play Burroughs/Ridgecrest (Mojave River #2, 9-2) this week. In D-11, Westminster ended St. Genevieve’s season, 42-20, and Godinez did likewise to Verbum Dei in D-12, 44-0.

Santa Clara (9-2) defeated Workman, 35-7 to advance to the D-13 quarters against Santa Clarita Christian (11-0), San Joaquin League champion, but Orange edged Cantwell-Sacred Heart, 28-26.

In the Eight-Man Division 1 quarterfinals, Villanova (11-0) defeated Windward, 56-43, and will play Mojave (8-2) in the semifinals Nov. 17.