November is the month for high school football lovers. The bad teams are weeded out, and only the elite teams remain, battling it out for bragging rights.
Last year’s champion, St. John Bosco, looks to repeat — but it won’t be easy. The Pac-5 Championship is loaded with talent.
Trinity League Champs look to strike again
Bellflower is buzzing with excitement entering the playoffs.
For the second straight year, the St. John Bosco Braves secured the No. 1 seed in the Pac-5 Football Championship.
The Braves finished the season undefeated in league play in perhaps the toughest division in the nation. They only lost to the nation’s top team, Bishop Gorman (Las Vegas).
Entering their last league game, with the league title already captured, John Bosco surprisingly was down, 28-24, going into the fourth quarter. Santa Margarita looked to have knocked off the reigning state champions.
But in under five minutes, Bosco showed why they are still No. 1. Thanks to two rushing touchdowns and two defensive touchdowns, Bosco scored 27 unanswered points to put them ahead for good.
Running back Sean McGrew continues to tear through the Trinity League defense, making Santa Margarita another victim of his rushing. McGrew had 202 rushing yards, complemented nicely with four touchdowns.
McGrew’s big night helped compensate for a subpar performance from quarterback Josh Rosen.
As the No. 1 seed, Bosco will enjoy an easy first round, playing Long Beach Cabrillo (5-6) on Friday, Nov. 14.
The Braves plan to repeat as state champions, and quite possibly be named the nation’s top team for the second consecutive year. However, Bishop Gorman (Las Vegas) is undefeated, and shows no signs of stopping.
The Trinity League fields a record five teams in the Pac-5 Championships. Along with Bosco, JSerra and Mater Dei enter as automatic bids, and Santa Margarita and Servite enter after being awarded at-large berths.
Mission League 3-way tie leads to playoff excitement
Crespi, Bishop Amat, and Serra finished in a three-way tie for the Mission League title, leading to a coin toss for the seeding rankings. Crespi finished as the No. 1 seed, with Bishop Amat and Serra at No. 2 and No. 3, respectively.
Crespi looks to build upon what has already been am impressive season, having defeated Alemany, 34-21, last Friday. A big performance from Torrance Brumfield led the way. His two touchdown runs, along with his 156 yards, proved to be the difference between winning and losing.
Crespi prepares to take on Santa Margarita (6-4) on Friday.
All Bishop Amat had to do was win to get in. They did just that. Led by Ryder Ruiz and Torreahno Sweet, the Bishop Amat Lancers downed Notre Dame, 38-24.
Ruiz threw for 398 yards and three touchdowns. Sweet rushed for 132 yards and two touchdowns to lead the way for the Lancers.
The Lancers drew Lakewood (6-5) as their first round opponent. This contest will be played on Friday as well.
Serra rolled into the playoffs with a 56-31 victory over Loyola.
Serra quarterback Khalil Tate provided Serra’s offense with most of its scoring, with one passing touchdown and three rushing touchdowns.
Tate created 265 total yards of offense alone, while two other running backs enjoyed 100-plus-yard performances. Darrion Naylor and Job Mcginty each scored a touchdown en route to a running clinic put on by Serra.
Serra will be playing at Centennial Corona (8-2). The winner moves on to the next round.
