Mater Dei, St. John Bosco prep for showdown with big wins

Trinity League football action began with a bang Oct. 6, as high-scoring contests prevailed — and so did the top two teams who prepared for their head-to-head showdown Oct. 13 by doubling the score on their respective opponents.

Mater Dei (6-0 overall and No. 1 nationally) raced past Santa Margarita (4-2), 70-35, while St. John Bosco (5-1 and No. 2 in the CIF-SS Division 1 poll) pinned the first defeat of the season on Orange Lutheran (5-1), 42-21.

The Monarchs and Braves meet this Friday, 7:30 p.m., at El Camino College in Torrance. Mater Dei won last year’s regular season meeting, but St. John Bosco ultimately captured both CIF and state titles.

Also last week, in a battle of previously unbeaten Orange County foes, J.Serra (6-0) outscored Servite (5-1), 52-36. This week’s Trinity League games find Orange Lutheran at J.Serra, and Servite at Santa Margarita.

The third weekend of Mission League action saw Bishop Amat (2-4 overall) continue its turnaround with its second straight win, 31-17, over Notre Dame (5-2), while Serra (3-3) pulled off a 13-10 win at Loyola (4-3), and Alemany (2-5) downed Crespi (1-5), 32-14. Idle Chaminade remains atop the Mission League, now tied with Bishop Amat at 2-0, with Serra 2-1; Loyola, Notre Dame and Alemany each 1-2; and Crespi 0-2.

The Oct. 13 schedule pits Chaminade (5-1 overall) at Loyola, Serra at Notre Dame, and Crespi at Bishop Amat.

Other league action

In the first week of Angelus League play, unbeaten St. Francis (6-0) defeated St. Paul (2-4), 34-7; La Salle (3-3) stopped Salesian (1-5), 51-7; and Cathedral (5-1) rolled over Harvard-Westlake (5-1), 57-20. In this week’s games, St. Francis is at La Salle, St. Paul at Cathedral, and Harvard-Westlake at Salesian.

The South Catholic League saw St. Bernard (3-4 overall) take over the league lead at 2-0 with a 34-12 win over Don Bosco Tech (1-1 in league), and Verbum Dei (4-2, 1-1 in league) beat Bishop Montgomery, 28-22. No league action is scheduled this week.

In other league games, Damien edged Chino Hills, 34-29, in the Baseline League, while St. Joseph (Santa Maria) ran away from Cabrillo, 77-10, in the Los Padres League. In eight-man football, Bellarmine-Jefferson scored its first Omega League win over Westmark, 60-38.

In non-league action, the leaders in Divisions 5 and 6 posted easy wins: Paraclete (D-5) over Vasquez, 61-6, and Bishop Diego (D-6) over Fillmore, 56-0.

And in a game (and score) that resembled a track meet as much as grid contest, St. Bonaventure outlasted Thousand Oaks, 61-55, the second-highest-scoring game in Ventura County high school football history, on Cheyne Caldwell’s touchdown run in overtime. The teams combined for more than 1,200 yards in total offense.

Elsewhere: St. Anthony 44, Cantwell-Sacred Heart 6; St. Pius X-St. Matthias 44, Fierbaugh 0; Santa Clara 42, Trinity Classical 7; Mary Star 35, Maranatha Christian (San Diego) 21; Crean Lutheran 39, St. Monica 0.

This week’s games

Oct. 13 action includes St. Anthony at Bishop Montgomery; Pioneer Valley at St. Joseph (Santa Maria); Verbum Dei at Mary Star; St. Genevieve at Cantwell-Sacred Heart; Damien at Upland; Paraclete at Viewpoint; Silver Valley at St. Pius X-St. Matthias; and St. Bernard at St. Monica. On Oct. 14, Hillcrest is at Bellarmine-Jefferson, and Villanova at Cate.