On Nov. 23
St. John Bosco and Mater Dei will meet for the CIF-Southern Section Division 1 football championship Nov. 23 — as if there was ever any doubt.
For the third straight year, the Braves and Monarchs reached the D-1 title game (7:30 p.m. at Cerritos College) in their customary, over-powering fashion by cruising to semifinal wins Nov. 16:
The only question that remains is which of the two Trinity League titans has the bigger revenge factor in its favor. Mater Dei defeated St. John Bosco in the 2017 D-1 title game, 49-24 (payback advantage, Braves), but Bosco downed Mater Dei in this year’s regular season battle on Oct. 12, 41-18 (payback advantage, Monarchs).
Currently, St. John Bosco is No. 1 on Maxpreps’ Xcellent 25 weekly survey and Mater Dei No. 3. The Braves, under coach Jason Negro, are making their sixth straight appearance in a CIF-SS title game, having won the 2016 D-1 and State Open Division titles. The Monarchs, led by coach Bruce Rollinson, are playing in a title game for the fifth time in the past seven years, and are defending State Open Division champions.
The other remaining Catholic school teams in the 11-man football playoffs were both eliminated in last Friday’s semifinals. In Division 2, undefeated Rancho Verde (13-0) edged Notre Dame of Sherman Oaks, 41-38, and St. Paul lost to Lawndale, 20-7, in Division 5.
In the Nov. 9 quarterfinals:
Mike Nelson is the former editor of The Tidings (predecessor of Angelus News).
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