Negro talks keys to game vs. Mater Dei
St. John Bosco football coach Jason Negro said his team's game plan against No. 1-ranked Mater Dei is centered on the Braves being the best version of themselves.
“(Mater Dei) is the No. 1-ranked team in the country for a reason and we have an opportunity to go knock them off,” Negro said. “But if we don't play well, they could punch us in the face and make it a long night for us. But again, this is what gets you goosebumps when you think about this game. I'm super excited to have the opportunity to just be a part of it.”
Bosco is 6-1 overall and 2-0 in the Trinity League entering its home game Friday against the Monarchs (7-0, 2-0).
The Braves have outscored their opponents 268119. Mater Dei has outscored its opponents 304-43, including back-to-back shutouts in league against Servite and JSerra.
“We just have to go out there and control the things that we can control and work out our execution and how we approach the game,” Negro said. “If we do that, I think we're going to be OK.”
Negro's team immediately turned its attention to Mater Dei after a 56-27 win against Servite on Friday. He said Bosco's approach to hosting their league rival will be similar to previous occasions.
“They've got a lot of continuity over there within their staff even though Bruce (Rollinson) is gone,” Negro said, referring to Mater Dei's former longtime head coach. “They're not much different than they were and I don't mean that in a negative way at all, in terms of what they do, and how they perform and how they play. Coach (Eric) Johnson is still there as the defensive coordinator. He's done a phenomenal job, so the gameplanning doesn't change or doesn't shift much.
“We're going to focus more on ourselves, what we do and how we execute versus what they do and things like that and that's kind of how we approach every ballgame. It's more about what we do and not so much the opponent. But the stakes are elevated, obviously, and the level of talent is greatly elevated this week.”
The last time Bosco played Mater Dei it pulled off a 2422 win at the Rose Bowl in the CIF Southern Section Division 1 championship game this past Nov. 25.
Negro said when Bosco has beaten Mater Dei during his 14 years as the program's head coach, the Braves' offensive line has done a good job of handling the Monarchs' defensive pressure, which has allowed them time to executive their offensive game plan.
Defensively, Negro said playing against Mater Dei senior quarterback Elijah Brown, a four-year starter, is always a challenge because the Stanford commit, who has only lost one high school football game, is always prepared and gets the ball to his team's playmakers. Negro wants his defense to contain Brown by pressuring him and making him uncomfortable.
Also in the past, Negro said when his team loses the turnover battle against Mater Dei, it's been hard for Braves to win. He also noted that special teams could be a deciding factor.
“All of those cliches are things you're going to need to do, but It's a little bit more heightened and important this week because of the level of opponent that we're playing,” Negro said.
CalPreps rankings
St. John Bosco remains at No. 2 in CalPreps' CIF Southern Section rankings behind No. 1 Mater Dei. The Monarchs have a 103.5 rating compared to Bosco's 82.4 rating.
Because of that 21.1 differential, CalPreps has projected Mater Dei to beat St. John Bosco 35-17 on Friday, and gives the Braves a 13% chance to pull off an upset win.
That 21.1 margin is the largest gap between the two teams since CalPreps rankings were implemented as a tool to help the CIF-SS create playoff brackets in Divisions 1 through 14. In 2021 and 2022, both Bosco and Mater Dei came into their league meeting undefeated. Bosco suffered a 42-21 loss at home in 2021 and a 17-7 loss on the road in 2022.
Meanwhile, Poly (6-1, 3-0) dropped one spot to No. 7 in the CalPreps rankings despite a 46-0 win against rival Wilson last week. Poly trails No. 5 Orange Lutheran (4-3) and No. 6 JSerra (4-3) despite a better overall record.
The Bruins (3-4, 2-2) moved up eight spots, from No. 188 to No. 180, in large part due to their strength of schedule, which now includes a game against Poly, a likely Division 1 playoff team.
The top 10 teams in the CalPreps rankings are expected to be placed in Division 1 for this year's playoffs.
Los Alamitos (5-2, 2-0) is on course to be placed in Division 2 given its No. 15 ranking after a 62-14 win against Newport Harbor last week. The Griffins are in first place in the Sunset League.
Millikan (5-3, 3-1) is on course to be placed in Division 3 for the playoffs. It moved up three spots to No. 30 after a 43-0 win against Lakewood last week. The Rams are on track to finish second in the Moore League.
Lakewood (3-5, 2-2) dropped one spot to No. 104, but still controls its playoff destiny (likely Division 7) after beating No. 105 Jordan (5-2, 1-2) on Sept. 29.
Warren (5-2, 2-0) also could end up in the Division 3 playoffs. It has a No. 38 ranking after a 50-14 win against No. 238 Norwalk (3-4, 0-2). The Bears, who are the defending Gateway League champions, will face crosstown rival Downey (61, 2-0) on Friday at SoFi Stadium.
Despite Downey's 34-14 win against No. 132 Dominguez last week, the Vikings dropped three spots to No. 54. Dominguez jumped up nine spots from No. 141.
Mayfair (5-2, 1-1) jumped up six spots to No. 89, which could place it in the Division 6 playoff bracket, after a 3521 win against No. 138 La Mirada (2-5, 1-1) last week.
Possibly in Division 8 is St. Anthony (6-2, 2-0), which jumped up 18 spots, from No. 144 to No. 126, after a 51-14 win at Harvard-Westlake. The Saints are in first place in the Del Rey League.
Possibly in Division 11 is Bellflower (5-3, 2-0), which dropped three spots to No. 204 despite a 45-0 win against No. 349 Firebaugh (3-5, 0-2).
Bellflower, the defending tri-champion in the MidCities League, will face No. 234 Paramount (3-4, 1-0) in what could be the league title game.
Possibly in Division 14 is Glenn (5-2), which improved one spot to No. 321 after a bye week and before starting 605 League play. The Eagles, who are coached by former NFL running back Elijhaa Penny, will play No. 240 Cerritos (2-5) at Gahr High on Thursday.
CALEB SANCHEZ
School: St. John Bosco
Sport: Football
Year: Senior
Noteworthy: Sanchez was 16 of 18 passing for 343 yards and five TDs in St. John Bosco's 5627 win against Servite. Sanchez, who played less than three quarters, also had 19 yards rushing on two carries. The 6-foot-4, 230-pound senior has completed 78% of his passes this year, his first season as the team's starting quarterback. St. John Bosco hosts No. 1Mater Dei on Friday.
JULIA KLENK
School: St. Anthony
Sport: Golf
Year: Senior
Noteworthy: Klenk shot 36 with three birdies in St. Anthony's 229-348 win against Paraclete on Oct. 4 at the Rancho Vista Golf Course in Palmdale. Last month, Klenk had two eagles in one match. The Saints clinched their third straight Del Rey League title Monday and improved to 13-1 overall and 7-0 in league by defeating St. Monica 231-237at the Lakewood Country Club.