St. John Bosco wins state crown, national title next?
MISSION VIEJO >> St. John Bosco’s football team scored 28 points in the second quarter, powering the Braves to a dominant 45-0 win against San Mateo Serra in the CIF State Open Division championship game at Saddleback College on Saturday night.
Bosco, which also won the CIF Southern Section Division 1 title, is a state champion for the first time since 2019.
The Braves finished the season 13-1 and are expected to be chosen national champions by the top national polls for the third time since 2013.
“We’re national champions. We proved it,” said St. John Bosco senior linebacker Deven Bryant, who is one of the team’s captains. “We came week by week and we worked and now we’re here with a national championship.”
Junior cornerback Marcelles Williams led Bosco’s talented defensive backfield with two interceptions.
“We’ve been working since January,” said Williams, a four-star recruit with more than 30 Division 1 college offers. “Right after we lost (to Servite in the CIF-SS semifinals in November 2021), we probably got a few weeks off and we came right back at it. We started doing summer workouts, spring workouts, spring practice, all the extra days and long nights . ... Everybody has been waiting for this moment.”
The Braves entered Saturday’s game ranked No. 1 in the nation by MaxPreps, and they are likely to stay there in the final poll of the 2022 season.
“I don’t see how you can supplant us from that spot,” said St. John Bosco coach Jason Negro, who is 4-0 in state championship games. “I think at the end of the day when you win your state, you beat an undefeated team and you went through the schedule that we went through — and had to play at these out-of-state teams, and traveled to Oregon to play the state champs and to Texas to play Allen, we played Kahuku, who ended up winning the state championship in Hawaii — what more could we possibly do?
“We beat the (then) No. 1-ranked team (Mater Dei) two weeks ago. I know it’s mythical, but at the end of the day, I would put anybody up against this team because I think firmly that we would be able to win the ball game, and again it’s only because I believe in my kids. Those guys are pretty phenomenal and that’s all I have to say.”
The Braves led 35-0 at halftime and the fourth quarter was played with a running clock because of the large lead.
“That was a great effort in all three phases of the game,” Negro continued. “I thought we played well offensively. The kicking game was really impressive and what our defense did, I don’t know how many defenses out there in the country could handle that group, is very, very special. I’m just overly impressed with everybody’s effort.”
Bosco’s defense, which only gave up 97 yards in the first half, was locked in all night and forced five turnovers. In the second half, the Braves were determined to preserve the shutout.
“It was important,” Bryant said. “We haven’t done that in a minute, so it was good that we were able to do that.”
“We have a slogan on defense, we have to swarm and punish,” Negro added. “I think the kids take a lot of pride in doing what they’re supposed to be doing and if you have 11 guys with that same mindset and guys don’t operate outside the box, you have an opportunity to be a pretty cohesive unit and they held each other accountable.”