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Mater Dei Coach Bruce Rollinson comforts a young fan after Friday’s loss. (Photos courtesy Mark Bausman, For OC Sports Zone).
In a battle of the top two teams in the nation according to MaxPreps, No. 2 St. John Bosco held off a late rally by No. 1 Mater Dei to win 24-22 in the CIF Division 1 championship game at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena Friday night.
The Braves (12-1) also snapped a 29-game winning streak for the Mater Dei program. Quarterback Pierce Clarkson led St. John Bosco, throwing three touchdown passes.
It marked the final game for Bruce Rollinson as Mater Dei head coach after 34 seasons. Rollinson had announced before the start of the playoffs that this would be his final season coaching the Monarchs, indicating he would give the reasons later.
To see the slide show, click on the first photo:
St. John Bosco moves on to the CIF Open Division state championship game on Saturday, Dec. 10 against Serra.
The Braves were able to avenge a 17-7 loss to Mater Dei during Trinity League play. Mater Dei went on to win the Trinity League title.
Mater Dei, after trailing by 13 points, was able to rally in the final minutes after a snap went over the head of the St. John Bosco punter. Mater Dei got the ball at the St. John Bosco 16-yard line.
With about three minutes left, Mater Dei (12-1) closed the gap to 24-22 on a 1-yard TD run by Jordon Davison, however the Monarchs were unable to convert the two-point try.
St. John Bosco recovered the onside kick and was able to seal the victory.
The two teams were tied 7-7 at halftime. St. John Bosco tied the game on a touchdown pass from Clarkson to Jahlil McClain in the second quarter. Mater Dei scored first when quarterback Elijah Brown connected with Marcus Harris on a TD catch in the first quarter.
St. John Bosco held a 21-13 lead going into the fourth quarter before extending it to 24-13. A 25-yard field goal by Andre Medina cut the lead to 24-16.
Rollinson was seen on the Bally Sports telecast hugging St. John Bosco Coach Jason Negro after the game.
Mater Dei was coming off a 12-0 season in 2021 when captured the Trinity League title, CIF Division 1 title and state open division championship under Rollinson.
On Twitter, the football team added, “extremely proud of this group of Monarchs.”
Source: Mater Dei and St. John Bosco athletics
