Mater Dei overcomes 21-3 deficit to beat St. John Bosco in game of the year candidate: 5 takeaways

News Correspondent

Mater Dei overcame a 21-3 deficit on Friday to beat St. John Bosco 36-31 as the most anticipated game of the high school football regular season lived up to the billing and then some.

Ryan Hopkins threw a season-high five touchdown passes, all in the last 26 minutes of game time, with three going to Kayden Dixon-Wyatt. The other two went to Chris Henry Jr., who stole the show with 213 receiving yards.

MORE: Mater Dei beats St. John Bosco in comeback: Recap, results, highlights

Here are five takeaways from the game:

1. Monarchs continue with spurts and flashes of dominance

Mater Dei has been a team that takes things quarter to quarter all season, particularly on offense. It's not good for the heart rate to rely on runs to win games and be prone to giving up big runs in turn, but there's a lot to be said for a team that knows it can beat anyone in the country without putting together four, heck, three good quarters in a row.

We saw it against St. Thomas Aquinas (FL). We saw it against Bishop Gorman (NV). We saw it against Corona Centennial, in which Mater Dei pulled off another one of the season's best comebacks but still fell in the fourth quarter. We saw it against Santa Margarita, when Mater Dei went most of the game without scoring but still nearly won on an amazing defensive effort. And we saw it this time against St. John Bosco.

By all means, the Monarchs' quarter-to-quarter inconsistency is to blame for the fact that it's now almost impossible that they win a national title. But those losses are in the past. If going forward they prove that they can win a Trinity League title, Southern Section title, and state title without ever showing all what they can do for a full game, then all that matters is that they take home the dubs.

In particular, Hopkins can go infernal at any time and make plays that few other quarterbacks can. With his track speed and big arm, it's not uncommon to see him start a game quietly and then scramble away from pressure and uncork a 45-yard dime right on the money while fading out of bounds multiple times in one quarter. Mater Dei's streakiness doesn't necessarily start or end with him, but as the guy who often lifts them to their next gear when it's needed most, he has the best chance of any Monarch to keep the team in that higher gear and push even further.

2. Henry cements status as generational California wideout

After transferring in from out of the state and missing his junior year with an injury, 5-star Ohio State commit Chris Henry Jr. Will never have a chance to rack up the lengthy body of work of a handful of legendary California receivers of comparable talent. But with his dominance when healthy as a senior, it's time to call him Henry of the absolute best receivers California has seen this generation. Not just as a raw talent or as a prospect who projects insanely well for the next level(s). In addition to that, and more importantly in this context, for how unstoppable – and dazzling – he's been in key moments as a senior.

Henry had five catches for two touchdowns and 213 yards, which only brings him to 566 yards and five touchdowns for the season in just six games. For how good he's been in the limited opportunities he's been healthy for – including season-defining wins over Bishop Gorman and St. John Bosco – he's in that conversation with the likes of Tetairoa McMillan, Trent Mosley, Kyle Ford, and any other standouts of the last several years for how dominant he can be at wideout against national title contenders.

3. Lewis is unsung hero for Mater Dei; Lavender stars on defense

To put it bluntly, the stat sheet will tell you that senior running back Justin Lewis was more of a liability than an asset against St. John Bosco, averaging about two yards per carry. But the film will tell you that he was crucial in keeping this offense from falling apart irreversibly.

Lewis got a lot of carries in the first half before the Monarchs' offensive line came to live in a big way down the stretch, and on many of them he got blown up on doomed handoffs than NFL running backs would've struggled to do anything with. But Mater Dei needed him to burn clock, keep the defense honest, and provide a grounding presence (no pun intended) until its passing game eventually came alive. He did all that and also set an air of heart and toughness by surviving the rough hits and continuing to battle. That meant just as much as the modest bits of yardage he was able to salvage before the Braves' defense relinquished control of the game.

And to be clear, Lewis being the unsung hero means we consider Cory "CJ" Lavender Jr. One of the... Let's call it "sung"... Heroes of the game. The 4-year contributor had two interceptions, a forced fumble, a fumble recovery, and some good work in coverage throughout the second half. He's up to seven picks this season and 10 interceptions for his Mater Dei career despite shifting around between corner, safety, and nickel, and a small handful of different roles among each position. The UCLA commit is once again a rock of one of the nation's premier secondaries and defenses, and has continued putting the cherry on top of a remarkable high school career.

4. Braves still warrant consideration for No. 1 ranking

There's a strong case to make that the Braves still deserve the No. 1 ranking in California/the Southern Section and the No. 1 seed in the CIF-SS Division 1 playoffs.

From a seeding perspective, recency doesn't matter nearly as much as overall body of work, and St. John Bosco has the best body of work in California even with this loss to Mater Dei. With these two teams and Santa Margarita going 1-1 against each other, head-to-head advantages aren't a factor, so the Braves' superior record and win against St. Frances Academy (MD) make the difference.

And let's be honest – what might've been one of the most high-profile missed calls in recent memory hurt this game. The Daniel Odom out-of-bounds call appears to be wrong and probably robbed the Braves of a 31-10 halftime lead that Mater Dei would've been less likely to come back from.

Looks like Daniel Odom had one foot in on this catch in the end zone.

(H/t @ESPNLosAngeles) https://t.co/2NyqDzAaZY pic.twitter.com/0HX1WfY874
— Tarek Fattal (@Tarek_Fattal) November 1, 2025

Now, does that take away from what Mater Dei did? Not at all, because it still came and took this win away from St. John Bosco, on the road no less, with some stars playing through injuries and a few tough calls to deal with itself. Missed calls are part of the game, and the Braves had an entire half to not reverse course on a 14-point lead. They looked like the best team in the country for a half and then collapsed a bit when Mater Dei found a gear that it couldn't match, and it really was that simple.

But it still played a factor, and Koa Malau'ulu probably isn't throwing three picks in his second crack at any defense. It's just hard not to like St. John Bosco's chances at revenge as much as Mater Dei's chances of winning again should these teams meet in the playoffs. Between those factors and the Braves' overall body of work, we will probably still have St. John Bosco at No. 1 in California on Monday, and we don't expect that to be a particularly hot take across the industry.

5. Mater Dei, Bosco, Santa Margarita share Trinity League title

The biggest winner of the night? Mater Dei, but Santa Margarita wasn't far behind. Thanks to their 7-6 victory against Mater Dei, the Eagles share the Trinity League crown with Mater Dei and St. John Bosco for their first Trinity League title ever. We believe that Santa Margarita last won conference titles in 2000 and 2001 before the Serra League split off into the Trinity and Mission. So for what might be the only time ever, the Eagles might owe Mater Dei a big thank you.