Mater Dei comes back to beat St. John Bosco in instant classic: Final score, results, highlights

News Correspondent
Mater Dei comes back to beat St. John Bosco in instant classic: Final score, results, highlights image

Lance Smith

It really still is "high school football's Super Bowl" after all.

After trailing 24-3 late in the second quarter, Mater Dei played the second half of a lifetime to pull out a 36-31 victory against St. John Bosco and claim a share of the Trinity League title in one of the most thrilling games you will see.

MORE: 5 takeaways from Mater Dei's remarkable win over St. John Bosco

Mater Dei opened the game by scoring a field goal after recovering a St. John Bosco fumble, but from there it was all Braves for the rest of the half. St. John Bosco got on the board with 3:34 left in the first quarter on a 78-yard touchdown from Koa Malau'ulu to DJ Tubbs, went up 10-3 with a field goal one minute into the second quarter, and led 24-3 with 3:23 left in the half after a Dillon Davis scoop-and-score and a rushing touchdown from Maliq Allen.

Mater Dei's offense appeared dead in the water on the next drive too, but Ryan Hopkins extended it by eluding several defenders to scramble for 27 yards and a first down.

And that was when Chris Henry Jr. Took over. The 5-star wideout caught a pass from Ryan Hopkins, outran the defense to the end zone from about midfield, and cut Mater Dei's deficit to 24-10 with 1:10 left in the quarter. His play also foreshadowed what would be a huge second half.

A particularly controversial call occurred in the final seconds of the second quarter on a play that otherwise would've extended St. John Bosco's lead to 31-10 and maintained its momentum going into halftime. Daniel Odom powered through the coverage to catch what appeared to be a highlight touchdown from Malau'ulu while falling down, and the refs ruled him out of bounds. St. John Bosco wouldn't score on its last try of the half, and it took a 24-10 lead into halftime.

And from there on out, Mater Dei looked like the best team in high school football – the team it was expected to be all season.

Less than a minute into the second half, CJ Lavender picked off Malau'ulu, and the Monarchs capitalized with 7:31 left in the third quarter when Hopkins finished a patient drive with a touchdown pass to Kayden Dixon-Wyatt. St. John Bosco had one response left, and re-extended its lead to 14 points (31-17) with 4:29 left on a touchdown that made 4-star Texas A&M commit Madden Williams the program's all-time leader in receiving touchdowns with his 27th as a Brave. But not much else happened afterwards that would leave St. John Bosco with anything to feel good about.

Mater Dei responded just 20 seconds later as Henry raced a pass 70 yards past the Braves' secondary to make it 31-24. Troy Bishop picked off Malau'ulu shortly thereafter and got the ball to the Braves' 10, and Dixon-Wyatt caught another Hopkins touchdown to get Mater Dei within one point before Isala Wila-Ava blocked the PAT.

While St. John Bosco didn't implode, it also never found an answer for the Monarchs' surge. It turned the ball over on downs with 10:28 left in the game, and Dixon-Wyatt continued his huge second half with a 27-yard touchdown catch to go up 36-31. St. John Bosco tipped the pass away on Mater Dei's ensuing two-point conversion attempt, but it never scored again. Which was hard to imagine when the Braves found themselves with a 1st-and-goal from the one-yard line with about two minutes left. But a bad snap put them back to the seven, and Lavender picked off Malau'ulu again with 1:32 remaining.

That should've been closer to the nail in the coffin than it proved to be, but the Braves kept fighting. They forced a punt and took over again with 26 seconds left just 32 yards from the end zone. And then came a brilliant defensive stand from Mater Dei's pass rush and secondary that denied not one, not two, not three, but four end zone attempts from Malau'ulu. The last one would've been a turnover on downs were it not also the final play before the clock expired for an incredible Mater Dei comeback win.

Henry was the clear top star of the night with his five catches for two touchdowns and more than 200 yards, and his passing game co-stars Hopkins and Dixon-Wyatt were also fantastic throughout the entire second half.

Scroll down for scoring and results in timeline order.

Final score, results, highlights from St. John Bosco vs. Mater Dei

Mater Dei wins 36-31.

4TH QUARTER:

0:00:  Mater Dei holds off four consecutive passes into the end zone to win!

0:26:  St. John Bosco forces a punt, and after two penalties, starts up again all the way at Mater Dei's 32-yard line.

1:32:  CJ Lavender picks off Malau'ulu for the second time, and Mater Dei has pretty much won it but still needs a first down.

1:40:  It's 4th-and-goal from the 10 for the Braves, who were at the one-yard line on first down before getting backed up to the seven on a botched snap.

8:23 – Mater Dei 36, St. John Bosco 31:  Mater Dei has its first lead since going up 3-0. It's Hopkins to Dixon-Wyatt with a 27-yard dart. 2-point conversion is deflected.

10:28: Mater Dei turns the Braves over on downs and takes over at its own 11.

3RD QUARTER:

3:35 – St. John Bosco 31, Mater Dei 30:  Mater Dei has come all the way back (minus one point)! Dixon-Wyatt takes a short pass from Hopkins to the house for a touchdown, and Isala Wily-Ava blocks the PAT.

3:50:  Troy Bishop picks off Malau'ulu and returns it to St. John Bosco's 10-yard line.

4:09 – St. John Bosco 31, Mater Dei 24:  The Monarchs respond immediately. Hopkins finds Chris Henry Jr. Who outraces the defense 70 yards for a touchdown.

4:29 – St. John Bosco 31, Mater Dei 17:  Madden Williams sets a new St. John Bosco record with his 27th career touchdown as a Brave to go up two touchdowns.

7:31 – St. John Bosco 24, Mater Dei 17:  Mater Dei has cut it to one score. Ryan Hopkins finishes a patient drive with a pass from about 15 yards out to Kayden Dixon-Wyatt.

11:06: CJ Lavender opens the half with an interception for Mater Dei.

St. John Bosco leads 24-10 at halftime.

2ND QUARTER:

0:00:  The refs make a controversial call ruling a tough Daniel Odom catch in the end zone incomplete. Then the Braves back up five yards on a delay of game, remove their field goal unit, and don't convert the Hail Mary.

1:10 – St. John Bosco 24, Mater Dei 10:  Chris Henry Jr. Takes a pass from Hopkins about 50 yards past the defense for a touchdown to get Mater Dei back into the game.

1:43:  Ryan Hopkins scrambles for 27 yards to flip the field and injection a bit of life into the Monarchs.

3:23 – St. John Bosco 24, Mater Dei 3:  It appears that the rout is on. Maliq Allen scores from several yards out on a quick drive in which he ran for all the Braves' yards on three carries.

3:43:  St. John Bosco turns Mater Dei over on downs right around midfield.

6:16 – St. John Bosco 17, Mater Dei 3:  The Monarchs botch a handoff and Dillon Davis recovers it and takes it to the end zone uncontested to give St. John Bosco a two-score lead.

9:04:  Back-to-back sacks from Kekoa Peko (technically a QB-hurry resulting in a 17-yard intentional grounding) and Dutch Horisk back the Monarchs up to their own six-yard line. From there, Mater Dei has a delay of game and now has a 3rd-and-38 at its own three.

10:52 – St. John Bosco 10, Mater Dei 3:  The Braves settle for a field goal, and CJ Wallace drives it home from 33 yards.

11:53:  The Braves convert with room to spare on 4th-and-1 on a run by Malau'ulu to get deep into Mater Dei territory.

1ST QUARTER:

3:34 – St. John Bosco 7, Mater Dei 3:  It's Koa Malau'ulu with the wizardry to get St. John Bosco on the board. After scrambling for a first down, he hits DJ Tubbs over the defense who wins the race to the end zone for a 78-yard score on 3rd-and-13.

Q1 – Mater Dei 3, St. John Bosco 0:  Mater Dei's Nathan Enriquez hits a very short field goal after recovering a St. John Bosco fumble and moving downfield on a 45-yard completion from Ryan Hopkins to Chris Henry Jr.

How to watch  St. John Bosco vs. Mater Dei football

St. John Bosco vs. Mater Dei will air live on the NFHS Network. You can subscribe to NFHS Network on a monthly basis or an annual subscription. 

St. John Bosco vs. Mater Dei start time

  • Date: Friday, Oct. 31
  • Time: 7:00 p.m. PT

The opening kickoff is set for 7:00 p.m. PT on Friday, Oct. 31. The game will be played at St. John Bosco High School in Bellflower.

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