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California High school football produces some rivalries that everyone looks forward to every year, and the Mater Dei Monarchs versus St. John Bosco Braves is one of them. This matchup is almost always between two top-five teams in the nation, with this one being no different.
A top quarterback or running back is recruited to a top-ranked college football program from each school every year. So this is the matchup of the year to determine who the best team in California is.
The crowd was sold out with over 60,000 people to watch a bruising big boy football game between two of the top teams in the nation, and it certainly did not disappoint. When it finally got to kick off, the crowd erupted as if they were at the super bowl.
St. John Bosco wanted to set the tone early against elite Mater Dei quarterback Elijah Brown, so the Braves swarmed him early. The only issue was that he did not get phased one bit, which is a scary site for St. John Bosco.
The Braves came out strong on offense throwing the ball down the field to execute three different touchdown drives. This gave them confidence that it would be difficult for Mater Dei to respond with such a ferocious defense on their side.
They understood that the Monarchs are the best team in the country, and they responded like it with three touchdown drives. This knotted the score at 21 to end the first half with both teams heading to the locker-room confident.
Many expected the same kind of game when it came out of halftime, but that was not the case as the Braves did not show the same energy. Mater Dei wanted to make a statement, and they did with their consistent play and energy.
Elijah Brown came out of half-time firing and connecting with several different receivers. It looked as if we were watching just another Mater Dei great quarterback pick apart an elite defense.
The Braves had no answer for him for the rest of the game, and he dropped another two passing touchdowns in the second half to bring the Monarchs to a dominant 42-21 victory.
Elijah Brown gets the player of the game honors with his outstanding five touchdown pass performance.He did it against one of the best defenses and teams in the nation while not losing focus the entire game.
The consistency and accuracy with every throw and drop back made it difficult for St. John Bosco to rattle the quarterback. If Brown can continue the electric play with solid defense, Mater Dei could be headed to another year finishing one in the nation.
Both teams put a lot of work toward this matchup, but they have to move on because St. John Bosco has to play JSerra Catholic next week. Mater Dei has to forget about their win because they play an away game against Orange Lutheran.
