St. John Bosco football dominates San Mateo Serra to win state Open Division title

MISSION VIEJO — St. John Bosco’s football team scored 28 points in the second quarter, which powered the Braves to a dominant 45-0 win against Serra of San Mateo in the CIF State Open Division championship game at Saddleback College Saturday night.

Bosco, which also won the CIF Southern Section Division 1 championship, 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 head 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) number one-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.”

St. John Bosco football head coach Jason Negro said his football team peaked at the right time, winning 45-0 in the CIF state championship game. Negro believes @boscofootball should win the “mythical” 2022 high school football national championship. @presstelegram @sjbathletics pic.twitter.com/wN3fta2M2J

— John W. Davis (@johnwdavis) December 11, 2022

The Braves led 35-0 at halftime and the fourth quarter was played with a running clock because of their 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 total 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.”

On third-and-4 on St. John Bosco’s opening possession, junior running back Cameron Jones made a beautiful 33-yard catch that seemed to energize the Braves. Jones capped the drive when he scored on a 2-yard run that put Bosco up 7-0 with 8:18 left in the first quarter.

On Bosco’s third offensive possession, a 17-yard shoestring catch by senior wide receiver Jahlil McClain (Louisville commit) was the big play the Braves needed to convert on second-and-long. Another catch by McClain and an 18-yard run by Jones ended the first quarter.

Jones scored on another 2-yard run to put Bosco up 14-0 with 11:55 left in the second quarter. Jones finished with 59 yards rushing and two touchdowns on 11 carries.

The first turnover for the Braves defense was an interception by senior cornerback Aaron Mikey Williams (Louisville commit), who returned it 31 yards for a touchdown. The TD put Bosco up 21-0 with 10:59 left in the second quarter.

Serra (13-1) picked up its first first down of the game in the second quarter.

A 14-yard touchdown run by junior running back Khalil Warren, who bounced off several defenders before getting to the end zone, put Bosco up 28-0 with 7:18 left in the second quarter. Warren finished with a team-high 92 yards rushing and two touchdowns on seven carries.

Bosco junior linebacker Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa recovered a fumble and returned it 24 yards to about midfield with 2:22 left in the second quarter.

A few plays later, Bosco senior quarterback Pierce Clarkson (Louisville commit) threw a 45-yard touchdown pass to senior wide receiver Deandre Moore Jr. (Louisville commit), giving the Braves a 35-0 lead with 1:46 left in the second quarter.

Clarkson finished 9 of 17 for 184 yards passing and one touchdown. He also ran for 15 yards on two carries.

Moore finished with four catches for 97 yards and one touchdown.

Braves junior cornerback Marcelles Williams intercepted a pass with 33 seconds to go before halftime.

I’m breaking down St. John Bosco’s dominant 45-0 win against Serra in the CIF State Football Open Division Championship Game. I’m also answering the looming question… did @boscofootball prove they are the “mythical” 2022 High School Football National Champions? pic.twitter.com/2tpHf4F4cw

— John W. Davis (@johnwdavis) December 11, 2022

On Serra’s third play of the second half, Bosco senior linebacker Deven Bryant (Washington commit) recovered a fumble that gave the Braves possession in Padres territory.

Bosco had the ball as close as the Serra 1 but could not score another touchdown. Junior kicker Marcus Lee made a 26-yard field goal, making the score 38-0 with 9:36 left in the third quarter.

Williams hauled in his second interception with 1:27 left in the third quarter.

“I’m a national champion, I feel great right now,” Williams shared. “This feeling is amazing. I already had a glimpse of it two weeks ago when we beat Mater Dei, but I can’t even find the words. It just feels amazing.”

St. John Bosco 2024 CB Marcelles Williams had two interceptions in St. John Bosco 45-0 win against Serra in the CIF State Football Open Division Championship game. @cellesthegreat1 explains how much work it took to become a national champion. pic.twitter.com/kdCfMAnrYe

— John W. Davis (@johnwdavis) December 11, 2022

Bosco capitalized on Serra’s fifth turnover of the game with a 57-yard touchdown run by Warren that gave Bosco a 45-0 lead with 41 seconds left in the third quarter.

“The stats can show we’re the best defense in the country,” Bryant said. “Week in and week out, we came, we compete, we caused havoc, we made plays when we needed to make plays and we did our job, bought into our defensive coordinator’s goal and we came out on top like we did.”

St. John Bosco 2023 LB Deven Bryant (Washington commit) on helping lead Bosco’s defense to a 45-0 win in the CIF State Football Open Division Championship Game. @boscofootball @DevenBryant1 @sjbathletics pic.twitter.com/OtjwskU23G

— John W. Davis (@johnwdavis) December 11, 2022