Monthly Archives: February 2023

Sports: St. John Bosco Hockey Team Ices Competition, Freezing Out Former Number One Team In California

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by Isaac Mays, Sports Editor

The Bosco Braves Hockey team competed at Honda Center, home of the NHL’s Anaheim Ducks, on Thursday, January 26th, where they dominated Cathedral Catholic High School.

Photo by @boscoathletics

Cathedral Catholic was formerly the leading Division Two team prior to their matchup against Bosco. After their 4-0 victory, the Braves rank near the top the state for Division Three.

The Braves were able to complete this victory in front of their sister school’s very own Saint Joseph’s Cheerleaders. 

“I think it’s really cool that both members of the JV and varsity cheer team were given the opportunity to come out to support the hockey team. We haven’t had this opportunity in such a long time. It’s exciting to see the game firsthand,” senior Varsity Cheer Captain Patricia Schroeder said.

The Braves executed their victory with impressive plays by juniors Patrick Cech and Sebastian Pribula as well as freshman Kaden Curry. Cech held down the right wing on offense, putting some impressive shots in on the Don’s goalie. Pribula, the Brave’s goalie, had a total shutout with no goals coming to the back of the net. Finally, Curry played physical on the defensive end of the ice.

The 2022-2023 season has been prosperous for the Braves, as they stand at the top of the state. The success in key games, such as a victory over the Damien Spartans, the Pacific Ridge Puffins and fellow Trinity League foe JSerra Catholic. Through this, the Braves have solidified their hopes for playoffs. They are now in the process of gearing up for the road ahead of them.

“Getting the opportunity to play for the Bosco Braves and the organization has been a great experience for me,” said senior Michael Gutierrez. “I will never forget and always remember my senior year with Bosco.”

The coaching staff has played a crucial role in the development of the team overall. Head Coach Tomáš Kapusta hails from Zlín, Czech Republic, where he fostered a love for hockey at a young age. Coach Kapusta has earned two silver medals from World Junior Championships in 1985 and 1987. After that, he would be drafted into the NHL by the Edmonton Oilers based in Alberta, Canada. Finally, he participated in the Olympic Games of 1994, helping the Czech Republic National Team earn Bronze.  

Notably, former Bosco Hockey player and alumnus Emmett Croteau was drafted into the NHL this last year. Croteau was the 162nd draft pick for the Montreal Canadiens, where he plays the position of goaltender.

One of the ways the Bosco team is able to be so successful is the establishment of the team as a club, rather than the typical fashion of registering it as a high school sport. This means that the Braves are able to take on players from neighboring schools without breaking any official CIF rulings. The Braves utilize this to ultimately reinforce their squad, given the hockey culture is not relatively strong in the Los Angeles area.

Long Beach Polytechnic High School senior Jeremy Loosmore is a key left wing for the team. Loosmore values his privilege to play as a member of the Braves because his school lacks an official ice hockey team.

“It is an honor to be a part of such a strong program that develops the team to not only be high caliber players, but also successful men down the road,” Jeremy Loosmore said.

Through grit and determination, the hockey team has put themselves on the map as one of Bosco’s more successful sports. Join and support the Braves on this Friday against Capistrano United at Great Park Ice and Fivepoint Arena in Irvine at 4:30 pm.

Life Of A Brave: Unsung Hero, Bosco’s Spiritual Director Fr. Ted Montemayor, SDB

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by Christian Angel, Managing Editor

St. John Bosco High School’s well-known personality and Spiritual Director, Fr. Ted Montemayor, follows the model of Don Bosco in order to make our school feel like a “second home.”

Fr. Ted is one of the most prominent figures at St. John Bosco, where students have experienced Fr. Ted in the halls during the school day, through his famous “Good Mornings” when school starts or during his poignant homilies during monthly Masses. In his role as Spiritual Director, he ensures to make sure Bosco is a home to all our students, families and staff.

Photo by Megan Nash, Director of Digital Marketing & Social Media

Born on December 13, 1952 in Laredo, Texas, a small border-town near San Antonio toward the Mexican border, Fr. Ted grew up within the Salesian community from a young age. Fr. Ted attended a grammar school under the leadership of the Salesian Sisters and later on decided to join a high school seminary in Watsonville, California to soon begin his ministry.

As a kid, Fr. Ted was inspired to be a priest through his strong family who was close to the Salesian Sisters and through missionary priests that would give them talks and worked with indigenous communities in Mexico. One notable person Fr. Ted credits in his life is his twin sister, who he sometimes mentions in his homilies or in his “Good Morning” messages and passed away when he moved out to California to become a priest.

“We were five kids, I was the youngest alongside my twin sister. My twin sister and I parted ways when I went to high school,” said Fr. Ted. “My family always supported me, although they thought I was still too young to leave…. But my twin sister makes me reflect, as we came from the same womb, as she was a very giving and receiving person and loved me very much.”

For six years from 2014-2020, prior to his return to Bellflower, California and St. John Bosco, Fr. Ted served as the Provincial for the United States Western Province, tasked with to progressing the Salesian community throughout the west. Through his work as Provincial, he traveled a lot meeting new people within the Salesian community, but now in his role as Spiritual Director, he enjoys staying home and within the Bellflower community, building bonds and inspiring change in his own backyard.

His current role is very important and often misunderstood. Often the role of the Spiritual Director is viewed by many as the “head” of the organization.

“For St. John Bosco, the Director role was the director of the mission, parish, school, boys and girls club. Whether he runs it or not, [the Director] becomes the symbol of Don Bosco in the presence to defend the charism to make sure the place is ‘Salesian’ and to spot things that are ‘not Salesian,’ as he is the center of unity, ” said Fr. Ted.

Fr. Ted is also still involved in the Salesian community outside of St. John Bosco High School. One role is being present and serving the other Salesian priests and brothers. As Fr. Ted may not be able to be everywhere, his time involves being with the elderly community and organizing events, such as buying food for a particular gathering, doing Baptisms and funerals for our former alumni and even evening Saturday masses for the military in Los Alamitos.

Fr. Ted embodies the mission of Salesianity by trying using the model of Don Bosco to focus on the youth and the community. One of the gifts of Don Bosco gave his students was being present with them, which is one of the key elements of the Salesian charism, and Fr. Ted hopes to inspire students through the words he speaks to be better people. 

“I really try to be that kind presence that Don Bosco wanted us to be,” Fr. Ted said. “To help people and to create an environment to make people feel like home.”

Around Bosco: The Brave Community Celebrates the Life of Don Bosco During Catholic School’s Week

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by William Reynolds

Throughout the Feast Day of St. John Bosco and in honor of Catholic School’s Week, St. John Bosco High School highlighted the four models of the Oratory.

Don Bosco, was born August 16, 1815 in the city of Turin, Italy, where he had a famous dream at the age of nine. He dreamt that he was near his home in a playing field where a crowd of young children were having fun, laughing and playing.  But unfortunately, many started to curse and when he tried to stop them, Jesus appeared and told Bosco that he will have to lead the boys with kindness instead of hate.

Photo by Megan Nash, Director of Digital Marketing & Social Media

The result of this dream was Don Bosco having the ambition saving the souls of many young men and helping them grow in life to become good strong men through the power of faith and brotherhood that unites us all for life through the Oratory.

Don Bosco explains through the Oratory that the four pillars of Salesian education are home, school, church and playground. These are the same pillars on which St. John Bosco High School was founded.

Our school represents the home aspect of the oratory, as a second home where the Braves learn, worship, laugh and play, and throughout the week, St. John Bosco High School honored and reflected on the Oratory mission.

Last Tuesday the Brave community came together to honor the church aspect of the Oratory at St. Dominic Savio Parish and to celebrate the Feast Day of Don Bosco as well as his life and accomplishments. The community celebrated Mass with the honor of having the Auxiliary Bishop for the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, Bishop Marc Trudeau, perform the Feast Day Mass of our patron saint. In his homily he talked about the importance of family and how “we have a very special thing with our brothers here.”

The mission and message of St. John Bosco has influenced people all over the world, but has greatly affected our fellow students and faculty, such as Ricardo Rodriguez, a senior who has been a part of the Campus Ministry Team for all four years of his high school career, as well as the leader of the campus ministry team, Mr. Kris Tran.

“Taking the time out of my day to celebrate St. John Bosco’s history and his impact at this moment serves as an opportunity to gather together and remember. Remember who we are, remember that we are not alone, and remember the mission we are made for,” said Ricardo.

“I have always liked Don Bosco, he has been my inspiration when it comes to working with good young men. And in the month of January when we celebrate a lot of our Salesian saints and leaders, and it’s a good reminder of the spirits, work and life of the man who’s name we take for our school,” said Mr. Tran.

On Wednesday, the Brave community celebrated the school aspect of the Oratory, as students, faculty, staff and parents came together at St. Dominic Savio Parish to honor all students based on their academic achievements.

As the week of celebrating came to an end, on Friday, the Faith Families came together to reflect the playground aspect of Don Bosco and had a field day where students had the opportunity to win points for their Faith Families from games such as basketball, tug-o-war, ultimate frisbee, soccer, volleyball and football. This was one final hurrah in a week where the entire student body shared in laughter and fun, just like Don Bosco wanted. 

Sports: Rugby Returns To Bosco

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by Marcelles Williams

This is the first time the Braves threw on their rugby jerseys since Winter of 2019, in which they made their State Championship run. The squad is eager for their return, as they are no stranger to success on the rugby pitch.

Photo by SJB Student Life

A majority of the Rugby team were a part of this year’s 2022 Football’s National Championship team. Some of these players included sophomore Puka Moe, sophomore Epi Sitanilei and senior Gabriel Burch. This winning mindset has transfered over to the rugby field. Puka thinks that this winning attitude will be a big reason for the success of the team this year.

“Winning is winning, and I expect to do it at everything I do, including rugby and football,” said Puka.

The Braves are a part of the SoCal Interlastic Rugby Federation (SCRIF) league. The competition is fierce, as it includes Servite High School, Warren High School, Mira Costa High School and many more.

The Braves kicked off their season on January 12th at Bosco against the Servite Friars. It was a hard fought game but the Braves were not able to pull off a victory against their Trinity League foe, falling in a 19-12 loss. Even with the Braves coming up short, the team understood that this inaugural game was an indicator to the restart of a great program.

They are currently 2-2 and they believe that by the time the playoffs come, they will be ready to excel at the highest level. As one of the first squads following the pandemic, it is evident to see that the squad is still raw and will need to continue to use its upcoming regular season games to come into form.

Puka, who is one of the top players on the team, believes they will make the playoffs and have a chance to compete for a championship.

“We all believe we are talented and can really do something with rugby, but we do need a little more time because this was the first Bosco Rugby team in a few years.”

The Braves most impressive win took place at Bosco last Thursday. They played the Warren Bears and won in a game where Bosco scored a whopping 52 points against the bears and more than doubling their opponent in points, as Warren scored 21.

One of the senior leaders of the rugby team, Gabriel Burch, is really excited to finally be back on the field for the rugby team this year.

“I’m really excited for this year and can’t wait to see what this season has in store for us,” said Gabriel Burch. “I think people may be a bit surprised by us this year.”

Gabriel is passionate about this team and really embraces the Bosco Brotherhood. He is also super excited to have the program back for his last year at Bosco.

“These guys on the team are my brothers. I’ll do anything for these guys and I think they’ll do the same for me.”

The Rugby’s team’s latest match-up was the Cathedral Catholic Dons of San Diego. The back-to-back SCRIF league champions are top in the state. The Braves put up a fight but fell to the Dons with the final score 26-12 loss.

The Braves next match-up will be this Saturday at Fallbrook High School, as they look to get back into the winning column.

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