by Macade Maxwell

In the most highly anticipated high school football game of the year thus far, the St. John Bosco Braves showed who is the best high school football program in California and the country. 

The “Team in Red’s” lackluster offense and defense was no match for the Braves, who dominated in all facets of the game and won 28-0. The Brave defense hung a nice-looking donut on the “Team in Red’s” side of the scoreboard at Panish Family Stadium and left their rival in total defeat.

The “Team in Red” came into a game as the number one nationally ranked high school team, but the Braves left with that mantle, now sitting atop the national rankings.

From the very first snap, it was clear that the Braves meant business. The Braves found the end-zone early in the game with a one-yard rushing touchdown by senior running back Cameron Jones, a UCLA-commit. This was the spark for the Braves blazing-hot offense.

Senior quarterback Caleb Sanchez had a great performance and established the passing game early on. Caleb connected once again with Cameron Jones for an 18-yard touchdown to put the Braves up by double digits. 

But the Braves offense didn’t stop there. A well-executed “flea flicker” ended in a 28-yard touchdown pass to senior Tommy Maher. This stunned the “Team in Red” and made Brave fans go crazy. 

The Braves offense capped off their impressive night with a nine-yard rush, as senior Chauncey “Boogie” Sylvester found his way into the end-zone. 

Although the offense put up big numbers on Friday night, you have to give all credit to the defense. 

The Braves defense combined for a total of 75 tackles in their dominant performance. Seniors Marcelles Williams and Khmori House led the way for the defense in that category. 

The icing on the cake for this game was an interception in the end-zone by senior Frankie Edwards III, officially closing out the game and sealing the shut-out against the “Team in Red”. 

Many supporters of the “Team in Red” left home with shame and were seen leaving the game in the final minutes, losing all hope and faith in their team, as the Braves fans serenaded them with chants of “na na na na, na na na na, hey hey, hey, goodbye!” 

“It all started with a game plan,” said Marcelles Williams. “Coach came with a game plan last week, and we all executed it to perfection.” 

Coming into the game as underdogs, the Braves played the game with passion and showed everybody to never count them out. 

“A lot of people didn’t have us coming out on top,” said Caleb Sanchez. “We worked hard and followed our game plan, and it felt really good to win that game.”

Next in line for the Braves is the JSerra Lions, who currently hold a 4-4 overall record while having a 1-2 record in league play. They will take on the Lions on the road tonight at 7pm. Although this may not be the toughest opponent for the Braves, they are keeping the same mindset for each and every game and keeping their foot on the gas pedal. 

“Going into [tonight’s] game it’s a new week, new game, and we all got to do the same things we did last week,” said Khmori House.   

St. John Bosco’s record improved to 7-1, while maintaining a flawless 3-0 record in the Trinity League. This was only a stepping stone for the Braves, as they put themselves in the driver’s seat for a Trinity League Championship. But even that doesn’t encapsulate all the Braves have in front of them, with their quest to repeat as CIF-SS, State, and National Champions continues.

by Macade Maxwell

This isn’t just your average high school football game. This is another one for the ages.

The number one nationally ranked “Team in Red” out of Santa Ana goes head-to-head with the number nine ranked St. John Bosco Braves from Bellflower. With tickets selling out in just three seconds, this is said the be the most electrifying and highly anticipated high school game of the year so far.

Tonight the battle of the best will be held at Panish Family Stadium. The game has been the talk of the nation and has been getting a huge amount of attention on all social media platforms.

“The fan support is good for us to build momentum for big games like this,” said senior Khmori House.

With a deep-seated rivalry, the “Team in Red” hold an overall winning record over the Braves, with their last 11 meetings having a 7-4 record. Although they may have won more games, the Braves win the ones that matter most. In last year’s match-up, the Braves took down the Monarchs with a score of 24-22 in the CIF Southern Section Championship at the Rose Bowl. 

The “Team in Red” is loaded with a solid squad with multiple NCAA division one caliber players on both sides of the ball and are looking to come for vengeance. 

But this is no match for the Braves. With an impressive record of 6-1, Bosco Football hopes to boost their national ranking and show who’s the best football team in California and the country. 

The Braves have plenty of horses on their side as well. Consisting of Senior Khmori House, who is a four-star University of Washington-commit, three-star senior Chauncey “Boogie” Slyvester, senior USC-commit Marcelles Williams and four-star Alabama-commit senior Peyton Woodyard, just to name a few. 

Going into this game, many people outside the Bosco community have been doubting the Brave’s ability to come out on top and secure an upset win. 

“We’re the underdogs in this situation, so its more of us trying to prove everybody wrong,” said Marcelles Williams. “We want people to regret counting us out and show everybody what we can do.” 

Leading the way for the Braves on offense is senior quarterback Caleb Sanchez. He has put up impressive numbers all season long and hopes to play his best football against the “Team in Red.”

According to MaxPreps, Caleb has a whopping 1513 passing yards, averages 252 yards per game and has twelve total touchdowns. 

“I get to start the game off, and it’s in my hands pretty much the whole game,” said Caleb. “I feel very confident in our game plan this week. Our offense is looking really sharp and we are prepared for tomorrow” 

The clash for California is a must-see and for those who were unable to obtain tickets, the game will be televised on Bally Sports Network at 7pm. If your cable provider doesn’t carry Bally Sport Network, you can also watch the game on NFHS Network.

by Luis Hernandez, Managing Editor

St. John Bosco High School Cross Country, led by Head Coach Tim McIntosh who has coached for nearly 40 years, currently holds third place in the Trinity League and fourth in CIF Division Four while relying on underclassmen contributors.

The Braves have just recently competed in the Clovis Invitational, which they won and look to continue the streak at Mt. Sac, which is their division sweepstakes.

Bosco Cross Country team is very different from previous years, due to the lack of older runners that have experience. This has caused the team to depend on the younger runners to perform well, which they have done thus far.

“This big group of freshmen are important,” said Coach McIntosh. “We need them, and usually they would be brought up a lot later, but we simply need runners.”

This influx of younger athletes has allowed the seniors and juniors to be mentors to them and help the team develop as a whole.

“With these new freshmen coming in, I am happy about how fast they are evolving and I am happy to be there to help them,” said senior Andrew Perez.

The team coming into this year only had four runners on varsity, which forced new runners to take a bigger role on the team. Seniors Aiden Aldana and Andrew Perez have performed very well this season and are the backbone to the team.

Aiden Aldana has been an essential element of the team especially, as since he has had consecutive top finishes, most recently getting second place in the Trinity League contests. Aiden’s senior leadership makes a great impact, as the younger runners can look up to him for help and inspiration.

“The older runners helped bring the team together and helped [the freshmen] become better runners. They have played a big role,” Coach McIntosh said.

Coach McIntosh thinks that better times are ahead with the COVID-19 pandemic behind the program and the runners being able to practice and spend more time together. He emphasized that Cross Country is a team sport, and in order to be successful, they must all work together.

“You will run harder for your team than for yourself,” said Mr. McIntosh.

The Braves have their eyes are on the podium, as their main goal is to win league and place well in CIF-SS and State. This team has high expectations for themselves, knowing what they are capable of and believing this season is a perfect opportunity to succeed despite their youth.

“I am very impressed with the team this year and believe that we are in a position to accomplish great things,” said Andrew Perez.

The team has done great things to this point in their season and look forward to ending it in a similar fashion with Trinity League Finals on the horizon.

by Macade Maxwell

With the season coming to a near end, Head Coach Adam Lee and the rest of the St. John Bosco Water Polo team hang their hats on building a culture of toughness and discipline, regardless of the results.

Heading into the final stretch of the season, the Braves find themselves in a situation where every game matters. With a couple of tough games to come, they are fearless of any opponent and won’t let anything inhibit their resolve. 

For Bosco Water Polo, it’s not about how you start; it’s about how you finish. Aquatics Director and Head Coach Adam Lee is looking to apply his expertise and experience in collegiate-level coaching and motivate his team to finish off their season on a strong note. Although the team has faced some adversity, Coach Lee is dedicated to his squad and believes in each in every one of them. 

“During the games, he is always telling us to keep going no matter what the score is and to use the time spent in the water to always be learning,” said junior Julian Almanza. “Just seeing Coach Lee’s desire to win and desire to make the whole team better has made me want to work even harder to help benefit the team as much as possible.” 

One certain player who stands out the most in the water would be senior Adrian Lobos. Adrian is the main example of what a leader in the water should look like. Not only using his athleticism but setting an example for his teammates. 

“I simply go out there and give it everything. I’ve been playing this game for five years and I’ve learned that one thing you can’t do is display emotion,” said Adrian. “I must set a good example for the other guys on my team and encourage them to do the same.” 

He also emphasized that practice and preparation plays a crucial part in his recent success. 

“If I practice with 110% effort. I like to assume that it will start to show in the game. I’ve always practiced as though I were playing a game, giving [it] my all.”

Julian Almanza has seen the impact that Lobos has made on the team. Julian along with the rest of his teammates placed their trust in him whenever he’s in the water. 

“He understands the game, and we trust him and his judgment,” said Julian. “He is one of our top scores and he’s definitely a guy we can trust to lead the team whenever we are down or we just need something to bring us back into the game.”

With the expertise of Coach Lee and the leadership of players like Adrian, the Braves are building a hard-nosed culture. Although this may not have been the start that they were hoping to have, as they currently sit at a record of 7-11 on the season, Coach Lee and his squad look forward to capping the year off with a strong finish.