by Travien Sears, Assistant A+E Editor

The Braves (6-0, 2-0) rushed right into Friday night’s Trinity League matchup on the road against the JSerra Lions (5-2, 1-1) after coming off a nail-biting 27-26 win over Servite, securing what can only be described as a “statement” win.

“There was some order restored back into the galaxy tonight,” St. John Bosco’s Head Coach Jason Negro said. “I’m really pleased with the way we played tonight. It was a very clean game, well-officiated and JSerra is a good football team. I was just really glad to get out of here with a win and stay healthy.”

The Lions had a clean and challenging receiving end that definitely woke up the Braves defenders in the start of the game, especially when the Lion’s Sammy Green returned the opening kickoff of the game an impressive 86 yards to the Braves 13-yard line which then set up quarterback General Booty who set left and executed the 13-yard touchdown pass to Chris Street putting the Lions at the best possible start of a 7-0 lead just 24 seconds into the game.

The Braves, however, couldn’t allow JSerra to keep that lead for long, putting on an absolute show on the offensive side of the ball. Braves Senior Quarterback DJ Uiagalelei found a way to almost always make his O-line look solid, from hitting up receivers, giving the ball to the RB’s or even running the ball himself. One of the most impressive and unexpected runs from Friday nights game was when Uiagalelei ran a 73-yard touchdown less than three minutes into the game to quickly tie the scoreboard at 7-7.

“That was pretty tight”, Uiagalelei said, smiling, when asked about the impressively long touchdown run. “I don’t run very much like that. I was pretty gassed at the end and I was just hoping I didn’t get caught at the 1.”

For someone that doesn’t run much like he did tonight, Uiagalelei, a Clemson commit had six total touchdowns, three passing and three rushing. He ran for 110 yards on nine carries and completed 14 out of 22 passes for 251 yards. Uiagalelei, Kris Hutson, Logan Loya, Jode Mcduffie and Rayshon Luke (who ran for a 19-yard touchdown) all scored offensively for the Braves in their 49-10 win over the Lions.

“We made them earn everything, and that’s another thing that I thought coming into the game, if we put them into situations where they had to throw the ball, it was going to be our advantage. We won first and second downs and that was big for us,” Coach Negro said.

The SJB Defense was also amazing Friday night and repeatedly shut down the JSerra offense from getting a first down much less score a touchdown. They were on point and had a phenomenal performance this game, especially after realizing and having to wake up to what the JSerra offense was capable of in the beginning of the game. 

It’s exactly these kinds of shutdown performances from the defense that are extremely important to Bosco’s success for the rest of the season games and come time for playoffs. This will be especially important against high-powered offenses that the Braves will face in remaining games. It will be absolutely crucial that they show up and show out.

Also, a huge shout out to the SJB Braves Marching Band & Color Guard, St. Joseph’s Cheer Squad and to the crowd for the energy and excitement that was present in Friday night’s game. JSerra may be a trek, but that didn’t stop the Bosco community from making the drive to support the team.

PREDICTED SCORE (in game preview):

Braves- 38, Lions- 28

FINAL SCORE:

Braves- 49, Lions- 10

 

by Hunter Richardson, Assistant Sports Editor

The Braves, coming off a tough win against Servite, head down to highly ranked JSerra tonight in one game that could turn into another classic Trinity League battle. 

The Braves survived a tight 27-26 victory against Servite in the opening game of league play. Coach Jason Negro’s team battled through tough officiating and a hostile opposing crowd to come out on top and maintain a perfect 6-0 record.

Quarterback D.J Uiagalelei had arguably his toughest outing of the season with only a 53% completion percentage in the game, while still throwing three touchdowns and preserving his zero interception statline on the season. Running back Nathaniel Jones had his breakout game of the season so far running for 82 yards on 12 carries. Defensive tackle Kobe Pepe once again led the team in tackles with eight and defensive back Jake Newman had the only interception of the game.

Week two of Trinity League play for the Braves will take place in San Juan Capistrano tonight against a tough JSerra Lions team. The Lions come into this game boasting a 5-1 record and plenty of confidence coming off a 35-3 thrashing of Santa Margarita last week in their league opener.

JSerra gave the Braves their biggest scare during the regular season last year, only losing by a score of 35-28 in a classic Trinity League game. Lions head coach Pat Harlow will be expected his team ready and confident on their home turf tonight, so the Braves are gonna have to be ready for an all out war. Prepare for another Trinity League classic between these two top teams.

The Lions pose a difficult challenge for the Braves with their physical and stout defensive line and high caliber athletes on both sides of the ball. University of California-Berkeley commit, running back Chris Street, for the Lions is one of the best players at his position in the country and plans to have a repeat performance of last year where he ran for nearly 100 yards and added on a touchdown.

The Lions run a two running back system with another stud back, Sammy Green, who has five rushing touchdowns to his name on the season. The Braves front 7 is gonna have to dominate at the line tonight and make JSerra quarterback General Booty make plays with his arm.

Coach Negro’s squad will have to be ready from the kickoff tonight in front of a hostile Lions crowd. On the field leadership from Seniors D.J. Uiagalelei and Kobe Pepe will be crucial in guiding the Braves to victory tonight in this can’t miss Trinity League matchup.

The Braves play at JSerra in San Juan Capistrano tonight at 7 PM.

Final Score Prediction- Braves 38- JSerra 28

by Lucas Garrison, Sports Editor

After what looked to be a very promising season, the Dodgers take an early exit out of the 2019 postseason. The Dodgers walked into this series against the Nationals, however, once again Dodgers manager, Dave Roberts, managed himself out of the playoffs. It wasn’t just a bad call in game 5, it was a coalition of poor judgment resulting in bad calls time and time again, in this series.

The Dodgers sit today, at home, and will be asking themselves the question of what happened. How did we get ourselves in this situation? The big questions Dodger fans are asking themselves are, why is Roberts still our manager, why was Clayton Kershaw put into this situation and why can’t this team get over the hump? The sad thing is that the Dodgers seem to be stuck in this endless cycle of entering the season with huge expectations, and then just fall short every year.

The Dodgers this offseason will also have multiple questions regarding what they are going to do with this absolutely horrible pitching staff. Now, the starting pitching is just fine, they are able to go deep into games until leaving it up to their absolutely horrible bullpen. This season the bullpen seemed to be the endless cancer of this franchise. They have had to time and time again rely on players that are inconsistent, and just plain sad. Players like Pedro Baez and Joe Kelly this season left so much to be desired. Baez who was coming off of a career year a season ago, this season was unreliable, and just plain unable to get the job done. Now to Kelly the blockbuster offseason signing for the Dodgers who was supposed to bolster this bullpen, and make this Dodgers team unstoppable. However, he was unable to perform this season. All aspects of Kelly’s pitching this season resulted in complete mediocrity. 

The Dodgers can’t seem to figure out when to use and when not to use guys. This comes down to the inconsistent playcalling from the manager, Dave Roberts. Roberts isn’t horrible when it comes to managing all these personalities, and making this team solid in the regular season. However, in the postseason the last 3 years, it seems like it is impossible for him to make consistent postseason judgment calls. In Game 5 against the Nationals the question I was asking myself why isn’t Russell Martin in the starting lineup, why are we bringing Kershaw back out after he went out and closed out the inning and then why are they sending Joe Kelly out for a second inning?

The Dodgers had so many chances in this series to get things right for them to move onto the next round of the postseason. The Dodgers, this offseason, are going to have a lot of explaining to do. Dodger fans are going to want results next year. All we have heard is that we have good young talent and a very talented roster. Yet, we have nothing to show for it. It will be interesting to see if the Dodgers are able to bring in some talent for their bullpen, and potentially add another all-star pitcher. All I know is that the Dodgers must make some serious changes.

by Lucas Garrison, Sports Editor

Week Five has come to a close, and there seems to be a lot more questions than answers. The fact that the Cowboys cannot seem to defeat a quality opponent, are the Steelers down to their third-string QB, and what are we supposed to make of the Colts?

The Cowboys this season are now sitting at 3-2. The sad fact of the matter is those three wins came against the Redskins, Giants, and Dolphins. The two loses, however, came against the Saints and Packers, both of which are the only quality opponents the Cowboys have faced this year. The Cowboys this season seem to have forgotten that they have Zeke Elliott and that needs to be the forefront of their offense, especially given that he’s now the highest paid running back in the league after a long offseason hold-out.

If this team is to be more competitive, Jason Garrett and Kellen Moore need to realize that Ezekiel Elliott needs to be the number one option for them, then Dak and Amari, otherwise, this team will be unable to succeed as a viable contender for the Super Bowl.

Meanwhile in the AFC, the Steelers were hit by even more tragedy. The sad thing is that the Steelers may have just lost their back-up quarterback, Mason Rudolph, for several weeks after losing long-time franchise quarterback Ben Roethisberger. Now nothing has been confirmed, but the Steelers QB took a vicious hit from Ravens saftey, Earl Thomas.

It was an insanely scary sight, as Rudolph’s body went limp. Now there hasn’t been a verdict on how much time he will miss, if any at all. Rudolph was limited in practice this week but in pads Thursday, with an injury status listed as “questionable.”

The Steelers cannot afford to lose yet another QB this season. If so, I expect the Steelers will be unable to even go .500 on the season. The Steelers will have to really evaluate all parts of their team from the front office to key players.

Elsewhere in the AFC, the Colts are keeping the league guessing: is this team legit or trash? The Colts lost in week four to the Raiders at home, but then this week they went on the road to Kansas City, in primetime, and took down Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs. Now the question has to be raised: Is this team able to remain a solid contender?

This team has to continue to keep the strong pressure on the pass rush, as well as, having an offense that is strongly reliant on the power run with Marlon Mack. In the passing game, with T.Y. Hilton, Devin Funchess and Parris Campbell, if they are able to run their offense this way they will be a strong offensive team. When they get back outside linebacker, Darious Leonard, the Colts will be able to round out their defense, so we can get a better look at this team.

by Emilio Ceja

St. John Bosco celebrated its diversity with its annual Club Carnival, where students had the opportunity to join some of the many clubs offered at Bosco, such as Seal Team Bosco, Key Club, Spanish Honors Society and more. 

All the clubs had a table they decorated to attract the students’ attention. Throughout the event, students enjoyed a relaxed environment with food, music, games and friends, where students could learn about and sign up for clubs in which they are interested.

One unique club is Seal Team Bosco, an athletic minded club where Bosco students can meet new friends and teammates from our sister school St. Josephs. They practice and prepare for the Annual U.S. Navy Seal Invitational, where they compete against other schools and clubs. The team trains through morning runs and swimming, along with weightlifting and various skills related to military experience. Mr. Ed Torre, the club’s faculty moderator, trains the team and helps sharpen their physical and mental skills through the tough mentality of being a soldier.

Senior Noah Quezada was in charge of the table for Seal Team Bosco at the club carnival.

“We are a very dedicated group, who love to workout and build experiences together,” said Quezada.

Another prominent club that had a table at the carnival was the Spanish Honors Society. Not necessarily a club, the Spanish Honors Society has a requirement students have to meet in order to join, which is two years of Spanish with a B or better. If the requirement is met, the students are handed an application that has to be filled out asking about the different Spanish classes they have taken. Ultimately, the student’s former Spanish teachers must approve their admittance into Spanish Honors Society.

But that’s not all. After the teachers’ approval, the students have to be approved by one of the deans with their signature and recommendation. Ms. Cindy Rayas the club coordinator is in charge of holding meetings in her classroom and is also a Spanish teacher at Bosco. The Spanish Honors Society also holds fundraisers where they sell pizza to raise money for different charities throughout the year.

“We had more than 30 kids sign up for the club, all meeting the requirements for the club,” said Miss. Rayas.

One of the most well known events they put on is the Dia De Los Muertos Celebration. This event is held yearly and includes all cultural parts of the Hispanic “Day of the Dead,” such as altars, pan dulce, tacos, and face painting to look like the traditional skeletons.

Seniors in the Spanish Honors Society also get to show off fancy cords marking their participation in the society when they graduate.

Another club is the Key Club, a service oriented club that offers a chance for students to make friends and complete service hours in a fun and easily accessible environment. Key Club is not a club specific to only Bosco students. It is a national and international club that many schools and organizations offer. Although not Bosco specific, the Key Club’s coordinator is Ms. Norma Aguilera, a Spanish teacher at Bosco. At their specific table, the Key Club had a poster featuring their past service initiatives, along with applications for new members.

“I really enjoyed the table arrangements. I liked how they were in a circle and students could walk around and visit each club individually without a lot of foot traffic,” said Ms. Aguilera.

The 2019 Club Carnival allowed Bosco to show all it has to offer to its students. The way the event was set up, from the individual tables, the lawn games and the music, made possible this essential part of the Bosco experience.

by Lucas Garrison, Sports Editor

October has fallen upon us, and yes that means the most important time of the month is here: Halloween? NOPE, it’s postseason baseball. The usual teams are atop their divisions, with the Dodgers of the National League, and the Astros, and Yankees, of the American League. Of course, these teams would be the obvious favorites, but there are several sleeper teams that are viable contenders.

NATIONAL LEAGUE

The National League now is a completely different story when comparing the National League to the American League. The Dodgers enter into October, as the heavy favorite to represent the National League. Now yes, the National League has other teams that will be able to provide a tough time against their other opponents, but in my opinion, there is no other team that will be able to take the National League away from the Dodgers.

Now to move to the Dodgers, the team in my opinion, who has the best young core in Baseball will represent the National League for the World Series, in my opinion, this season. Let us start off with the Dodgers who have a strong rotation, not the best, but very strong. Obviously they will be lead by probable Cy Young winner Hyun-Jin Ryu, as well as Clayton Kershaw, Walker Buehler, and Rich Hill. The Dodgers this Postseason, are attempting to strengthen a pretty weak Bullpen by moving young player Dustin May who started several games, and more than likely will be a future starter. They also move Tony Goslin to the bullpen who has taken reps as both a starter and a bullpen pitcher. He will provide another solid arm coming out of the bullpen. Not only do these Dodgers have these young future stars coming out of the bullpen, but they have their usual bullpen guys with Joe Kelly, Julio Urias, Kenley Jansen, and Ross Stripling.

The Dodgers on the offensive side of the ball continue will look to not only rip balls left, right, and center, but will also look to play some small ball. In my opinion, this is one of the several advantages the Dodgers have this season. They have guys that go deep basically every at-bat, Joc Pederson, Cody Bellinger, Max Muncy. Then you have your guys that hit the ball shallow and get on base, Russel Martin, Justin Turner, Will Smith, and Kike Hernandez. The Dodgers will look to move onto the NLCS, and hopefully will be joined by Alex Verdugo who will add yet another solid bat to the lineup. The one question that needs to be asked though is, who will be left off the roster. Will it be rookie sensation Gavin Lux, or will it be a veteran guy like David Freeze, or will it the solution be to leave Alex Verdugo off the roster, and keep with this hot roster. Whatever the solution is, the Dodgers will still have a great postseason roster. That’s why they will be in the World Series for a third straight year, and hopefully win the ‘ship.

The Nationals and the Braves are the two teams that will give the Dodgers trouble, but they will be unable to take down the Dodgers. The Nationals yes, in my opinion, have the second-best rotation in baseball. The Nationals have a rotation that features, Max Scherzer, Stephen Strasburg, and Patrick Corbin. However, the Nationals who threw Max Scherzer in the Wild Card game more than likely will not be available until game 4 or 5. The Nationals are also being lead offensively by, Anthony Rendon and Juan Soto. Rendon this season has made an MVP case for himself this season. Rendon this season is batting, .319, with 34 home runs, and 126 RBI. Rendon will look to lead this team on the offensive side of the ball. Soto will add a solid second bat for the team, and they will form a solid tandem as we have already seen this Postseason.

To look at Atlanta, they started off this season solid than just got much better by adding Star pitcher Dallas Keuchel. Atlanta probably has a top 3 young core in baseball, behind the Dodgers, and the Nationals. Atlanta this Postseason will more than likely be lead by Ronald Acuna Jr., Ozzie Albies, Dansby Swanson, and Freddie Freeman on the offensive side. On the Pitching staff, they are being led by Ace, Dallas Keuchel, Mike Soroka, and Mike Foltynewicz. These Pitchers together this season have been able to keep the run count short against them allowing for the perfect complement to an already outstanding offensive team.

Atlanta plays the Cardinals in the first round of the playoffs. The Cardinals are being lead by Paul “Goldy” Goldschmidt on the offensive side of the ball. They look solid, but they just don’t have the star power that Atlanta or the Dodgers do. They do have the veteran presence, however. Matt Carpenter, Yadier Molina, and Adam Wainwright being the Veterans of this team. This team will provide so solid competition to the Braves, but I do not expect anything special from them.

AMERICAN LEAGUE

The American League once again looks like the powerhouse in the MLB. They feature the number 1 team in baseball, the Houston Astros, who finished the regular season with, 107 wins. The Yankees however, are the team that I believe will meet the Astros in the ALCS, and move on to the World Series. Now, this is not to say that the American League will only have these two teams sweeping on through. Other teams to keep an eye out for include the Twins, and the Rays. The Rays who currently take on Houston, are the winners of the Wild Card and have a very solid all-around team. The sad fact of the matter is that they will be unable to defeat the Astros, for the soul fact, they have the stronger starting pitching staff, and just much more star power.

The Yankees and Astros have so much star power from the pitching staff to the offensive side of the ball. Let’s start off by looking at the Yankees. The Yankees are the power-hitting powerhouse of the MLB this season. Those power hitters include Aaron Judge, Giancarlo Stanton, Gary Sanchez, and Luke Voit. These 4 guys are the guys you don’t wanna see if you are a pitcher for the soul fact that they can, and most likely go yard every single at-bat. Now yes the Yankees Pitching staff is very weak in the Bullpen, and in their starters. However, they will out-hit you, and out muscle you on the offensive side of the ball.

The Astros will have their hands full the entire postseason. They face the Rays in the first round, who, no will not be able to take down the Astros, but the Rays will train your starters, and take on every pitcher in your bullpen. But with all that the Astros finished the regular season with the best record in baseball with 107 wins and 55 losses. Those 107 wins have to be credited to an excellent starting pitching staff. They started off in the offseason by adding Wade Miley to their already strong pitching staff. They made sure to add a solid number 3 guy behind Justin Verlander, and Gerrit Cole, who by the way is having a Cy-Young worthy season. But the Astros were not done yet, at the trade deadline they went and traded for Diamondbacks Ace Zack Grenkie. So now the Astros have a 2 excellent pitchers, 1 great pitcher, and 1 good pitcher. Look out for the Astros.They will be a solid team in the AL Postseason, but I do not think they will be able to outweigh the power hitting beast known as the New York Yankees.

The World Series this season will no matter what feature the Los Angeles Dodgers for the third straight year. However, whether it is the Houston Astros, or the New York Yankees representing the American League. It will lead to an exciting World Series.

ALDS

Houston Astros Vs.  Rays

WINNER: Astros

Yankees Vs. Twins

WINNER: Yankees

ALCS

Yankees Vs. Astros

WINNER: Yankees

NLDS

Dodgers Vs. Nationals

WINNER: Dodgers

Braves Vs. Cardinals

WINNER: Braves

NLCS

Dodgers Vs. Braves

WINNER: Dodgers

WORLD SERIES

Dodgers Vs. Yankees

WINNER: Dodgers

by Hunter Richardson, Assistant Sports Editor

The Braves open Trinity League-play tonight with Servite on the road, attempting to once again conquer the toughest league in the nation. The Braves have three road games to start league-play with the currently number two ranked team in the nation looking to repeat as Trinity League champions. 

 

Coach Jason Negro’s team is coming off a dominant nonleague run going 5-0 in easy fashion against high quality out-of-state opponents. The Braves took down three tough east coast squads in Don Bosco Prep, Dematha and Our Lady of Good Counsel at home, running through the opposition with a stout defense as well as an explosive offense at the helm of second year offensive coordinator Steven Lo. On the road during non-league play, the Braves gave opposing fans a show in two commanding victories against Mililani of Hawaii and Liberty of Nevada.

It is time to turn the page for the Braves, as they are looking down the familiar slate of games in the hardest football league in the country, the Trinity League. The Braves are beginning league-play with three consecutive road games versus Servite, JSerra and Orange Lutheran. This is a difficult challenge that Coach Negro’s team has to deal with before the inevitable game of the year against the number one team in the country, league rival Mater Dei.

Tonight the Braves begin their journey to defend the Trinity League title on the road against Servite, who comes in with a record of 4-1, with their only loss of the season being dealt by powerhouse Bishop Gorman from Nevada. The Friars have been a model of consistency over the years as they continue to be one of the top teams in the Southern Section.

The Braves come into tonight’s game boasting a juggernaut offense led by Clemson-commit, senior quarterback D.J. Uiagalelei. Uiagalelei has shredded opposing defenses so far this season averaging just shy of 300 passing yards per game and throwing for 18 touchdowns and zero interceptions.

Bosco football this season has not been all-offense either, as the defense has held opponents to a combined 53 points in the first five games of the season. The Braves leading tackler, linebacker Danny Lockhart, and team leader in sacks, defensive tackle Kobe Pepe prepare to lead this defense to a dominant showing against some of the best offensive players in California this league season.

Tonight’s game will give Brave fans a glimpse into whether or not this season’s squad is legit in their national championship campaign. If the Braves continue to look as powerful and consistent as they have so far this season, they should have a successful beginning to Trinity League play tonight against the Friars. The game is at Orange Coast College at 7 P.M.

FINAL SCORE PREDICTION: 52-14