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  • Mater Dei's Amon-Ra St. Brown and Stephon Robins (24) celebrate...

    Mater Dei's Amon-Ra St. Brown and Stephon Robins (24) celebrate the Monarchs win over Orange Lutheran in Friday's game in Santa Ana on October 14, 2016. (Photo by Paul Rodriguez, Orange County Register/SCNG)

  • Mater Dei coach Bruce Rollinson says there are advantage on...

    Mater Dei coach Bruce Rollinson says there are advantage on both sides for this week's Trinity League showdown between the Monarchs and St. John Bosco.

  • Mater Dei Raphael Jones Jr. tosses the football in the...

    Mater Dei Raphael Jones Jr. tosses the football in the end zone after score a touchdown in the second quarter against Orange Lutheran in Santa Ana on Friday, October 14, 2016. (Photo by Paul Rodriguez, Orange County Register/SCNG)

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Mater Dei vs. St. John Bosco is the game of the week, obviously.

It’s the game of the year, too.

A full-house can be expected for their Trinity League game at Cerritos College on Friday.

Mater Dei coach Bruce Rollinson said the Braves “have certain advantages,” including along the offensive and defensive lines.

“They win the size battle up front on both sides of the ball,” Rollinson said. “And we have our advantages.”

Mater Dei’s advantages won’t mean much if the Monarchs have a penalty-plagued performance like they did in last week’s 56-14 win over Orange Lutheran. They were penalized 10 times for 101 yards.

No team, even a team with the offensive firepower of Mater Dei, is going to thrive when its offense has a first-and-15 or a second-and-20 possession after possession against the likes of St. John Bosco.

“We have to eliminate the penalties,” Rollinson said. “And games like these can come down to turnovers. We’ve got to create some for ourselves and we can’t give them to St. John Bosco because their offense is too volatile.”

Mater Dei is No. 2 and St. John Bosco is No. 10 in USA Today’s national rankings. CalHiSports.com’s California top 25 last week had St. John Bosco at No. 2, behind Centennial of Corona, and Mater Dei at No. 3.

TICKETS UPDATE

Mater Dei will begin selling tickets Wednesday for Friday night’s game.

Tickets will be available at the school’s athletics ticket window Wednesday and Thursday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., and on Friday from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. The transactions will be cash only.

Prices are $10 for adults, $5 for senior citizens (65 and older) and $3 for children (ages 5-14). Children aged 4 and younger are admitted free. Mater Dei and St. John Bosco students are admitted free with valid student identification.

The game, which will start at 7:30 p.m., will be televised live by Prime Ticket.

BOULEVARD BATTLE

Yorba Linda beat Esperanza, 42-3 in “The Battle of the Boulevard” on Friday.

That game is a neighborhood rivalry. Many students who attend Yorba Linda reside in what was Esperanza’s attendance area before Yorba Linda opened in 2009.

Mustangs junior quarterback Luke Wilson completed 15 of 20 passes for 304 yards and five touchdowns. Sophomore receiver Ricky Lane had six catches for 120 yards and two touchdowns. Luke Adams, Kyle McManus and Max Thorp also had touchdown receptions.

Yorba Linda (6-1) plays Foothill (5-2) on Friday at Tustin High in the Crestview League opener for both. The Mustangs’ only loss was to El Modena, 42-21, three weeks ago.

“I’m really impressed by El Modena,” Yorba Linda coach Jeff Bailey said. “We’d love to play them again in the playoffs.”

El Modena and Yorba Linda are in CIF-SS Division 8. El Modena is No. 3 in the division’s top 10. Esperanza is No. 5.

TOUGH TARTANS

St. Margaret’s went to Nordhoff of Ojai on Saturday night and came home with a 52-0 win. It was the team’s third shutout of the season.

Austin Locke had eight receptions for 165 yards and two touchdowns for the Tartans (7-1). Quarterback George Krantz continued his stellar season with 397 passing yards and six touchdown passes.

The Tartans’ only loss was to Bishop’s of La Jolla, which is 7-0.

St. Margaret’s, like former Academy League mates Brethren Christian and Crean Lutheran, is a freelance teams which means it does not don’t play in a league. Sage Hill was in the Academy League last season but opted to play 8-man football this season. CIF-SS rules require a minimum of four teams to create a league.

IS THIS THE YEAR?

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For the past few years, Buena Park has been La Habra’s chief challenger in the Freeway League. But La Habra keeps winning that game and keeps winning league championships.

The Highlanders have won nine straight league titles.

La Habra and Buena Park play Friday night at Buena Park. Both teams are 2-0 in league. Buena Park (6-1 overall) is Nol 13 in the O.C. rankings, while La Habra (4-3) is No. 15.

Maybe this is the Coyotes’ season.

THIS WEEK

This week’s schedule is loaded with league games of high importance.

On Thursday: Empire League, Kennedy (5-2 overall, 2-0 league) plays at Tustin (6-1, 2-0); Pacific Coast League, University (6-1, 1-1) plays Corona del Mar (6-1, 1-1) at Estancia High; Sunset League, Newport Harbor (3-4, 1-1) plays Huntington Beach (4-3, 2-0) at Orange Coast College in what likely is the battle for the league’s third and final guaranteed playoff berth, as it seems Edison and Los Alamitos will finish 1-2.

On Friday: Yorba Linda (6-1) vs. Foothill (5-2) in a Crestview League opener at Tustin High; San Juan Hills (6-2, 1-1) plays at San Clemente (5-2, 1-0) in the South Coast League in which only the top two teams in the five-team, Mission Viejo-dominated league receive guaranteed entry into the playoffs; in the Trinity League, JSerra (4-3, 0-2) vs. Santa Margarita (4-3, 0-2) at Saddleback College and Servite (4-3, 1-1) vs. Orange Lutheran (4-3, 1-1) at Orange Coast College.

RALLY LIONS

JSerra is an 0-2 in the Trinity League. This is nothing new for the Lions.

Last year, JSerra was 0-3 league and in the final two weeks the Lions beat Mater Dei and Orange Lutheran. In 2014, JSerra beat Mater Dei, Orange Lutheran and Servite over the final weeks to make the playoffs. In 2013, the Lions were 0-3 in league and knocked off Servite and Santa Margarita in the season’s last two weeks.

Contact the writer: sfryer@scng.com