NORWALK – St. John Bosco might have been guilty of looking past Trinity League opponent Santa Margarita at first on Friday at Cerritos College.
However, the Braves, ranked No. 2 in the state, rebounded after a slow start and defeated the Eagles 47-10. Demetrious Flowers rushed for 200 yards and scored two touchdowns to rally the Braves.
St. John Bosco (6-1, 2-0) has won four consecutive games and will host Mater Dei in a league showdown next week.
After stubborn defensive stances by both teams in the opening quarter, the Braves’ offense finally got on track midway through the second quarter. Quarterback Re-al Mitchell capped a five-play, 62-yard drive with an 18-yard TD run.
St. John Bosco continued its momentum on its ensuing possession as the Braves quickly moved downfield 79 yards in four plays. Flowers sparked the Braves with runs of 17 and 34 yards. George Holani finished off the scoring march with a 9-yard touchdown run as St. John Bosco increased its lead to 13-0.
Moments later, Chad Magyar ignited the Eagles’ offense by breaking a 50-yard run to the Braves 28. However, Bosco’s defense stiffened and Santa Margarita had to settle for a Dylan Brady 42-yard field goal that trimmed the lead to 13-3 at halftime.
St. John Bosco upped its lead to 20-3 after taking the opening second-half kickoff and driving 80 yards for a touchdown. Flowers culminated the drive with a 2-yard TD run.
Richard Wagner countered with a 20-yard touchdown pass to Giulio Pozzuoli to cut the lead to 20-10, but Mitchell answered with a 17-yard TD pass to Berkeley Holman, giving Bosco a 27-10 lead.
The Braves added three touchdowns in the final quarter to break it open. Flowers added a 12-yard TD run and JoVohn Tucker and Josh Delgado caught TD passes from Mitchell and Joey Yellen.
