Bosco loses defensive battle against Mater Dei

BELLFLOWER – The St. John Bosco football team saw their season come to an end at Cerritos College last Friday night as they fell to Mater Dei, 17-13, in the C.I.F. Division 1 championship game.

The Braves had defeated the Monarchs, 41-18, earlier this season in Trinity League play but could not do it again.

St. John Bosco finished their season with an overall record of 13-1 and a Trinity League record of 5-0. The Braves are the 2018 Trinity League champions but Mater Dei is the 2018 C.I.F. Division 1 champion.

The St. John Bosco/Mater Dei game was a defensive battle. The Braves jumped out to an early 7-0 lead and led by that same score as the first quarter ended. The Monarchs evened the score in the second quarter and the two teams were tied 7-7 entering their respective locker rooms at halftime.

Mater Dei took a 14-7 lead in the third quarter and the quarter ended with the Monarchs leading by that same score. As the fourth quarter was being played both defenses tightened up. Neither team allowed a fourth quarter touchdown.

The Braves kicked two field goals and the Monarchs kicked one of their own. The game ended in a 17-13 victory for Mater Dei.

Mater Dei will play again on Dec. 8 in the Open Division against a “to be determined” opponent.

There were no stats available for St. John Bosco at press time. However, the Braves averaged 276 yards passing per game, 196 yards rushing per game and scored 96 touchdowns.

St. John Bosco finished the season ranked number 3 in the Xcellent Top 25 poll, number 2 in the national poll and number 2 in the state poll, behind Mater Dei.

DOWNEY GIRLS BASKETBALL: The Downey High School girls’ basketball team currently has an overall record of 3-1 and will begin S.G.V.L. play when they travel to Paramount to play the Lady Pirates on Jan. 4.

The Lady Vikings hosted the 41st Annual Downey Varsity Classic at Downey last weekend and finished 3-1. Downey defeated Lakewood 60-51 in their first game on Nov. 19, defeated Glendale 53-24 in their second game on Nov. 21, were defeated by St. Anthony’s 64-56 in their third game on Nov. 23 and defeated Cantwell-Sacred Heart of Mary 56-44 on Nov. 24.

Downey is scheduled to host North Torrance at Downey later today and will compete in the Ocean View Tournament Dec. 4-8. The Lady Vikings will play St. Anthony’s again in the Dec. 4 game, will play Orangewood Academy in the Dec. 6 game and a “to be determined” opponent in the Dec. 8 game based on the results of previous games.

Downey is also scheduled to compete in the Orangewood Academy 10th Annual Spartan Classic Dec. 10-15 and the So Cal Prep Holiday Classic Dec. 26-29.

Downey finished last season with an overall record of 26-7 and a league record of 8-2. The Lady Vikings were defeated by Glendora 47-35 in the C.I.F. Division 2A championship game and qualified for the C.I.F. State Girls’ Basketball Championships where they lost to Cathedral Catholic 50-48 in the second round.

Coach Harris, his staff and players are all looking forward to the start of the 2018-19 basketball season and making a run at a league and C.I.F. title.

WARREN GIRLS SOCCER: The Warren High School girls’ soccer team traveled to Lakewood on Monday night and came away with a 4-0 win. Monday’s game marked the first game of the 2018-19 season for the Lady Bears.

Warren traveled to La Palma Kennedy on Tuesday of this week for their second game in as many days and defeated the Fighting Irish, 3-1. The Lady Bears will also be hosting Saint Joseph’s of Lakewood at Warren next Tuesday, Dec. 4.

Warren will be competing in the Best in the West Tournament at Newport Harbor High School on Dec. 8 where they are scheduled to play Marina of Huntington Beach at 8 a.m. and Carter of Rialto at 2 p.m. Other preseason contests include traveling to La Serna on Dec. 11, traveling to La Mirada on Dec. 13 and traveling to Cypress on Dec. 19.

Warren will begin San Gabriel Valley League play when they host Lynwood at Warren on Jan. 2 and when they host Paramount on Jan. 4.

The Lady Bears finished last season with an overall record of 21-3 and a league record of 10-0. The Lady Bears were the 2017-18 undefeated S.G.V.L. champions. Warren was defeated by San Luis Obispo, 2-1, at Warren in the second round of the C.I.F. Division 2 playoffs.

Coach Lily Dussan, her staff and players are all looking forward to the start of the 2018-19 soccer season, defending their league title and making a deep run in C.I.F. postseason play.

WARREN BOYS SOCCER: The Warren High School boys’ soccer team is currently 1-0 and will begin San Gabriel Valley League play when they travel to Lynwood to face the Knights on Jan. 2 and to Paramount to play the Pirates on Jan. 4.

The Bears defeated Pioneer, 3-0, on Nov. 14 in their season opener.

Warren has several preseason games and tournaments scheduled. The Bears hosted Garey on Wednesday (score unavailable at press time) and will travel to Lakewood to face the Lancers later today. The Bears are also scheduled to host La Mirada on Dec. 6.

Warren is scheduled to compete in the Santa Barbara Showcase on Dec. 8 against De La Salle of Concord and will also be competing in the Adidas West Coast Showcase on Dec. 14-15 against El Rancho of Pico Rivera and Hamilton of Chandler, Arizona, respectively.

The Bears finished last season with an overall record of 15-10-5 and a league record of 6-2-2. Warren finished behind eventual league champion, Downey (7-1-2).

In postseason play, the Bears defeated Harvard-Westlake 1-0 in their first-round game to advance and then defeated Servite 2-1 in overtime in their second-round game to advance to the quarterfinals. Warren was then defeated by San Clemente 1-0 in the quarterfinal round of the C.I.F. Division 1 playoffs.

Coach Miguel Pena, his staff and players are all looking forward to the start of the 2018-19 soccer season, competing for a league title and making another deep run in postseason play.