Josh Rosen leads St. John Bosco to hard-fought win over Mater Dei
Well, that wasn't easy for St. John Bosco, but the Josh Rosen-led Braves did what they usually do. They won another Trinity League game on Friday.
Rosen, the UCLA-bound quarterback, threw for 182 yards and one touchdown, and the opportunistic Braves defense recovered three fumbles as St. John Bosco held off previously unbeaten Mater Dei 28-25.
The Braves (5-1) were strong in the first half and led 21-10 but the Monarchs (5-1) raced back in the second half. Twice, they pulled within three points, but each time, St. John Bosco fought them off and in different ways.
"It was frustrating. We came out strong in the first half, and the irony is that we usually do the opposite, the Bishop Gorman Catholic game" Rosen said. "We came out strong. Our defense came up absolutely huge in the second half. We had some big opportunities."
In the first half, Rosen rushed for a touchdown and passed for another as Bosco built that 11-point lead. In the second quarter, after throwing for a 2-yard scoring pass to Kaylin Franklin, Rosen had his left knee, in which he wears a brace, checked out on the sideline. He didn't miss a snap for the Braves.
"You're always banged up in Trinity League," Rosen said. "There's a lot of big, physical kids. Hopefully, I can stay in the pocket."
Early in the fourth quarter, Mater Dei quarterback Jack Lowary fumbled, and Traveon Beck was there to scoop it up and raced 69 yards for the touchdown. That put Bosco up 28-18. The defensive score was just an example of Bosco's defense shining.
Bosco, which had no turnovers, also recovered a botched punt attempt after a high snap.
Mater Dei had three fumbles, and those proved to be costly. Mater Dei lost to Bosco twice last year as well, further adding to the frustration of facing Rosen and the Braves.
"We talked to the kids all week about not beating yourself, and we turned the ball over three times and had a pick six," Mater Dei coach Bruce Rollinson said. "We kept battling. In that first half, we really should've put 3 on the board (Mater Dei missed a field goal). You have to score in the Trinity League. Our defense really played well."
Mater Dei was driving late, but Lowary fumbled as he pulled his arm back to pass, losing the ball, and Jacob Callier recovered. The game was over.
"We've got some things to fix, and we'll work on those Monday, but we beat one of the top teams in the state, so we're happy about that," Bosco coach Jason Negro said.
Rosen was plenty happy about that, too.
Many of the Mater Dei players and Bosco players are friends, and as Rosen was doing a postgame interview, Mater Dei's Ben Humphreys was making faces behind the interviewer.
Rosen will take a break Saturday as he'll attend the UCLA game against Oregon at the Rose Bowl.
After another victory, especially one that wasn't easy, he can enjoy it.
