SANTA ANA — St. John Bosco overcame early resistance and apparently a scare late to show that it will be plenty formidable in the post DJ Uiagalelei era.
The reigning national champion Braves scored a key touchdown in the final seconds of the first half and erupted for 37 points in the second half to defeat Santa Margarita 65-28 on Saturday in the Trinity League opener for each school.
Santa Margarita (1-1, 0-1) and quarterback Colt Fulton showed their improvement by taking a 20-14 lead in the second quarter before the Braves (2-0, 1-0) started to roll. They scored 24 consecutive points to open a 38-20 lead and closed the game with a 27-0 run.
“We just didn’t play real well at outset, and that’s two weeks in a row and that’s on me,” St. John Bosco coach Jason Negro said. “We’re a very, very talented football team. We’re big up front, both sides of the ball … and we’re extremely young.”
The quarterback duo of sophomore Pierce Clarkson and junior Katin Houser — the replacements for Uiagalelei , who is now at Clemson — each had their moments connecting with wide receiver Jode McDuffie, who helped paced the offense with eight catches for 172 yards and three TDs.
The Braves also rushed the ball well with the dual-threat Clarkson (101 yards) and the running back trio of Rayshon Luke (110), Jabari Bates (98) and Michael Hayes (38).
The speedy Luke was helped off the field with about 8 1/2 minutes left in the fourth with an apparent leg injury but was able to walk on his own power after the game.
“He’ll be fine,” Negro said of the junior, who broke an 82-yard touchdown run in the first half. “It’s always scary when you got a guy go down.”
The Braves rushed for 352 yards but balanced the attack with the Sacramento State-committed McDuffie. The senior took a well-timed, receiver screen pass from Clarkson and bolted 40 yards for a TD to give the Braves a 38-20 lead with 4:43 left in the third.
After Fulton responded with a 77-yard touchdown strike to Michael Buckley on a blown coverage, Houser threaded a 22-yard touchdown pass to McDuffie with 2:25 left in the third to spark the Braves’ finishing kick.
Uiagalelei’s brother, Matayo, helped highlight the closing stretch by leaping from his defensive end spot for an interception that he returned about 15 yards for the score.
Fulton passed for 264 yards and four touchdowns, showing strong chemistry with receivers Reymello Murphy, Buckley and Nicholas Lopez.
“Our expectation is to win,” Santa Margarita first-year coach Anthony Rouzier said. “We fought. I was really happy how Colt played, offensive line. There were a lot things we did well, but when you play the defending national champions and as well-coached team as they are, when you make mistakes, they’ll kill you, and they did that.”
St. John Bosco led 28-20 at halftime on a late strike by Clarkson to McDuffie and timely stops on defense.
Clarkson closed the half by rolling to his right and tossing a 32-yard TD pass to McDuffie with 23 seconds remaining.
The Braves drove for the score after forcing Santa Margarita to give up the ball on downs at the St. John Bosco 41 with 58 seconds left.
The Braves’ defense also held on fourth down from its 35 with 4:58 left thanks to a sack by Ryan Tuaolo.
St. John Bosco rushed for 208 yards and three scores in the first half behind its large offensive line and multiple options. Luke broke a tackle en route to his 82-yard TD run while Bates rushed for two touchdowns.
Fulton passed for 161 yards and three TDs in the first half to help the Eagles push the Braves. He tossed two scores to Murphy, including an 11-yarder that gave Santa Margarita a 20-14 lead with 8:37 left in the half. The 2-point conversion attempt failed and that was the last time the Eagles led.
Murphy finished with six catches for 99 yards.
Next week, Santa Margarita plays host to JSerra (0-1, 0-1) on Thursday, March 25 at Santa Ana Stadium while St. John Bosco takes on visiting Servite (2-0, 1-0) on Friday, March 26.
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