Mater Dei rallies from 21 points down to upset St. John Bosco

Mater Dei trailed 24-3. The Trinity League title seemed destined to belong to St. John Bosco, another victory to crown an undefeated consensus No. 1 team in the country.

Until Chris Henry Jr. emerged for two touchdowns and 214 yards on five receptions.

“He could be a track and field star,” Mater Dei coach Raul Lara said, referring to Henry’s 70-yard touchdown run late in the second quarter.

Until Kayden Dixon-Wyatt took over alongside his teammate – both Ohio State commits – and lit the burners for three scores in the second half.

“I wish I could be the quarterback,” Lara joked of his senior receivers.

Testing Mater Dei’s wide receiver corps — which dominated the Braves’ impressive trio of Division I committed receivers — left St. John Bosco unhappy Friday night at Bellflower. Mater Dei (7-2, 4-1) finished on a 33-7 run, with Ryan Hopkins throwing five touchdowns during that span to help the Monarchs defeat St. John Bosco 36-31 in a comeback.

Mater Dei High’s CJ Lavender Jr. jumps high to make an interception during the game against St. John Bosco Friday night.

(Craig Weston)

Hopkins completed 13 of 21 passes for 295 yards and five touchdowns.

Any doubts about the Monarchs’ regular season campaign could be about to be put to rest as second-half dominance confirmed another year where Mater Dei owns at least a share of the Trinity League title.

Since Santa Margarita (7-3, 4-1) also won Friday — beating JSerra 41-14 — the Eagles, along with Mater Dei and St. John Bosco (9-1, 4-1) have won a share of the Trinity League crown.

The defensive stands set up plays such as Henry’s 70-yard touchdown run to cut the Braves’ lead to seven with 4:12 left in the third quarter. Mater Dei defensive back CJ Lavender Jr. forced and recovered a fumble in the first quarter to set up the Monarchs’ first points: a field goal.

Lavender then intercepted St. John Bosco sophomore quarterback Koa Malau’ulu twice.

One pick set up a touchdown on a silver platter for Dixon-Wyatt, who finished with four receptions for 46 yards and three touchdowns, while the other turnover allowed Mater Dei to seal the game on fourth-and-10 from its own 10-yard line.

“Everything he threw, I was going to pick it up,” said Lavender, who now has a team-high seven interceptions this season.

Mater Dei receiver Chris Henry Jr. throws a pass over his shoulder past two St. John Bosco defenders Friday night.

(Craig Weston)

Before the final interception – which came with 1:34 left – St. John Bosco was driving. An unsportsmanlike penalty was even given to the Braves early and just inches from the goal line.

But a bad snap on Malau’ulu pushed the Braves back to the seven-yard line. A run for a loss took St. John Bosco to the 10-yard line, which then led to an interception.

Henry, who hadn’t played since Oct. 10 against Orange Lutheran, said he can’t wait to get back on the field to face St. John Bosco.

“It was really tough,” Henry said of his absence from the field. “But I was ready for a match like this.”

Henry will have many more opportunities to come in the CIF Southern Section Division 1 playoffs, starting next week.

The trio of Trinity League teams will likely see Sierra Canyon (10-0) — which finished its Mission League-winning campaign with a 52-3 victory over Loyola — among the teams they could face in the postseason.