Stanford’s Visit Renews High School Rivalry for UNC’s Khmori House

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — Two Novembers ago, Mater Dei took down St. John Bosco 35-7 at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum to capture the CIF Southern Section Division I championship in a clash between two of the biggest high school powerhouses in the country.

So how might a prep football game played in 2023 and roughly 2,500 miles away figure into Saturday’s matchup between North Carolina and Stanford?

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That night in Los Angeles, Mater Dei quarterback Elijah Brown threw for two touchdowns in the title-clinching victory. On the opposite side, St. John Bosco linebacker Khmori House recorded four tackles in his final high school game.

Now, Brown and House are set to meet again, this time beneath the pines at Kenan Stadium, UNC plays host to Stanford this weekend in a cross-country ACC matchup.

“For sure,” House said Tuesday, when asked if he recalled lining up across from Brown in high school. “My last high school game was losing to him. So we’re trying and we’re gonna get it back for sure.”

Brown opened this season as the backup to Stanford starter Ben Gulbranson, but since has been handed the keys to the offense. He’s expected to make his first college start here on Saturday.

“An interesting team,” UNC coach Bill Belichick said. “Looks like they’ve made a change at quarterback with Elijah Brown. He played the fourth quarter against Pittsburgh, and did some good things in that game that I guess was enough for them to make the change.”

House, who leads the Tar Heels with 46 tackles on the season, tiptoed around the question Tuesday when asked if he remembered the final score of his last meeting with Brown.

“Um … I don’t,” House said, smiling evasively. “I just remember that we lost and that it was a close game.”

Belichick added: “Obviously don’t have a lot of film on Brown to watch, but we have some. It is what it is, and we’ll just have to try to do a good job of fixing some things we need to fix and correct some mistakes on our end and keep improving and keep working.”

The Bosco–Mater Dei connection this weekend runs deeper than just House and Brown. Andrew Simpson, UNC’s other starting linebacker, also hails from St. John Bosco. He squared off with Mater Dei three times during his prep days, managing one win.

Watch below for Tuesday’s full interviews with House and Belichick at Kenan Football Center.