Lincoln Riley Travels to Mater Dei - St. John Bosco in Style
Part of the reason Lincoln Riley came to USC was that he knew some of the top high school football players in the country reside in Southern California. With USC set to play a home game Saturday night, Riley was not about to miss the high school football game of the year taking place in Santa Ana between the nation’s top two teams in Santa Ana (Calif.) Mater Dei and Bellflower (Calif.) St. John Bosco.
Los Angeles traffic on a Friday evening can be a little tricky to navigate. But Riley and cornerbacks coach Donte Williams found a way around that. Or rather, a way above that.
Riley and Williams traveled to the game via helicopter.
“Lift off to the Mater Dei – Bosco game in style,” Riley said in a video posted to Twitter by the USC Football account. “Coach Riley, Coach Williams here, ready to see a great night of California high school football. Mater Dei, St. John Bosco. Excited to be out here looking for the next Trojans. Fight on.”
It was indeed a terrific high school football game. Mater Dei came away with the 17-7 win.
The teams were tied 7-7 entering the fourth quarter. Mater Dei kicked a field goal to go up 10-7 with 7:10 remaining in the game. The Monarchs then iced it thanks to a 38-yard touchdown run by 2025 standout running back Jordon Davison with a little more than a minute remaining in the game.
Two Teams Loaded With Talent
The Mater Dei and St. John Bosco rosters are absolutely loaded with talent and USC recruiting targets.
St. John Bosco five-star defensive lineman Matayo Uiagalelei and four-star wide receiver, and Louisville commit, DeAndre Moore Jr. were really the only two 2023 recruits in this game being targeted by the Trojans.
But the 2024 and 2025 classes from these two schools could provide USC with plenty of players.
Mater Dei quarterback Elijah Brown holds one of a very small number of 2024 quarterback offers from the Trojans. Monarch offensive linemen Brandon Baker and DeAndre Carter would be huge 2024 additions along the line as top-100 prospects. Four-star cornerback Zabien Brown and four-star defensive lineman Aydin Breland could be in the mix as well.
On the Bosco side in the 2024 class, linebackers Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa and Ole Miss commit Jordan Lockhart hold offers. Cornerback Marcelles Williams is a top USC target and the younger brother of Trojan safety Max Williams. And the nation’s No. 2 safety and No. 26 overall prospect Peyton Woodyard is hearing plenty from the Trojans.
The group of 2025 prospects is huge as well.
Mater Dei defensive backs Daryus Dixson and Chuck McDonald are impressive. Dixson is the nation’s No. 15 overall prospect for his class. Linebacker Nasir Wyatt is a top-30 overall prospect and Davidson is the No. 22 prospect and No. 3 running back.
USC has also offered St. John Bosco 2025 defensive end Epi Sitanilei.
Monarchs and Braves on the USC Roster
USC has a long history of success recruiting Mater Dei football players. The Trojans have seven former Monarchs on the roster right now. That group includes cornerback Domani Jackson, wide receiver C.J. Williams, linebacker Raesjon Davis, wide receiver Kyron Hudson, running back Raleek Brown, walk-on receiver Josiah Zamora and defensive lineman Solomon Tuliaupupu.
There are six former Braves on the USC roster this season. That group includes wide receiver Terrell Bynum, linebacker Ralen Goforth, tight end Jude Wolfe, walk-on running back Matt Colombo, walk-on punter Will Rose and defensive lineman Kobe Pepe.
