So you want to play St. John Bosco, you say?
The experience is not for the faint of heart. But in spite of this reality, multiple Bay Area teams have scheduled the Bellflower-based Braves, the No. 2 team in the MaxPreps national high school rankings, in nonleague play this season.
Why do they do it? For one thing, it offers an early-season opportunity for the Bay Area’s best to test themselves against one of the best high school squads in the country.
It was Serra’s turn last week. The Padres, last season’s CCS Open Division champions, welcomed in Bosco and left with a humbling 56-16 loss. Yet throughout the contest, Serra coach Patrick Walsh was thinking holistically about the end result.
Saint John Bosco’s Darren Tubbs #26 returns a punt downfield in the 1st quarter against Serra, Saturday, Sept. 14, 2024, in San Mateo, Calif. (Karl Mondon/Bay Area News Group)
“Playing against the very best, it is the ultimate mirror for what we need to do to improve and get better,” Walsh told this news organization on Saturday. “I think you saw flashes of a really good football team, and also saw flashes of a team that has a lot of work to do.”
This week, it’s Pittsburg’s turn. The Pirates travel down to Bellflower and face the Braves on Friday under the Southern California lights. It will provide a stiff test for Pittsburg’s vaunted offense, which put up 56 points in a win over Archbishop Riordan last Friday.
“I wanted to make sure we scheduled them, because looking at who was coming back, we knew we had arguably the best quarterback in Northern California,” said Pitt coach Charlie Ramirez. “We have the best playmaker in the state in Jamar Searcy – not to mention a bunch of great defensive players.
“I knew we were going to have the opportunity to at least make a run similar to last year. So I’m thinking we might be seeing, if not Bosco or Mater Dei, we might be playing a Mission Viejo or a team out in San Diego. … It gives our guys a chance to see what a SoCal dominant powerhouse looks like and be able to touch them, as opposed to just being in awe if you see it for the first time.”
Pittsburg’s Jamar Searcy (28) runs for a touchdown against Archbishop Riordan in the first quarter of their game at Pittsburg High School in Pittsburg, Calif., on Friday, Sept. 13, 2024. (Jose Carlos Fajardo/Bay Area News Group)
Bosco coach Jason Negro was asked after the matchup with Serra what he thought about the forthcoming matchup with Pitt. His response was quite complimentary of the NorCal power.
“Their coach isn’t afraid to play anybody,” Negro said. “He does a really good job with his team, and they’ve played in the state game and won state titles at their level. He wants to challenge his young men, and I have a lot of respect for guys like that. Our program certainly respects them for coming down.”
Negro had been trying to schedule a game against Pittsburg for a while, and this year happened to be the right fit.
“I wasn’t surprised (Pittsburg and Charlie Ramirez wanted to play), because over the past couple of years, he and I were both playing phone tag and trying to find the right week that would work out for the game and the travel schedule,” Negro said. “And again, he’s not afraid of anybody, and I give him a lot of credit. They’ve got hard-nosed kids up in that Pittsburg area, and they’re going to come and give us everything we can handle.”
Pittsburg’s Jamar Searcy (28) is tackled by Archbishop Riordan’s Peter Langi (75) after intercepting a pass in the fourth quarter of their game at Pittsburg High School in Pittsburg, Calif., on Friday, Sept. 13, 2024. Pittsburg defeated Archbishop Riordan 56-42. (Jose Carlos Fajardo/Bay Area News Group)
That’s exactly what the Pirates plan on doing. After taking down Riordan, Pittsburg is confident ahead of what will certainly be a difficult matchup down in Bellflower.
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“It really just calms our minds and gets us ready for next week,” said linebacker Juju Walls after the Riordan game.
The vibes are positive as Pitt gets ready for the biggest challenge of its early season. But the Pirates are fully aware of what they’re walking into as they travel down to SoCal.
“It feels great,” Searcy said last week, “but we know we’ve really got to prepare ourselves (for Bosco).”
Pittsburg’s Kenneth Ward (29) returns an interception for a touchdown against Archbishop Riordan in the first quarter of their game at Pittsburg High School in Pittsburg, Calif., on Friday, Sept. 13, 2024. (Jose Carlos Fajardo/Bay Area News Group)