Aquinas has won four straight state championships in Florida, but that was inconsequential to the defending CIF State and National Champion Braves. Bosco jumped on Aquinas from the jump and controlled a tight game throughout, ultimately securing a victory by a score of 20-7.
The offense, despite only scoring 20 points, had the passing game clicking on all cylinders, with uncommitted three-star quarterback Caleb Sanchez completing 37/48 passes for 340 yards and two touchdowns.
Senior Stacy Dobbins was Caleb’s main target on Saturday with 14 receptions for 125 yards. Big contributions also came from sophomore receivers Madden Williams and Daniel Odom. Madden finished with seven receptions for 71 yards and one touchdown. Daniel had three receptions for 68 yards, which included a 50-yard touchdown grab for the first score of the game.
Senior kicker Marcus Lee, often unsung for his steady consistency and a hero of last year’s CIF-SS Championship game against the “Team in Red,” had a perfect outing, going 2/2 on field goals and 6/6 on PATs for a total of 8 points.
Braves defense had another strong outing and are looking to keep that momentum going forward. Holding St. Thomas Aquintas to only 7 points was impressive for Bosco, but the Braves are not satisfied going into tonight’s game against Friendship Collegiate Academy (Washington D.C.).
“We played a good game. We need to improve on tackling and wrapping up for sure, not just getting there. We have to finish every tackle,” said senior linebacker Khmori House. “So cleaning up on that and other ticky tack stuff, we can keep working to be that powerhouse defense that we are.”
But it wasn’t simply all business for Bosco Football in Florida, as student-athletes participated in different team activities planned for their stay.
“We went on a cruise, where we took it to an Island, where we ate barbeque and watched a show that they had for us,” Caleb said.
“We got to go out to the beach,” said senior cornerback Marcelles Williams. “It was great vibes with the team and a good time for sure.”
The Braves will host Friendship at 7pm tonight at Panish Family Stadium. Looking to have another dominant performance on their journey to another National Championship, the Braves hope to clean up the little things and improve the things they can control.
“Honestly, we Just need to improve a little on everything as a team,” said Caleb. “I feel like we could’ve been even more dominant last game, and if we just focus on ourselves and the mistakes we can control, it doesn’t matter who is in front of us.”
