“It’s the toughest week of the year.”  That’s the way Cabrillo Principal, Elio Mendoza, described the Bosco game.   The Braves have been a staple on the Jaguar’s football schedule since well before Dr. Mendoza got there but the Cabrillo/Bosco games took on added significance because St John Bosco’s head football coach, Kiki Mendoza, is Elio’s brother.  Recently the games became an even bigger deal to the Mendoza family because Bosco’s starting corner, Roth Mendoza, is Elio’s son.  Unfortunately though the family connection did not help the Jaguars as Austin Mahr and the Braves ran ragged over Cabrillo. 

The game opened with Bosco on offense and they immediately started running.  Austin Mahr had 3 carries for 31 yards, but senior Jared Ginter got the handoff at the Cabrillo 31 and took it to the house to put Bosco up before the Jags had any chance to get settled on defense.  The run defense for the Jags would only get worse from there.

Cabrillo would try to respond, starting when Derek Stewart found Jamal Morgan for 20 yards but the drive stalled quickly after.  Morgan, both on kickoffs and through the air, helped Cabrillo move the ball but mistakes throughout the night prevented the Jags from ever getting into a rhythm on offense.

The next drive Bosco backed themselves up into a 3^rd and 20 on their own 17.  It’s weird to say that the play of the game came with 8 minutes to go in the first quarter, but if Cabrillo holds Bosco there they get the ball with excellent field position down by only a single score.  Instead the Jags run defense let them down again and Austin Mahr ran for an incredible 83 yard score.

Bosco last season started 7 and 0 before running into the juggernauts of the Trinity League, and despite graduating a lot of key players, the Braves seem to have picked up where they left off with a decent game against powerhouse St Bonaventure and then a mauling of Damien.  All of this meant that Cabrillo was going to have to play a flawless game to keep up and they did not come anywhere close to that.

The next drive, Derek Stewart took a costly 3^rd down sack before Cabrillo had to punt it away.  Stewart, in fact, was beaten up all night taking 3 sacks in the first half alone and in the 3^rd quarter spending a significant amount of time on the ground before finally getting up and to the sideline. 

The following drive the Braves got to their own 30 before being forced to punt however a Cabrillo player touched the ball allowing Bosco to recover at the Jaguar 34.  An incomplete pass, then a 34-yd Austin Mahr run put Bosco up 19-0.  For the first quarter alone, Mahr had 6 carrier, 146 yards, and 2 TDs. 

It would be 26-nothing at halftime, but Cabrillo coach AJ Luke and the Jags were hoping for some 2^nd half magic like they had last week.  Unfortunately it never came.  The second half Cabrillo continued to not be able to find consistency on offense or a big play of defense.  Stewart, only a sophomore, continued to rely heavily on Donavan Cruz, a junior.  Cruz continued to impress, including one 2^nd quarter play where he tipped it to himself in mid-air.  Stewart for his part did begin to find some other targets, notably Derick Speight and Tyrone Swinton, but with no running game and with little pass protection there was little the offense could do.  The game ended St John Bosco 47, Cabrillo 0.

The Jaguars desperately want to end The Steak- now 16 games in a row- but their performance Friday night is not going to get it done.  The only consolation, the only reason to keep trying, that Coach Luke could offer his team after the game was: “two weeks from now (at the start of Moore League play) every team will be 0-0.”  For Cabrillo, a young team with a lot of potential, that probably can’t come soon enough.