A little less than a year after winning the Southern California CIF Rugby Championship, St. John Bosco High School has won the CIF state football title in the Open Division, beating another strong rugby/football program, De La Salle, in the final.

Some other strong rugby programs had good football seasons this year, with La Jolla making the $-A final, and De Norte making the 5-AA final. 

Saturday night, all eyes were on Bosco vs De La Salle in the Open Division, and Bosco won 49-28 to cap a 13-1 season. On that St. John Bosco football team were 11 Bosco rugby players, including three key starters. Among them, defensive end Matthew Jordan who clinched the game with a 96-yard fumble recovery and return for a touchdown. De La Salle was looking to score and a touchdown would have made it 42-35 with three minutes to go. Instead, Jordan's touchdown put the game away.

Maximus Gibbs (6-6, 300 lbs) was a huge presence in the offensive line, and Edward Riley was a physical present in the defensive line. Jordan and Manu Tuaolo are co-captains of the Bosco rugby team, and others, including Ethan Ruiz, Joseph Patolo, and Jarius Satele, are on the team.

For Bosco rugby Head Coach Barry Williams, the success of the football team feels good, but it also means he will have to delay the start of rugby training until after Christmas.

"It might be a struggle in the beginning, but I think we're going to be OK," said Williams.