After their victory against St. Francis High School from Maryland, the undefeated football team faces top-ranked St. John’s College High School in Washington, D.C. tomorrow at Catholic University.

“They’re supposed to be a powerhouse. I think they might be our hardest game this year,” senior captain Dean Neeley said. “I even think they might be better than Bosco. [St. John’s] has a really big, fast, [and] strong running back, so that’s going to be kind of hard for me and my defense. They are just a really well coached team. They played Bosco two years ago and almost beat them, so they’re a good team.”

St. John Bosco High School in Bellflower, another team that goes out of state, is considered Mater Dei’s local rival and will host the Monarchs on Oct. 25 for their annual game. This game, to Neeley, is the most important game of the season, so they have to work even harder to overcome their challenges.

“[Bosco] is kind of a statement game,” Neeley said. “Last year, we did beat them in the second go-about. That first game was very eye opening to us. We can’t just go through the motions and beat everyone, we kind of [just] want to come out this year and beat them both times, instead of one time.”

The team hopes to win another CIF championship, and to do so, they have been preparing for this season for months.

“Out of the season, I expect good health for all my teammates, hopefully another CIF championship, another state championship… just [a] threepeat,” Neeley said.