Oscar Smith to host national football power St. John Bosco of California next season

The Oscar Smith High football program has always believed in playing the best competition.

It started in 2009 when then-Tigers coach Richard Morgan scheduled an ESPN game against Venice (Florida).

The tradition — as well as more nationally televised games — continued when the Tigers played teams from Ohio, South Carolina, Maryland and North Carolina.

Now, you can add California to the list as Oscar Smith will host St. John Bosco High on Sept. 17 or 18. What network will televise the game hasn’t been finalized yet, but it could be in the next few weeks.

St. John Bosco High is a Catholic, all-male college preparatory high school located in Bellflower, California.

The Braves have produced many great players, including San Francisco 49ers quarterback Josh Rosen; offensive lineman Wyatt Davis, who was selected in the third round by the Minnesota Vikings in the 2021 NFL draft; and D.J. Uiagalelei, who is expected to be the next great quarterback for Clemson, following in the footsteps of Deshaun Watson and Trevor Lawrence.

Oscar Smith coach Chris Scott, who led the Tigers to the Class 6 state title last month, is excited about the opportunity. He’s known St. John Bosco High coach Jason Negro for years from coaching together on the All-American circuit.

“I know that his teams are really good and have a lot of history,” he said. “They’ve put a lot of guys into the college ranks and the NFL as well. They are one of California’s best teams.”

In 2019, the Braves were named the national champions in the final polls of USA Today and MaxPreps. They shared the title in 2013, when Negro won the National High School Coach of the Year honor by Max Preps as well as the American Football Monthly Magazine Coach of the Year.

Scott realizes this is a great opportunity to play a team of this caliber and calls it “aggressive thinking” when it comes to wanting to play top teams.

“I know that Oscar Smith is accustomed to playing some big-time openers,” he said, “and although this won’t be an opener, it will be (a game) that will showcase some of the best talent in high school from one coast to the other. So I think it will be big for both programs.”

Scott is used to playing nationally ranked programs when he was at Catholic High. The Crusaders played nationally ranked teams in IMG Academy (Florida), American Heritage (Florida) and St. Frances Academy (Baltimore).

And in 2019 — his first game with Oscar Smith — he led the Tigers against perennial power Highland Springs, losing 13-6 in front of a crowd of more than 3,000 fans at the Virginia Beach Sportsplex.

“Those games opened me up a lot to see what else is out there and what type of competition is out there,” he said. “This is a chance to showcase that. I think it’s big for our area.”

Oscar Smith quarterback Ethan Vasko said he and his teammates are excited about this opportunity.

“It will be an awesome game, especially since I believe we’re one of the best teams in the nation,” he said. “I think we’ll go out there and prove it. It’s also a great opportunity to be on the national stage to show that we can play against the best.”

Past notable Oscar Smith opponents

2009 - Venice (Florida)

2010 - Pickerington (Ohio)

2011 - Gilman (Maryland)

2012 - Byrnes (South Carolina)

2013 - Lake Taylor (Norfolk)

2014 - Booker T. Washington (Florida)

2016 - DeMatha (Maryland)

2017 - Vero Beach (Florida)

2018 - West Forsyth (North Carolina)

2019 - Highland Springs (Richmond area)

Larry Rubama, 757-446-2273, larry.rubama@pilotonline.com