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BELLFLOWER -- Orange Lutheran's football team followed an arduous journey, full of experiences outside its usual comfort level, to reach Friday's CIF-SS Division 1 semifinals.
The Lancers played a national schedule and encountered the peaks of victories and the sting of defeats.
In many ways, Orange County's No. 3-ranked squad stepped onto the turf for its second crack at St. John Bosco having already accomplished plenty.
The Braves just found ways to win another drama-filled game.
St. John Bosco ran out the four minutes and 10 seconds of the fourth quarter to defeat Orange Lutheran 20-17 to reach its third consecutive Division 1 final.
The Braves (11-1), ranked No. 7 in the nation by MaxPreps, will play No. 1 Mater Dei (11-0) in the championship game for the third straight year next Friday, Nov. 29, at Veterans Stadium in Long Beach.
No. 13 Orange Lutheran (8-4) cut the Braves' lead to 20-17 on a 3-yard touchdown pass from TJ Lateef to AJ Ia with 4:10 left. But the Lancers, who never led, couldn't get the ball back.
"We had opportunities," Orange Lutheran coach Rod Sherman said, "and against a really good team like this, you can't miss those opportunities."
"But that doesn't take away from everything our kids have done," the coach added. "They put Orange Lutheran on the national map."
St. John Bosco took a 20-10 lead 10 seconds into fourth quarter on a 41-yard field goal by CJ Wallace, who provided the first points of the second half.
The kick came after a leaping interception in the third quarter by St. John Bosco's Joshua Holland at his 20. The grab by the junior, who is committed to USC, came one play after a diving interception by Orange Lutheran's Izley Manutai at the Braves 45.
St. John Bosco led 17-10 at halftime on a 29-yard field goal by Wallace with no time left on the clock. The junior converted after the Lancers appeared to block his previous attempt from 34 yards but were flagged for roughing the kicker.
Sherman argued the flag, signaling that the Lancers deflected the kick.
"That was the difference in the game," St. John Bosco coach Jason Negro said. "We made plays at the most opportune time."
The Lancers' Aiden Migirdichian opened the second quarter with a 35-yard field goal to trim the Braves' lead to 14-10. The conversion arrived after Orange Lutheran had a touchdown negated by a penalty earlier in the drive.
Orange Lutheran capitalized on early roughing the quarterback penalty to tie the score 7-7. On third-and-4 from the St. John Bosco 7, the Braves appeared to snag an interception coming out of a timeout but the roughing penalty extended the drive. Steve Chavez followed two plays later with a 1-yard TD run.
In Orange Lutheran's first meeting against St. John Bosco on Oct. 4, the Braves rallied in the second half for a 28-24 victory in a thrilling Trinity League opener.
St. John Bosco scored the go-ahead touchdown with 50 seconds left the fourth quarter. A trio of Braves sacked Lateef near midfield to punctuate the triumph.
The loss represented a valley for Orange Lutheran. The peaks included a victory against East Coast power St. Frances Academy of Maryland and a stunning second-half rally at Sierra Canyon.
"We leaned into playing the best," Sherman said. "We had the wonderful opportunity to get better through doing hard things."