Column:  St. John Bosco recovers, then rolls past Orange Lutheran, 31-12

In the ninth week of the high school football season, unbeaten Bellflower St. John Bosco finally faced a pressing need to rally, and the Braves (9-0, 4-0) showed the resiliency of a potential championship team in rolling to a 31-12 victory over Orange Lutheran on Thursday night at Orange Coast College.

It was St. John Bosco’s 20th consecutive Trinity League victory. The Braves clinched at least a tie for their fourth consecutive league title. And they learned they can respond when challenged after playing eight consecutive games with running clocks in the fourth quarter.

Quarterback Quentin Davis completed 15 of 19 passes for 219 yards. Sean McGrew rushed for 137 yards and two touchdowns. Clive Manuao and Traveon Beck each had an interception in the second half.

Orange Lutheran (5-4, 2-2) controlled the clock and the game for much of the first half, opening a 6-0 lead behind two field goals from Jerry Fitschen and an effective option attack. St. John Bosco didn’t have a first down on its first three possessions. But the Braves took a 7-6 halftime lead after Cross Poyer scored on a three-yard run with 16 seconds left.

“I was happy with the way we played in terms of playing from behind,” St. John Bosco Coach Jason Negro said. “They had an opportunity to go up three scores and we did a good job withstanding their initial surge. I said before the season that was going to be the best team in the league and they did a good job limiting our possessions.”

In the second half, Davis made clutch passes, with receivers Berkeley Holman, Jared Harrell and Devin Fleming making key grabs.

Orange Lutheran has now lost to the top four teams in the state — Concord De La Salle, St. John Bosco, Corona Centennial and Santa Ana Mater Dei.

Asked who’s best, linebacker Jordan Williams said, “De La Salle is, by far.”

eric.sondheimer@latimes.com

Twitter: @LATSondheimer