Prep Football Games to Watch : 2 Unbeatens Meet as St. John Bosco Takes On Loyola

Undefeated St. John Bosco High School of Bellflower will play unbeaten Loyola of Los Angeles in a Del Rey League game at 7:30 p.m. Friday at St. John Bosco.

It will be the first stiff test for both.

St. John Bosco is one of the surprise teams in the Big Five Conference this season with a 6-0 record that includes a 14-7 victory over La Canada St. Francis in the Del Rey opener last week.

St. John Bosco, ninth-ranked in The Times’ Southern Section poll, must overcome Loyola’s stingy defense, which has allowed just 26 points in six victories. The most points Loyola has given up in any game are 13.

David Matter, Loyola defensive lineman, is one of the top prospects in the state and one of the main reasons for Loyola’s tough defense.

St. John Bosco features tailback Oscar Meza, who gained 127 yards in 18 carries last week.

Culver City (6-0) vs. Santa Monica (4-1), at Santa Monica College, Friday, 7:30 p.m. Santa Monica, after its stunning 21-7 victory over Edison of Huntington Beach two weeks ago, struggled at times in beating Inglewood last week. The Vikings will need to revert to their form against Edison in order to beat Culver City. Similarly, Culver City, ranked No. 8 in the Southern Conference, had to hold off Mira Costa, which has won just once.

Mission Viejo Capistrano Valley (4-2) vs. El Toro (6-0), at Mission Viejo, Friday, 7:30 p.m. If El Toro, The Times’ second-ranked Southern Section team, can get past Capistrano Valley, it will be a good bet to finish the season undefeated. This should be El Toro’s toughest game to date. Capistrano Valley has Todd Marinovich, Orange County’s all-time passing leader who has thrown for 11 touchdowns and 1,124 yards this season. El Toro quarterback Bret Johnson has completed more than 63% of his passes for 14 touchdowns. El Toro lineman Scott Spaulding, 6-5 and 250, is one of the top linemen in the state both offensively and defensively.

Covina (6-0) vs. Covina South Hills (5-1), at Covina District Stadium, Friday, 7:30 p.m. South Hills poses the first of two big Valle Vista League threats to Covina. Defense is Covina’s strong suit. The Colts, with tackles Pete Dickason and Zack Zaherek and nose guard Chandler Hall, stop the opposition’s running. South Hills counters with an offense that rolled up 484 yards in a 41-0 victory over City of Industry Workman. Jim Mire ran for 130 yards in 19 carries last week and Mark Yoon scored on runs of 52 and 6 yards.

Burbank Burroughs (5-0-1) vs. Newhall Hart (5-1), at College of the Canyons, Friday, 7:30 p.m. The ball figures to be in the air often in this game between the Foothill League’s top teams. These are also two of the top teams in the Northwestern Conference--Hart is rated No. 2 and Burroughs No. 3. Hart’s Jim Bonds and Burroughs’ Jeff Barrett are ranked among the top eight quarterbacks by yardage in the Southern Section. Each has completed close to 60% of his passes and has thrown for more than 1,100 yards. Barrett’s favorite target is Pat Lynch. Bonds, who is tied for the Southern Section lead with 15 scoring passes, throws primarily to Chris Hite, who has caught 37 passes, 9 for touchdowns. Bonds broke school career records for completions, attempts and yards last week.

Cerritos Valley Christian (4-1) vs. Whittier Christian (5-1), California High, Saturday, 7:30 p.m. The spotlight is on running back Chris Martin of Whittier Christian, who is third in rushing yardage in the Southern Section with 1,046 yards. He also has 14 touchdowns. No one in the Southern Section has rushed for more. This game also pits the best teams in the Olympic League. Valley Christian is fourth-ranked in the Inland Conference. Whittier Christian is seventh. Valley Christian is led by quarterback Jeff Westra and tailback Brian Templeman. Westra is coming off a big game last week. He threw for two touchdowns and returned an interception for a third.

Wilmington Banning (5-0) vs. Dorsey (4-1), at Jackie Robinson Stadium, Friday, 8 p.m. Dorsey was sailing along, undefeated, until Gardena knocked off the Dons last week. Dorsey had better not dwell on that game, however. Banning is The Times’ top-ranked City team and Cal-Hi Sports’ No. 1 team in the state. How good are the Pilots? They haven’t yielded a point in the last four games. Only Fontana, in the opener, has scored on Banning. Defensive lineman Terrance Powe, 6-5 and 245, is one of the top Pilot defenders. In the same four games, Banning has scored 35 points or more three times. Dorsey, however, will provide the toughest test since that game and before the Pilots play Gardena Nov. 7.

L.A. Wilson (4-1) at Garfield (4-1), Friday, 8 p.m. Both Freeway League teams have done an about-face from last season. Wilson has been especially surprising, picking up its fourth straight victory in last week’s 3-0 win over Locke, then seventh-ranked in the City. Garfield, No. 9, has breezed in its last two games, including last week’s league opener. Garfield quarterback Johnny Gomez has thrown for eight touchdowns, three last week. He also leads the City in passing with 920 yards. David Morales, with 24 receptions for 399 yards, is Gomez’s and the City’s top receiver.