Gorney's takeaways: Mater Dei tops St. John Bosco 31-21

MORE: Ranking the QBs committed to Pac-12 programs

TORRANCE, Calif. - One of the best games all season took place Friday night as Santa Ana (Calif.) Mater Dei defeated Bellflower (Calif.) St. John Bosco, 31-21, at El Camino College. Here are five takeaways from the night.

There is no better receiver in the 2018 class than Amon-Ra St. Brown and he continued to prove it against a talented Bosco defense with eight receptions for 238 yards and two touchdowns. He also returned a punt for a touchdown, as if anyone needed to see more domination.

The five-star receiver simply cannot be defended in one-on-one situations. He runs fantastic routes, can create space against anybody and then he’s excellent with the ball in his hands. St. Brown took a simple out route, turned upfield, dodged one tackle and gained about 75 yards before getting tripped up by Ohio State commit Jaiden Woodbey. He would later score.

Some media members were trying to think of a receiver who has been better in California in the last 10 years. Maybe JuJu Smith-Schuster’s power? Maybe Marqise Lee’s athleticism? St. Brown is special and he continues to prove it.

Michigan, USC, UCLA, Stanford, Notre Dame and others are involved.

Here’s the scary thing about 2019 five-star quarterback JT Daniels: He’s not just simply a pocket passer any longer. The top-rated prospect in his class, Daniels can still sit back there and deliver strikes all night, which he did against an excellent Bosco defense, but when things break down, Daniels can run as well, evidenced by his 103 rushing yards.

The five-star quarterback who is already committed to USC was dominant as a sophomore (and at that time we wrote he was ahead of former five-star Josh Rosen at the same stage) continues to be excellent as he threw for more than 300 yards with the two scores to St. Brown.

After the game, Daniels asked if he should be rated as a dual-threat quarterback. Not quite. But it is an added weapon to his game - and now his arsenal could be full.

Solomon Tuliaupupu is rated as the third-best inside linebacker nationally. There might not be a better blitzing linebacker who crashes the line, gets into the backfield and hits people all over the field.

The four-star was excellent timing his blitzes, getting after the Bosco quarterback and running back tandem and then blowing up plays. Tuliaupupu did not have to show much covering in space but as a blitzing linebacker either breaking through the middle or coming from different spots he was excellent.

USC, UCLA, Ohio State and many others remain involved.

Tough situation. Tough spot. And 2020 quarterback D.J. Uiagalelei was thoroughly impressive in his debut as Bosco’s quarterback.

The 6-foot-4, 235-pound prospect who could be one of the best quarterbacks in his class threw for about 240 yards and two touchdowns in a losing effort. He has an elite arm, fires it all over the field and also showed some nice touch on some passes when needed.

Even though he’s massive, Uiagalelei showed some light feet as well escaping Mater Dei’s incessant pressure although he was sacked numerous times. The Bosco coaches think very highly of Uiagalelei and Friday night showed why - he could be a special prospect.

Alabama, Oregon, USC, UCLA and many others have already offered.

There will be lengthy debate over the next two years whether 2019 four-star Bru McCoy is better at wide receiver or outside linebacker. At the end, it might not matter because McCoy is so talented on both sides of the football he’s going to be one of the top prospects in the junior class.

As a receiver, McCoy is a big, strong outside target with excellent hands. At linebacker, he’s aggressive off the edge, causes havoc in the backfield and can also play in space. Alabama, Ohio State, USC and other big-time programs are pursuing him - and then will probably figure out where he fits best later on.