Clemson five-star commit DJ Uiagalelei put his high school team on his back Saturday night, rallying St. John Bosco (Bellflower, Calif.) from a big deficit to defeat Mater Dei (Santa Ana, Calif.) and claim the CIF Southern Section Division 1 title.
Uiagalelei, the nation’s top-ranked quarterback, threw for 444 yards and five touchdowns while leading Bosco to a 39-34 victory after trailing by as many as 23 points in the first half.
“Winning that with all the seniors, we’ve been playing together for four years, and we just wanted to win our (CIF-SS Division 1) championship for ourselves,” Uiagalelei told The Clemson Insider. “It was an amazing feeling. It was kind of surreal that we won that game. It was crazy.”
While Uiagalelei is excited about the win, he is not finished yet and has his sights set on winning one more title in the last game of his prep career.
Bosco will play De La Salle (Concord, Calif.) in the CIF Open Division state title game on Saturday, Dec. 14.
“We’re doing good right now. We’ve got one more game, we’ve just got to finish out, and that’s what we’ve been working for,” Uiagalelei said. “We’ve been preparing this whole season for this since January, for this game. So, we’ve got to continue to keep working and just win this last game.”
The next chapter of Uiagalelei’s football career is right around the corner. After he wraps up his final high school campaign, Uiagalelei will get ready to enroll at Clemson on Jan. 5.
“It’s crazy,” Uiagalelei said of knowing he will be on campus for good in less than five weeks. “I think it’s like 30 days or something like that. So, it’s super crazy. In 30 days, I’m going to be in a whole other state and staying there — not for vacation.”
Uiagalelei will definitely suit up for Dabo Swinney’s squad but is not sure yet whether he will play baseball for Monte Lee and the Tigers as well.
“It’s just kind of what I’m feeling, and then talking with the coaches and just seeing what I want to do in college, whether I want to play both or I don’t,” he said. “I’m still not sure yet.”
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