Football: Will history repeat itself?

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I didn’t realize until I sat down in the press box at Santa Ana Stadium and looked it up that the last game I covered here involved Mater Dei and St. John Bosco.

What’s so significant about that, you ask? Well, it just happened to be the Braves’ last victory in the series, a 28-27 overtime triumph on Nov. 14, 2002, made possible when the Monarchs missed an extra point in the extra period.

If St. John Bosco wins tonight, Braves Coach Kiki Mendoza should make sure I clear my schedule to be on hand when they play Mater Dei every year.

Two things have changed at this stadium since my last visit: There is artificial turf where there was once patchy grass, and the media now sit on the far left-hand side of the press box, not the far right-hand side. I learned this when I was uprooted by a booster club member upon plopping down in the spot I last occupied here.

Fortunately, I haven’t been uprooted by the Internet radio guys who can be another press-box annoyance, but there’s still about 90 minutes until game time.

--Ben Bolch