Tritons Stick It to St. John Bosco, 42-24, to Reach Pac-5 Semifinals

Travis Wilson has been nothing short of brilliant for San Clemente this season. The senior quarterback led the Tritons to a nine regular season victories as a dangerous dual threat to run or pass. Wilson’s skill set was on display Friday night in the quarterfinals of the Southern Section Pac-5 playoffs as he accounted for four touchdowns in a convincing 42-24 victory over St. John Bosco at Braves Stadium.

A week after passing for four touchdowns in a 42-6 rout of Lakewood in a first-round playoff game, Wilson threw for one more touchdown but ran for three as San Clemente used a power running attack to wear down the St. John Bosco, the third-place team from the Trinity League that a week ago had upset fourth-seeded Mission Hills Alemany.

“Wilson has been playing awesome for us the last three weeks,” Tritons coach Jon Hamro said of the Utah commit. “He extends plays.”

He also extended the season, sending San Clemente (11-1) to the semifinals for the first time since 2004, when the Tritons were in Division II. Now, however, they are on the section's marquee stage, and will play South Coast League rival Tesoro, , the two-time defending Pac-5 champion, the second-ranked team in the state and the No. 21 team in the nation.

Two weeks ago, San Clemente defeated Tesoro in the league finale, 31-6, to guarantee its runner-up finish to Mission Viejo, which will meet Santa Margarita in the division's other semifinal.

The Tritons set the pace for most of Friday's game. On the opening possession, San Clemente drove 78 yards in only 2:27 to score as Wilson capped the drive with a 23-yard pass to senior captain Christian Tober.

St. John Bosco (8-4) briefly took a 10-7 lead after a three-and-out yielded a short field goal, and senior Royce Moore dashed across the goal line from two yards out. It was the Braves' only lead of the game.

San Clemente erased the deficit in a matter of seconds, 12 to be exact. Tober took the ensuing kickoff and sprinted down the left sideline untouched to put his team back on top, 14-10.

The Tritons forced the Braves into a three-and-out on their next possession, and an 18-yard punt gave San Clemente excellent field position. Wilson rolled to his right, diving to the pylon for a five-yard touchdown and a 21-10 halftime advantage.

St. John Bosco opened the second half with a touchdown to pull to within 21-17, and it looked as if the Braves might even take the lead midway through the third quarter. With San Clemente facing third-and-long, the Braves faithful called upon their defense to make the stop, but Wilson silenced the crowd. He escaped the pocket pressure and connected with Jacob Graff for a 51-yard gain. The Tritons found the end zone three plays later on Nick Pasquale's five-yard run to replenish their 11-point edge.

“We definitely had some close calls,” Wilson said. “We set things up with the run and then we got some pretty good lanes with play action.”

The teams traded scores again. The second of Wilson’s rushing touchdowns made it 35-24 with 6:46 remaining. The Braves were forced to go for broke on fourth down but could not convert. San Clemente turned the lights out on the Braves' season as Wilson scored from nine yards to send the Tritons to the semifinals.

Wilson completed seven of 11 passes for 125 yards with a touchdown and an interception. Mike Elespuru gained 113 yards in 21 carries, and Pasquale added 56 in seven. Pasquale also had three receptions for 33 yards.

“We’re very confident in our chances to be there at the end,” Tober said afterward. “Our team has been together forever.”

The Tritons, who hadn't won a playoff game since 2005, have now won two in a row with an eye toward a third.

“We’re just taking it one step at a time,” Hamro said. “Tesoro plays good defense so we thought they had a shot [to pull off the upset against Servite].”