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In the fall of 2021, high school football in Southern California emerged from the pandemic and returned to its customary spot under the stadium lights on Friday nights. But not everything was the same at Servite.
The Friars had their best team in about a decade, and advanced to play at St. John Bosco in the CIF-SS Division 1 semifinals. The result sent shockwaves through the region.
Servite won 40-21 to join Mater Dei as the only California school to beat the Braves in a dominating six-year stretch.
At the center of the victory was Mason Graham and Tetairoa McMillan, a pair of seniors who starred on both sides of the ball for the Friars.
On Thursday night, the duo will again be linked in remarkable fashion. Graham, a defensive tackle from Michigan, and McMillan, a wide receiver from Arizona, are projected to be first-round selections in the NFL Draft in Green Bay, Wis.
Yes, two expected first-round picks in the same draft from the same high school team.
“It’s very rare outside of schools like IMG (Academy in Florida),” said Greg Biggins, a national recruiting analyst for 247Sports. “Both were great players (in high school) but awesome kids, too.”
How unique is the position for Graham and McMillan? They could become only the second pair of high school teammates from California ever to be selected in the first round of the same draft.
In 1997, former El Camino of Oceanside defensive backs Bryant Westbrook (Detroit, fifth pick) and Michael Booker (Atlanta, 11th) became the first and only two high school teammates in state history to be first-round picks in the same year, according to CalHiSports editor/publisher Mark Tennis.
The journey for Graham (6-3 1/2, 296) and McMillan (6-4, 219) to the draft featured four, foundational years at Servite.
Before the players became collegiate All-Americans, they were two-way standouts at Servite.
Former Servite football coach Troy Thomas, who guided Graham and McMillan at the school, points to the tandem’s two-way play as one of the most important components of their success.
Graham started on the offensive and defensive lines. McMillan first garnered attention as a wide receiver but later added defensive back to his duties. He recorded an eye-popping eight interceptions as a senior.
“Mason, he had to play every play on offense and every play on defense and I think that it really made him go to another level as a player, and I think the same thing with TMAC his senior year,” said Thomas, now the defensive coordinator at Edison.
“Both those guys, they never came off the field, and I think that was a good thing for them because they realized how far they can push themselves,” the coach added.
Thomas believes that Graham and McMillan’s matchups against higher ranked foes such Mater Dei and St. John Bosco were critical to their development.
“(At) a place like Servite, you have to fight, scratch and claw to maybe compete with the Mater Dei and Boscos,” said Thomas, whose squad fell to Mater Dei in the finals in 2021. “I just really believe these teams that have to rise up, it produces something (special).”
“That (2021) team, having to go through COVID,” the coach added, “they battled through a lot of different things. To beat Bosco, (we) probably should have never done that. Physically, we were playing six or seven guys both ways.”
Thomas and Biggins also credit Graham and McMillan’s rise to their decision to play multiple sports in high school.
Graham wrestled and played basketball and rugby, Thomas said. McMillan competed in basketball and volleyball.
Biggins believes both players honed skills in these sports that correlated well with their positions in football.
McMillan, for example, is known for his ability to track the football and make leaping catches in coverage. “That’s where you see the volleyball (skills),” Biggins said.
Graham is praised for his powerful hands and understanding of leverage in contact. “That’s all his wrestling,” Biggins said.
Coaching was another critical ingredient for the players at Servite.
When Graham signed with Michigan, he mentioned his work with former Servite defensive line coach Kelly Talavou.
“He did a great job with Mason,” Thomas said of Talavou, a Fountain Valley product who played defensive line in the NFL. “Mason, he was a kid who wanted extra work and Kelly gave it to him.”
St. John Bosco coach Jason Negro traces Graham and McMillan’s drive to Thomas.
“The thing I respect most about those two is they were relentless competitors who took on the personality of their head coach,” Negro said. “They made those games fun and entertaining.”
The excitement continues Thursday. Thomas will be on a “once in a lifetime” trip with his wife Stacey to Green Bay for the NFL Draft.
The coach said he received an invitation to the draft from Graham and hopes to spent time with both his former players.
“I’m a little worried,” Thomas said with a laugh. “Mason was like, ‘Hey man, you got to get a really nice suit’ and I’m like, ‘Man.’ I’m sure those two guys are going to have beautiful suits. So I’ll be the guy in the middle with a pretty normal suit, I’m sure, compared to those two. It’s pretty cool. I’m really excited for both of them.”
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