On a cloudless Friday night in Bellflower, with no rain in the forecast, St. John Bosco wanted to finally vanquish a nightmare from last season when the top-seeded Braves lost to Orange Lutheran in the opening game of the Southern Section Division 1 playoffs in the rain.
“It was still deep down somewhere,” St. John Bosco quarterback Koa Malau’ulu said.
Chris Ward, the offensive line coach for Orange Lutheran, quipped before the game about a rain forecast for Saturday night: “We came close.”
St. John Bosco players were so fired up to avenge the loss that there was some pushing and shoving when they entered their own field just before the start of the game and decided to get into the faces of some Orange Lutheran players.
In the end, Malau’ulu passed for two touchdowns and combined with his cousin, 6-foot-5 sophomore receiver Kuika Moaalii, for several big plays to take down Orange Lutheran 28-14, setting up the Braves (6-1, 2-0) for a Friday showdown next week against No. 1-ranked Santa Margarita (7-0, 2-0).
“The defending state champs are coming here,” coach Jason Negro told his players afterward. “If that doesn’t motivate you, I don’t know what does.”
Malau’ulu and Moaalii have been playing catch since they were 10.
“He’s a big target,” Malau’ulu said. “He knows how to get open.”
Said Moaalii: “We’ve both developed.”
Malau’ulu ended up running with the football a lot more than normal out of respect for Orange Lutheran’s secondary.
“They’re a great team,” he said.
It was his 55-yard run to the one-yard line in the final two minutes that allowed the Braves to run out the clock.
St. John Bosco also received another strong game from safety Kingston Fatu, who had to sit out the first part of the season after transferring from Tustin. He had his second interception of the season and contributed a sack.
Orange Lutheran (4-3, 1-1) came out with a perfectly executed 80-yard drive on its opening possession with Ryan Christianson scoring on a one-yard run. The Braves scored the next three touchdowns for a 21-7 halftime lead, with Maliq Allen getting a one-yard touchdown run, DJ Tubbs catching a six-yard touchdown pass and Moaalii making a 21-yard touchdown catch. Christianson broke off a 78-yard touchdown run in the second half.
St. John Bosco was substituting en masse on defense at times, and players were fresh and tackling well. The second half was your typical Trinity League game, with both teams being physical.
“There’s no easy ones,” Negro said. “They’re a well-coached team. They play hard. They had a lot of momentum. They played one of the toughest schedules in the country. So we knew they were a really good football team. I’m proud of my team.”
Malau’ulu passed for 193 yards. Moaalii caught passes of 40, 21, 18 and 40 yards.
Reagan Loki of Orange Lutheran came up with some tough running on his own at the quarterback position. Christianson was close to 150 yards rushing.
Malau’ulu can’t wait to face Santa Margarita.
“A lot of those kids are my friends, cousins or former teammates,” he said. “It’s all love.”
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