Kahuku shocks second-ranked St. John Bosco in Hawaii
Tuli Tagovailoa-Amosa scored on an 18-yard run with 23 seconds remaining to help host Kahuku (Hawaii) pull out a stunning 30-23 victory over second-ranked St. John Bosco (Bellflower, Calif.) Saturday night at Carlton Weimer Field.
Stunning because a week earlier the Red Raiders sustained their worst loss in school history, 55-8, at top-ranked Mater Dei (Santa Ana, Calif.).
It was also a payback victory of sorts for Kahuku, the two-time defending Open Division state champion, which lost 34-7 at Bosco last season.
According to the Honolulu Star Advertiser, the Red Raiders are the first Hawaii high school team to beat a team ranked in the top three nationally.
This was the Braves' first loss to a non-Trinity League team since Aug. 25 of 2017, losing at St. Thomas Aquinas to start the season, 9-3 in overtime.
Bosco (4-1), the defending mythical national champions, fought back from a 22-3 second-quarter deficit to take a 23-22 lead with eight minutes to go on Chauncey Sylvester's second touchdown run, a 5-yarder.
Tuli Tagovailoa-Amosa (12) is greeted by head coach Sterling Carvalho after stunning 30-23 win over St. John Bosco. Photo: Heston Quan.
The Braves looked like they might have sewn it up when Tamal Johnson intercepted a Kahuku pass with four minutes to play at the 50-yard line. Bosco went 3-and-out and after a short punt, the Red Raiders took over at its own 30 with about two minutes to play.
Tagovailoa capped a 70-yard drive with his touchdown and a two-point conversion pass from Vaaimalae Fonoti to Kekua Aumua Jr. made it 30-23.
Kahuku (5-1) held down the stretch to pull off the stunning upset.
St. John Bosco opened the scoring midway through the first quarter on a 22-yard field goal by Marcus Lee. But a rushing touchdown by Kaimana Carvalho and a 12-yard TD pass from Tagovailoa to Carvalho plus a 2-point conversion gave Kahuku a 15-3 lead early in the second quarter.
A 54-yard pick-6 by Aiden Manutai gave the home team a commanding 22-3 lead midway through the second quarter and the Braves were in serious trouble.
A 3-yard touchdown run by UCLA-bound running back Cameron Jones, cut the lead to 22-9 by halftime and when Sylvester scored on back-to-back short TD runs in the second half, Bosco seemed like it had all the momentum to roll to victory.
That was not the case.
Kahuku players congratulate one another Saturday following 30-23 home win over national No. 2 St. John Bosco. Photo: Heston Quan
Last season, St. John Bosco soundly defeated Kahuku in California, but afterward the Red Raiders' faithful made national news with a stirring celebration in Bosco's stadium.
They did the same last week following the loss to Mater Dei with head coach Sterling Caravalho offering upbeat messages about the experience (see video at top of the page) that perhaps led to Saturday night's big turnaround win.
This was the second 2,500-mile-plus trip of the season for Bosco, after traveling to Fort Lauderdale (Fla.) on Aug. 26 to defeat St. Thomas Aquinas, 20-7. The Braves then handled two more out-of-state foes at home, Friendship Collegiate Academy of Washington D.C. (48-12) and St. Frances Academy of Baltimore (37-14) before Saturday's defeat.
Bosco will have a week off before entering the rugged Trinity League, with a game Sept. 29 at Santa Margarita. Kahuku travels to Nanakuli next week.
Head Kahuku coach Sterling Carvalho addresses his team following the Red Raiders' 30-23 win over St. John Bosco. Photo: Heston Quan.
More on this game later
