High School

Live score update recap: St. John Bosco wins Instant Trinity League Classic with 28-24 win over Orange Lutheran

Freshman quarterback Koa Malau'ulu saves the day with four second-half TD passes in a game that featured five lead changes in five 13 minutes

Mitch Stephens

St. John Bosco pulled out a wild 28-24 Trinity League opener win over Orange Lutheran after trailing 10-0 at halftime.
St. John Bosco pulled out a wild 28-24 Trinity League opener win over Orange Lutheran after trailing 10-0 at halftime. / Photo by Heston Quan

In a game filled with big-name recruits and household high school football names, it was a freshman who bailed out St. John Bosco Friday night.

Koa Malau'ulu — remember that name — threw four second-half touchdowns to lift the outplayed-for-a-half Braves to a memorable 28-24 victory to open the Trinity League season over a very game Orange Lutheran squad.

After falling behind 10-0 at halftime, coach Jason Negro went to Malau'ulu, who threaded the dime on several passes, the last going Carson Clark with a 22-yard strike and 50 seconds remaining to go up 28-24.

Koa Malau'ulu of St. John Bosco
Koa Malau'ulu of St. John Bosco / Tarek Fattal

T.J. Lateef, who was brilliant all night, drove the Lancers to the 40, but was sacked on the game's final play by yet another freshman, Brandon Nash to lift the Braves to 6-0. Orange Lutheran, which didn't flinch when Bosco took its first lead late in the third quarter, dropped to 4-2.

(SEE ALL THE LIVE SCORING BELOW)

PREGAME

California and the nation's No. 2 football team St. John Bosco gets another severe test this week. And the Braves will need to get used to it.

Bosco hosts California's No. 5 squad Orange Lutheran 7 p.m. Friday in the opening of Trinity League play.

The host Braves (5-0) have won 14 straight games in the series, including 44-22 last year. Before that the scores have been 49-14, 48-7, 49-25, 55-0, 63-6 and 63-28 since 2017.

Even though the Braves are loaded with Division I talent, especially from their underclassmen, look for Orange Lutheran to make this a highly competitive game. The Lancers have impressive wins over Gardena Serra (21-13), Rancho Cucamonga (45-14), nationally-ranked St. Frances AcademY 15-13) and Sierra Canyon (33-26), a game it trailed 26-7.

They are led by 4-star Nebraska bound quarterback T.J. Lateef (1,107 yards and 13 touchdowns), along with other Division I recruits, tight end Aj La (Arizona State commit), safety Benjamin Alefalo (ASU), DL Jireh Moe (San Jose State), wide receiver AJ Campbell, offensive lineman Nehemiah Johnson (UCLA) and and Washington State-bound lineman, Arion Williams.

Bosco has more than 30 Division I recruits, but only three seniors, led by edge rusher Epi Sitanilei (UCLA), edge rusher Austin Coronado (Columbus) and safety Jacob Holmes.

The Braves' junior class is loaded led by wide receivers Daniel Odom and Madden Williams, both 4-star wideouts with a combined 48 offers. Other top recruits include USC-bound cornerback Joshua Holland, Oregon commit Dutch Horisk, an edge rusher, and wide receiver Carson Clark.

Football photo
Orange Lutheran sophomore Chris Flores hauls in long pass over heavy contest by Myles Baker in the Lancers' 33-26 comeback win over Sierra Canyon in Chatsworth. Orange Lutheran scored 23 unanswered 4Q points. Photo by Rene Morales.jpg / Photo: Rene Morales

The Braves are averaging nearly 50 points per game, thanks to strong quarterback play from junior Matai Fuiava and freshman Koa Malau'ulu along with the running attck of speedy Maliq Allen and junior Ashton Keyes.

(Refresh for the latest updates once the game starts; the most recent updates will be at the top.)

FOURTH QUARTER

FINAL SCORE: St. John Bosco 28, Orange Lutheran 24

ANOTHER FRESHMAN! If Koa Malau'ulu's four second-half TD passes by a freshman wasn't enough, another ninth-grader Brandon Nash makes a sack on the final play of the game for St. John Bosco to win it, 28-24.

TOUCHDOWN BOSCO! Carson Clark takes over with 22-yard touchdown reception from Malau'ulu, his fourth TD pass of second half. What a game. St. John Bosco 28, Orange Lutheran 24. 0:50 4Q.

TOUCHDOWN ORANGE LUTHERAN! Steve Chavez 5-yard TD run. Big 25-yard run by Lateef keys the drive. Another lead change. Orange Lutheran 24, St. John Bosco 21. 4:02 4Q.

TOUCHDOWN ST. JOHN BOSCO: Wow. Malau'ulu again. To Williams, again!. Beautiful 27-yard touchdown. Perfect throw, catch and coverage. St. John Bosco 21, Orange Lutheran 17. 8:33 4Q.

TOUCHDOWN ORANGE LUTHERAN: Lateef with perfect 12-yard touchdown to Aj Ia. Orange Lutheran 17, St. John Bosco 14. 9:13 4Q.

THIRD QUARTER

TOUCHDOWN BOSCO: Braves take their first lead on 11-yard TD pass from Koa Malau'ulu to Daniel Odom. SJB 14, Orange Lutheran 10. 1:42 3Q.

INTERCEPTION EXCHANGE: Both teams with clutch interceptions, Dorian Franklin for St. John Bosco and Orange Lutheran's Matthew Zapien. Bosco driving inside the Orange Lutheran 25.

TOUCHDOWN ST. JOHN BOSCO: The Braves freshman QB Koa Malau'ulu makes immediate impace, completes 9-yard TD pass to Madden Williams. Orange Lutheran 10, St. John Bosco 7. 9:14 3Q.

SECOND QUARTER

HALFTIME SCORE: Orange Lutheran 10, St. John Bosco 0

ORANGE LUTHERAN TOUCHDOWN! On 4th down, T.J. Lateef finds a wide open Aj La with 30-yard TD pass after brilliant fake like he was going to sneak. BRILLIANT Orange Lutheran 10, St. John Bosco 0

ST. JOHN BOSCO HOLDS! Orange Lutheran methodically driveS all the way to the Bosco 2, but on 4th down, T.J. Lateef stopped short.

FIRST QUARTER

END OF 1: Orange Lutheran 3, St. John Bosco 0

FIELD GOAL ORANGE LUTHERAN! Aiden Smith 32-yarder. Orange Lutheran 3, St. John Bosco 0.

Published |Modified
Mitch Stephens
MITCH STEPHENS

Mitch Stephens is a senior editor at SBLive Sports for California, a state he's covered high school sports since 1984. He won multiple CNPA and CPSWA writing awards with the Contra Costa Times, San Francisco Chronicle and MaxPreps.com before joining the SBLive staff in 2022. He's covered the beat nationally since 2007, profiling such athletes as Derrick Henry, Paige Bueckers, Patrick Mahomes, Sabrina Ionescu, Jayson Tatum, Chiney Ogwumike, Jeremy Lin and Najee Harris as preps. You can reach him at mitch@scorebooklive.com.

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