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Live score update recap: St. John Bosco gets defensive in second half, beats Pittsburg 35-14

National No. 2 ranked Braves beat Northern California power for the second straight week

Mitch Stephens

St. John Bosco receiver Carson Clark had one of four touchdown catches for the Braves in a 56-17 win over Serra on 9/14/2024
St. John Bosco receiver Carson Clark had one of four touchdown catches for the Braves in a 56-17 win over Serra on 9/14/2024 / Photo: DennIs Lee

Pittsburg gave national No. 2 St. John Bosco a tough tussle for one half Friday night at the Braves' Panish Family Stadium in Bellflower.

But in the second half, the Braves' defense locked down, put massive pressure on quarterback Marley Alcantara and pulled out a 35-14 win over the Pirates.

Sophomore running back Maliq Allen rushed for two touchdowns, one in the second half with the Braves held Pittsburg scoreless to improve to 5-0.

The Pirates, who outgained Bosco 222-183 in the first half, dropped to 3-1.

Matai Fuiava threw two touchdown passes to offset a big game from Alcantara, Pittsburg's 5-7 senior quarterback who threw for more than 200 yards and two scores. He was sacked five times and had a pair of passes batted down. His 76-yard touchdown bomb to freshman Kenny Ward tied the game at 14 early in the second quarter.

But Bosco's defense locked down from there, holding the Pirates scoreless the rest of the way. Allen had both his TD runs after that and Ashton Keyes put the finishing touchdowns with another short touchdown run late in the fourth quarter.

HS FOOTBALL SCOREBOARD | CALIFORNIA HIGH SCHOOL SCOREBOARD

You can also watch Pittsburg at St. John Bosco live on the NFHS Network.

This was the first meeting between the two teams.

(Refresh for live updates)

4TH QUARTER

FINAL SCORE: St. John Bosco 35, Pittsburg 14

TOUCHDOWN ST. JOHN BOSCO! Ashton Keyes 2-yard TD run. 1:17 4Q. St. John Bosco 35, Pittsburg 14.

* St. John Bosco's pressure proving the difference, as Alcantara has been sacked five times and had at least two passes knocked down. Completely shut down in the second half. Score still SJB 28, Pittsburg 14 with 3:02 left. Timeout.

3RD QUARTER

TOUCHDOWN ST. JOHN BOSCO. Maliq Allen with his second TD, a 2-yarder. 2:01 3Q. Freshman QB Koa Malau'ulu comes off the bench and leads the drive, mostly on the ground. A tough facemask penalty on 7-yard loss hurts Pittsburg. St. John Bosco 28, Pittsburg 14.

* Both teams have a couple of first downs, but no one scored. Midway through 3Q. SJB 21, Pittsburg 14. Pittsburg DE JuJu Walls is everywhere. Just bats down a pass. The UCLA commit is showing Southern California fans what their going to get.

2ND QUARTER

HALFTIME: Pittsburg looks like a competitive Trinity League team. They had over 230 yards. Bosco took advantage of two short fields to score TDs and got big play from swift Carson Clark. Check out feature here on Marley Alcantara, Pittsburg's 5-7 quarterback who looks like a D1 quarterback according to at least one who knows plenty on the topic. Alcantara is 15 of 18, 159 yards, two TDs.

TOUCHDOWN BOSCO! Super swift Maliq Allen 4-yard TD run. St. John Bosco 21, Pittsburg 14. 4:43 2Q.

TOUCHDOWN PITTSBURG! Gotta be kidding! The lil 5-7 QB Alcantara with scramble and long heave on the money for 76-yard touchdown bomb to freshman speedster Kenny Ward. Pittsburgh ties score 14-14 with national No. 2 St. John Bosco. 2Q.

1ST QUARTER

TOUCHDOWN ST. JOHN BOSCO. Carson Clark shows off his speed again, this time taking a hitch from Fuiava and racing 72 yards for a touchdown. St. John Bosco 14, Pittsburg 7. 5:20.

PITTSBURG ANSWERS WITH TOUCHDOWN! Takes 15 plays and Markey Alcantara goes 7-for-7 on drive including diving 2-yard TD catch by RJ Mosley. Pittsburg 7, SJ Bosco 7. 5:59

TOUCHDOWN ST. JOHN BOSCO! Matai Fuiava 5-yard TD pass to wide open Madden Williams. Set up by 70-yard kickoff return by Carson Clark. 10:00. St. John Bosco 7, Pittsburg 0

* What a start for start for St. John Bosco. 70-yard kickoff return by Carson to Pittsburg 25.

PREGAME

t was a dream weekend for the St. John Bosco Braves last weekend, making its first regular-season trip to Northern California with a resounding 56-16 win at San Mateo Serra.

The Braves used a quick strike attack with three touchdown plays going over 60 yards while rolling to their fourth straight win on the season against the three-time defending Northern California Open Division representatives.

Now another Northern California juggernaut, Pittsburg, hopes to take down the nation's second ranked team in a Friday matchup at Bosco's Panish Family Stadium in Bellflower.

Bosco, which got a big game from junior quarterback Matai Fuiava (three TD passes last week), also got a 62-yard touchdown run by speedy tailback Malik Allen, a 65-yard reception by Carson Clark and an 88-yard interception return from linebacker Cole Clifton.

Pittsburg (3-0) also had a big offensive showing last week, matching the Braves with eight touchdowns in a 56-42 win over Riordan. Washington State-bound back Jamar Searcy scored four touchdowns while rushing for more than 150 yards.

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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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