St. John Bosco (Bellflower, Calif.) football has been all but unbeatable over the last several years. From 2018 through the first for games of 2023, the Braves lost just six games, five of which were to equally spectacular Mater Dei (Santa Ana, Calif.). Bosco hadn’t lost to a non-California team in more than six years (Aug. 25, 2017).
On Saturday, Kahuka (Hawaii) did what almost no other team had done since its players were in elementary school. Raiders quarterback Tuli Tagovailoa-Amosa scored an 18-yard touchdown with 23 seconds left and the team converted on a two-point conversion to take a 30-23 lead that would stand.
The Raiders are now 5-1 and made up for their bad 55-8 loss at the hands of Mater Dei the week prior.
Down 23-22, QB Tuli Tagovailoa-Amosa scores on an 18-yd TD with :23 left to give Kahuku a stunning 30-23 win over No. 3 St. John Bosco. @StarAdvertiser @HawaiiPrepWorld @KahukuSports @boscofootball pic.twitter.com/JOIbYgnwo6
— Hawaii Prep World (@HawaiiPrepWorld) September 17, 2023
The upset almost didn’t happen. Kahuku led 22-3 in the first half behind a pair of touchdowns by wide receiver Mana Carvalho and and 53-yard pick-six by Aiden Manutai, but St. John Bosco isn’t the reigning national champion for nothing. The Braves stormed back with 20 unanswered points, taking a lead and needing one final stop in the final minute.
They couldn’t hold on.
STATEMENT MADE💥🤯@KahukuSports @Mana_Carvalho22 #KahukuFB #ESPNhonolulu pic.twitter.com/xEV0gaIlJ8
— ESPN Honolulu (@ESPNHonolulu) September 17, 2023
While it was an upset win, Kahuku certainly didn’t come out of nowhere. The Raiders have been an excellent team for quite a while now, going undefeated in 2021 and repeating as champions in 2022. They were considered in the Super 25 national rankings earlier in the season, but being routed by Mater Dei pushed them down national rankings.
But this is their official entrance. Only three different teams had beaten Bosco since the beginning of the 2017 season. Kahuku is now the fourth.