Koa Malau’ulu, the sophomore quarterback for unbeaten St. John Bosco High, was having almost as good a Friday night as Shohei Ohtani hitting three home runs at Dodger Stadium. Malau’ulu completed his first 11 passes for 180 yards and three touchdowns against a Santa Margarita defense that held Mater Dei to six points last week.
This was supposed to be a showdown for first place in the nation’s toughest football league, the Trinity League, but Santa Margarita didn’t have the offensive firepower to stay with the Braves. St. John Bosco’s quarterback, all-star receivers, and underrated offensive line executed flawlessly, delivering an eighth consecutive victory with a 27-14 triumph over the Eagles.
Malau’ulu finished 16-of-21 passing for 283 yards and four touchdowns. Impressively, each of his talented four-receiver group caught a touchdown pass. “We have faith in him,” said receiver Madden Williams, who caught six passes for 113 yards. “We all got some love. We have four great receivers and all got to eat.”
It was a strange game from St. John Bosco’s perspective. The Braves were called for 20 penalties, setting a record under coach Jason Negro. There were five defensive holding penalties alone. “Does that count as two wins?” a frustrated defensive coordinator Chris King asked.
In comparison, Santa Margarita (5-3, 2-1) was called for just three penalties. “They didn’t allow the penalties to define their night,” Negro said.
St. John Bosco held a 21-7 halftime lead with touchdown passes caught by Carson Clark, Daniel Odom, and DJ Trubbs. Santa Margarita’s only score in the half was a one-yard touchdown run by Trent Mosley, set up by his spectacular 70-yard run in a wildcat formation.
The Eagles’ offense was hampered by the absence of injured receivers Grant Mosley and Luke Gazzaniga, which slowed their passing attack. Santa Margarita started the third quarter with another Mosley touchdown, closing the gap to 21-14, but Malau’ulu quickly answered with a 35-yard touchdown pass to Williams.
Although Malau’ulu was sacked twice on the night, his blockers gave him enough time to fire away, and his sure-handed receivers made the plays. “He has a lot of talent around him,” Negro said.
On defense, Dutch Horisk led St. John Bosco with two sacks. Linebacker Matthew Muasau continued to stand out as an exceptional tackler, while cornerback Jacob Whitehead made several plays in the second half to disrupt the Eagles’ passing attack.
Santa Margarita’s quarterback Trace Johnson completed 12 of 28 passes for 87 yards. If these two teams meet again in the Southern Section Division 1 playoffs, the Braves know that USC-bound Trent Mosley will present a significant challenge. Mosley was injured in the Eagles’ first game of the season and didn’t play again until last week against Mater Dei. He is now rounding back into shape and remains dangerous every time he touches the ball. “He’s a special player,” Negro said.
St. John Bosco is now 8-0 overall and 3-0 in the Trinity League. The Braves will close the regular season with games against Servite next week and against Mater Dei on Halloween. They need two wins to clinch a No. 1 seed for the Southern Section Division 1 playoffs.
https://www.latimes.com/sports/highschool/story/2025-10-17/st-john-bosco-santa-margarita-high-school-football-game-recap