Red Raiders pull off biggest upset of the season downing reigning MaxPreps National Champions.
Kahuku (Hawaii) pulled off the biggest upset of the high school football season beating No. 3
St. John Bosco (Bellflower, Calif.) 30-23 on Saturday night on Oahu. The Red Raiders took an early 22-3 lead in the first half and held command for the first 24 minutes.
The Braves answered, scoring 20 straight to take a 23-22 lead with 8:15 remaining in the fourth quarter.
Kahuku forced a punt after an interception by St. John Bosco's
Tamal Johnson with 4:27 left.
The Red Raiders' drive would stay alive on fourth-and-10 inside their own territory after a pass interference call on the Braves with under two minutes remaining. Following a couple of first downs,
Tuli Tagovailoa-Amosa ran it in from 18 yards out for the game-winning score with 23 seconds left. They added a two-point conversion to take a 30-23 lead.
Kahuku quarterback Tuli Tagavailoa-Amosa, seen last week against Mater Dei, scored the game-winning Saturday against No. 3 St. John Bosco in Hawaii. The Red Raiders' quarterback found the end zone from 18 yards out with 23 seconds left to stun the reigning MaxPreps National Champions. (Photo: Brian Bautista)
After St. John Bosco started the game off with a 3-0 lead, the Red Raiders would score the next 22 points.
Mana Carvalho had a six-yard touchdown run to give Kahuku a 7-3 lead with 10:48 remaining in the second quarter. The Braves would fumble on their next drive and Tagovailoa-Amosa connected with Carvalho on a 12-yard touchdown pass to boost the Red Raiders a 15-3 lead.
Aiden Manutai picked off
Caleb Sanchez and returned it for a 53-yard score to give the top-ranked team from Hawaii a 22-3 lead with 6:26 left in the first half.
The Braves answered with a 2-yard touchdown run from
Cameron Jones to close out the half trailing 22-9.
Last year's MaxPreps National Champions scored on their opening possession of the second half on a 1-yard fourth-down touchdown run from
Chauncey Sylvester that cut the deficit to 22-16.
After a
Peyton Woodyard interception, Sylvester scored his second touchdown of the night with a 6-yard scamper to take a 23-22 lead early in the fourth quarter. The Braves had all the momentum but Kahuku's defense responded forcing a punt to give the offense one last chance.
It was a big bounce back game for the Red Raiders after a 55-8 loss against No. 1
Mater Dei (Santa Ana, Calif.) last week. The loss snapped St. John Bosco's 11-game win streak. Expect to see Kahuku make a big jump into the MaxPreps Top 25 rankings on Monday. The Red Raiders improved to 5-1, while the Braves fell to 4-1 as they closed out non-league play.
