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It’s official: Tuli Tagovailoa-Amosa is the fastest of the Tagovailoa quarterbacks.
The senior dashed 18 yards on a read-option keeper for the go-ahead touchdown with 23 seconds left as Kahuku shocked nationally ranked St. John Bosco (Calif.) 30-23 on Saturday night at Carleton E. Weimer Field.
It was a gutsy call for the offense, which had not scored since the second quarter against a stalwart Braves defense. St. John Bosco, the defending national champion, came into the game ranked No. 3 nationally this week.
“That was my coaches. They called the play at the right time and everybody did their job. The O-line opened a big hole and I ran right through it,” Tagovailoa-Amosa said.
Va‘aimalae Fonoti’s jump pass to Kekua Aumua Jr. on the 2-point conversion opened Kahuku’s margin to seven points.
Kahuku improved to 4-1 overall, bouncing back from a 55-8 loss at No. 1 Mater Dei (Calif.) last week. Saturday’s game had some similar changes of momentum to last year’s Kahuku-Saint Francis (Md.) game. This time, after losing a 19-point lead, Kahuku clutched up in the final minutes.
“It was a hard-fought battle. Emotions were high on both sides. It was a game of emotions and momentum. We’re just grateful for St. John Bosco allowing us to play them, for an opportunity to play the nation’s best,” Kahuku coach Sterling Carvalho said.
Kahuku’s win may leave an imprint on the national scene.
“This continues to get us better. That’s why we play these games. Win or lose, we play these games to get better. What you saw tonight was us elevating our program, elevating our opportunities. We can compete against the nation’s best,” Carvalho said. “I’m just so grateful for all our players and coaches. Tonight, we represented the 808. There are ballers across the islands, in the whole state. What you saw tonight was a representation of not just Kahuku, but all the 808 ballers out there that are able to play at this level.”
The fireworks above Weimer Field and a capacity crowd were spectacular, but the game was not quite over. St. John Bosco, penalized for unsportsmanlike conduct following the TD, got the ball on its 10-yard line after a touchback on the ensuing kickoff. Quarterback Caleb Sanchez found Stacy Dobbins for a 22-yard pass. After two incompletions, with two seconds left on the clock, Sanchez spiraled a pass to Daniel Odom on a post route. Kahuku defensive back Malaki Soliai-Tui made the hit, jarring the ball loose as Odom’s helmet rolled on the ground.
A flag was thrown immediately, and another flag was thrown as Bosco assistant coaches ran toward officials and had to be held back by their staff. After a conference, officials waved off the flags, ending what is both an instant classic and arguably the biggest win by a Hawaii high school football team.
St. John Bosco coach Jason Negro disagreed with the non-call on the final play. Officials were asked after the game whether actions of Bosco assistants had an impact of their decision to end the game. Their response: “No comment.”
“Here’s the thing. It’s a defenseless receiver,” Negro said. “We thought the time had run out, the last play of the game, so naturally people go on the field. That wasn’t the determining factor. It’s a defenseless receiver. They made that call on the other drive and gave them the touchdown. In today’s football, that’s a defenseless receiver. I’m not a referee. I keep my opinions as calm as I can. (Kahuku) all came on the field after the game, too. What was any different?”
Carvalho considered the final play a textbook defensive finish.
“They thought it was hitting a defenseless player, but our guy literally wrapped up. There was no helmet-to-helmet. It was a very hard and vicious hit, but at the same time our defender came and wrapped up. He came not with a shoulder, not with a hit, but he came with great technique,” Carvalho said.
Soliai-Tui disagreed with Negro’s assessment of the final play.
“I think that’s a clean hit. I didn’t mean to do any extra stuff. I just hit him. I just wanted to end the game right there,” he said. “That first half, I don’t think they were playing to their potential. This win is for the whole state, the whole community. This is what we do. In the offseason, all day, every morning. It ain’t easy, but that’s what we do.”
It was the first loss of the season after four wins by St. John Bosco. Negro praised Kahuku.
“My thoughts and emotions are all over the place right now. We didn’t play a very good football game, but that takes nothing away from Kahuku. That’s a really, really good football program. Well coached. I thought they did a heck of a job, especially coming off the big loss last week (to No. 1 Mater Dei). You’ve got to give them all the credit,” Negro said. “We had so many self-inflicted wounds with turnovers and penalties the entire night. We just couldn’t get out of our own way. We’ve got to go back and evaluate the film and see what happened. At the end of the day, you can’t commit that many penalties and you can’t turn the ball over against a good football team. I’m not going to make any excuses. They kind of outplayed us.”
Negro politely disagreed about the two 15-yard penalties called against his team during the final drive.
“I don’t know, man. You’ve got to ask (the head official). It seemed like every time we had a stop, especially on fourth down. It was so disappointing, you think you’ve won the game and it’s snatched from you. I don’t know if you make that call on that play. I don’t even know what it was because they wouldn’t communicate with us,” Negro said. “I was glad that our kids continued to fight hard and don’t take anything away from Coach Carvalho and the Kahuku Red Raiders.”
Carvalho saw targeting on that final drive, which was flagged.
“They were also holding us all night, too. The call came at the right time. Calls went our way, calls went against us tonight. That’s just the way it happened. We just stayed optimistic and tried to finish,” he said.
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At C.E. Weimer Field
St. John Bosco (4-1) 3 6 7 7 — 23
Kahuku (5-1, 2-0) 0 22 0 8 — 30
SJB—FG Marcus Lee 22
Kah—Kaimana Carvalho 7 run (Manoa Kahalepuna kick)
Kah—Carvalho 12 pass from Tuli Tagovailoa-Amosa (Kekua Aumua Jr. pass from Carvalho)
Kah—Aidan Manutai 54 interception return (Kahalepuna kick)
SJB—Cameron Jones 2 run (rush failed)
SJB—Chauncey Sylvester 1 run (Lee kick)
SJB—Sylvester 6 run (Lee kick)
Kah—Tagovailoa-Amosa 18 run (Aumua pass from Vaaiamalae Fonoti)
RUSHING—St. John Bosco: Jones 15-88, Sylvester 12-41, Khalil Warren 3-11, Stacy Dobbins 1-2. Kahuku: Tagovailoa-Amosa 15-71, Fonoti 15-45, Carvalho 2-17.
PASSING—St. John Bosco: Caleb Sanchez 25-32-2-211. Kahuku: Tagovailoa-Amosa 9-20-2-89.
RECEIVING—St. John Bosco: Tommy Maher 5-55, Madden Williams 6-53, Dobbins 6-52, Daniel Odom 5-41, Warren 1-4, Owen Tomich 1-4, Jones 1-2. Kahuku: Carvalho 5-55, Fonoti 2-20, Manutai 2-14.
Also:
Kapolei 7, ‘Iolani 0 (Forf.)
Waialua 31, Molokai 24
Damien 55, Punahou II 20
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