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5 St. John Bosco takeaways from its comeback defeat in Las Vegas to Bishop Gorman

Poise, pride, precise throws, big catches at the heart of a disappointing but likely beneficial opening loss to a juggernaut Bishop Gorman team
Mitch Stephens|
St. John Bosco quarterback Koa Malau'ulu looks for a receiver against Bishop Gorman during Gorman's 38-28 season opening victory..
St. John Bosco quarterback Koa Malau'ulu looks for a receiver against Bishop Gorman during Gorman's 38-28 season opening victory.. | Jules Karney

Five St. John Bosco takeaways from its 38-28 defeat at Bishop Gorman on Friday in steamy Las Vegas. 

1. Best thing for Bosco

DJ Tubbs - Bishop Gorman football
St. John's Bosco's DJ Tubbs looks for running room against Bishop Gorman during Gorman's 38-28 win in the 2026 season opener. | Jules Karney

One hears at every level, and every sport: Teams learn more from losing than winning. In this case, the Braves surely learned a lot from all their mistakes — 15 penalties, including a loss of 17 on the game’s first play due to a shotgun snap snafu which led directly to a defensive touchdown two plays later to immediately put Bosco on their heels with a 14-0 deficit early. Had Bosco continued its dominated path in the first half — down 21-0 with as many turnovers (three) as first downs — the initial blow to the start of its season might have been too tough to recover, considering it probably plays in the toughest league (Trinity) in the country. But due to its very spirited second-half performance, scoring 28 points in just over 14 minutes, the 271-mile bus ride back home to Bellflower was much more digestible for 17-year head coach Jason Negro and his staff. “We showed a lot of resolve, a lot of fight,” was what Negro told the LA Times after.

They also showed a ton of skill and moxie. It was more than enough to build on for the gauntlet ofa schedule that will challenge them over the next three months.

With a taste of humble pie, the Braves will always have a rallying cry anytime it gets too full of themselves, if that ever occurs.

Negro’s best trait as a coach and leader might be to keep his squad and staff balanced during the true highs and lows of top competition. He proved that once more on Friday, somehow pulling the Braves up the second half after a disastrous first half.

By the way, Gorman, fightings its own battles in the NIAA, should just join the Trinity League for football every year. Seems like a perfect fit.

2. Can you say Puka?

It’s a little too easy perhaps, but Bosco’s 6-foot-4, 202-pound sophomore receiver Kuika Moaalii sure gave a nifty impression of Rams all-everything wideout Puka Nakua.

OK, it's never fair to compare prep kids to professionals, especially perhaps the NFL's best player at that position. But with the same Polynesian background, angular frame and sheer toughness, it’s somewhat of a natural stretch.

Almost as natural as his leaping fourth-down 10-yard touchdown grab that started Bosco’s comeback with 7:45 left in the third quarter.

His better catch came on the next drive, a 4th-and-13, 26-yard backshoulder catch under heavy coverage, setting up the next touchdown.

Already sporting 13 college offers, including Alabama, Miami, Oregon, USC and UCLA, Moaalii finished with four catches for 57 yards.

3. Koa Malau’ulu is unshakable

All Bosco players, but especially third-year starting quarterback Koa Malau’ulu, had every reason to fold after the first-half performance.

But instead, he had the Braves in a winning position with some remarkable pinpoint throws under heavy-heavy pressure, especially by Gorman’s 6-4 sophomore edge Braylon Ivory, who had a pair of sacks, including the early one that resulted in a Caleb Lea’Ea fumble recovery in the end zone.

The 6-2, 190-pound Malau’ulu, a junior who always seems to play better in the second half, finished 17 of 37 for 222 yards and two touchdowns.

His two interceptions were absolutely desperate throws, one that was on fourth down before the end of the half that acted simply as a long punt. The other was Bosco’s final offensive play. Both were under heavy duress.

Simply the Braves will need to better protect Malau’ulu, who has 16 college offers including Cal, Duke and Oregon. It might be a while before they see a defensive front like Gorman.

4. DJ Tubbs will draw a big crowds, audience

DJ Tubbs
DJ Tubbs, who scored a pair of touchdowns in a 38-28 loss, rushes the ball for St. John Bosco against Bishop Gorman. | Jules Karney

DJ Tubbs is no disc jockey, but he figures to inject the Braves with a lot of life, energy and big plays on the field, along their sideline and in their locker room all season.

The 5-10, 185-pound junior receiver, ranked the No. 40 player in California for the Class of 2028, was everywhere on Friday, especially the second half, finishing with six catches for 82 yards while scoring two touchdowns.

His 21-yard back shoulder touchdown snag over a well-positioned defender cut Gorman’s lead to 21-14 with 4:51 left in the third.

About six minutes later, his scintillating, tough, zig-zagging 46-yard punt return for touchdown tied the game 28-28 with 9:52 remaining.

Last season he had 28 catches for 493 yards and seven touchdowns, including 4 for 108 and a score against Mater Dei.

Standing for Darren Jr., DJ has 15 college offers, including Miami, Notre Dame, Boston College, Oregon and UCLA. Apparently he’s currently leaning toward UCLA.   

5. The MaxPreps Game of the Week broadcast first rate — and free

This really should have been my No. 1 observation because it was the only way I could make the other takeaways.

The MaxPreps crew framed the the game as the 20th No. 1 versus No. 2 national matchup since 2000 — High School On SI ranked Bosco No. 4 and Gorman No. 7 — and I had planned to make my 15th live coverage of those 20. However a health issue (all good now) caused me to stay at home and watch via the Jeff Kurtz (play-by-play) and Zack Poff (color) stream.

Though it’s always preferred to breathe and taste a game live, I probably saw and heard way more angles than had I wilted along the sideline under the triple-digit temperatures.

Thanks to fantastic camera work, replays, timing from the entire broadcast team and director, viewers got to watch every touchdown and big play from several angles with the addition of thorough, timely, informed context from Kurtz and Poff, who are in their second season together.

Each has more than a decade in the space of the very wide and nuanced high school football space, and neither step on each other’s call or take themselves too seriously, which often mars this third level behind the NFL and college football broadcasts.  

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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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