Eagles 21 - St. John Bosco 7
BELLFLOWER, CA., October 16, 2026 – Santa Margarita Catholic High School (SMCHS), behind their remarkable defense and efficient offense, exorcised 15 years of frustration in a convincing 21-7 win over the St. John Bosco Braves before a scout-filled and capacity crowd at Bosco’s Panish Family Stadium. The win was the Eagles’ fourteenth in a row and snapped a 16-game losing streak -- 14 in the regular season and two in the playoffs -- in the series between the two schools dating back to 2011. It was also SMCHS’s first win at St. John Bosco since 2010. With the win the Eagles improved to 8-0 and 3-0 in the Trinity League. The Braves fell to 6-2 and 2-1 in league play.
On the Braves opening drive the Eagles forced a punt which was muffed and recovered by the Braves' Joshua Laird at the SMCHS 39 yard line. Six plays later quarterback Koa Malau'ulu, who entered the game 3-0 versus the Eagles in his career, found Kai Moaalii at the goal line after a double move for a 28-yard scoring toss to make it 7-0 at the 7:08 mark of the first quarter.
The score didn't faze the visitors as it was the third-straight game the Eagles have fallen behind by one score in the first quarter only to not allow any additional points the rest of the game. On third-and-eight from their 35 yard line, after forcing an SMCHS punt on their ensuing possession, Malau'ulu scrambled left and fired downfield into triple coverage where cornerback Rayshawn Brandon snared it at the Eagle 45 yard line. The sophomore skillfully meandered through the Braves' offense for a 55-yard pick six to tie the score with 4:03 left in the quarter. From that moment forward the Eagle defense allowed only three first downs the remainder of the game.
After an exchange of punts sensational junior cornerback Ca'ron Williams made an acrobatic interception of a low Malau'ulu pass at the Braves 37 yard line with 8:30 left in the half. An Adrian Petero run was followed by an 11-yard completion from junior quarterback Fletch Palmer to fellow junior Grant Van Raaphorst. Two plays later Palmer scrambled for 12 yards and a first down on the Braves' nine yard line. Petero, who carried 15 times for 47 tough yards on the night, carried it to the one then hit pay dirt the following play or his fourteenth touchdown of the season with 5:07 remaining in the quarter to increase the Eagles lead to 14-7.
After another exchange of punts, Malau'ulu found Jacob Reid for 29 yards the Moaalii for 24 mote two plays later setting the Braves up with a first down at the Eagles 20 yard line. Following three incompletions, including pass breakups in the end zone from Jake Martin on second down with 0:17 left and Jaion Smith (three tackles including a tackle for loss) on third down, the hosts lined up for a 37-yard field goal from Nicholas Whiteman with 12 seconds on the clock. Martin, who has shown a penchant for blocking kicks this year, blocked his third of the season as time expired sending the visitors into the locker room with a one touchdown lead.
The Eagles and Braves exchanged punts to begin the third quarter, and after taking over on their own 32 yard line, Van Raaphorst took a first down reverse 19 yards to the Braves 49. On the ensuing play, Palmer (12-of-21 for 168 yards) handed it to Petero who tossed it back to his quartreback on a flea flicker play, and the signal caller threw a perfect strike to Grant Mosley (5 receptions for 76 yards) for a touchdown making the score 21-7 at the 8:28 mark.
For the next 13:28 the teams couldn't muster much offense as both teams made key stops. Sophomore defensive end Kingston Jimmerson's (five tackles) sack of Malau'ulu on the first play of the fourth quarter resulted in a ten-yard loss forcing a punt. Taking over with 7:00 remaining in the game the Eagles went on a methodical ten-play 73-yard drive -- highlighted by a spectacular 29-yard catch and run by freshman wide receiver Kiyan Callis (six receptions 81 yards) and twenty-two yards of tough running by Petero -- that ended with a Palmer merciful kneel down from the Braves' two to run out the clock thus sealing the milestone win.
Santa Margarita showed poise in a tough environment and highly physical contest by getting flagged a season-low three times. The big story, once again, was the defense which was in its usual spectacular form. After taking advantage of a short field to set up their only touchdown the Braves crossed midfield just once late in the second quarter only to come up empty. Malau'ulu, who had torched the Eagles for four touchdown passes in last year’s 27-14 Braves win, which happened to be the most recent Eagles loss, had a difficult evening completing just 12-of-24 passes for a mere 113 yards.
The vaunted Braves ground game, led by speedy senior Maliq Allen was held to just 59 yards rushing on 21 attempts. Through eight games the Eagles have allowed only 246 yards rushing (30.8 yards per game) and 44 points (5.5 per game). Defensive standouts besides Brandon and Williams included freshman linebacker Aydan Steen who registered six tackles and shared a key sack with junior linebacker Curren King (five tackles) on third-and-three to open the second half. Also making key plays were senior defensive tackle Isaia Vandermade who tallied four tackles and two quarterback hurries and freshman edge player Kaleb Herndon who recorded four tackles of his own.
This week the Eagles will return to Saddleback College for their final regular season home game against JSerra Catholic (4-4, 0-2). If the Eagles win they will earn at least a share of their second-consecutive Trinity League Championship. Kickoff is set for Friday, October 23rd at 7:00 p.m.
| Santa Margarita | 7 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 21 |
| St. John Bosco | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
SJB – Moaalii 28 pass from Malau'ulu (Whiteman kick)
SM – Brandon 55 interception return (Koga kick)
SM – Petero 1 run (Koga kick)
SM – G. Mosley 49 pass from F. Palmer (Koga kick)
INDIVIDUAL LEADERS
Rushing: SM - Petero 16-51, Van Raaphorst 1-19; SJB - Allen 13-40;
Passing: SM - F. Palmer 12-21-0-167; SJB - Malau'ulu 12-24-2-113;
Receiving: SM - Callis 6-80, G. Mosley 5-76; SJB - Moaalii 3-58;
Summary by Adrian Peters
Statistics by Shane Mielke
