St. John Bosco freshman Koa Malau'ulu shows he is the quarterback of the future with an outstanding performance

INGLEWOOD, CALIFORNIA – Koa Malau'ulu is either too naive to know any better, or he's simply made for it.

Only time will tell. He will get the biggest challenge of his young high school football career when St. John Bosco takes on rival Mater Dei — currently the No. 1 team in the country — on Oct. 25 in Santa Ana.

As for the “big stage” test, Malau'ulu aced the Braves' 27-17 victory over Servite at SoFi Stadium in Trinity League play in front of an estimated 6,900 spectators.

“He’s mature beyond his years,” St. John Bosco coach Jason Negro said. “He’s kind of unflappable. Even if he plays badly, he doesn’t really change his behavior and the best thing about Koa is that he’s a competitor.”

St. John Bosco is 8-0 and 3-0 in league play. Servite falls to 6-2 and 1-2 in league play.

“The Trinity League is the toughest conference in the country,” Negro added. “For him to give us three wins in the Trinity League is a pretty good start to his career.”

Malau'ulu showed no signs of nervousness, throwing for 185 yards on 14 of 20 passes and three touchdowns – two of them to superstar junior Madden Williams. Carson Clark was the recipient of the other touchdown pass.

“All glory to God, he gave me the opportunity to play this game and I really took it to another level with this team,” Malau'ulu said in his postgame interview on Bally Sports West. “But we have to put our heads down and keep working.”

Junior Matai Fuiava began the year as St. John Bosco's QB1, with Malau'ulu receiving reps in every game this season. However, a few weeks ago, Fuiava suffered an injury that sidelined him and gave way to Malau'ulu, who took full advantage of the opportunity in a game against Orange Lutheran, completing 24 of 32 for 272 yards and four touchdowns in the second half.

Earlier this week, it was announced that Fuiava was transferring to Hawaii Kahuku, making Malau'ulu the QB1 not just for 2024, but for the foreseeable future.

“Right now (Koa) has the keys to the ship,” Negro said. “We're going to trust him and that's what you have to do with an experienced coaching staff and a young player like Koa – allow him to play freely – and that's what he's capable of doing.” His best days are ahead in front of him.”

The freshman standout already has a 3-star rating on 247Sports.com and is listed at 6-foot-1 and 165 pounds.

Servite running back Quaid Carr was outstanding in the loss. The San Diego State commit ran for 145 yards and two touchdowns on 15 carries. He amassed more than 100 yards midway through the second quarter.