No. 12 St. John's College vs. No. 7 St. John BoscoSep 23, 2017 by Kolby Paxton
Uiagalelei, Holani Lead St. John Bosco To Come-From-Behind Victory
Uiagalelei, Holani Lead St. John Bosco To Come-From-Behind Victory
St. John Bosco rallies to defeat St. John's 21-17
Pitching in relief, super sophomore D.J. Uiagalelei sparked a late St. John Bosco (CA) rally and led the seventh-ranked Braves to a 21-17 victory over No. 12 St. John's (DC) in a game that was controlled by the Cadets for more than three quarters.
St. John's (2-2) led 10-0 at halftime after Ronald Cook provided the game's first touchdown with a short touchdown plunge from a little more than a yard out. And, as the teams headed into their respective locker rooms, Bosco's players were serenaded with chants of "overrated" -- a taunt that would become a rallying cry for visitors.
The Braves (3-1) answered on their opening drive of the second half as George Holani powered in off the right side to tighten things up, but St. John's extinguished the momentum almost immediately with an 81-yard touchdown strike from Kevin Doyle to Mordecai McDaniel to give the hosts a 17-7 lead.
Quarterback Re-al Mitchell was intercepted on both of the Braves' next two possessions -- the second of which, with less than seven minutes remaining, seemed to seal Bosco's fate. But on the following possession, head coach Jason Negro made the bold decision to insert Uiagalelei -- and it worked.
Uiagalelei completed his first two pass attempts before finding Holani on a screen pass for a 21-yard score to cut the St. John's lead to 17-14 -- and the pair wasn't done yet.
After the defense forced the Cadets three-and-out, Uiagalelei and the offense took over on the plus-47-yard line with four minutes to go. The sophomore kept the drive alive with a third down conversion on a 20-yard completion to Devon Cooley. Three plays later, Holani put the Braves up for the first time with a two-yard run with 1:59 to play.
Uiagalelei finished 5-for-8 for 83 yards and a touchdown. Mitchell was 19-for-24 with 202 passing yards, 50 rushing yards on eight carries, and the two interceptions. Cooley paced Bosco with 122 yards on nine receptions.
• Follow us on Instagram @FloFootball
• Follow us on Facebook
St. John's (2-2) led 10-0 at halftime after Ronald Cook provided the game's first touchdown with a short touchdown plunge from a little more than a yard out. And, as the teams headed into their respective locker rooms, Bosco's players were serenaded with chants of "overrated" -- a taunt that would become a rallying cry for visitors.
The Braves (3-1) answered on their opening drive of the second half as George Holani powered in off the right side to tighten things up, but St. John's extinguished the momentum almost immediately with an 81-yard touchdown strike from Kevin Doyle to Mordecai McDaniel to give the hosts a 17-7 lead.
Quarterback Re-al Mitchell was intercepted on both of the Braves' next two possessions -- the second of which, with less than seven minutes remaining, seemed to seal Bosco's fate. But on the following possession, head coach Jason Negro made the bold decision to insert Uiagalelei -- and it worked.
Uiagalelei completed his first two pass attempts before finding Holani on a screen pass for a 21-yard score to cut the St. John's lead to 17-14 -- and the pair wasn't done yet.
After the defense forced the Cadets three-and-out, Uiagalelei and the offense took over on the plus-47-yard line with four minutes to go. The sophomore kept the drive alive with a third down conversion on a 20-yard completion to Devon Cooley. Three plays later, Holani put the Braves up for the first time with a two-yard run with 1:59 to play.
Uiagalelei finished 5-for-8 for 83 yards and a touchdown. Mitchell was 19-for-24 with 202 passing yards, 50 rushing yards on eight carries, and the two interceptions. Cooley paced Bosco with 122 yards on nine receptions.
Join The Conversation On Social
• Follow us on Twitter @FloFootball_• Follow us on Instagram @FloFootball
• Follow us on Facebook