Servite Football takes on St. John Bosco team struggling with departure of starting QB – Orange County Register

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Servite’s matchup this week against St. John Bosco in Trinity League football took a surprising turn Monday with the transfer of Braves starting quarterback Matai Fuiava to Kahuku, Hawaii.

On Tuesday, Fuiava’s older brother Robert confirmed that the junior has signed with Kahuku (6-3) and hopes to play visiting Campbell (7-0), Hawaii’s No. 1 seed, on Saturday.

The in-season transfer makes freshman QB Koa Malau’ulu the likely starter for St. John Bosco (7-0, 2-0) when it faces Servite (6-1, 1-1) in the teams’ Brotherhood Bowl on Friday. competes at SoFi Stadium.

Malau’ulu made his first and only start in the Braves’ Trinity League opener against Orange Lutheran on October 4. Fuiava was reported to have recovered from his injuries and was available, but did not play as Malau’ulu led the Braves to a thrilling 28-24 victory.

Fuiava returned to start against Santa Margarita last week but drew a draw in Malau’ulu’s 13-0 win.

Servite isn’t the only Orange County team that will be affected by the change at St. John Bosco, ranked No. 2 in the country according to MaxPreps. The Braves play No. 1 Mater Dei next week and JSerra in Week 10 in the Trinity League.

Servite, ranked 31st nationally according to MaxPreps, has faced his own challenges as a quarterback.

Starter Leo Hannan hasn’t played since suffering an injury against Chaminade on Sept. 6. Friars coach Chris Reinert said last week that the committed Michigan State senior’s recovery was progressing.

Last week, Servite started sophomore Colin O’Connor at quarterback against Mater Dei and played freshman Allen Kennett V.