VIDEO: OIA/ILH Football- Kahuku 49, Saint Louis 27

For once, Kahuku’s passing game stole the spotlight from the run-and-shoot Crusaders of Saint Louis.

Evan Moe was an efficient 9-for-13 for 166 yards and a touchdown, and two crucial second-half plays on special teams sparked the No. 1 Red Raiders to a surprisingly easy 49-27 win over No. 2 Saint Louis last night.

“I feel like we made a statement,” linebacker Ben Mamea said. “We’ll play as a team and not worry about the media.”

A crowd estimated at 4,500 by Kahuku athletic director Joe Whitford enjoyed what is believed to be the first-ever visit by the longtime private-school powerhouse Crusaders to the North Shore. Coach Reggie Torres’ squad made it a memorable night by controlling the second half after taking a narrow 21-20 lead into intermission.

“We made adjustments on our linebacking crew. We had to start plugging holes,” Mamea said. “We made a big change in the secondary, too.”

Mamea had one of his team’s two blocked punts. Tigi Hill, a safety, had the other in the first half.

“I made like I’d double the gunner,” Hill said of the first punt block of his life. “Coach Dave (Te’o) told me to go. I got so close so many times before.”

The Red Raiders (3-0) drove 80 yards and took nearly 6 minutes off the clock to start the second half. A 3-yard touchdown run by Tyrone Brown pushed Kahuku’s lead to 28-20 with 6:47 to go in the third quarter. (WATCH)Aofaga Wily finished with 85 yards on 21 carries, while Brown had 84 yards on nine attempts.

Saint Louis’ ensuing drive stalled, and a fake punt and incomplete pass by punter Aaron Goo gave Kahuku the ball at the Crusaders’ 26-yard line. Two plays later, Wily broke through on the left side for a 9-yard touchdown run and Kahuku had a 35-20 lead with 4:51 left in the third.

Moments later, Mamea raced in and blocked a punt by Goo, setting up an 11-yard return to the end zone by Mikeli Fiso. Kahuku led 42-20 with 2:38 remaining in the third.

Moe capped his night with a 9-yard scoring pass to Punga Vea on play-action and Kahuku led 49-20 with 9:33 remaining.

Saint Louis managed a score on a 5-yard pass from Marcus Mariota to Duke Bukoski with 3:23 to go.

(WATCH) Mariota, who opened the game with a scintillating sprint for a touchdown, stayed in the pocket all night despite some nifty gains on scrambles. He passed for 277 yards (25-for-43) and ran for 82 more on just seven attempts. The Crusaders resisted the temptation to let the speedy senior ad-lib much more against an aggressive Kahuku defense.

“We played our game plan and worked on what we needed to work on,” Crusaders coach Darnell Arceneaux said, noting next week’s Interscholastic League of Honolulu opener with Kamehameha. “We needed game experience in this kind of atmosphere.”

The first half was loaded with action offensively, lasting about 90 minutes.

Saint Louis scored on its second play from scrimmage when Mariota raced around left end on a keeper and sprinted 52 yards to the pylon for a 7-0 lead with 11:33 to go in the opening quarter.

Kahuku got on the scoreboard during its second series. A 38-yard strike from Moe to Vea sparked the drive, and Brown dashed off the left side for a 19-yard touchdown to tie it at 7-all with 7:22 left in the first. (WATCH)

The Saints’ special teams were a factor in the first half, thanks in large part to Jesse Correa, who drilled a 30-yard field goal to give his team a 10-7 lead with 5:09 remaining in the first. (WATCH)

The home team responded with a seven-play, 55-yard drive. Brown displayed his breakaway speed again, blasting off the left side for a 34-yard scoring jaunt to give Kahuku a 14-10 lead with 1:09 to go in the first. (WATCH)

The Saints bounced right back with an 11-play, 80-yard march. Mariota completed three passes for first downs, including a key 14-yard toss on fourth and 11 to Joshua Tupua. Keanu Mook-Garcia scored on a 4-yard run on the right side, and Saint Louis led 17-14 with 9:25 to go in the second quarter.

Both defenses settled in for most of the remaining time in the half until Kahuku’s special teams came up big. Hill blocked a punt, setting up a short 20-yard drive for Kahuku. Mamea lined up at running back in a power-I set and scored on a 2-yard dive as the Red Raiders regained the lead with 3 minutes left in the half, 21-17.

A 42-yard strike from Mariota to Tupua with 1.6 seconds to go in the half set up a 36-yard field goal by Correa, bringing the visitors within 21-20 at the break.

At Carleton Weimer Field

RUSHING—StL: Mariota 7-82, Keanu Mook-Garcia 9-37, Derek Nakasato 5-37, team 1-(minus-36). Kah: Wily 21-85, Brown 9-84, Moe 2-9, Fonoivasa Mataafa 2-9, Shawn Pahulu 1-3, Mamea 1-2.

PASSING—StL: Mariota 25-43-1-277, Aaron Goo 0-1-0-0. Kah: Moe 9-13-0-166.

RECEIVING—StL: Joshua Tupua 8-116, Bukoski 5-60, Kaeo Aliviado 5-52, Jared Tomaszek 4-27, Dallas Tuumalo 1-16, Jeremy Tabuyo 1-6, Nakasato 1-0. Kah: Vea 5-121, Sorensen 3-23, Shairone Thompson 1-22.

By ScoringLive staff
www.ScoringLive.com

KAHUKU – Kahuku turned a close game at the half into a rout with a three-touchdown third quarter to demolish Saint Louis, 49-27, Friday night at Carelton E. Weimer Athletic Field.

A standing-room only crowd of about 4,000 – including a large number of Saint Louis supporters – watched Saint Louis allow the most points in its history since it started playing football in 1920. In 1998, the Crusaders gave up 42 points and still won, 77-42, against Joe Igber-led Iolani.

The Crusaders (2-1) pulled to 21-20 with no time showing on the clock before the half on a 36-yard field goal by Jesse Correa, who also kicked one for 30 earlier in the game.

The Red Raiders (3-0) opened the second half with a five minute, 13-second scoring drive to increase their lead to 28-20. But they really blew it open after the Crusaders failed a fake punt on fourth-and-11 at their own 27, when punter Aaron Goo’s pass fell incomplete. It took the Red Raiders just two plays to score on tailback Aofaga Wily’s nine-yard touchdown run to begin the runaway, making it 35-20.

“It’s a check we made,” Crusaders’ coach Darnell Arceaneaux said. “It’s my fault. We weren’t clear on it. A couple guys weren’t clear on it. That’s on me. That’s something we have to work on, like clean up special teams.”

“That could’ve gone either way,” Kahuku coach Reggie Torres said. “It they had gotten it, they would’ve gained momentum themselves because they were struggling. It was a chance they took because we were giving up an such an area had they completed it. But our corner did a great job on the man technique. He stayed with that wide receiver and it messed things up on their part.”

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