SAFETY IN NUMBERS—ST. LOUIS ROLLS OVER KAILUA, 48-7

Bob Hogue Digital Sports Hawaii Senior Correspondent

33 seconds. That�??s all it took for the St. Louis Crusaders to explode Friday night in Kailua.

In a span of just 33 seconds late in the first
quarter, the Crusaders struck for 16 points�??two touchdowns and a
safety. After that, it was really no contest as top-ranked St.
Louis whipped the Surfriders, 48-7.

�??Once things started clicking, it kind of
snowballed out there,�?� said Crusader Head Coach Delbert Tengan.

Snowballed is probably the right term to
describe what occurred on a humid summer night in the crossover
pre-season game between traditional ILH and OIA powerhouses.

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   With 3:38 remaining in the first quarter,
Crusader senior quarterback Micah Mamiya, who had misfired on six of
his first eight passes, hit a streaking Ryan Iaea over the middle and
Iaea took it to the house, 70 yards for a St. Louis touchdown.
     A few seconds later, highly-recruited
defensive lineman Geordon Hanahano chased down Kailua quarterback Kale
Sumner for a safety and it was 9-nothing St. Louis.
     After a penalty negated a potential 72-yard
return for a touchdown by Tamatoa DeMello on the ensuing kick, the
Crusaders scored on their very first offensive play�??a 40-yard strike
from Mamiya to speedy junior receiver Billy Stutzmann to make it
16-nothing Crusaders with 3:05 left in the quarter.


Game photos provided by St. Louis Senior Josh Saio- Thaela Catala Photography Class!

     Add on a couple of extra points by Warren
Spencer, and you can almost call the Crusaders the two-second club, as
they scored 16 points in only 33 seconds.
     �??We started putting it together after Coach
talked to us,�?� Mamiya said after the game. �??When we got used to
it, things started to happen.�?�
     Mamiya finished 9 of 17 passing for 232 yards
and four touchdowns as the starters played only the first half for St.
Louis. Iaea had three receptions for 96 yards and a
touchdown. DeMello also caught three passes for 29 yards and a
touchdown. Stutzmann caught that one pass for a 40-yard score and
junior speedster Lucas Gonsalves added two receptions for 67 yards,
including a 44-yard dash down the sidelines for a touchdown.
     �??It�??s fun out there,�?� Gonsalves said.
     The St. Louis defense also had fun, scoring no
less than 12 points on three safeties and a 50-yard interception return
by Marcus Umu. The three safeties all came in the first half and
might be a school record, according to old-timers. Two of the
safeties occurred when Kailua had errant snaps in punt formation.


Game photos provided by St. Louis Senior Josh Saio- Thaela Catala Photography Class!

     �??Everybody did a good job out there�??both the
defense and the offense,�?� said senior defensive back Brandon
McKee. �??We gained enthusiasm off each other�??s big plays and built
off that.�?�
     The 41-point victory improved the unbeaten St.
Louis record to 2-0. The Crusaders face another OIA foe, Aiea,
next week. Then, they get a three way break before opening the
tough ILH season against powerful Punahou.
     �??We aren�??t perfect yet,�?� said DeMello.
�??But we did really good. If we work hard, we�??ll get better each
week.�?�
     That�??s the point that might scare other
teams. Because right now, both the St. Louis offense and defense
are doing the job.
     �??For a pre-season game, we got the best of
both worlds,�?� said Tengan. �??The offense and defense played well
and a lot of guys got to play. Plus, nobody got hurt. So,
we�??re happy.�?�


Game photos provided by St. Louis Senior Josh Saio- Thaela Catala Photography Class!

     Meanwhile, Kailua rotated quarterbacks between
Sumner and fellow junior Kenny Ellis. The two combined for a late
12-play 80-yard drive that consumed 10-minutes of the fourth
quarter. The long drive culminated with the Surfriders first
touchdown of the pre-season, a 15-yard pass from Sumner to Dominique
Romero to get Kailua on the board.
     The Surfriders, who open OIA conference play next week, saw their pre-season record drop to 1-1.
     St. Louis dropped virtually nothing except
points, and they did that in very quick fashion. You can take it
to the bank that they�??ll be ranked number one again this week.