You have to go back to 2013 in the history books to find the last time Kamehameha beat Saint Louis in an Interscholastic League of Honolulu football game.
Until Friday night.
The Warriors put a tight lid on top-ranked Saint Louis’ normally explosive passing attack and then held off the Crusaders’ last drive with 1:14 left for a huge 23-21 upset victory at Aloha Stadium.
Dylan Palama had the final say. He came around the right side to sack Saint Louis quarterback AJ Bianco on his blindside on fourth down and 5 from the Kamehameha 25. It was a do-or-die play for the Crusaders, something they’re not too accustomed to late in ballgames against Hawaii competition.
“Man, the adrenaline was rushing,” Palama told Bedrock Sports Hawaii as he walked toward the team bus in the North End zone tunnel after the win. “I just know that big-time players gotta make big-time plays, so … . Coach (assistant Matt Wright) has been putting in a lot of pressures in these last couple of weeks and he sent me off the edge. I was untouched and just used my speed and got there in time. No one thought we could do it, but we always knew we had the boys to do it. We’ve always believed and we just got it done.”
Added Warriors head coach Abu Maafala: “Coach Matt did a great job of just mixing it up all game and our defense did a great job of covering down, not giving Bianco a lot of options, just tight windows. It was a gutsy call and we made it. Our guys were just playing hard all game on defense and they took the coaching, and (everybody on the team) did everything they could and I’m just proud of the way they hung together. They responded to the challenge.”
Kamehameha’s Dylan Palama was an animal, coming up big on two
fourth-quarter stops. (Image credit: Nick Abramo / Bedrock Sports Hawaii).
After taking an early 10-0 lead, No. 6 Kamehameha (1-1, 1-1 ILH Open) trailed 14-10 at halftime, but the Warriors took the second half kickoff and drove 80 yards to regain a 17-14 edge on Noah Bartley’s 9-yard TD run.
A timely interception by Hunter Kaulana Ah Loo allowed Kamehameha to go up by nine points, 23-14, with 3:19 left in the third quarter. That turnover and backup quarterback Dwight Apao’s 31-yard pass to Blaze Kamoku set up Apao’s 1-yard TD sneak.
Apao, who started the game as a wide receiver, subbed in for Kealii Ah Yat, who missed a few series with some dings.
Saint Louis (1-2, 1-1 ILH Open) wasted little time getting back on the board to make it 23-21 with 1:06 remaining in the third. Bianco’s 26-yard pass to Jaysen de Laura led to Trech Kekahuna’s 34-yard catch and run of a Biano pass for a TD.
With about 9 minutes left, Kamehameha’s defense came up with the first of its two fourth-quarter stops. This time, heavy pressure with a quarterback hit by Palama made Bianco’s fourth-down pass sail incomplete. The play actually looked like Bianco was down by sack, but the referees did not rule it that way.
With exactly 5 minutes left in the game, Kawaihinano Kalaukoa’s interception of Ah Yat led to the Crusaders’ final possession that ultimately failed.
After the game, instead of a pile-on celebration for Kamehameha’s first victory over Saint Louis in eight years, the Warriors remained calm — like they’ve done it before.
Bartley finished with 127 tough rushing yards for Kamehameha.
“I don’t think we’re really going to make this a big deal,” Bartley said. “We just came out here and we wanted a win. I feel like we just gotta keep doing what we’re doing right now. I was just so happy (after Palama’s sack to end it), knowing that after that play we had it in the bag.”
Noah Bartley has gone over the 100-yard rushing mark in two games.
(Image credit: Nick Abramo Bedrock Sports Hawaii).
The Warriors know that the next time the two teams play on Oct. 15, Saint Louis will be out to avenge this rare loss to another Hawaii team. The last time the Crusaders lost against an in-state team was 33-20 to Punahou on Sept. 29, 2016, when Tua Tagovailoa was a Saint Louis senior.
That previous Crusaders loss to Kamehameha in 2013 was by a 38-17 count on Aug. 30.
In the first half Friday night, Kamehameha latched on tight to the momentum, with many inspired and clutch defensive plays. And had it not been for an untimely timeout and unsportsmanlike conduct penalty, the Warriors would have had a 14-0 lead.
Instead, Kamehameha jumped on top of the Crusaders by just 10 points, 10-0.
After the opening kickoff, that inspired Warriors defense made four straight stops on the potent Saint Louis offense, including a denial of the Crusaders on fourth down on three straight series followed by a Kyle Lee interception on Saint Louis’ next possession.
But those aforementioned miscues by Kamehameha hurt. Late in the first quarter, Ah Yat’s 20-yard pass to Apao and Bartley’s 9-yard run helped push the Warriors to the Saint Louis 1. On fourth down, Ah Yat went off tackle into the end zone, but it was ruled that Maafala called timeout before the play. On top of that, the Warriors were hit with a 15-yard unsportsmanlike penalty, bringing the ball back to the 16 and leading to Winston Freitas’ 33-yard field goal to break a scoreless tie.
With 7:25 to go in the second quarter, after Lee’s pick gave the Warriors the ball on the Crusaders’ 22, Ah Yat hit Kamoku with a 3-yard TD pass for that 10-0 bulge.
Kealii Ah Yat gets ready for a snap. Photo taken by a Samsung Galaxy S20 from high
in the press box. Media personnel were not allowed on the field due to COVID-19.
Generally speaking, it’s a poor sports journalism photo, but but not too bad, considering
the limitations. (Image credit: Nick Abramo / Bedrock Sports Hawaii).
Instead of continuing to hold on to that momentum, Kamehameha got burned hard by two fourth-down Saint Louis plays before halftime.
First, on fourth down and 9 from the Warriors’ 39, Bianco lofted a TD pass over the outstretched arms of two defenders and into the hands of Devon Tauaefa. Later, on fourth and 1 from the Kamehameha 31, Kekahuna beat hotly pursuing defenders around right end and went down the sideline all the way into the end zone. That put the Crusaders ahead for the first time, 14-10, with 35 seconds left before halftime.
Despite facing heavy pressure and tight coverage all night, Bianco threw for 344 yards, including 113 on 12 completions to Jaysen de Laura and 110 yards to Kekahuna.
And in the end, the Warriors came out on top with the rare upset.
“Everything we’ve been talking about, digging deep for moments like this, sticking together, it’s happening,” coach Maafala said. “And now, with all of the hard work the staff is putting in and all of the hard work that our kids are putting it, it was a great payday tonight.”
In the above video, Kamehameha enjoys a subdued celebration after the final seconds of the upset tick down.
Kamehameha 23, Saint Louis 21
At Aloha Stadium
No. 6 Kamehameha (1-1, 1-1 ILH Open). 3. 7. 13. 0. — 23
No. 1 Saint Louis (1-2, 1-1 ILH Open). 0. 14. 7. 0. — 21
KAMEHAMEHA—Winston Freitas FG 33
KAMEHAMEHA—Blaze Kamoku 3 pass from Kealii Ah Yat (Freitas kick)
SAINT LOUIS—Devon Tauaefa 39 pass from AJ Bianco (Lason Napuunoa kick)
SAINT LOUIS—Trech Kekauna 31 run (Napuunoa kick)
KAMEHAMEHA—Noah Bartley 9 run (Freitas kick)
KAMEHAMEHA—Dwight Apao 1 run (kick failed)
SAINT LOUIS— Kekahuna 34 pass from Bianco (Napuunoa kick)
RUSHING—Kamehameha: Bartley 21-127, Micah Mahiai 5-17, Apao 5-13, TEAM 2-(minus-6), Ah Yat 3-(minus-6). Saint Louis: Kekahuna 4-47, Keola Apduhan 4-14, Bianco 8-13, Chaz-Ayden Delto 2-7, Joshua Sagapolutele 1-0.
PASSING—Kamehameha: Ah Yat 7-19-1—68, Apao 1-4-0—26. Saint Louis: Bianco 30-44-2—344.
RECEIVING—Kamehameha: Kamoku 3-32, Kalanikuhikahi Lorenzo 2-25, Apao 1-20, Bartley 1-10, Levi Maafala 1-7. Saint Louis: Jaysen de Laura 12-113, Kekahuna 7-110, Tauaefa 4-70, Mason Muaau 2-28, Yosei Takahashi 2-14, Nicholas Delgadillo 1-5, Titan Lacaden 1-2, Randon Cordeiro 1-2.
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