Facing elimination, four-time defending champion and second-ranked Saint Louis routed No. 1 Kamehameha 41-7 last night in the Interscholastic League of Honolulu football playoffs Friday night.
For some, the lopsided victory at Aloha Stadium is a small surprise because the Warriors had won the previous two encounters by close margins. For most of the state’s fans, however, it’s really no surprise at all. The Crusaders are four-time defending Open Division state champions and have not given up the ILH crown since 2014.
Those in the know are fully aware that Mr. Ron Lee and Mr. Cal Lee — Saint Louis’ head and assistant coaches — have more than a few tricks up their sleeves.
And so, it was ALL Saint Louis (4-3) from start to finish. Now, the two teams meet again next week. For the second week in a row, not only will the Crusaders’ string of titles be on the line, but there will be an all-important state Open Division berth up for grabs.
This video above shows two Saint Louis plays, culminating in AJ Bianco’s 18-yard TD pass to Jaysen de Laura.
The Warriors (3-2) could have clinched the ILH title and the state berth Friday, but were outplayed in all facets of the game. They could not come up with the same magic that led to victories earlier this season over Saint Louis — 23-21 and 34-31.
AJ Bianco, the Saint Louis quarterback and University of Hawaii commit, had another stellar night, passing for 351 yards and three touchdowns.
AJ Bianco, shown throwing a TD pass against Bishop Gorman earlier this season, passed for 351 yards in Saint Louis’ 41-7 victory over Kamehameha on Friday night at Aloha Stadium. (Image credit: Las Vegas Sun).
The Crusaders came out on fire. On their first drive, Bianco’s pass to Jaysen de Laura for 42 yards led to Lason Napuunoa’s first of two field goals, a 30-yarder.
It looked like Kamehameha was going to get into high gear right away when Dwight Apao, in punt formation, rambled 24 yards on a fourth down to the Saint Louis 38, but the Warriors were stuffed on their next set of downs.
Bianco finished the half with scoring tosses of 45 yards to Devon Tauaefa and 18 yards to de Laura as well as a 13-yard TD run for a 27-0 Crusaders advantage at halftime.
The video above shows three Saint Louis plays, ending in AJ Bianco’s 13-yard TD run.
It was going to be difficult for the Warriors to come back from that 27-point deficit. But the second half was a bit better with Kamehmeha finally putting points on the board — Raiden Morris’ 40-yard TD catch of a Kealii Ah Yat pass with 7:44 left to go in the game.
Earlier, in the third quarter, the Crusaders had built 41-0 edge, thanks to Bianco’s 65-yard TD throw to Mason Muaau and Ola Apduhan’s 3-yard scoring run.
A major difference this time for Saint Louis was the defensive effort that kept the state’s leading rusher — Noah Bartley — to 32 yards on the ground. Leading the way on that side of the ball for the Crusaders were Kawaihinano Kalaukoa (six tackles), and Vincent Tautua (three tackles for loss) and Joshua Sagapolutele (two sacks).
The Saint Louis vs. Kamehameha ILH championship game is Friday night at 7 p.m. at Aloha Stadium.
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