Lason Napuunoa’s clutch 38-yard field goal gave No. 2 Saint Louis a 27-25 victory over No. 3 Mililani in the Open Division semifinals of the First Hawaiian Bank/HHSAA Football State Championships on Saturday night at Farrington’s Skippa Diaz Stadium.
“I can’t do anything without the line blocking and helping me make that kick,” said Napuunoa shortly after the game ended while crying with joy. “I’m just a kicker. Of course there was pressure. I always feel pressure when I’m trying to make a field goal. I just had to make that kick. I just had to kick the damn ball through.”
Saint Louis’ Lason Napuunoa gave his team the win with a 38-yard field goal.
Napuunoa’s boot came with 5:46 remaining and the Crusaders (6-3) had to work to hold off the Trojans (5-3) the rest of the way. When Kawaihinano Kalaukoa broke up Mililani quarterback Emana Tarape’s long pass to Gavin Hunter as time expired, all of the Saint Louis players ran onto the field for a wild celebration.
Wild can also describe what happened earlier in the fourth quarter, right after Mililani’s Nehemiah Timoteo’s 12-yard touchdown run brought the Trojans to within a point, 24-23, with 6:57 left.
A gutsy call by Mililani coach Rod York allowed Mililani to all of a sudden take a one-point, 25-24 lead. Instead of an extra-point try, York called for a 2-point conversion. Tarape, who lined up as a receiver instead of a quarterback, caught the go-ahead conversion on a trick-play pass from John Herold-Namu.
But the ILH champion Crusaders didn’t crumble. On the drive downfield to set up the winning field goal, Saint Louis quarterback AJ Bianco connected with slotback Jaysen de Laura for a 40-yard connection.
With the win, the Crusaders move on to play No. 1 Kahuku (9-0) in the state Open Division championship game Thursday at 7 p.m. at Skippa Diaz Stadium. Saint Louis is the four-time reigning champions and the Red Raiders are seeking their first title since 2015 and ninth overall.
Bianco rushed for 62 yards and passed for 185 more, but he did not have a TD pass, was pressured all night and wound up getting sacked three times.
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On the other side, Tarape threw for 190 yards and two TDs and led the Trojans to an early 14-7 lead.
The defensive standouts in the game were many. For Saint Louis, Iona Purcell recovered Blaze Holani’s punt block in the end zone for the Crusaders’ first TD and a 7-0 lead. And aside from making the final defensive play, Kalaukoa finished with five tackles, two forced fumbles, a pass breakup and an interception.
“Mililani came out strong today,” Purcell said. “We just had to execute our plays and our assignments. We came out firing and we made some little mistakes. But we are looking forward to playing Kahuku. They’re a great passing offense and a great rushing offense with a great defense. We just have to come out strong.”
Saint Louis linebacker Iona Purcell scored Saint Louis’ first touchdown.
About Napunoa’s heroics, Purcell added: “He practices his kicks every day.”
On the defensive side of the ball for Mililani, Joshua Fetu (forced fumble), Kamaehu Roman (fumble recovery, sack) and Tye Barbour all had seven tackles, and Kaymen Tago Su’e added six tackles, including a sack.
Mililani’s Timoteo, who rushed for 106 yards, said, “It was a very good game,” before admitting that he was bummed out with the result.
The Saint Louis vs Kahuku championship game
