Mark your calendar for Aug. 21 and, if you are a die-hard Saint Louis football fan, start booking a trip to Las Vegas.
The paperwork is being finalized for a Crusaders game against Bishop Gorman that day at the Gaels’ home field and another game in Hawaii in 2022.
The Aug. 21 game pits two of the top teams in the nation, and it’s a rematch of a 2019 game which the Crusaders won 31-19 at Aloha Stadium.
Quarterback Jayden DeLaura threw a TD pass to Koali Nishigaya (left) during Saint Louis’ 31-19 win over Bishop Gorman in 2019.
In 2012, the teams also met at Aloha Stadium, with the Gaels winning 52-40 on national TV.
“They’re really a solid team and I think they still have some really solid guys who were underclassmen two years ago that are seniors now,” said Ron Lee, who took over as Saint Louis’ head coach in place of brother Cal Lee in 2020.
The Crusaders, who have won four straight Open Division state championships, had also been in talks for games with nationally known Mater Dei (Santa Ana, Calif.) and Orem (Utah).
Playing Bishop Gorman, who won national titles in 2014, 2015 and 2016, makes a lot of sense for the Crusaders, according to both Ron and Cal Lee, who is now Saint Louis’ defensive coordinator.
“We are a lot more familiar with Las Vegas than L.A., in terms of where we are going to stay,” Ron Lee said.
And it’s true, there are a handful or more Las Vegas hotels that cater to Hawaii tourists.
During Bishop Gorman’s 2016 national championship season, the Gaels beat Saint Louis’ biggest rival, Kahuku, 35-7 in Las Vegas.
Ron Lee held 2021’s first team meeting Monday, the same day the team started official conditioning. The start of high school football practice in Hawaii is scheduled for mid-July.
“We’re very young on defense, pretty much have lost everybody from a very solid group (from the 2019 season and the 2020 non-season),” he said. “We’re OK on offense and have got some leadership there with our quarterbacks. They haven’t played (real games lately), but they’re pretty good. And we’ve lost all four wide receivers, so there will be plenty of openings there.”
The three quarterbacks Lee spoke about are senior A.J. Bianco, junior Kahi Graham and sophomore Kaunaoa Kamakawiwoole.
Among some others Lee said he is counting on as veteran leaders are senior offensive lineman Jonah Savaiinaea, senior center Ethan Spencer, and junior linebacker Iona Purcell.
Saint Louis returning offensive lineman Jonah Savaiinaea.
According to Ron Lee, Cal Lee faces the challenge of getting the young defense up to speed.
“I’m learning there are a lot of things a head coach has to do outside of football,” Ron Lee said. “Cal did that for many years. It will be good for him to put his focus on the defense.”
The last time the Crusaders played a real game was at the end of the 2019 season, when they lost to St. Thomas Aquinas (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) 35-19 in the GEICO State Champions Bowl Series in Las Vegas.
That loss snapped Saint Louis’ 38-game winning streak, dropping the Crusaders from No. 7 to No. 14 in the final MaxPreps national poll. St. Thomas Aquinas finished at No. 3.
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