Long ago, football was a lot more about a field-position battle than a fast-break passing war.
Nowadays, teams cross the 50 and go for it on fourth down, feeling like it’s not a risky thing.
But, oh, in the old days, let me tell you, if it was not close enough for a field goal, you would be PUNTING.
You see, if you get a good angle on it, you can pin your opponents deep in the other team’s territory. Blah, blah, blah. Yo, I’m not a coach, so you don’t have to listen to me.
The point is, offenses have gotten so skillful that the urge is to keep it going and your chances are good that you will hit the end zone. Four cracks at a first down are mathematically better than three.
Well, this “go for it” strategy backfired for four-time defending state Open Division champion Saint Louis on Friday night in a 23-21 loss to Kamehameha at Aloha Stadium.
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The final score on the Aloha Stadium Jumbotron.
The Crusaders were actually fortunate in turning two fourth-down situations into touchdowns. That allowed them to climb back from a 10-0 deficit into a 14-0 lead.
Another way of looking at it: the dice were falling the right way early on.
But, an inspired Kamehameha defense — buffeted by a solid, time-consuming running game as the key to the upset — won the other fourth-down battles. All told, Saint Louis was 3-for-8 on fourth down. And even worse than that, the Crusaders were 2-for-1o on third downs.
“We had our chances and we didn’t make plays down the stretch,” Saint Louis head coach Ron Lee told Bedrock Sports Hawaii on Saturday morning.
Instead of being in a sulky mood, Lee instead seemed exhilarated at the possibilities for some great football going into the ILH second round.
“Give Kamehameha credit,” he added. “They played well. I knew they were underrated on their offensive line. That line was solid. I saw that at the Punahou game (a 33-28 Kamehameha loss) and that running back (Noah Bartley, 127 yards for the Warriors in the upset win) is special. They did some things on defense that confused us a little bit. They had a lot of energy and I saw that when we scrimmaged them. Their staff and coach Abu (Maafala) came back and did a nice job on us. They should have beaten Punahou and had their chance. It’s is going to be competitive the next round. Tough. All of the games have been really good high school football, considering the postponements. It’s very balanced. It’s all about who steps up now.”
What a true sport.
Lee sees Kamehameha as having the edge.
“To me, they are the favorites in our league,” he said. “They look really good, well-coached. We need to pick it up in the next few weeks. I saw little bit of our guys not making plays in the crucial parts of the game. We missed some assignments. We we will be working fundamentals, giving them situations to work on. We were really bad on third and fourth down and missed some big, big plays that could have been huge. Games like this come down to a couple of plays. We drove into field goal range with a chance to score. We didn’t make the big play.”
Instead, with 1:14 left and Saint Louis with the ball at the Kamehameha 25, the Warriors’ Dylan Palama rushed in off the right side to sack Crusaders quarterback AJ Bianco on fourth down and 5. Game over.
“I told team our team that this is why we play, this is why we coach, and that sometimes you win and you forget how to to lose,” Lee said. “Most of our accolades are coming from the past. This is a new team. They have to make their own identity. What is a real positive is the fact that we got beat. How are we going to react?”
The rematch is Oct. 15 at 7:30 p.m. at Aloha Stadium.
ILH Open Standings
Team. W. L. PF. PA
Kamehameha. 1. 1. 51. 54
Saint Louis. 1. 1. 62. .46
Punahou. 1. 1. 56. 69
ILH Open Schedule
FRIDAY, AUG. 27
>> No. 4 Punahou 33, No. 6 Kamehameha 28, at Aloha Stadium
SATURDAY, SEPT. 18
>> No. 1 Saint Louis 41, at No. 4 Punahou 23
FRIDAY, SEPT. 24
>> No. 6 Kamehameha 23, No. 1 Saint Louis 21, at Aloha Stadium
FRIDAY, OCT. 1
>> Punahou vs. Kamehameha, at Aloha Stadium, 7:30 p.m.
FRIDAY, OCT. 8
>> Punahou vs. Saint Louis, at Aloha Stadium, 7:30 p.m.
FRIDAY, OCT. 15
>> Saint Louis vs. Kamehameha, at Aloha Stadium, 7:30 p.m.
FRIDAY, OCT. 22
>> Playoff, Seed 2 vs. Seed 3, at Aloha Stadium, time TBA
FRIDAY, OCT. 29
>> Championship game, Winner Seed 2/3 vs. Seed 1, time TBA
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