Welch's view of Open final was a unique one

John Lujan | SL

Of the more than 20,000 people that saw first-hand Saint Louis' 30-14 upset of top-ranked Kahuku, perhaps no one had quite as unique a perspective on the game as Gerald Welch.

Welch, a Saint Louis assistant, was in the peculiar position of having been on the opposite sideline of Hawaiian Tel FCU Field at Aloha Stadium in the same game just a year ago.

"I was fortunate enough to be on that staff last year," said Welch, who oversees the Crusaders' slotbacks.

Welch, you might recall, was quite the pass-catcher himself back in his day. He posted a 115-catch season (for 1,446 yards and 27 touchdowns) as a senior and was a three-time all-state selection. Welch, who went on to play at the University of Hawaii, is widely regarded as one of the top receivers in state history.

These days, Welch is hoping it's the players that do more of the catching on.

"It's all about the kids all the time," Welch said. "For all coaches it's all for the kids."

That's what made the end result of Saturday's thriller bittersweet for Welch.

"Vae Tata is a great coach, but I'm working at Saint Louis now," he said. "Coach Cal (Lee) offered me a job and it's a true blessing, but so was my time at Kahuku. I feel for those kids over there because they worked hard all season, too, just like our kids did."

Tata, Kahuku's second-year coach, is certainly no stranger to Saint Louis and its brotherhood. Much like Welch did years after him, Tata excelled on the gridiron for the Crusaders as an all-state player.

Tata was brief with his words after the loss — the Red Raiders' first to a Hawaii opponent in more than two years — but made sure to congratulate his one-time coach.

"Hats off to Saint Louis, Cal Lee and his staff. They did a phenomenal job and the better team won tonight," Tata said.

Welch had a gut feeling he would see Tata and his buddies from the North Shore in the final game of the season.

"I was hoping, because they're such a good team and if you want to be the best, you have to beat the best and sure enough, we wanted to play these guys to get back for last year," Welch said. "Just being able to come back and come out here, being the underdogs we nothing to lose and we played like it."

One player that Welch was happy to be on the same sideline as this time around was Crusaders' star quarterback Tua Tagovailoa. The senior southpaw put on a masterful performance and seemingly willed his team to victory — against a defense that had allowed double-digit points just twice all year.

"I think he played an awesome game. He threw the long ball well tonight, he ran the ball well and he took care of that football," Welch said. "His running, his passing and just his overall leadership of the team makes his special. He's a positive role model to everybody at Saint Louis, including the younger kids, and he just comes out to work every day, puts in the work and is a very humble, very likable kid."

While Tagovailoa's talented are headed to the Tuscaloosa and the national champion Crimson Tide, Welch, it seems, is staying put right where he is.

"Hats off to Tua and good luck in his new career at Alabama," Welch said. "I just wish we had him back next year."

Reach Kalani Takase at [email protected].