Saint Louis running back Saitaua Lefau had four receptions for 102 yards and a touchdown in a 56-22 win over Mililani. Steve Erler | Special to SL

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Fri, Nov 13, 2015 @ Aloha Stadium [ 7:30 pm ]

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Mililani

30

Saint Louis

56

Final	1	2	3	4	T
Mililani (10-3-0)	14	0	0	16	30
Saint Louis (9-2-0)	14	35	7	0	56

• Pass
• Rush
• Rec

Tua Tagovailoa 376 yd 3 TD

Cy Kuboyama-Hayashi 165 yd 2 TD

Tua Tagovailoa 58 yd 2 TD

Vavae Malepeai 258 yd 1 TD

Saitaua Lefau 102 yd 1 TD

Kalakaua Timoteo 158 yd 3 TD

HALAWA — A new state champion will be crowned next week.

Led by a masterful performance by quarterback Tua Tagovailoa and a 35-point second quarter, Saint Louis dethroned defending champion Mililani, 56-30, on a blustery, rain-soaked night before 11,704 fans at Hawaiian Airlines Field at Aloha Stadium Friday.

The Crusaders, who are ranked atop the Hawaiian Electric/ScoringLive Power Rankings and the top seed in the six-team First Hawaiian Bank/Hawaii High School Athletic Association Division I State Championships, improved to 9-1 with their fifth consecutive win and advanced to next Friday's state final, where they will play second-seeded Kahuku.

"Well first and foremost all the glory goes to God," Tagovailoa said. "I think the difference was we just had to stay composed, we just had to play our game. I mean, we knew they were a great defense so we just decided to come out and play our offense."

Tagovailoa, a 6-foot-1, 210-pound junior, threw for 376 yards on 15-of-18 passing in just one half of work. He threw three touchdown passes through the air and added two other scores by rush.

"We've come a long way as a team, as brothers, but nothing has changed throughout the process," Tagovailoa said. "It's a great feeling, but throughout all of this all glory goes to God."

Saint Louis, the Interscholastic League of Honolulu titlist, will return to the state championship game for the first time since 2010, when it won its last of three state titles.

"I just thought that we were fortunate, very fortunate — you know, maybe the weather or whatever — but we had some turnovers and that was the key for tonight's game and then of course, Tua — what can you say? — he played a hell of a game," said Crusaders' coach Cal Lee, who led them to their first state crown in 1999 — the inaugural year of the state tournament. "I've been there, these guys haven't and it's more important for them to get there and finish."

Mililani committed eight turnovers — four interceptions and four fumbles — which led to 35 Saint Louis points.

"We came together and told ourselves that it was a zero-zero game," said defensive back Ronson Timbreza, who picked off two passes. "We were up by so much, but we told ourselves that it was a zero-zero game and we had to come back stronger and press the pedal to the medal."

The Trojans finished with more total yards offensively (555) than the Crusaders did (548), but couldn't overcome their miscues, including three interceptions thrown by quarterback McKenzie Milton.

"Turnovers just killed us tonight," said Mililani coach Rod York, who added that the wet weather did not factor into his team's poor ball security.

Milton, the reigning All-Hawaii Offensive Player of the Year, finished with just 82 yards on 5-of-14 passing and left the game in the second quarter after he was on the receiving end of a punishing hit from a Saint Louis defender. He did not return. York said Milton re-injured his right (throwing) shoulder, the same one he hurt earlier this year that forced him to miss four games.

It was Mililani that scored first Friday night and held leads of 7-0 and 14-7 in the first quarter, but Saint Louis answered with 42 consecutive points — 35 in the second quarter — to break it open.

Tagovailoa's 76-yard touchdown pass to Drew Kobayashi late in the first quarter tied it at 14 and went a long way to open up some other options offensively for Saint Louis.

"No question, no question. I mean, that kind of hits you right here when you have something like that," Lee said, pointing to his heart.

The Crusaders took the lead for good on a 22-yard touchdown pass from Tagovailoa to Jahvin Spear and two plays after Timbreza's second pick, Tagovailoa scampered into the end zone from five yards out to make it a 28-14 lead.

Saint Louis went ahead by three scores after a 17-yard Tagovailoa-to-Saitaua Lefau shovel pass.

Mililani turned it over on its next two drives — both on fumbles — and Saint Louis recycled it into a 39-yard Tagovailoa touchdown run and a 6-yard Jimmy Gonsalves touchdown run to take a 49-14 lead into the intermission.

"We made some plays defensively with the turnovers. We had to be there," Lee said. "We were very fortunate the way the ball came out. They were driving and then we were fortunate again to pick off a pass or a fumble. It's crazy the way the ball bounces."

Timbreza said the key for the Crusaders defensively was to stick to their game plan and play disciplined.

"Our preparation was to stay deep and let the linebackers handle the underneath stuff so we could pick up the ball and read (Milton's eyes)," Timbreza said.

Mililani entered the game averaging nearly 53 points a game.

"They did a tremendous job. They did an awesome job," Tagovailoa said of the defensive effort. "If it wasn't for the amount of turnovers that they gave us we would have never been blessed with the opportunity to be able to put points on the board."

Linebacker Isaac Slade-Matautia closed out the scoring for Saint Louis — fittingly enough — on a 64-yard fumble return midway through the third quarter.

Dylan Toilolo made a game-high 11 tackles, including a sack, and forced two fumbles. Jayce Smalley and Kaimana Young each had two sacks for the Crusaders.

Mililani got a pair of touchdowns in the fourth quarter, but it was too little, too late.

"Turnovers hurt us and credit coach Cal Lee and the Crusaders," York said. "They went out and they definitely earned this one and it's going to be a great championship game."

Running back Vavae Malepeai rushed for 266 yards on 33 carries with a touchdown and wide receiver Kalakaua Timoteo caught seven passes for 157 and three scores in the loss.

The Trojans, who were making their fourth consecutive appearance in the state semifinal round, saw their season end at 10-3.

Saint Louis matched the 56 points it scored in a semifinal win over Waimea in 1999 — the fourth most by a single team in a state-tournament game. The 86 total points scored is the third most in the 17-year history of the tournament.

ScoringLive reporter Stacy Kaneshiro contributed to this report.