ILH Football
Saint Louis thwarts Punahou, 28-14, to repeat as ILH Division I champs


   



Fri, Oct 21, 2016 @ Aloha Stadium [ 7:45 pm ]


Final 1 2 3 4 T
Punahou (7-3-0) 0 14 0 014
Saint Louis (10-1-0) 7 14 0 728
Tua Tagovailoa 192 yd 2 TD
Nick Kapule 219 yd 1 TD
Ronson Young 84 yd 2 TD
Enoch Nawahine 35 yd 1 TD
Ronson Young 94 yd 2 TD

No. 3 Saint Louis put the pressure on and had Young ideas in taking down No.2 Punahou, 28-14, to defend its Interscholastic League of Honolulu Division I football championship Friday at Aloha Stadium.

Both teams will represent the ILH in the new six-team Open state tournament, so there is a chance they could meet a record fourth time in one season.

The Crusaders (8-1) sacked Punahou quarterback Nick Kapule four times and intercepted him an astounding five times to deny the Buffanblu (7-2) for the second year in a row. It was the fifth time the teams met for the third time in a season; Saint Louis has won four.

On the other side, Saint Louis ran the ball 36 times to 19 pass attempts. Quarterback Tua Tagovailoa rushed for a game-high 102 yards on 16 carries and was 10 of 19 for 192 yards passing with two TDs and one interception.

"It's such a good feeling," Saint Louis defensive lineman Kaeo Freitas said of the victory and title. "We've been working so hard for this since May."

But Crusaders aren't content with the school's 37th ILH title. There still is the inaugural Open state tournament coming up.

"Anything feels good when you win," Tagovailoa said, "but at the same time, you can't get complacent."

Slot Ronson Young scored all four of Saint Louis' TDs. He had five rceptions for 94 yards, including a 52- and 31-yard TDs. He also rushed for 84 yards on 12 carries with TD runs of 10 and 5 yards.

"He made me look good tonight," Tagovailoa said of Young. "There were a lot of opportunities that I missed, but at the same time, (Young) came and saved us and it could not have been done without the help of our defense as well."

Defense was the key for Saint Louis. In the two regular-season meetings, Kapule was a combined 60 of 87 for 753 yards and eight TDs with no picks. Friday he was a pedestrian 24 of 40 for 219 yards and one TD. He entered the night having thrown three interceptions.

The Crusaders changed up their pass rush, using stunts to confuse Punahou's offensive line.

"We were running the twist and their O-line couldn't compensate," Freitas said.

The pressure accounted for some of the interceptions by Kama Moore, Isaiah Tufaga, Isaac Slade-Matautia, Jalen Saole and Rick Sandry.

"I'm an old guy, so I don't think it's complicated, but for the young guys, our young linemen, they were some things they haven't seen," Ane said. "I think it was hard for them, but we should be able to pick those up. We will in the future."

Tagovailoa rushed for 102 yards, his second 100-yard rushing game; the other (104 yards) also was against Punahou. While QBs are supposed to look pass first in the run-and-shoot, Tagovailoa feigned dropping back and rushed on designed run plays.

"That was the game plan," Tagovailoa said. "We just had to go with it."

It did not surprise Punahou coach Kale Ane.

"I knew he would have to run to keep us off the field, control the tempo and everything," Ane said. "He got banged up a little bit, but he's a tough guy and came back."

Saint Louis stormed out to a 21-0 lead through Young's running and receiving skills. He caught a 52-yard TD pass from Tagovailoa. Young caught the pass in the right flat and sprinted toward the end zone, but met a Punahou defender at the 3. Young spun out of the grasp and continued to the end zone.

The Crusaders then cashed in on a punt muffed by Punahou's Tamaota Falatea, who tried to jump away from the bouncing ball that instead clipped him and Saint Louis recovered at the Buffanblu 20. Four plays later, Young scored on a 10-yard run to make it 14-0.

An interception by Tufaga – it came after Marist Liufua intercepted a Tagovailoa pass – was Punahou's fourth turnover of the half. The Crusaders then scored on a 5-yard run by Young to make it 21-0 with 4:55 left in the half.

Punahou moved 66 yards in six plays – the big gainer was a 32-yard completion from Kapule to Takeyama – before RB Enoch Nawahine scored on an 8-yard run to pull the Buffanblu to 21-7 with 2:42 left in the half.

Punahou's Miki Suguturaga sacked and forced a fumble by Tagovailoa that was recovered by Hale Motuapuaka at the Saint Louis 31. Three plays later, Kapule hit Keala Martinson for a 6-yard TD pass to make it 21-14 with 1:34 left in the half.

Saint Louis got the ball back with 1:27 left, but punted and three downs and Punahou took over at its 35 with 54 seconds left and one timeout. Punahou's Jeff Chan tried a 44-yard field goal, but it fell short as the half ended.

Saint Louis insured its lead with the only score of the second half. After having a 55-yard TD pass from Tagovailoa to Young nullified by a holding penalty – one of 18 for 147 yards against the Crusaders – Saint Louis made up for it later in the drive with a 31-yard TD pass from the same combination.



Reach Stacy Kaneshiro at [email protected].




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