Top-ranked Kahuku rallies, escapes with narrow win over No. 4 Saint Louis

Brian Bautista | SL

A season-opening matchup between two of the state's blue bloods in prep football did not disappoint.

Top-ranked Kahuku overcame a scoreless first half to rally past No. 4 Saint Louis for a thrilling 14-13 win at Carleton E. Weimer Field Saturday night.

The Red Raiders (1-0) ralied from a 13-point deficit with 14 second-half points then hung on to escape with the narrow victory over the visiting Crusaders (0-1), who had a chance to win it with a potential walk-off field goal on the game's final play.

Kahuku trailed for much of the night until quarterback Troy Mariteragi hit tight end Noah Ah You for a 25-yard touchdown pass with 8:50 left to play to tie the score at 13. Brody Palolo knocked through the ensuing extra point to give his team the lead for good.

However, Saint Louis had several more shots to reclaim the lead in the closing minutes. It began its final possession with 23 seconds left at its own 28-yard line. The Crusaders drove to the Kahuku 26-yard line after a 42-yard completion from Nainoa Lopes to Hashley Kingston Siliado and a nine-yard pick-up on a Lopes' pass to Jordan Nunuha. That set-up a 43-yard field goal for the potential go-ahead score, but Makani Markle-Kane's kick missed wide right as time expired.

Both offenses struggled to sustain drives and put points on the board for much of the night. Kahuku's rushing attack was limited to just 24 yards on 23 carries, while the Saint Louis aerial attack was held to 135 yards on 14-of-32 passing.

Instead it was the defensive units that shined bright. The Red Raiders did not allow a single third-down conversion by the Crusaders (0 of 12) and vice versa, the Crusaders' defense kept the Red Raider offense to just 1 of 14 on third downs.

Kahuku tallied 12 tackles for loss and four sacks. Defensive lineman Ben Roberts racked up four stops behind the line of scrimmage, including three sacks, while linebacker Falealii Atuaia added three TFLs and one sack. Madden Soliai recorded a team-high seven tackles and came up with an interception.

TJ Alualu and Jahren Altura tallied 6 1/2 tackles apiece for the Crusaders. Altura also had one pick and broke up two other passes in the loss.

Saint Louis got on the board with a 22-yard field goal by Makena Kauai that was set-up by Madden-Rush Ahuna's recovery of a Kahuku fumble that was caused by teammate Mahana Alameda.

The Red Raiders fumbled again on their next possession and the Crusaders recycled the takeaway into a 39-yard field goal by Markle-Kane just four seconds into the second quarter.

The Crusaders capped a six-play, 61-yard drive with an 11-yard touchdown run by Tahlen Kekawa with 8:05 left until halftime. Kauai tacked on the extra point to stretch it to a 13-0 lead.

With its rushing offense stymied through the first two quarters, Kahuku turned to a short-to-intermediate passing attack after the intermission. The adjustment yielded a 15-play, 66-yard drive that included a pair of fourth-down conversions and culminated with a 20-yard TD pass from Mariteragi to Halahuni Langi to get the Red Raiders on the board with 4:20 left in the third quarter.

The game early on was marred by numerous stoppages and a multitude of penalty flags. Kahuku was flagged 12 times for 129 yards, while Saint Louis drew eight penalties for 52 yards.

The Crusaders finished with 128 yards of total offense to Kahuku's 238.

Lopes completed 14 of his 31 pass attempts, while Mariteragi connected on 22 of 37 passes for 214 yards. Each quarterback was picked off once.

Both teams continue the non-league portion of their respective schedules next week. Kahuku will travel to Nevada to play Bishop Gorman (Las Vegas) Friday night, while Saint Louis will play No. 2 Mililani Saturday at John Kauinana Stadium.