Tahlen Kekawa's performance Friday night affirmed his coach's long-held suspicions about him: that he can run the rock.

Kekawa, a 5-foot-10, 185-pound senior on the Saint Louis football team, not only pulled double-duty as a two-way player in the Crusaders' 24-7 win over previously-unbeaten Farrington, he excelled.

As a running back, Kekawa registered 16 carries for 158 yards (9.9 yards per rush), including a pair of touchdowns. He also played strong safety on defense and came up with a tackle on that side of the ball.

"Tahlen is a different breed of running back," said Saint Louis first-year coach Tupu Alualu, himself a former standout running back during his playing days at his alma mater.

"I didn't know that he rushed for that much, but I knew he had it in him," Alualu added.

Prior to his ascension to head coach, Alualu was a longtime running backs coach for the Crusaders. Back when Kekawa was a first-year varsity player as a sophomore two years ago – and exclusively a defensive back – Alualu longed to utilize him in the offensive backfield. The relationship between the two go back to when Kekawa played for the youth-level All Black Crusaders.

"I knew he was a running back, but I couldn't cross him over (from defense) when I was running backs coach, but I knew he had the ability because of the things he was showing, so now that I'm the head coach, I'm so grateful to have the opportunity to put him there," Alualu said.

Alualu said it's about getting the best 11 players on the field, even if it doubles their workload. It's a concept that hasn't occurred all that often at the Kalaepohaku campus.

"Saint Louis never really did it before, only when we were playing in the late 80s," said Alualu, who double-dipped in his prep days as a running back and strong safety.

Alualu, a 1990 graduate of Saint Louis, went on to play collegiately at both Oregon and Hawaii. Despite his own accolades, Alualu chose humility when asked if he saw a bit of himself in Kekawa.

"Tahlen is way better than I was when I was playing. I mean, what a tough runner he is," Alualu said.

However, there are some similarities, it seems.

"He's very humble and very quiet. He's a hard-working kid and he comes from great parents," Alualu described of Kekawa.

With the graduation of veteran running back Ola Apduhan last spring, Alualu opened up the competition for the starting job over the summer.

"Ola was a four-year starter, so when he left, it was next guy up and I told all the running backs that they were gonna have to compete and for me, now that I'm a head coach, I want to run the ball. Coach Ron (Lee) was a passer and we're gonna throw the ball, but we're gonna take advantage of running the ball with the linemen we got," Alualu said.

Alualu credited assistants Allen Cui and Chris Fuamatu-Maafala for their work with Kekawa, along with the rest of the running backs.

"They both did a great job of working with Tahlen and the other backs during the week and there were some mistakes," said Alualu, alluding to fumbles by both starter Mana Heffernan and Kekawa against the Governors Friday night, "but I think the run game and the whole offense is coming around."

In the case of Kekawa, his fumble was recovered by a teammate. Ultimately, he did not let it keep him down, perhaps a testament to his "one-snap-and-clear" mentality that he has developed as a defensive back.

"I didn't really talk to him about the situation, but he's a guy that just plays. He's not gonna think about what happened in the last moment, he's gonna focus in the moment and he's just a kid that loves to play football. He fumbled one time, but I felt like he was the best guy for the time being and the guy that we can trust to hold on to the ball and I felt like he wasn't going to do it again because of what we do at practice," Alualu expressed.

Kekawa had 26 rushing yards on just three carries by the end of the first quarter. In the second stanza, he broke off runs of 23 and 20 yards on back-to-back plays. By halftime, he had seven carries for 94 yards, including an eight-yard TD scamper on fourth-and-2 that got the Crusaders on the board with 1:06 left in the second quarter.

Kekawa was up to 10 carries for 120 yards after three quarters of play. Five of his remaining six attempts came on one drive early in the fourth quarter, when Saint Louis drove 64 yards in 10 plays, capped off by a 23-yard Makena Kauai field goal that stretched its lead to 17-7. Kekawa averaged seven yards per carry on the drive and accounted for three first downs, including a five-yard run that converted a third-and-1.

"He just kept grinding and again, he did it while playing both ways," Alualu said. "When you talk to him, it's like, ‘wow.' I mean, it makes me want to play, so it's just rare to have a guy like him, a guy like Titan Lacaden, a guy like TJ Alualu, Vince Tautua – they want to make you play. They practice hard, they work hard and they have that mojo of just making you feel like this is the right kid I want to have on my team."

Four weeks into the season and Alualu feels like the Crusaders are finding their identity.

"We want to play tough defense and we did that these past few weeks. Our defense played tough and didn't allow any points against Farrington, so I'm happy, but I'm not too happy. I know that we still have a lot of room to grow and improve, but we want to bring back the winning tradition after not winning as many games as we're used to the last four years or so; we're not here to develop, we're here to win it all," he said.

Alualu's squad fell behind just 22 seconds into the game Friday night, when quarterback Mose Lilo was sacked on the third play from scrimmage. The result of the play was a fumble that was recovered and returned one yard by a defensive lineman for a Govs' touchdown. It would be the only points scored by the home team the rest of the night.

"We didn't panic after that," Alualu said of the early turnover.

He pointed to a one-point loss at three-time defending state champion Kahuku in week 1 and a two-point loss at Mililani the following week as lessons learned for the Crusaders, who were coming off of a 49-0 win at Kamehameha-Maui in week 3.

"What we've been working on is closing it out in the second half and coming from behind. I think we've been right there in games, but closing the deal is what we need to work on and we took a step in the right direction against Farrington, but every week is a tough week," Alualu said.

Saint Louis climbed one spot in this week's ScoringLive Power Rankings. The sixth-ranked Crusaders (2-2) will begin Interscholastic League of Honolulu play Friday night when they take on No. 8 Kamehameha (3-1) at Farrington's Edward ‘Skippa' Diaz Stadium at Kusunoki Field. Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m.

FOOTBALL

Keenan Alanı, Konawaena — Threw for 211 yards and five touchdowns on 14-of-24 passing without an interception in a win over Kealakehe

Liatama Amisone, Kapolei — Threw for 243 yards and three touchdowns on 14-of-19 passing with one interception and ran for 182 yards and two touchdowns on 12 carries in a win over Kapaa

Tevyn Apo, Kamehameha-Maui — Scored on an 89-yard kickoff return for touchdown in a win over Maui 

Sylas Alaimalo, Damien — Ran for two touchdowns and caught a touchdown pass in a win over Nanakuli 

Asa Alshemary, Punahou II — Ran for 139 yards and two touchdowns on 24 carries in a loss to Iolani 

Jevin Bolos-Reyes, Kamehameha — Threw three touchdown passes in a win over Waipahu 

Jesse James Douglas, Keaau — Caught eight passes for 102 yards in a win over Hilo 

Siosiua Filikitonga, Maui — Scored on a 90-yard kickoff return for touchdown in a loss to Kamehameha-Maui 

Bransyn Hong, Kamehameha-Maui — Threw two touchdown passes and ran in two other touchdowns in a win over Maui 

Xander Hoopai, Kamehameha-Hawaii — Ran for 106 yards and two touchdowns on nine carries in a win over Pahoa 

Aizek Kaanoi, Kailua — Caught five passes for 208 yards and two touchdowns in a loss to Coronado

Nui Kaapana, Kamehameha — Scored on a 75-yard kickoff return for touchdown in a win over Waipahu 

Kekama Kane, Iolani — Scored on an 80-yard punt return for touchdown in a win over Punahou II 

Isaiah Keaunui-Demello, Kailua — Threw for 347 yards and four touchdowns on 17-of-25 passing with one interception in a loss to Coronado

Lokuhao Lapera, Konawaena — Scored on a 49-yard interception return for touchdown in a win over Kealakehe 

Elias Malapit, Konawaena — Made 10 1/2 tackles, including 3 1/2 for losses and two sacks in a win over Kealakehe

Zaeden Moreira, Keaau — Made 17 tackles, including two for losses in a win over Hilo 

Colton Morimoto, Lanai — Ran for three touchdowns in a win over Kulanihakoi

Josiah Nihoa, Keaau — Caught seven passes for 120 yards in a win over Hilo 

Tristan Pacheco, Waipahu — Ran 24 times for 102 yards in a loss to Kamehameha 

Charlie Salazar, Keaau — Threw for 270 yards and a touchdown on 21-of-31 passing without an interception and ran for 205 yards and two touchdowns on 18 carries in a win over Hilo 

Pupualii Sepulona, Saint Louis — Made five total tackles, including three for losses and 2 1/2 sacks, broke-up a pass and caught a touchdown pass in a win over Farrington 

Maddox Sharrer, Kamehameha — Scored on an 88-yard kickoff return for touchdown in a win over Waipahu 

Nainoa Simmons-Kaohelaulii, Kapaa — Ran for 143 yards and a touchdown on 34 carries in a loss to Kapolei

Austin Takaki, Konawaena — Caught seven passes for 154 yards and two touchdowns in a win over Kealakehe 

AJ Tuifua, Nanakuli — Threw for 189 yards and three touchdowns on 13-of-18 passing without an interception in a win over Nanakuli 

Noah Vaiatoga, Kahuku — Scored on a 20-yard fumble return for touchdown in a win over Waimea

CJ Villanueva, Iolani — Threw for 196 yards and four touchdowns on 14-of-18 passing without an interception in a win over Punahou II 

Cole Walker, Kamehameha-Hawaii — Caught four passes for 128 yards and two touchdowns in a win over Pahoa 

Wyatt Wehrsig, Konawaena — Made six total tackles, including 3 1/2 for losses, one sack and recovered two fumbles in a win over Kealakehe 

GIRLS VOLLEYBALL

Avery Kirkham, Maui Prep — Had 11 kills, 17 digs and three aces in a four-set loss to Seabury Hall 

Graziella Reese, Lanai — Had 27 assists, four kills and three aces in a three-set win over Kulanihakoi