Saint Louis shuts down Punahou, Kamehameha next

Greg Yamamoto | SL

Saint Louis trailed early but came to life midway through the second quarter, keeping Punahou out of the endzone for the first time this season while racking up five unanswered scores of its own in a 35-3 win at Velasco Stadium.

Nainoa Lopes threw for 224 yards and three scores, and Titan Lacaden had a TD through the air and on the ground to pace the Crusaders, who's defense also held the Buffanblu to just 145 in total.

The win over Punahou sets up a matchup with Kamehameha for the second round title on Nov 8 back at Radford. A win for the Crusaders will equate to a Open Division berth, while a loss sets up a repeat showdown in a week's time with the winner of that game heading to states.

Punahou broke the scoring seal early in the second quarter on a 30 yard field goal by Dash Watanabe, but Saint Louis answered with Lopes connecting with Stytyn Lasconia from six yards out for TD.

Then, Lacaden was on the receiving end of an 11 yard TD strike with just under a minute until halftime to make it a 15-3 lead at the break.

Saint Louis added another score at the 8:91 mark of the third when Lopes hooked up with Jordan Nunuha from nine yards out to stretch the lead to 21-3, and Lacaden ran in another score from five yards away in the opening minutes of the fourth to extend the margin further.

Mose Lilo came on at QB late in the fourth with the game seemingly in hand and completed 3 of 4 passes, including the game's final score, a pass from 13 yards out to Xavier Brown.

Punahou's freshman QB Hunter Fujikawa struggled against the Saint Louis defense, completed just 9 of 27 passes for 74 yards with two interceptions. The absence of leading rusher Nelson Aau, who did not play due to injury, didn't help.

The Crusaders also held Buffanblu receiver Zion White in check once again, holding the sophomore pass catcher to just three grabs for 26 yards. He recorded just four catches for 33 yards in the Oct. 19 meeting.