Crusaders grounded game plan paved the way to another championship

CJ Caraang | SL

Saint Louis road graded its way to eight.

Led by its offensive line and a big night by running back Charles-Titan Lacaden, the Crusaders executed its game plan to topple three-time state champion Kahuku in a 17-10 win, avenging a season-opening loss in process.

"It was a battle from the start but we prepared all throughout the weeks," said OL Houston Kaahaina-Torres, who is heading to Nebraska. "We was planning this out from the start, we knew we would come back full circle, we just had to keep on heads down and keep moving."

The plan was simple enough, but at the same time it was also doing what no other team had been able to do this season, run the ball against the Red Raiders.

"It was design and perfect execution by the boys," said running backs coach Allan Cui. "We planned the whole time to run straight at Kahuku, that was the plan and that's what happened."

Saint Louis dialed up 11 straight run plays to start the game and 18 of 20 snaps in the opening quarter were on the ground, eating up eight full minutes of game clock. While the Crusaders ultimately came up short on the scoreboard after a fourth down stop on its first drive and a missed field goal on its second possession, it was clear that the Crusaders were on to something.

"Kahuku is so well coached, you can't run their edge, they are too fast, too good," Cui remarked. "Our only shot was to run straight at them and that's what we did. I watched all their games this year, nobody ran directly at them."

The points finally came midway through the second quarter, as a 10 play, 99 yard drive that opened with a 17 yard pass from Nainoa Lopes to Jordan Nunuha and was followed by nine straight runs, the final one a plunge from a yard out by Lacaden to make it 7-0.

"The O-line did exactly what they were told to do, block out, block down, kick out, isolate, run iso and wham," agreed Cui. "That's all we did, that was the plan the whole time."

Kahuku equalized the score with a frantic seven play drive to end the second half, but Saint Louis had the answer on its first possession of the third, a nine play, 42 yard scoring drive punctuated by Lacaden's second score of the evening from three yards out, with a key completion from Lopes to Hashley-Kingston Siliado for 12 yards helping to set up the scoring dive.

"They didn't give up whatsoever, they were really paying attention and really giving their all tonight," said offensive line coach Roy Maafala of the performance. "They really wanted to win this one and bring the win back to the hill."

Saint Louis ran 48 times while attempting only 12 passes, compared to just 17 rushes and 36 pass attempts for Kahuku. The time of possession also told the tale, as the Crusaders held the ball for 31:42 compared to just 16:18 for the Red Raiders.

Lacaden, who racked up 31 carries for 155 yards, had nothing but praise for the guys up front.

"The line showed grit, they're the definition of grit, they do the dirty work but get the least credit," said Lacaden. "So this is my chance to give them all the credit and I really do tip my hat off to them. They are the heart and soul of this team."

The differences between the season opener, a 14-13 loss to the Red Raiders, and the state title winning victory are pretty striking.

Saint Louis attempted 32 passes and 20 runs in the contest at Carlton E. Weimer Field. Lacaden had just two rushes for 26 yards and one reception for zero yards, and the Crusaders were held to -7 yards as a team.

"We came full circle, it was a beautiful journey," Houston Kaahaina-Torres said. "Losing by just a few points it was a big bummer but we just came back knowing what our weaknesses was, what we had to work on and just had to execute."

While its commitment to the run wasn't immediate, it was definitely evident, in particular following the 31-28 loss to Kamehameha on Oct. 5, as the Crusaders racked up 200-plus yard rushing games in four of five games (378, 261, 271 and 201), the one exception being just 165 rushing yards in a 35-3 win over Punahou on Nov. 1. In each those four games, the rushing output exceeded passing.

"We really didn't know what we were gonna do, how it was going to mesh," remarked Kaahaina-Torres. "But fighting through all the obstacles and adversity, kinda praying on it, looking for our identity as a team, we just found our offense and we just stuck with it."

"Hard nosed Saint Louis football."