Pac-Five wide receiver Tsubasa Brennan attempts to break free from a Saint Francis defender after a pass reception. Reina Takaki | Special to SL

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Pac-Five wide receiver Tsubasa Brennan attempts to break free from a Saint Francis defender after a pass reception. Reina Takaki | Special to SL

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HALAWA- Pac-Five outlasted Saint Francis, 26-21, to remain unbeaten in both teams' ILH openers Friday night at Hawaiian Airlines Field at Aloha Stadium. With the victory, the Wolfpack improved to 2-0 on the season and faces Saint Louis next week.

“Anytime you can win close games, its good for your program,” said Wolfpack coach Kip Botelho. “Showed some character that our football team can hang and finish.”

Pac-Five got on the board early in the first quarter.  Sophomore quarterback Kainoa Ferreira connected with senior receiver Tsubasa Brennan for a 17-yard touchdown on their first drive. The score came at the 8:51 mark of the first quarter. Ferreira was 3/3 on the drive with passes at 7, 14, and 17-yard connections.

“I started kind of rough,” said Ferreira. “I knew I had to keep my head up and keep going. I couldn’t let my team down.”

“Hats off to Kainoa; he stuck with it and made the plays when he had to,” said Botelho.

The Saints responded at the 10:56 mark of the second quarter. A pass from sophomore quarterback Kawika Ulufale connected with sophomore wide receiver/free safety Micah Kalei for a 10-yard touchdown. The score by Kalei tied the game at seven in the second quarter.

Saint Francis took the lead with after Kawika Ulufale threw his second touchdown of the night to senior wide receiver Kelii Macalino (12-yards). The score came with 3:34 left to go until halftime. The score by Macalino put the score at 14-7.

 “(Saint Francis) played tough, they played hard,” said Botelho. “They got tough kids; they played well. It was a great football game.”

Ferreira responded with a scoring throw of his own nearly a minute later.  Finding Tsubasa Brennan for a 31-yard touchdown, the Wolfpack and the Saints were tied 14-14 going into the locker rooms.

“Tsubasa is Tsubasa... He’s a football player. I wish we had more of him,” said Botelho. “He’s an outstanding football player and more so an outstanding person.”

Both teams went on to score one touchdown each in the third quarter, however a missed PAT by the Wolfpack put the game at 21-20 in favor of the Wolfpack going into the fourth quarter.

“Overall, I think we did pretty good,” said Ferreira “We can do a lot better. We’re going to keep getting better and better every week.”

The Wolfpack was able to score in the fourth quarter with a 25-yard pass Ferreira to senior receiver Sean Kinel. Kinel had two touchdowns on the night, both coming in the second half. Pac-Five attempted a two-point conversion after the Kinel score and failed, putting the final score at 26-21.

“We got Saint Louis; that’s a whole other animal to scheme against,” said Botelho of next week's game against the 0-3 Crusaders. “We compete against the best and that’s what we want.”