Saint Francis running back Tyson Shimabukuro rushed for a game-high 120 yards and a touchdown in a win over Damien. Greg Yamamoto | SL

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Saint Francis running back Tyson Shimabukuro rushed for a game-high 120 yards and a touchdown in a win over Damien. Greg Yamamoto | SL

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HALAWA — Saint Francis wrapped up regular season play with a 21-6 win over previously unbeaten Damien Friday night.

The Saints rushed for 238 yards and scored all of their points off of turnovers to upset the fourth-ranked Monarchs at Hawaiian Airlines Field at Aloha Stadium. It was Saint Francis' second straight win in Interscholastic League of Honolulu Division II play.

Saint Francis (4-4 overall, 2-2 ILH D2) also prevented Damien (5-1, 2-1) from claiming the league crown and a spot in the Division II state tournament. The Monarchs can still clinch the ILH title and a state berth with a win over Pac-Five (3-2, 1-2) next Saturday. A Damien loss would force a two-tiered playoff between the three teams to determine the league's victor.

The Saints ran I-formation sets for most of the night and dictated the tempo throughout the entire contest. Saint Francis only attempted three passes as the Monarchs had no way to counteract the size difference in the trenches.

"We knew it was going to be a battle for the line of scrimmage," said first-year Saint Francis coach Kip Akana. "Our offensive line hung in there, played as a unit and we were able to control the game."

Running back Tyson Shimabukuro benefited the most from the Saints' offensive line, having rushed for one score and a season-high 120 yards on 22 carries.

"I believed we could pull it off because we had momentum coming from the last game and I felt like my linemen knew that we needed this win," said Shimabukuro.

The 5-foot-10, 200-pound sophomore's touchdown was a result of the Monarchs' first turnover. Damien turned it over on its first play from scrimmage after Marcus Faufata-Pedrina mishandled a backwards pass. Shimabukuro was able to punch it in from five yards out seven plays later to give Saint Francis a 7-0 lead.

Damien showed promise on its next possession, but saw quarterback Bransen Apao take a shot to his leg on a 34-yard scamper that brought it to the Saint Francis 12-yard line. Faufata-Pedrina stepped in under center and was able to get a first down to give the Monarchs a 1st-and-goal at the Saint Francis 1-yard line.

Although the Monarchs were in scoring position, the Saints came up with an epic goal line stand to force a turnover on downs.

Apao was able to shake off his injury to return to the field, but made some costly decisions with the football. He was intercepted twice, including a 45-yard return by Micah Kalei to give Saint Francis a 14-0 lead with 4:25 to go in the first half.

"Our defense has been doing it for us all year," said Akana. "Besides our offensive line, our defense is really the heart and soul of our team."

Damien's lone score of the night came on a fake punt attempt in the third quarter. Facing a fourth-and-16, Damien punter Cody Labanon tossed a dump off pass to Shawn Borges for a 35-yard score. Borges sidestepped a tackle and broke three more on his way to the pylon. This made the score 14-6 with 5:02 remaining before the final quarter.

Saint Francis' final score of the game came after the Saints recovered a bad snap on a Damien punt attempt. Wembley Mailei powered his way in for an 8-yard score one play later and Chenoa Johnston's PAT gave the game its final score.