Saint Louis quarterback Tua Tagovailoa accounted for three total touchdowns in a win against Iolani. Greg Yamamoto | SL

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Saint Louis quarterback Tua Tagovailoa accounted for three total touchdowns in a win against Iolani. Greg Yamamoto | SL

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HALAWA — A strong defensive performance helped Saint Louis overcome an early miscue to defeat Iolani, 31-7 in an Interscholastic League of Honolulu Division I game Friday night.

The Crusaders' defense held the Raiders to 129 yards of total offense to improve to 6-1 and 4-1 in ILH D1 play. Linebacker Jordan Iosefa, who gave a verbal commitment to play for the University of South California, led the effort with five tackles, an interception and one-half sack.

Iolani suffered its sixth straight loss and dropped to 2-6 and 0-5 in league play.

Saint Louis quarterback Tua Tagovailoa had to deal with a handful of dropped passes, but managed to complete 19 of his 31 pass attempts for 250 yards and a touchdown with one interception. He also added two scores and 84 yards on the ground on eight carries. Tagovailoa walked gingerly off the field after his second rushing score and did not reenter the game.

Iolani's lone score of the night came after the Crusaders' gambled on fourth down in Raiders' territory on their first possession . Saint Louis running back Dylan Silva fumbled an option pitch from Tagovailoa and Iolani defensive linemen Christian Naeole returned the loose ball 79 yards for a score. This gave Iolani a 7-0 lead with 9:14 to play in the first quarter.

Saint Louis responded with a 7-play, 45-yard drive that was set up by Chandler Washington-Villanueva's 46-yard return on the ensuing kickoff. Tagovailoa's 13-yard touchdown pass to Lanakila Wilson capped the drive and Jacob Tobias' PAT knotted the score at 7 apiece with 6:54 to go in the opening period.

The Raiders went three-and-out on their next possession and Saint Louis was able to capitalize on a short field. Tagovailoa's 5-yard touchdown run capped a a 7-play, 38-yard drive and gave Saint Louis the lead, 14-7.

Iolani got into Saint Louis territory on its next series, but was forced to punt after Tanielu Evaimalo sacked quarterback Tai-John Mizutani for a 10-yard loss on third down. The Crusaders' ensuing drive stalled at the Iolani 11-yard line and resulted in a 28-yard field goal by Tobias.

Both teams traded punts before Tagovailoa was intercepted in the end zone by Iolani's Ryan Yoshioka after a deflection. Iolani took advantage and got into a 2nd-and-goal situation at the Saint Louis 3-yard line. 

However, Iolani's Tamatane Aga was dropped for a 12-yard loss on a jet sweep shovel pass and the Raiders turned it over on downs after two incompletions by Mizutani. This left the halftime score at 17-7 in favor of Saint Louis.

The Crusaders' first score of the second half would come after Iosefa intercepted Mizutani off of a deflection. A 31-yard completion to Ronson Young would setup Tagovailoa's 23-yard touchdown scamper a play later.

Saint Louis' final score of the evening came on backup quarterback Chevan Cordeiro's 31-yard touchdown pass to Young on the first play of the fourth quarter. The Crusaders had a chance to add another score in the final minute, but took two knees inside the Iolani 5-yard line to end the game.

Iolani was without its leading receiver (Keoni-Kordell Makekau: 43 receptions, 556 yards, four touchdowns) and rusher (KJ Pascua: 101 carries, 333 yards, six touchdowns) in the contest

The Crusaders were flagged 11 times for 111 total yards while the Raiders had no fouls called against them.