Saint Louis senior running back Saitaua Lefau and Moanalua senior outside hitter Jojo Kruize helped their respective teams to league championships last week. ScoringLive photo illustration

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Male Athlete of the Week: Saitaua Lefau, Saint Louis football
After biding his time over the years, Saturday was Saitaua Lefau's time to shine for the Saint Louis football team.

Lefau scored three touchdowns to lead the Crusaders to their first Interscholastic League of Honolulu championship since 2010 with a 27-23 win over Punahou. He carried a season-high 21 times for 84 yards, including the go-ahead touchdown on a 4-yard run, and caught five passes for 58 yards.

Up until about a month ago Lefau was practicing with the receiving corps.

"He has that athletic ability and at the time we wanted him to be a receiver, but with the injuries we had with the running backs we had to move him to that position," Saint Louis coach Cal Lee said. "He's a team player and he would do anything just to help out the team and he sure did Saturday night. He had a hell of a game."

The Crusaders went to shovel passes from quarterback Tua Tagovailoa to Lefau, utilizing his receiving skills.

The pair accounted for the game's first score on a 29-yard shovel pass just after the midway point of the first quarter and hooked up on a similar play in the second quarter — this time for 10 yards — that reclaimed the lead for Saint Louis, 13-10.

"Because he was a receiver he's got good hands and that translates to not only being able to catch the ball, but being able to run the ball after the catch," Lee said. "Guys got hurt and we need guys that can play and he's a player. We're real happy with the way things turned out for him."

Lee credited Lefau for stepping up and handling the positional move with maturity.

"I think it helps that he's a senior and he knows, having been in the program for a number of years, it's all for one objective and they've all contributed, both on the sidelines and on the field," Lee said. "We're so thankful that we have players that stay in there and battle through injuries and sometimes they don't have that much playing time — like Saitaua — but he stuck in there, supported the team and look what happened."

It was Lefau's second big game in as many weeks. He ran for 110 yards and a touchdown on 17 carries in a 30-14 win over the Buffanblu two weekends ago.

"We stress about taking care of the ball and we practice stripping the runners," Lee said. "The way Saitaua ran, with the ball security, we couldn't ask for anything better than what he did."

Lee said running backs' coach Tupu Alualu has been instrumental in development of Lefau after injuries to top backs Jahred Silofau, Jonathon Manalo and Jimmy Gonsalves.

"Tupu has got to get a lot of credit for working those guys," Lee said. "He works them hard and trains them and gets them to play like they should play. They've responded very well to his coaching and he deserves a lot of credit."

Lefau and the Crusaders, who are ranked atop the ScoringLive/Hawaiian Electric Division I Power Rankings, are idle this week and will likely draw a first-round bye in the upcoming six-team First Hawaiian Bank/Hawaii High School Athletic Association State Championships.

Female Athlete of the Week: Jojo Kruize, Moanalua volleyball
Jojo Kruize has firmly established herself as one of the premier terminators in the state over the past few seasons, but the biggest gains this season have come on the defensive end for the Moanalua senior.

Kruise, an outside hitter, came through both offensively and defensively in a pair of wins last week to lift Na Menehune to their second straight Oahu Interscholastic Association Division I championship. She had 23 kills with 14 digs in a four-set semifinal win over Kalaheo Tuesday and followed that up with 13 kills with eight digs in Thursday's sweep of Kahuku in the title match.

"She's our go-to player, definitely, and on top of that she's a spark plug for our team," Moanalua coach Alan Cabanting said. "She brings a lot of energy, a lot of intensity and when she's emotionally invested, high-powered and has high energy everything goes well for the team."

Cabanting said the key to Kruize's offensive success has been due to her improvements in serve-receive.

"Everyone knows she's our go-to player, so she's the No. 1 target for other other teams. A lot of teams try to serve her so that if her passing breaks down usually everything else will break down and she's worked really hard on that," Cabanting said. "Kahuku tried really hard to serve her in the OIA championship match and she held it. The bonus when she held it is her teammates stepped up and helped her out, but a lot of it started with her being able to pass the ball."

Kruize has also diversified her attacks and is taking more swings from the back row as well.

"Because she swings at so many balls, she's had to use a lot more shots this year than she has ever had to in order to keep the balance when defenders start reading her attack, she'll throw something in to make sure defenses stay true," Cabanting said. "At the beginning of the season we practiced a lot of back row attacks, but Jojo was the only outside hitter that was able to both attack from the back row and defend in the back row."

Another big part of Kruize's continued improvement has been adjusting her mental approach to the game.

"She's worked a lot the past two years to make sure that when she doesn't do well that her emotions don't show through and she brings forth a negative impact on the team," Cabanting said. "When her play kind of suffers that's when the negative emotions come out, but when one of her teammates do well she cheers them on and is genuinely happy when they make plays. She's been working really hard to try to get better on that because she's looked up to as a leader and it really helps the team when a lot of the vibes coming from her are positive ones."

Cabanting said, however, that his team is best when Kruize isn't being asked to take 50-plus swings a match.

"That's what I've been telling everyone and that's what we've been trying to work on this whole year," Cabanting said. "We have to be balanced well, everyone has to contribute and everybody has to play well. We know that Jojo is going to apes well, we know that she's going to put balls away, but we need help from our other attacks as well."

Kruize and Na Menehune (14-0) are seeded second in this week's New City Nissan/Hawaii High School Athletic Association Division I State Championships and have a bye in Wednesday's opening round. They will host either Kamehameha-Hawaii or Kapolei in a 7 p.m. quarterfinal Thursday.

CROSS COUNTRY
Amanda Beaman, Iolani — Won the ILH girls' individual title in a time of 18 minutes, 40.40 seconds

Kaeo Kruse, Kamehameha — Won the ILH boys' individual title in a time of 15 minutes, 43.58 seconds

Lisa Tashiro, Kaiser — Won the OIA girls' individual title in a time of 19 minutes, 23.08 seconds

Avery Torres, Kalaheo — Won the OIA boys' individual title in a time of 16 minutes, 47.18 seconds

FOOTBALL
Kesi Ah-Hoy, Kahuku — Rushed for 175 yards on 23 carries in a win over Farrington

Chayce Akaka, Baldwin — Threw three touchdown passes and rushed for another score in a win over King Kekaulike

Sefa Ameperosa, Kahuku — Rushed for two touchdowns in a win over Farrington

Harmon Brown, Kahuku — Rushed for two touchdowns in a win over Farrington

Austin Ewing, Konawaena — Passed for 291 yards and three touchdowns in a win over Kamehameha-Hawaii

Dillon Gabriel, Mililani — Threw for 297 yards with four touchdowns on 14-of-23 passing and rushed for another score in a win over Waianae

Jayson Hawthorne, Kapaa — Intercepted two passes in a win over Waimea

Austin Hoe, Maui — Threw for 188 yards with two touchdowns on 13-of-18 passing and rushed for another score in a win over Kamehameha-Maui

Cameron Howes, Konawaena — Caught seven passes for 114 yards and two touchdowns in a win over Kamehameha-Hawaii

Kahale Huddleston, Hilo — Scored on a 98-yard kickoff return in a win over Kealakehe

Algene Kelekolio, Konawaena — Rushed for two touchdowns in a win over Kamehameha-Hawaii

Pono Landford, Hilo — Rushed for 104 yards and two touchdowns in a win over Kealakehe

Aloalii Laga, Baldwin — Scored on a 29-yard fumble return in a win over Kekaulike

Hirkley Latu, Kahuku — Had four tackles, including two sacks, in a win over Farrington

Kaainaolu Lewis, Hilo — Scored on a 27-yard interception return in a win over Kealakehe

Laakea Look, Punahou — Made a game-high nine tackles in a loss to Saint Louis

Vavae Malepeai, Mililani — Rushed for 142 yards with a touchdown on 23 carries and caught a touchdown pass in a win over Waianae

Kurt Napoleon, Kapaa — Threw two touchdown passes and rushed for another score in a win over Waimea

Elias Pritchard, Mililani — Made six tackles, including two sacks, in a win over Waianae

Kainoa Sanchez, Kamehameha-Maui — Threw three touchdowns passes in a loss to Maui

Keala Santiago, Kahuku — Had two tackles, intercepted a pass and scored on an 87-yard punt return in a win over Farrington

Kekoa Sasaoka, Kahuku — Made field goals of 22, 23 and 45 yards in a win over Farrington

Tua Tagovailoa, Saint Louis — Threw for 287 yards and three touchdowns on 22-of-31 passing in a win over Punahou

Ethan Takeyama, Punahou — Caught seven passes for 127 yards and a touchdown in a loss to Saint Louis

Wayne Taulapapa, Punahou — Rushed for 106 yards on 22 carries in a loss to Saint Louis

Ronson Timbreza, Saint Louis — Made a team-high eight tackles and a game-sealing interception in a win over Punahou

Kalakaua Timoteo, Mililani — Caught eight passes for 199 yards and two touchdowns in a win over Waianae

Jet Toner, Punahou — Made field goals of 43 and 50 yards in a loss to Saint Louis

Anthony Trevino, Kealakehe — Caught eight passes for 175 yards and a touchdown in a loss to Hilo

Jurick Valdez, Waianae — Rushed for 99 yards and a touchdown on 18 carries in a loss to Mililani

Soane Vaohea, Maui — Rushed for 228 yards and two touchdowns on 25 carries in a win over Kamehameha-Maui

Josh Whistler, Hilo — Scored on a 47-yard fumble return in a win over Kealakehe

GIRLS VOLLEYBALL
Kayla Afoa, Kamehameha — Had 14 kills in a win over Iolani and had 16 kills, 23 digs and a block in a loss to Iolani

Lexis Akeo, Kamehameha — Had 45 assists, 23 digs and a kill in a loss to Iolani

Bobbi Anduha, Kalaheo — Had 17 digs in a loss to Moanalua

Sierra Buscher, Iolani — Had 25 digs, nine kills and two blocks in a win over Kamehameha

Bailey Choy, Iolani — Had 47 assists, 25 digs, three kills and a block in a win over Kamehameha

Naya Dong, Iolani — Had 20 digs, two aces and an ace in a win over Kamehameha

Emily Dulaney, Moanalua — Had 11 kills, four digs, three aces and a block in a win over Kalaheo

Kyra Hanawahine, Kamehameha — Had 38 digs, two assists and one kill in a loss to Iolani

Sage Kaahaaina-Torres, Iolani — Had 21 kills and three digs in a win over Kamehameha

Dayna Kahanu, Farrington — Had 16 kills, seven digs, five aces and three blocks in a win over Kailua

Moea Kekauoha, Iolani — Had 17 kills, eight digs and an ace in a win over Kamehameha

Hana Lishman, Punahou — Had 12 kills, 12 digs and two blocks a win over Iolani and 18 kills in a loss to Kamehameha

Keri Lum, Hawaii Baptist — Had 28 kills in a win over Le Jardin

Nikki Lum, Punahou — Had 32 assists, two aces and a kill in a win over Iolani and 40 assists in a loss to Kamehameha

Syenna Masaki, Kalaheo — Had 14 kills, 12 digs and an assist in a loss to Moanalua

Kassidy Naone, Le Jardin — Had 22 kills and 14 digs in a win over Damien and had 21 kills in a loss to Hawaii Baptist

Lindsey Ng, Moanalua — Had 12 digs in a win over Kalaheo and 12 digs in a win over Kahuku

Ana Ogilvie, Iolani — Had 28 digs, five assists and an ace in a win over Kamehameha

Shiloh Pelares, Kamehameha — Had 13 kills in a win over Iolani

Kiana Peroff, Punahou — Had 13 kills in a loss to Kamehameha

Natalie Piper, Le Jardin — Had 13 kills in a loss to Hawaii Baptist

Leslie Sanchez-Arrelano, Kalaheo — Had 18 digs, 15 assists and a kill in a loss to Moanalua

Emree Sato, Moanalua — Had 25 assists and four digs in a win over Kalaheo

Lauolive Tonga, Kahuku — Had 11 kills, three digs and a block in a loss to Moanalua

Ally Wada, Hawaii Baptist — Had 53 assists in a win over Le Jardin

Carey Williams, Kahuku — Had 11 kills in a win over Mililani and had nine kills, 12 digs, one block and an ace in a loss to Moanalua

Kailey Young, Hawaii Baptist — Had 36 digs in a win over Le Jardin