Football
No. 1 Kamehameha rallies to edge No. 2 Saint Louis


  



Fri, Oct 15, 2021 @ Aloha Stadium [ 7:30 pm ]


Final 1 2 3 4 T
Saint Louis (6-4-0) 14 17 0 031
Kamehameha (3-3-0) 7 13 0 1434
Kealii Ah Yat 160 yd 3 TD
Alexander Bianco 215 yd 1 TD
Noah Bartley 203 yd 2 TD
Alexander Bianco 101 yd 2 TD
Blaze Kamoku 33 yd 1 TD
Mason Muaau 103 yd 1 TD

HALAWA—Top-ranked Kamehameha-Kapalama rallied from an 11-point halftime deficit and scored twice in the fourth quarter to beat No. 2 Saint Louis, 34-31, to cap the Interscholastic League of Honolulu Open Division regular season at Aloha Stadium.

Noah Bartley rushed for 203 yards on 29 carries and Kealii Ah Yat threw for 160 yards on 14-of-21 passing and three touchdowns to help the Warriors improve to 3-1 overall.

The win gives Kamehameha a first-round bye in the postseason tournament while the Crusaders (2-2 ILH, 2-3 overall) face Punahou (1-3 ILH) on Oct. 22. The winner of that matchup faces the Warriors on Oct. 29. Both games are scheduled to be at Aloha Stadium.

Brennan Dupio recovered Ola Apduhan's fumble to set the Warriors up at the Crusader 49 with 4:34 left in the fourth quarter. Five of the six plays on the drive went to Noah Bartley, who scored the go-ahead touchdown from 25 yards out with 2:12 remaining, but the PAT was no good.

The Crusaders started on their own 15 and got as far as their own 40 but AJ Bianco was called for intentional grounding and Dupio followed up with a sack with 35 seconds left on the clock. Bianco connected with Randon Cordeiro for a 13-yard gain, but his heave to the end zone on the next play was too far resulting in a turnover on downs and Kamehameha ran out the clock.

Greg Yamamoto | SL    Purchase image

The Crusaders were held to a season-low 389 yards of net offense and were shut out in the second half for the first time this season.

Kamehameha picked up 27 first downs: 18 on the ground and nine were through the air and was 7 of 11 for third down conversions and 2 for 2 on fourth down. 

The Warriors' opening offensive drive in the first quarter went 12 plays, 78 yards that resulted in a 16-yard touchdown pass from Ah Yat to Sheyden Iokia for an early, 7-0 lead.

Saint Louis answered two plays later as Bianco rushed for a 45-yard touchdown and took the lead after Blaze Holani intercepted Ah Yat for a 41-yard pick-6 to make it, 14-7.

Kamehameha went on another long offensive drive that started on their own 26 and 11 plays later, Ah Yat connected with Levi Maafala for a 27-yard touchdown to tie the game at 14.

Greg Yamamoto | SL    Purchase image

Bianco passed for 215 on 16-of-24 passing and his only touchdown pass went to Mason Muaau that covered 42 yards that put the Crusaders up, 21-14.

Bartley punished the Crusaders on their nine-play, 80-yard scoring drive by converting a second-and-1 with a 22-yard run and a third-and-1 with an 11-yard rushing touchdown, but the kick was blocked.

Muuau hauled in a 45-yard pass from Bianco that set up his 6-yard rushing touchdown to cap a four-play, 76 yard drive to extend the lead. Bianco finished with 101 rushing yards on 14 attempts.

Matthew Malepeai stripped Ah Yat and Josh Sagapolutele recovered the fumble with 25 seconds left in the second quarter. A 3-yard run from Trech Kekahuna and a 15-yard gain by Bianco set up Lason Napuunoa's 34-yard field goal as time expired to give the Crusaders a 31-20 lead going into halftime.

Saint Louis had an opportunity to put more points on the board as their opening third quarter drive started at their own 19 and ate up nearly six minutes of clock, but Napuunoa's attempt from 28 yards out was no good.

The Warriors took over following the missed field goal and converted a fourth-and-1 from their own 40 off of Bartley's 2-yard run to keep the drive alive. His 9-yard touchdown was wiped out from a holding penalty, but Ah Yat threw a 20-yard touchdown pass to Blaze Kamoku and found a wide-open Maafala for two to bring Kamehameha within three.

Saint Louis took over with 9:46 remaining and at up over five minutes of clock with a 12-play drive, but Apduhan coughed up the football and Dupio came out of the pile with it to set up the game-winning drive for the Warriors.



Reach Brandon Ching at [email protected].




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