St. Francis ties for ILH D-II title | Honolulu Star-Advertiser

1/1

Swipe or click to see more

BRUCE ASATO / BASATO@STARADVERTISER.COM

St. Francis’ Tyson Shimabukuro broke the tackle of Pac-Five’s Michael Lacsina for a long run that set up a score in the fourth quarter at Aloha Stadium.

Select an option below to continue reading this premium story.

Already a Honolulu Star-Advertiser subscriber? Log in now to continue reading.

Get unlimited access

From as low as $12.95 /mo.

Subscribe Now

For the second season in a row, St. Francis feels like it’s the best team in the ILH Division II at the end of the season.

This year it gets a chance to prove it.

The Saints finished in a first-place tie with Damien after blowing by Pac-Five 45-13 on Friday night at Aloha Stadium.

Tyson Shimabukuro rushed for 134 yards and a touchdown and St. Francis (4-2, 3-1) ran for 395 yards as a team.

The Saints lost a card draw to Damien after the game and will play Pac-Five next Thursday at Aloha Stadium, with the winner playing Damien for the second-round title.

Last season, St. Francis ended the season beating both Pac-Five and Damien but was 2-2, one game behind the Monarchs, with no tournament to participate in.

This time, the Saints get to experience playoff football due to the tournament format the ILH will hold as its second round this season.

“Everybody starts with a clean slate,” St. Francis coach Kip Akana said. “It’s the same thing going on with us. We came out slow, but one thing I can (say) about this team and my coaching staff is that every week we’re getting better.”

Sefa Finau returned a kickoff 52 yards for a touchdown and Tevita Otuvaka, a 6-foot-2, 245-pound senior playing football for the first time, caught a 5-yard touchdown pass from backup quarterback Jake Smotherman.

“This is my first time and I don’t really know (what I’m doing),” Otuvaka said. “Just having fun.”

Otuvaka also had a sack on defense. Linebacker Destin Pakele had back-to-back sacks in the first quarter and the Saints pressured Pac-Five quarterback Ryan Johnson all game long.

Johnson, who threw seven touchdown passes in a triple-overtime loss to Damien last week, was 15-for-32 for 176 yards and a touchdown with one interception.

St. Francis failed to pick up a first down on its first two drives and didn’t get going on offense until senior Chris Vanisi, who is listed at 6-foot-2 and 250 pounds, entered the game at running back.

Vanisi, who hadn’t carried the ball once all season, scored on a 23-yard run midway through the second quarter, stiff-arming a Pac-Five defender to the ground on his way on.

The Saints got the ball back with a minute left in the first half at the Pac-Five 42 following a 32-yard punt return by Micah Kalei. Kalei hauled in a 31-yard reception to set up quarterback Bubba Akana’s 16-yard touchdown pass to Ezra Inayoshi-Dudoit for a 12-0 lead with 19 seconds remaining in the half.

Shimabukuro capped the Saints’ first drive of the second half with a 39-yard touchdown run as St. Francis scored all 45 points in the final three quarters.

“Everybody stepped up, from the coaches to our offensive line to everybody on the team who wanted this for the seniors on senior night,” Shimabukuro said. “We feel really good.”