ICYMI: Prep football highlights

Saint Louis emphatically retains No. 1 spot

There are no easy wins over a Goliath like Kahuku.

Not even for mighty Saint Louis. Yet, the Crusaders’ vaunted defense was stellar in a 30-14 win on Friday night in a clash between the state’s top two football teams. Saint Louis’ front seven wouldn’t let the Red Raiders move the ball. Kahuku had minus-22 rushing yards in the first half, including six Saint Louis sacks.

Linebackers Nick Herbig (three), Jordan Botelho (two) and Kila Kamakawiwo‘ole (one) were active. So was defensive tackle Faatui Tuitele (one), and Timothy Timoteo and Isaiah Filisi were in on yet another takedown.

Korvin Feagins’ pick-6, an 85-yard return down the right sideline, sapped Kahuku’s best chance to rally early in the final quarter.

“That’s a good first half, but how many teams play four quarters. We’ve got to play four quarters, not two quarters. That’s part of growing up and getting better, when you play all four quarters,” Saint Louis coach Cal Lee said. “There’s a lot of work to do. We’re starting tomorrow (Saturday). I’m looking for perfection, which we may never get, but we’re going to push harder for next week.”

Damien already looking ahead to ‘Iolani

The buzz surrounding the frantic finish to Damien’s comeback win against Waipahu on Friday was just starting to settle when Eddie Klaneski focused to the week ahead rather than the just completed victory.

“I hope we don’t have too many injuries that hurt us the rest of the way, because we have our nemesis in ‘Iolani coming up this week,” Klaneski said, moments after the Monarchs pulled out a 13–10 victory over the host Marauders in Friday’s OIA-ILH Division I matchup at Masa Yonamine Athletic Complex.

No. 10 Damien will go into the Saturday showdown with the Raiders at 3-1 overall and 3-0 in OIA-ILH Division I play after pulling out Friday’s game in the final seconds.

After a Waipahu turnover, Damien quarterback Jake Holtz lofted a pass to Lindon Sevilleja for 24 yards and hit Logan Lauti on a crossing route for 16 more to move the Monarchs to the Waipahu 2.

The Marauder defense had frustrated Damien for much of the night — coming up with five sacks, two interceptions and a fumble recovery — and kept River Iaea out of the end zone on first and second down. Holtz was denied on third down and Klaneski wanted the fourth-down play to be the last of the game.

The clock continued to run until it stopped during a discussion among the officials with 11 seconds left. It started again as the Monarchs lined up in a wishbone formation on fourth-and-goal and this time Iaea managed to find enough space to pound his way into the end zone for the go-ahead score.

“That was crazy. That was the experience of my life,” Iaea said. “I told Coach I wanted that ball.”

Campbell proves worthy of No. 4 ranking

Before the game, almost everyone talking about the Kamehameha at Campbell football contest Friday night was expecting an entertaining showdown.

Honolulu Star-Advertiser top-10 voters, by virtue of their positioning skills, had it just right: No. 4 Campbell and No. 6 Kamehameha.

And it went right down to the wire with the Sabers holding on for a 26-22 victory in Ewa Beach.

“We overcame some mistakes,” Campbell coach Darren Johnson said. “We made some mistakes that were costly and we also capitalized on their mistakes. They are a good football team by all means. We had some luck on our side and the ball bounced our way. Sometimes it’s better to be lucky than good.”

But Johnson knows it wasn’t all luck. These Sabers were defending their turf and came up with the biggest plays in crunch time.

“When we needed someone to make a play, guys went out and made a play,” he added, pointing to Pokii Adkins-Kupukaa (big first-half interception), Tyrese Tafai (numerous big tackles), Titus Mokiao-Atimalala (eventual winning touchdown catch, seven receptions for 130 yards), two other defensive standouts — JL Lavea and Taelase Gaoteote — along with running backs Sky Lactaoen and Peter Manuma.

“It’s good to win football games, but it gets bigger every week,” he continued. “We’ve got Mililani next and it’s a league game. We gotta get ready and we’ve got to eliminate penalties.”

Leilehua passes big D-I test with win over Raiders

Leilehua coach Mark Kurisu saw Saturday’s game against ‘Iolani as a measuring stick to see just where his team stands.

Looks like the Mules are in phenomenal shape.

James McGary, who missed the first three games of the season with a broken right ring finger, rushed 28 times for 223 yards and three touchdowns as host Leilehua pulled away in the second half to beat No. 8 ‘Iolani 31-20 in an OIA/ILH Division I game on Saturday at Hugh Yoshida Stadium.

“It was an opportunity for our guys to look at that caliber of team and coaching and as a coaching staff and team, see if we’re at that level,” Kurisu said.

McGary injured his right hand while stiff-arming a teammate the first week of contact practices. Fortunately, he’s a left-hander and wears a brace on his right hand and primarily carries the ball in his left. He’s been told not to stiff-arm opponents, but said he still does it instinctively.

“For five weeks, I was a little ball boy. I came back and I’m starting to ball out,” McGary said.

McGary joined Adrian Murrell as the only Mules to have two different games of at least 220 yards rushing.

Punahou defense sets the tone in win over Mililani

The Punahou defense did exactly what it needed to do to slow down Mililani’s offense in Saturday night’s 43-21 victory at the Trojans’ John Kauinana Stadium.

The Buffanblu wound up sacking star quarterback Dillon Gabriel six times, including three by another guy with the first name of Dillon — Dillon Lundberg.

In the defensive backfield, Trent Shiraki came up with two of his team’s three interceptions of Gabriel.

No. 3 Mililani is not used to being shut down, but No. 5 Punahou had the right people in the right places.

According to Shiraki, middle linebacker Maninoa Tufono moved to the outside, and outside linebacker Marist Liufau moved to the inside to spy on Gabriel, who can also hurt you with his running.

Gabriel was held in check. Liufau had two of the sacks and also came up with a fumble recovery after a strip by Kennedy Freeman.

ILH tripleheader highlights weekend

The ILH will have a tripleheader on Saturday at Aloha Stadium with a Division II matchup between Pac-Five and St. Francis, followed by a Division I game between ‘Iolani and Damien and an Open Division clash between Punahou and Saint Louis.

The ILH counts all of its games against the OIA in regular season standings. This is the only opportunity during the regular season for these ILH teams to play each other, making these games extra important.

Whoever finishes higher in the standings in Division I and Division II will receive the league’s berth into the state tournament.

The Monarchs (3-0) currently lead the Raiders (2-1) by a game as do the Saints (3-0) over the Wolfpack (2-1).