Unstoppable Saints

Saint Louis went three-and-out on its first three drives.

Then it simply went off.

Dual-threat, five-star quarterback Tua Tagovailoa had the best game of his career, accounting for nine touchdowns and 551 total yards of offense to lead the second-ranked Crusaders to a 64-44 victory over No. 3 Punahou on Friday night at Aloha Stadium.

Tagovailoa, who in the first quarter became the 13th quarterback from an Oahu school to surpass 6,000 career passing yards, tore up the Buffanblu defense over the final three quarters.

He finished 31-for-42 for a career-high 447 yards passing and six touchdowns and added 104 rushing yards with three more scores on the ground for the Crusaders (3-0, 2-0 ILH D-I).

“We just had to relax and play our game,” Tagovailoa said. “We were getting overconfident and jumping the gun. I felt we had to relax and get into rhythm.

“After our second touchdown, we knew what we had to do. We just had to pick the sides we wanted to go to.”

The 64 points given up by Punahou (2-1, 1-1) are the most in school history.

“It was a hell of a game, but I don’t think it was one of our better games,” Saint Louis coach Cal Lee said. “We have to get better. Punahou is going to get better.”

Buffanblu quarterback Nick Kapule set an ILH passing record with 495 yards. He finished 30-for-59 with five touchdown passes and an interception but was held to just 119 yards through the air in the second half.

Punahou scored on its first three drives and led 13-0 when it got the ball back late in the first quarter.

Punahou neared midfield when Keala Martinson was stripped by linebacker Noa Purcell. It was recovered by the Crusaders and seemed to give Saint Louis the life it needed.

Tagovailoa opened the second quarter hitting a wide-open Tosh Kekahuna-Kalawe for a 37-yard touchdown to put Saint Louis on the board.

The Crusaders scored touchdowns on their next three possessions to pull to 30-28 at the break.

Saint Louis took full control in the third quarter after falling behind 36-28. Tagovailoa scored his third touchdown run from 25 yards out and then hit Leelan Oasay for a 6-yard touchdown pass.

Noah Alejado, who dropped a punt snap that led to an early Punahou score, made up for it with back-to-back touchdown receptions of 10 and 20 yards.

Oasay finished with eight receptions for 112 yards and Kekahuna-Kalawe led the way with nine grabs for 185 yards and two scores.

Ethan Takeyama caught four of Kapule’s five touchdown throws and finished with 10 catches for 189 yards for Punahou.

Saint Louis didn’t attempt its first called running play until 48 seconds were left in the third quarter.

It was the third-highest-scoring game in ILH history and the two teams combined for 1,038 total yards. They are scheduled to meet again on Sept. 29 at Aloha Stadium.