St. Francis slips past Pac-Five for its first ILH victory

Tyson Shimabukuro ran for 118 yards to lead St. Francis to a 12-9 win over Pac-Five in an ILH Division II game on Friday at Aloha Stadium.

St. Francis (3-4, 1-2) fielded its first varsity team in 2013 and was winless against ILH foes until Friday night. The Saints were 0-6 in league play in 2013 and 2014.

"I was ecstatic," Shimabukuro said. "Nothing could compare to that."

Pac-Five’s Casey Nakamura stripped the ball from Saint Francis quarterback Wembley Mailei to give the Wolfpack (3-2, 1-2) the ball with 1:12 remaining at their own 15-yard line. But Pac-Five couldn’t gain much yardage with three short passes and the game ended on an incomplete pass.

Mailei’s keeper extended the Saints’ lead to 12-3 early in the third quarter. St. Francis led 6-3 at halftime and the message during the break was to be a second-half team.

"Coach was telling us usually we’re down, we got to stay in the game," Shimabukuro said. "Coach said, ‘We’re winning, we have to keep the momentum and be a second-half team.’ "

Pac-Five got a big break late in the third quarter when Saint Francis’ punt returner couldn’t hang onto the ball. Nakamura pounced on the ball, giving the Wolfpack possession at the 1-yard line. Kainoa Ferreira then punched it in from a yard out to cut the deficit to 12-9 with 42 seconds left.