Kamehameha knocks off Saint Louis in ILH opener

No. 8 Kamehameha made a statement to its two Division I Interscholastic League of Honolulu rivals, stunning No. 2 Saint Louis 28-21 on Friday to open league play.

Cid Camanse-Stevens scored on a 2-yard run with less than 4 minutes remaining and Taylor Taliulu broke up a pass on fourth down with just over a minute left to clinch the win.

The Warriors (2-2, 1-0) started the year with consecutive losses. Kamehameha handed Saint Louis (3-1, 0-1) its first regular-season loss in 2 years and beat the Crusaders for just the sixth time in 24 meetings dating back to 2000.

Saint Louis quarterback Kawai Mook-Garcia threw for 293 yards and had all three touchdown passes go to junior receiver Jeremy Tabuyo, who finished with seven grabs for 177 yards.

Tabuyo, defensive back Frank Flores and offensive lineman Reeve Koehler all left the game in the second half with injuries.

Koehler was carried off the field late in the third quarter by two teammates and Flores was carted off early in the fourth.

Tabuyo was carried off the field after returning a kickoff following Kamehameha’s go-ahead touchdown.

Kamehameha had all the momentum early, using big plays on defense and special teams to take a 17-0 lead.

Raymond Pedrina had a 52-yard punt return to the Saint Louis 2 moved back 15 yards due to a penalty, but the Warriors still cashed in on a 27-yard field goal by Kanekoa Pawn-White to take a 3-0 lead.

After a 16-yard run by Bronson Barretto made it 10-0, Kanai Hanohano intercepted Mook-Garcia’s pass and returned it 59 yards to the Saint Louis 22. Four plays later, Barretto cashed in on a 5-yard run to put the Warriors up 17-0.

With the running game struggling to get going, Mook-Garcia and Saint Louis took to the air, throwing the ball six straight

times on the next drive. After consecutive completions to Aaron Goo, Mook-Garcia found a streaking Tabuyo down the sideline for a 39-yard touchdown.

Saint Louis stole the momentum heading into halftime as Mook-Garcia found Tabuyo, converting a fourth and 11 in the final 2 minutes, from 34 yards out to make it 17-14.

Saint Louis took the lead three plays into the second half when Mook-Garcia hit Tabuyo for a 68-yard touchdown.

The Crusaders led 21-20 when Kamehameha nearly forced its third turnover of the game. Goo hauled in a quick slant, but fumbled the ball on the 20. It rolled all the way into the end zone before Kamehameha’s Tanner Asuncion emerged from the pile with the ball.

A face-mask penalty before the fumble allowed the Crusaders to keep the ball, but the Warriors managed not to give up any points as Goo’s 31-yard field-goal try bounced off the left upright.

Kamehameha then marched 80 yards in 13 plays with Camanse-Stevens, one of two quarterbacks the Warriors used, plunging into the end zone from 2 yards out for the winning score. Nephi Stevens, the other Kamehameha quarterback, then hit Keoni Bush-Loo for the 2-point conversion to give the Warriors a 28-21 lead.

Tyler Meditz and Barretto combined to carry the ball 30 times for 125 yards against a Saint Louis defense led by junior Colton Goeas, who had 10 tackles, three of them for losses.