After three straight wins, the Damien football team looks poised to challenge ‘Iolani for the ILH Division II title this year.

The Monarchs dominated Vacaville (Calif.) Christian on Saturday, piling up 42 points in the first half en route to a 78-0 victory in the first game of the Crusader Football Invitational at Aloha Stadium.

Damien is 3-0 for the first time since 2008 and has already tripled its number of wins over the three previous seasons combined.

Kyle Sato rushed for two touchdowns and quarterback Syles Choy threw for two and ran for another — all in the first half — as Damien led 42-0 at the break.

Jameson White punctuated a one-sided half with a 49-yard punt return touchdown with 21 seconds left as Damien scored its most points in a game in the state championship era.

Through three games, the Monarchs are averaging 46.7 points just a season removed from scoring 47 total points and finishing 0-9.

"Just having a full offseason this past year gave us a really good chance to change the culture and mentality of our kids," second-year Damien coach Eddie Klaneski said. "We’ve kept it simple and basically run the same things since we started the offseason and just made sure we’ve got better at running the things we do."

Everything worked against the Falcons, who made their season debut after finishing 7-5 in 2011 in the Sierra Delta League in California.

Junior running back Trevor Caspillo rushed for 143 yards and two touchdowns on 11 carries, including a 13-yard run late in the third quarter that put the Monarchs ahead 64-0.

The 78 points are the most scored by an ILH team since Saint Louis beat Damien 84-0 in 2000.

"It’s real different (from last year)," said Caspillo, a junior. "Everybody stuck together and it feels good to win."

Damien snapped a 25-game losing streak two weeks ago in a win over Kalaheo, and has outscored its opponents by a combined score of 140-21.

The Monarchs will have 13 days off to prepare for their ILH opener against defending Division I champion Punahou on Sept. 8 at Aloha Stadium.

Damien last won an ILH game in 2009 against Word of Life, which no longer fields a program. The Monarchs’ last win over a current ILH opponent came in 2008 against Pac-Five.

"We’ve got to do our best to keep these boys grounded as much as we can," Klaneski said. "This was our goal to finish this first part of the season undefeated and coming into the ILH season we’re going to have to be way more prepared because we face these teams every year and they’re all so well-coached."

Damien finished with 320 rushing yards and Choy was 5-for-10 for 143 yards passing. Vacaville Christian was held to 34 total yards.