Saint Louis crushes Baldwin

Kawai Mook-Garcia’s return as Saint Louis quarterback had an effect on both sides of the ball.

The senior QB was an efficient 11-for-15 for 152 yards and four touchdowns as the sixth-ranked Crusaders walloped No. 7 Baldwin 46-0 in the second game of the Crusader Football Invitational on Saturday night at Aloha Stadium.

The win gave head coach Matt Wright his first as a Crusader, and Saint Louis avoided its first 0-2 start since 1975.

"Our defense did a good job of getting after it and I’m proud of them," Wright said. "To have (Mook-Garcia) back, I think he was motivated and there was a spark that was lit under him."

It also seemed to fire up a defense that allowed 39 points in a loss to the Governors last week on the same field.

Saint Louis forced seven fumbles and recorded five sacks in posting its first shutout of the season.

The Crusaders have shut out at least one opponent in every season dating back to 1982.

"We had a lot more fun than last week," said defensive lineman Kamalei Correa, who had one of the Crusaders’ five sacks. "It’s always the plan to mess up the quarterback and do our job."

Baldwin, playing in its first game of the year, looked the part, struggling in all facets. The Bears had five bad snaps in the first quarter alone that put quarterback Keelan Ewaliko on the defensive.

Ewaliko, a UH commit, was forced to scramble or run on seven of Baldwin’s first nine plays and eventually left the game with a rib injury late in the first quarter.

He was taken to the hospital as a precaution and was believed to have suffered bruised ribs.

"I think he’ll be OK," Bears coach A.J. Roloos said. "He wanted to play, but I told him, ‘I’d rather have you during the regular season than losing you in this one game that really doesn’t mean anything for us.’ "

The Crusaders improved to 6-0 all-time against Baldwin and are 18-1 in their last 19 games against teams from outside Oahu, losing only to De La Salle (Calif.) in 2002.

Mook-Garcia, who sat out a 39-33 loss to Farrington, threw a 19-yard touchdown on his first pass of the season.

He completed his final eight passes of the first half, including four in the final minute — hooking up with Kainoa Abreu on a 14-yard score to give Saint Louis a 33-0 lead at the break.

Mook-Garcia played only one down in the second half, flipping the ball to Adam Noga on a 6-yard touchdown run.

The Bears gained positive yardage on only nine of their 26 plays from scrimmage in the first half.

"(Ewaliko) is fast and we practiced the whole week on containing him," Mook-Garcia said. "The defense did a great job and my O-line was great and it just seemed everything in the middle (was open)."

Mook-Garcia accounted for five touchdowns in all, rushing for one and hitting four different receivers for scores.

Standout receiver Jeremy Tabuyo, a Texas A&M commit, only had one catch for 12 yards, but the Crusaders didn’t need him.

Sophomore Ryder Kuhns, one of two Crusaders battling for the backup job to Mook-Garcia, hit Jordan Eugenio for a 98-yard touchdown late in the fourth quarter for the final margin.

Baldwin was credited with negative-45 yards for the game.

Ewaliko was injured on Baldwin’s final offensive play of the first quarter when he jumped on a loose ball following a bad snapped and was immediately pounced on by a Saint Louis defender.

Backup Ryan Graham finished 6-for-16 for 42 yards.