No. 7 Kamehameha played like the team with its season on the line.

A little bit of luck sure didn’t hurt either.

Kainalu Apelu rushed for 145 yards and a score and Nephi Stevens turned a pass that deflected off a defender’s hands into a 38-yard touchdown for the clinching score as the Warriors kept their postseason hopes alive with a 43-19 win over Saint Louis on Friday night at Aloha Stadium.

No. 7 Kamehameha (4-2 ILH, 6-3) avenged a 34-23 loss to Saint Louis two weeks ago to move into a second-place tie with the fifth-ranked Crusaders (4-2, 5-4). Both teams need to beat No. 2 Punahou in their final games to force a three-way tie for the overall ILH Division I crown.

“The boys came out fired up,” Kamehameha coach David Stant said. “It didn’t matter what we called or what we played, they were flying around and … Dylan (Kane) just took it to the house.”

Kamehameha played like the desperate team from the opening whistle, blitzing the Crusaders with an early onslaught of takeaways and big plays. After bobbling the kickoff, Kane, a sophomore, found a wide-open lane down the Saint Louis sideline to go 95 yards for a touchdown that took just 13 seconds.