With the ILH title at stake, Punahou didn’t allow much time for any big-game anxiety to build.

The Buffanblu scored less than a minute into Tuesday’s match at Saint Louis and clinched a second straight ILH boys soccer championship with a 6-0 win over the Crusaders.

Punahou senior Taylor Peter-Bibb assisted on four goals and the Buffanblu claimed the program’s 27th ILH title and the league’s seeded berth in the HHSAA/Outrigger Hotels and Resorts Boys Soccer Championships set for Feb. 6-9.

"It really is meaningful because the ILH is such a difficult league to get through," Punahou coach David Trifonovitch said.

"We had no expectations this year. We really came in with a new group of guys, somewhat of a rebuilding year, thinking we had to move guys around, and the guys have responded. They’ve come together, they’re starting to play better and hopefully we’re peaking at the right time."

Punahou had already reserved a spot in the state tournament, but with ‘Iolani still within reach, the Buffanblu needed a win over Saint Louis to retain the crown.

"Even though we’d made it into states we knew getting that first (round) bye is crucial," Peter-Bibb said. "We really put states out of our mind today and tried to focus on this game."

Punahou (7-1-2) took the stress off by pressuring the Saint Louis defense from the start and built a 4-0 lead in the first 29 minutes.

Peter-Bibb set up the opening goal less than a minute after the kickoff with a cross to Alec Dinsmore. Blaine Granger scored in the ninth minute off an assist from Dinsmore, and Ian Matsukawa juked past a defender to score Punahou’s third goal about 15 minutes into the half. Peter-Bibb also assisted on Nicholas Whiteley’s goal to close the first-half scoring.

"Generally this season we’ve been a second-half team; today we really came out firing," Peter-Bibb said. "It was good for us because it let us control the game."

Punahou added to the lead early in the second half with goals by Nikolai Scharer and Seann Lau, both off assists from Peter-Bibb.

"He’s a playmaker offensively," Trifonovitch said. "Taylor’s incredible with the ball."

Punahou won state titles in 2010 and 2011 and will have a bye to open next week’s tournament at Waipio Peninsula Soccer Park.

"It helps, but last year it didn’t help us at all," Trifonovitch said, referring to Punahou’s loss to Kalani in the quarterfinals.

"It just depends on how ready you are to play. We’ve also won a state championship being the unseeded team and going through and winning four games. You just have to be ready to play during the tournament and the teams that are starting to click and come together are the teams that get through."