Early in preseason of 2010, the first flash of lightning by the elusive Marcus Mariota came not on the football field, but off it. He gave Oregon a verbal commitment in late July. Then, a magical season was unveiled. There was a season-opening 48-8 nonconference win at Roosevelt.
Then came a big bump in the road that went through the North Shore. In Saint Louis’ first preseason game, Kahuku rolled to a 49-27 win over the Crusaders. What made that contest intriguing — beyond the matchup of two storied programs — was the way Saint Louis kept Mariota on a fairly short leash.
He broke off a 52-yard touchdown run, virtually untouched on a read-option to the left, early in the game. After that, coach Darnell Arceneaux dialed back on big-play runs for his talented quarterback.
Was it by design? Or was it something else?
"A lot of times, on those decisions, it’s reading the defense," quarterback guru Vince Passas said. "The defense picks its poison: do they want Marcus running the ball or the running back? If the (defensive) end closes on (the read option), then he’ll give it to the running back. He had talented people around him, and he made the people around him better."
Arceneaux said it’s true: winning that game against the formidable Red Raiders wasn’t quite as important as testing out schemes. Mariota wound up throwing the ball a season-high 49 times.
"We wanted to work in other formations and show a lot of different formations. Back then, I was a formation guy. You don’t want to lose your guy, but there are also things Kahuku and (coach) Reggie (Torres) did that forced us to give the ball to the running back instead of Marcus to the edge," Arceneaux said.
Along the way, all the apprenticeship began to show for Mariota. Game by game, the Crusaders grew stronger and better, all the way to the state final and a one-sided win over Waianae.
Here’s a look at that season, game by game:
Saint Louis 48, Roosevelt 8
Aug. 13 @ Ticky Vasconcellos Stadium
Mariota threw the ball just 14 times, but showed the immense efficiency that was the theme of his senior season, going 9-for-14 in the air for 188 yards and three TDs. He also ran four times for 28 yards and another TD.
Postgame: "We prepared all week for this. I was a little bit nervous. You always get butterflies before a game," he said.
Passing: 9-14-0-188, 3 TD (30,3,76)
Rushing: 4-28, TD (8)
No. 3 Saint Louis 42, No. 8 Waianae 3
Aug. 21 @ Aloha Stadium
It was a true breakout game for Mariota against ranked competition, with four TD passes in another economical effort (14-for-19, 178 yards). His scoring tosses went to four different receivers: Joshua Tupua, Kaeo Aliviado, Jared Tomaszek and Duke Bukoski.
Passing: 14-19-1-178, 4 TD (7,25,3,45)
Rushing: 1-14
No. 1 Kahuku 49, No. 3 Saint Louis 27
Aug. 27 @ Carleton Weimer Field
Mariota’s long TD run early in the game was an omen of things to come — not necessarily in this matchup. He threw for 277 yards and a late TD, but it was an otherwise disappointing trip to the North Shore for the eventual ILH champs.
Passing: 25-43-1-277, TD (5)
Rushing: 7-82, TD (52)
No. 3 Saint Louis 41, No. 6 Kamehameha 17
Sept. 4 @ Aloha Stadium
A close game became a runaway against the defending state champions in the second half. Kamehameha’s defense limited the Crusaders to 119 rushing yards, and Mariota completed less than half of his pass attempts, but he came through with two TD strikes, both to Joshua Tupua. Saint Louis’ defense scored two TDs (Marcus Rodrigues’ pick-six, Starr Sua-Passi’s fumble return) in a game that was much closer than the final score indicated.
Passing: 14-29-0-216, 2 TD (6,25)
Rushing: 8-17
No. 2 Saint Louis 66, Damien 0
Sept. 11 @ Aloha Stadium
Mariota threw for three TDs in an abbreviated start, finishing 6-for-10 for 120 yards.
Passing: 6-10-0-120, 3 TD (9,37,23)
Rushing: 1-23
No. 2 Saint Louis 35, No. 3 Punahou 17
Sept. 17 @ Aloha Stadium
Mariota directed a hyper-speed, hurry-up attack in the second half as the Crusaders used its ground game (225 rushing yards) to rally for the win. He had solid, unspectacular numbers again, but what is tougher to quantify was his ability to control the pace.
"We had to see where their legs were at," Arceneaux said. "We’ve done a lot of conditioning work, and changing the tempo allowed us to get off the ball quicker."
"That was smart on their part," Punahou coach Kale Ane said, "especially with some of our guys going both ways. They made some good adjustments."
Passing: 11-16-1-142, 2 TD (54,14)
Rushing: 8-60, TD (1)
No. 2 Saint Louis 35, Pac-Five 6
Sept. 24 @ Aloha Stadium
Mariota was on target with Bukoski for three of his four TD passes, playing less than three quarters in another blowout win.
Passing: 15-21-0-160, 5 TD (18,59,37)
Rushing: 3-23
No. 2 Saint Louis 41, No. 6 ‘Iolani 14
Oct. 9 @ Aloha Stadium
Different foe, similar numbers for Mariota, who went 15-for-21 for the second week in a row. He spiraled three TD passes, including two more to the deep threat, Bukoski.
Passing: 15-21-0-193, 3 TD (18,49,7)
Rushing: 6-52
No. 2 Saint Louis 42, No. 5 Punahou 7
Oct. 15 @ Aloha Stadium
It was a career night for Mariota, who threw for 390 yards and two TDs and the Crusaders clinched the ILH title and a state-tournament berth. Again, he went deep to Bukoski, connecting for an 80-yard TD. Again, Mariota was highly efficient with no picks in his 20 pass attempts (14 completions). and he dashed for a 32-yard TD run, his longest since the Kahuku game.
Passing: 14-20-0-390, 2 TD (80,38)
Rushing: 7-62, TD (32)
No. 2 Saint Louis 34, No. 8 Kamehameha
Oct. 28 @ Aloha Stadium
Mariota played a little more than one half in a game that had no bearing on the final league standings. He went 10-for-18 against a tough defense, but he thew two of his three TD strikes in the first half to set the tone.
Passing: 10-18-1-162, 3 TD (53,16,4)
Rushing: 1-12
No. 1 Saint Louis 42, Leilehua 28
Nov. 19 @ Aloha Stadium
The Crusaders moved atop the Top 10 rankings after Kahuku was ruled ineligible for the postseason by the OIA. They opened a 28-point lead on the Mules in a matchup of aerial juggernauts. Mariota threw for 349 yards on 17-for-19 passing with TD passes to Bukoski and Jeremy Tabuyo. His counterpart, Kenan Sadanaga, threw for a record 420 yards and four TDs.
"Coach D lets me take it one play at a time, getting the ball out to our receivers and letting them do their work," Mariota said. "It feels great. We’ve been working so hard for this. It’s been a dream of ours, guys who have been here since seventh grade."
Passing: 17-19-1-349, 2 TD (14,40)
Rushing: 0-0
No. 1 Saint Louis 36, Waianae 13
Nov. 27 @ Aloha Stadium
In a thoroughly disciplined, explosive and dynamic manner, the Crusaders won again, claiming their first state crown since 2002. Mariota threw for 230 yards (17-for-23) with three TDs and no picks. He spread the wealth, as usual, finding seven different teammates for completions.
Passing: 17-23-0-230, 3 TD (13,79,2)
Rushing: 5-43
