Entering Friday night’s ILH Division II championship game, St. Francis was gunning for its first title since going coed in 2006 and starting a football program in 2013.
Damien had other plans in mind.
The Monarchs rallied from a 12-point second-quarter deficit for a 20-12 win to claim their second straight ILH D-II title.
“We’ve been there before and we just told the guys to keep fighting,” Damien coach Eddie Klaneski said. “It’s a testament to our kids and their toughness.”
The win also clinched the ILH’s lone berth in the state Division II tournament.
“It means a lot for our team. We’ve been fighting for this all year,” Damien quarterback Marcus Faufata-Pedrina said. “This is exactly what we wanted from the start of the season, and just to go back-to-back to do something that Damien has never done before really means a lot to us.”
The Monarchs went with some bold play-calling throughout the game, going for it on fourth down multiple times in addition to a fake punt and fake field goal.
Lined up at punter deep in his own territory in the third quarter, Faufata-Pedrina took the snap and ran for a first down.
“We practiced a lot of our trick plays on special teams all season. In a championship game, there’s no holding back,” Klaneski said. “We wanted him to kick it, but he noticed that he could run it on the outside. Being the football player that he is, he just made a play on that one.”
“It could have been our last game. So like they say, balls to the wall and go all out,” Faufata-Pedrina said.
Faufata-Pedrina led the Monarchs offense with three completions — all for touchdowns.
St. Francis lost its starting backfield of running back Tyson Shimabukuro and quarterback Bubba Akana when both went down on the same play with 3:51 to go in the first quarter. Both were taken to the hospital.
Shimabukuro gained a first down but had the ball knocked out by Damien sophomore Braxton Wilcox at around the Damien 30. It was scooped up by junior Pomai Kim and taken to the Damien 49, where Kim was taken down by Akana, leading to the quarterback’s injury.
“No excuses, Damien did what they had to do,” St. Francis coach and Bubba’s father, Kip Akana, said. “Hats off to Damien, they played a good game. They played inspired and they were the better team today. We’ll be cheering for them (in the state tournament).”
In lieu of Akana and Shimabukuro, Jake Smotherman finished with 24 yards on 3-for-10 passing and Samson Kaleikau rushed for 82 yards and a touchdown on 16 carries. Kaleikau led the Saints defense with an interception and two fumble recoveries.
For St. Francis, its season is over after going 5-3. The Saints’ five wins are a program record. Damien awaits its opponent in the Division II state tournament. The Monarchs were eliminated by Konawaena in last year’s state tournament, losing 42-33 in the first round.
“Everyone likes to count us out, but we just light that to the fire,” Faufata-Pedrina said. “We push forward and come together as a team and fight. We’re gonna come hard every game like it’s a championship game and just play to win.”
