The Crusade continues

Saint Louis quarterback Chevan Cordeiro needed a little more than two minutes to lead the Crusaders to their first touchdown on Saturday.

By the time he took his next snap more than six minutes later, the top-ranked Crusaders were well on their way to a 61-0 nonconference rout of Baldwin at Aloha Stadium.

After Cordeiro capped the game’s opening drive with a 15-yard touchdown pass to Roman Wilson, the Crusaders scored on blocked punts on Baldwin’s next two possessions and overwhelmed the visiting Bears of the MIL.

“Guys made some big plays,” Saint Louis coach Cal Lee said of the special teams scores. “So we’re really happy we did a nice job. Our kicking game did well. We can always get better.”

The matchup — Saint Louis’ last game before opening the ILH season against Kamehameha on Sept. 1 — was something of a reunion for the Lee family, with Baldwin coach Pohai Lee across the field from his uncle.

“It’s always special. It’s rare that we face each other,” Pohai Lee said. “The last time was when (Cal and Saint Louis offensive coordinator Ron Lee) were at Kalani and I was at McKinley. It’s a family affair. We planned on this a couple of years ago. They’re a great team.”

For the second straight week, Cordeiro’s playing time was limited to the first half and the senior completed 10 of 17 pass attempts for 162 yards and a touchdown and ran for a 4-yard score. But after running for 63 yards on seven carries in a 49-7 season-opening win over Waianae, Cordeiro made a point on being more patient in the pocket.

“This week my goal was to pass first,” Cordeiro said. “Be a pocket passer, and if my options weren’t there then run the ball.”

After Cordeiro went 5-for-9 for 70 yards on the opening drive, Saint Louis’ defense and special teams took over.

The Crusaders forced a punt on Baldwin’s first possession and linebacker Kila Kamakawiwo’ole stuffed the kick then scooped up the loose ball at the 2 and took it into the end zone.

The Bears’ next drive was nearly identical, this time with Gino Quinones blocking the punt and Junior Wily scoring on a 12-yard return.

Three plays later, Wily gave the back to the Crusaders offense with an interception and Cordeiro finished an eight-play drive with his TD run on the final play of the first quarter to give Saint Louis a 26-0 lead.

All four Saint Louis running backs who recorded carries — Tamarick Hallums, Kainalu Tumpap, Dominic Tominiko and Adrian Bates-Domingo — found the end zone.

The Bears were short 13 players, including their top two quarterbacks, and were held to 44 yards in total offense and five first downs, four coming on the game’s final possession. Samiu Oto, normally a running back/linebacker/defensive end, filled in at quarterback and rushed for 25 yards on 15 carries.

“(Saint Louis is) the best for a reason. We want to play the best,” Pohai Lee said. “Knowing that, this builds us for our (MIL) schedule.

“It’s all character things for us, we said that from the start. It’s where we get to evaluate and correct through film and develop personnel. … We’ll be a lot different when we’re at full strength.”

Click here to see more photos of the game between Saint Louis and Baldwin.