The Saint Louis Crusaders made quite a statement on Friday night, routing Narbonne (Harbor City, Calif.) 47-7 at Aloha Stadium in nonleague play.
That makes the defending state champions 2-0 thus far, and some of their starters haven’t played more than one half of each game. Coach Cal Lee saw his defense smother the Gauchos with five sacks, all in the first half, as Saint Louis opened a 33-0 lead.
“You know, I really felt that we played pretty good. For Narbonne, coming over here and playing their first game, I feel happy and fortunate,” Lee said. “When you haven’t played anybody, you don’t know what they’re doing. (Narbonne) did pretty much what they did last year. Our defense was basic. I’m happy for the boys.”
Narbonne was 2-3 after losing to Saint Louis last year in a wild 56-50 barnburner, then won 10 in a row to take the CIF Single-A title.
“They were able to load and blitz our young quarterback. We just weren’t prepared to play well enough against a quality opponent like this,” Narbonne coach Manuel Douglas said. “We want to work toward our 15th game. This is a week earlier than we’ve ever played. Saint Louis is a fine, well-oiled team. They’re better than last year.”
The Crusaders were aiming, again, for a shutout, but the visitors got a 10-yard TD run by holder Steve Jenkins on a fake field-goal attempt with 9:55 left. The replay showed that the ball was on the wrong side of the pylon when Jenkins leaped.
First-year starter Jayden de Laura was superlative again with 150 passing yards and three touchdowns on 9-for-13 passing in the first half. He was picked off once, but also had a TD pass dropped at the goal line.
Chance Beyer did his best Mitchell Quinn impersonation with three TD hauls, all in the first half. It was last year’s Saint Louis-Narbonne game when Quinn sparked a second-half rally with a breakout game at receiver. Beyer had all five catches, for 62 yards, and TDs of 22, 11 and 10 yards before halftime. The foursome of Saint Louis pass catchers all rested after the break.
After a Narbonne three-and-out, de Laura needed just four plays to get the Crusaders in the end zone, a 51-yard drive. His 22-yard TD pass to Beyer was a nifty play. Beyer caught it near the left sideline, then cut back against the grain, juked past two defenders and drove a pile over the goal line.
After a Narbonne punt left Saint Louis at its 7-yard line, Saint Louis needed just five plays to get back in the end zone. Dayton Sam’s 53-yard run sparked the drive, and de Laura found Beyer in the end zone on a post route for an 11-yard TD. Saint Louis led 13-0 with 3:01 left in the first quarter.
Narbonne’s longest series was tormented by Saint Louis’ heavy pass rush. On fourth down, Domajae Williams was stopped short at the Gauchos’ 44-yard line. Saint Louis drove to the 1 in three plays and Robbie Paikai scored on a 1-yard burst on the left for a 20-0 lead on the first play of the second quarter.
One series later, de Laura connected with Makoa Close, who stretched out for a 45-yard play to the Narbonne 5. A sack by Malik Horne threatened to stop the Crusaders, but de Laura found Beyer for a short pass, and he fought through two tacklers for a 10-yard TD. The lead was 27-0 with 7:42 to go in the first half.
Moments later, Crusaders safety Mason Tufaga returned a pick 39 yards, but fumbled at the Narbonne 10 and the Gauchos recovered. After another Saint Louis sack, this one by Kila Kamakawiwo‘ole, Saint Louis got the ball back near midfield. Sam rocketed up the middle for a 12-yard TD and it was 33-0 with 4:08 before intermission.
A 26-yard pass from backup Connor Apo to Cheyne Beyer set up a 1-yard blast by Alema Scanlan for a 40-0 lead.
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GAME SUMMARY
No. 1 Saint Louis 47, Narbonne (Calif.) 7
At Aloha Stadium
>> Narbonne (0-1) 0 0 0 7 — 7
>> Saint Louis (2-0) 13 20 7 7 — 47
Saint Louis — Chance Beyer 22 pass from Jayden de Laura (Garyn Napuunoa kick)
Saint Louis — Beyer 11 pass from de Laura (run failed)
Saint Louis — Robbie Paikai 1 run (Napuunoa kick)
Saint Louis — Beyer 10 pass from de Laura (Napuunoa kick)
Saint Louis — Dayton Sam 10 run (kick failed)
Saint Louis — Alema Scanlan 1 run (Napuunoa kick)
Narbonne — Steve Jenkins 10 run (Johnzay Ferguson kick)
Saint Louis — Scanlan 5 run (Napuunoa kick)
RUSHING — Narbonne: Marceese Yetts 8-39, Domajae Williams 3-11, Keyshawn Dupree 1-2, Jojuan Collins 3-(minus-1), Ashley Tucker Jr. 2-(minus-8), Jaylen Henderson 8-(minus-11). Saint Louis: Sam 6-86, Robbie Paikai 4-32, de Laura 3-23, Ka‘ohu Kamakawiwo‘ole 8-22, Scanlan 4-16, Alexander Bianco 1-12, Connor Apo 3-3.
PASSING — Narbonne: Henderson 10-23-3-118, Tucker 2-3-0-7. Saint Louis: de Laura 9-13-1-150, Apo 2-3-0-43, Bianco 1-1-0-6.
RECEIVING — Narbonne: Steve Jenkins 5-23, Eren East 2-78, Jack Brown 2-8, Alonso Person 1-10, Yetts 1-5, Collins 1-1. Saint Louis: Beyer 5-62, Tama Albert Sula 2-29, Prince Solomon 2-23, Makoa Close 1-48, Cheyne Beyer 1-26, Koali Nishigaya 1-11.
