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No. 1 Saint Louis got the top-rated senior prospect in Hawaii back on the field and went to work.
Five-star defensive tackle recruit Faatui Tuitele sat out the first quarter and watched No. 3 Punahou put up three touchdowns on the Crusaders defense.
The 6-foot-4 299-pounder played his first snap early in the second quarter and the Crusaders shut out the Buffanblu over the next 27 minutes in a 35-28 win to cap an ILH tripleheader at Aloha Stadium on Saturday night.
Tuitele had three sacks and quarterback Jayden de Laura rushed for two touchdowns and threw for another to lead Saint Louis (4-0, 3-0 ILH Open) to its 19th straight victory.
Each team intercepted four passes. Saint Louis took back two for touchdowns, but one was called back by a penalty.
Kamo’i Latu’s 43-yard pick-6 on the first play of the fourth quarter stood to put the Crusaders up 35-21.
With Tuitele out of the game again midway through the fourth quarter, Punahou quarterback Hugh Brady engineered a 71-yard drive, with his second TD pass to Moku Dancil-Evans cutting it to 35-28 with 5:30 to go.
Punahou got the ball back at the Saint Louis 49 with 3:15 remaining, forcing Tuitele back into the game. He watched Gino Quinones pick up his second sack on second down and then recorded the third sack of his own to force fourth-and-long.
Brady found Dancil-Evans for 17 yards, but Latu came flying in from his safety spot to tackle him short to end it.
Brady finished 21-for-37 for 309 yards and and three TDs.
The first half produced two very different quarters, with the offenses dominating early.
The Buffanblu went 90 yards on their first drive, with Brady going 6-for-7 with a 10-yard TD pass to Dancil-Evans.
The Crusaders answered with an 80-yard drive on their first possession, with Robbie Paikai scoring from 2 yards out on one of 19 running plays for the Crusaders in the first half.
The run-and-shoot involved a lot of runs as de Laura slowed down after hitting Roman Wilson for an 80-yard touchdown to tie the game at 14 early in the second quarter.
De Laura threw three picks in the second quarter and Brady threw three in the first half. Defensive back Alaka’i Gilman had two for the Buffanblu and Brian Cox had two for Saint Louis.
Punahou added a touchdown when Kainalu Pu’u-Robinson blocked a punt and recovered it near the back of the end zone before going out of bounds.
Tuitele entered the game in the second quarter and immediately made a difference, helping to force two three-and-outs.
Cox’s second interception set up a 5-yard TD run to tie the game at 21 with 24 seconds to go.
Washington commit Tim Horn had a chance to give the Buffanblu the lead going into the break, His 49-yard field goal had plenty of leg but bounced off the right upright.
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GAME SUMMARY
No. 1 Saint Louis 35, No. 3 Punahou 28
At Aloha Stadium
>> Saint Louis (4-0, 3-0) 7 14 7 7 — 35
>> Punahou (3-2, 3-2) 7 14 0 7 — 28
Punahou — Moku Dancil-Evans 10 pass from Hugh Brady (Tim Horn kick)
Saint Louis — Robbie Paikai 2 run (Garyn Napuunoa kick)
Punahou — Kainalu Pu’u-Robinson recovers blocked punt in end zone (Horn kick)
Saint Louis — Roman Wilson 80 pass from Jayden de Laura (Napuunoa kick)
Punahou — Tamatoa Falatea 66 pass from Brady (Horn kick)
Saint Louis — de Laura 5 run (Napuunoa kick)
Saint Louis — de Laura 1 run (Napuunoa kick)
Saint Louis — Kamo’i Latu 43 interception return (Napuunoa kick)
Punahou — Dancil-Evans 20 pass from Brady (Horn kick)
RUSHING — Saint Louis: de Laura 17-83, Dayton Sam 9-35, Paikai 10-41, team 2-(minus 2). Punahou: Vincent Terrell 5-16, Sitiveni Kaufusi 6-13, Kobe Muasau 1-(minus 6), Brady 8-(minus 40).
PASSING — Saint Louis: de Laura 19-32–4-293. Punahou: Brady 21-37-4-309.
RECEIVING — Saint Louis: Chance Beyer 10-115, Wilson 4-142, Koali Nishigaya 4-34, Makoa Close 1-2. Punahou: Koa Eldredge 8-93, Dancil-Evans 5-70, Falatea 3-80, Kanoa Kalahiki 3-40, Terrell 2-26.
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