The top-ranked Saint Louis Crusaders couldn’t wait to get on the field, and when they finally did, they appeared to be in midseason form.
The Crusaders (1-0 ILH Open) blitzed No. 7 Kapolei with a first-half onslaught and then slowed down a bit in the second half of a 34-6 victory at the Hurricanes’ home field Thursday night.
Senior quarterback Jayden de Laura, who didn’t play at all in the second half, went 12-for-13 for 274 yards and two touchdowns. He also ran home a TD from 4 yards out.
All told, three Saint Louis quarterbacks went 20-for-25 with no interceptions for 345 yards. Eight different receivers caught passes for the Crusaders, led by Koali Nishigaya’s five receptions for 68 yards. Matt Sykes and Makena Ramos-Kamaka found the end zone on de Laura passes.
Defensively, it was the same old hard-nosed Saint Louis boys. They sacked Kapolei quarterback Noa Bailey five times and also knocked him down on a designed run for a loss.
“It was a great feeling to get back out here and run around with the boys,” said Crusaders linebacker Nick Herbig, who was a steamroller all over the field and collected a sack. “We were waiting so long to play a real game and were used to only going against each other at practice. Our offense was great tonight. Jayden is the best quarterback in the state. Koali is the best slotback in the state and two receivers, Matt Sykes and Roman Wilson, are the best wide receivers. On defense, we’re stacked with studs across the board. We’re hungry and really ready.”
Kainalu Tumpap had two rushing touchdowns for the Crusaders, who didn’t let Kapolei score until the fourth quarter, when backup quarterback Mason Gomez ran into the end zone on a 3-yard keeper.
“I thought the defense looked good at times,” Saint Louis coach Cal Lee said. “You kind of expect mistakes in your first game. And it was nice to see our backup quarterbacks (Connor Apo and AJ Bianco) get in there for some time. The second unit played more than the first.”
Lee, as usual, saw mistakes that casual fans don’t notice as much during a 28-point win. The Crusaders lost the turnover battle 2-0, with two lost fumbles.
Jacob Saole-Su’e was one of the bright spots for Kapolei (2-1, 1-0 OIA Open). He had two sacks, a forced fumble and another tackle for loss. Bailey, the Hurricanes’ starter at quarterback, wound up throwing for 135 yards, an accomplishment of sorts against that vaunted defense.
“They outplayed us and out-executed us,” Kapolei coach Darren Hernandez said about Saint Louis. “They are exactly who we thought they were, to steal a line from the late Dennis Green. We knew how loaded they were. But you’ve gotta make plays and we didn’t.”
NO. 1 SAINT LOUIS 34, NO. 7 KAPOLEI 6
At Kapolei
Saint Louis (1-0, 1-0) 14 20 0 0 — 34
Kapolei (2-1, 1-0) 0 0 0 6 — 6
StL—Matt Sykes 20 pass from Jayden de Laura (Lason Napuunoa kick)
StL—Jayden de Laura 4 run (Napuunoa kick)
StL—Kainalu Tumpap 9 run (kick failed)
StL—Tumpap 1 run (Ray Seabury kick)
StL—Makena Ramos-Kamaka 29 pass from de Laura (Napuunoa kick)
Kapo—Mason Gomez 1 run (kick failed)
RUSHING—Saint Louis: Tumpap 5-43, Jason Cruz 2-15, Kaohu Kamakawiwo’ole 1-5, Maile Fa 3-4, AJ Bianco 1-1, de Laura ,5-(minus-3), Connor Apo 4-(minus-22). Kapolei: Jayven Ramos 10-29, Gomez 5-14, Ezra Sidotti 2-3, Noa TEAM 1-(minus-14), Bailey 8-(minus-23).
PASSING—Saint Louis: de Laura 12-13-0-274, Apo 6-7-0-46, Bianco 2-5-0-25. Kapolei: Bailey 13-31-0-135, Gomez 2-5-0-24.
RECEIVING—Saint Louis: Koali Nishigaya 5-68, Devon Tauaefa 3-27, Roman Wilson 2-66, Ramos 2-50, Sykes 2-48, Trech Kekahuna 2-25, Keanu Wallace 2-21, Isaac Silva 1-24, Po’okela Louis 1-16. Kapolei: Dycen Coyaso 3-65, Haleola Thomas 3-37, Bula White 3-35, Reyes 1-13, Eian Albano 1-10, Josh Nahulu 1-2. Chanzyn Dupont 1-1, Ashton-Noah Reyes 1-(minus-4).
Junior varsity—Saint Louis 41, Kapolei 8
