Jayden de Laura passed for 367 yards and three touchdowns as No. 1 Saint Louis pulled away for a 54-21 win over No. 3 Mililani on Friday night at Aloha Stadium despite being plagued by penalties.
Saint Louis improved to 6-0 in the Interscholastic League of Honolulu Open Division standings (7-0 overall) and is one step closer to a first-round bye in the league playoffs. Mililani is 6-2 overall and remains unbeaten at 4-0 in the Oahu Interscholastic Association Open standings.
>> Photo gallery of Mililani vs. Saint Louis at Aloha Stadium
Crusaders coach Cal Lee wasn’t pleased about the plethora of penalties.
“We’re not teaching debating and talking. We just want to play football. As coaches, we just want to play football, not hit people after. Stupid stuff,” Lee said. “We have to change the behavior.”
Saint Louis drew 17 flags for 147 yards. The teams combined for 15 penalties in the first quarter alone, when Mililani staggered Saint Louis and had a 14-13 lead.
“Mililani is a very good team and they came out hard, so this win feels very good,” said linebacker Nick Herbig, who had two of his team’s four sacks. “We just had to get our mentality right.”
The Crusaders set the tone early against a Trojans defense that had one safety deep. De Laura kept launching before he found Roman Wilson for a 53-yard touchdown.
Mililani answered moments later on a screen pass from sophomore Brendyn Agbayani to Ransen Motoyama, who then cut back against the grain for a 51-yard TD.
After de Laura found Wilson on a fade route for a 10-yard TD — which had many Mililani fans booing after watching a Jumbotron replay that appeared to show he was out of bounds — Saint Louis led 13-7.
Former Crusader Malosi Sam hauled in a 7-yard TD pass from Agbayani, and the Trojans led 14-13 with 5:49 left in the opening quarter.
Saint Louis then stopped Mililani on its next three possessions, including a fourth-and-1 near midfield. The Crusaders got a 1-yard TD run from slotback-running back Koali Nishigaya for a 20-14 lead.
Harvey Welch’s 46-yard pick-6 opened the lead to 27-14 with 8:10 to go in the second quarter.
Nishigaya, finished with five receptions for 263 yards, breaking the game open with touchdown hauls of 75 and 64 yards in the second and third quarters. His first TD staked Saint Louis to a 34-14 halftime lead.
His second TD came on the second play from scrimmage to start the second half.
“I thought they were going to change their coverage, but it worked out for us. The underneath routes,” Nishigaya said.
NO. 1 ST. LOUIS 54,
NO. 3 MILILANI 21
At Aloha Stadium
>> Mililani (6-2, 4-0) 14 0 0 7 — 21
>> St. Louis (7-0, 6-0) 13 21 13 7 — 54
Stl—Roman Wilson 53 pass from Jayden de Laura (Lason Napuunoa kick)
Mililani—Ransen Motoyama 51 pass from Brendyn Agbayani (Kaulana Navares kick)
St. Louis—Wilson 10 pass from de Laura (kick failed)
Mililani—Malosi Sam 7 pass from Agbayani (Navares kick)
St. Louis—Koali Nishigaya 1 run (Napuunoa kick)
St. Louis—Harvey Welch 46 interception return (Napuunoa kick)
St. Louis—Nishigaya 75 pass from de Laura (Napuunoa kick)
St. Louis—Nishigaya 64 pass from de Laura (Napuunoa kick)
St. Louis—Isaac Silva 24 pass from de Laura (Napuunoa kick)
St. Louis—Bronz Moore 38 fumble return (Napuunoa kick)
Mililani—Pono Hookano 32 pass from Agbayani (Navares kick)
RUSHING—Mililani: Malosi Sam 16-72, Jasiah Alcover 11-39, Mikey Agasiva 0-10, TEAM 1-(-22), Agbayani 6-(-48). Saint Louis: Mason Taliulu 2-24, Maile Fa 2-3, Nishigaya 1-1, Connor Apo 1-(-6), Ka‘ohu Kamakawiwo‘ole 4-(-8), Jayden de Laura 5-(-11).
PASSING—Mililani: Agbayani 21-38-2-270. Saint Louis: de Laura 11-18-1-378.
RECEIVING—Mililani: Kanoa Gibson 5-76, Pono Hookano 3-48, Jarin Kalama 3-29, Mystik Sampaga 3-26, Motoyama 2-59, Sam 2-10, Kai Banks 1-15, Koa Kalama 1-7, Alcover 1-0. Saint Louis: Koali Nishigaya 5-263, Roman Wilson 4-84, Isaac Silva 1-24, Prince Solomon 1-7.
