No. 1 Saint Louis vs. Farrington
Today, 7:30 p.m.
At Farrington
The hits keep coming from Saint Louis (7-0, 6-0 ILH Open), which got a spike in the headlines when quarterback Jayden de Laura received a scholarship offer from Washington State on Tuesday. By Wednesday, he committed to the Cougars.
The Crusaders defense has been elite once again, and the offense has taken off into another sphere behind the second-year starting QB. As a dual threat, de Laura has been delightful whether in standard four-wide sets or empty-backfield formations.
Saint Louis’ penchant for running the ball, sometimes with de Laura running to wide-open spaces, has helped increase his efficiency as a passer. He has passed for 1,948 yards and 19 touchdowns with three picks in 169 attempts. With a completion rate of nearly 75 percent, his passer rating is a remarkable 204.9 — higher than what Marcus Mariota had as a senior.
In a 54-21 win over Mililani last week, de Laura averaged 21 yards per pass attempt as Roman Wilson and Koali Nishigaya hauled in two TDs each.
Meanwhile, the Governors (2-5, 2-2 OIA Open) have won two of their last three games. The “Kalihi Bowl” loss to Kamehameha did not impact the OIA standings, but victories over Kapolei and Waianae clinched a playoff berth for Farrington.
Leaning more heavily on old-school “Bamboola” football has been a godsend for the Govs, who had a 70-91 run-pass ratio in their first three games, or 43% rushing and 57% aerial.
In their past four games, Farrington has run the ball 146 times and passed just 52 — 74%-26%. Raymond Millare has rushed 65 times for 426 yards and four TDs in the past three games.
Nanakuli vs. Kaiser
Today, 7:30 p.m.
At Kaiser
The OIA D-II race is a puzzle, with three teams (Kaimuki, Kaiser, Roosevelt) at 5-1, and three more teams contending for the fourth and final playoff berth. Nanakuli has the task of traveling from the Leeward side to the opposite end of Oahu, a 38-mile trek through Friday afternoon traffic.
Nanakuli (5-3, 4-2 OIA D-II) has won three in a row, but has two co-leaders — Kaiser (7-1, 5-1 OIA D-II) and Roosevelt — to close the regular season. With Kalani (3-3 OIA D-II) and Waialua (3-3 OIA D-II) on their tails, the Golden Hawks can seal the playoff berth with two wins. A loss in the next two weeks would open the door. Waialua beat Nanakuli in week two, and Nanakuli edged Kalani in week three.
On Saturday, Kalani and Waialua meet at Kaiser Stadium in what is virtually an elimination game. After Kalani, Waialua will play at Pearl City (2-5) on Oct. 12. Kalani will play Kaimuki on Oct. 11.
No. 4 Kahuku vs. No. 2 Punahou
Saturday, 8 p.m.
At Aloha Stadium
Punahou (7-1, 5-1 ILH Open) is still chasing Saint Louis in the ILH race. The Buffanblu need wins over Kahuku (5-2, 3-1 OIA Open) and Mililani in these last two weeks of the regular season, plus an upset loss by Saint Louis to Farrington or Waianae. If Saint Louis runs the table, as expected, the Crusaders will have a first-round bye in the ILH Open playoffs while Kamehameha and Punahou square off.
Punahou won last year’s matchup with Kahuku 41-28 on the North Shore. In the prior matchup, Kahuku beat Punahou 13-10 at Aloha Stadium in 2014.
In their previous battles with top-three teams this season, Kahuku has been shut out by Mililani and Saint Louis. Red Raiders running back Zealand Matagi has been a mainstay with 759 yards and 10 TDs on the ground.
Punahou RB Vincent Terrell has been on a tear of late and now has 704 yards and 10 TDs.
Castle vs. Kailua
Saturday, 6:30 p.m.
At Kailua
The battle for the fourth and final playoff berth in OIA D-I will hinge on this matchup between Windward rivals. Even with lopsided losses to Leilehua and Moanalua the past two weekends, Castle (2-5, 2-3 OIA D-I) can gain a major tiebreaker advantage with a regular-season-ending win at Alex Kane Stadium on Saturday. At 3-3, the Knights would hold the head-to-head edge on Kailua (3-5, 2-2 OIA D-I).
With a win over Castle, Kailua would be 3-2 in league play and clinch the playoff berth.
Damien vs. Aiea
Saturday, 6 p.m.
At Aiea
The Monarchs (6-2, 4-2 ILH D-I) need to beat Aiea and Moanalua (next week) to have a shot at tying ‘Iolani in the ILH D-I standings. ‘Iolani can clinch a state berth outright with wins over Leilehua and Castle.
QB Jake Holtz was out of the lineup last week due to a mandatory suspension stemming from an ejection two weeks ago in a loss to ‘Iolani. Sophomore Logan Lacio stepped in to spark the Monarchs to a 28-12 win over Kailua at Aloha Stadium.
Aiea (1-7, 1-5 OIA D-I) began the season slowly, but ended an offensive drought with 41 points against Waipahu last weekend. Out of the playoff picture, Na Alii get one last chance to play the spoiler on Saturday. QB Kayson Castillo had a season-best 293 passing yards and four TDs, plus 74 rushing yards and another TD, in the loss to Waipahu.
