Saint Louis built a commanding lead against Farrington with a surgical start by the Crusaders offense on Friday night in Kalihi.
But midway through a shaky second quarter, the top-ranked Crusaders needed a boost from one of their biggest targets to pull away from the host Governors in the OIA-ILH Open Division matchup.
Saint Louis receiver Matthew Sykes turned his fifth catch of the night into his second touchdown, and his 66-yard catch-and-sprint helped power the Crusaders to a 41-7 victory at Skippa Diaz Stadium.
Saint Louis quarterback Jayden De Laura passed for 376 yards and three touchdowns and ran for two scores to overcome three interceptions in the second quarter, matching his season total entering the game.
>> Click here to see photos of the game between Saint Louis and Farrington.
Sykes’ five receptions, all in the first half, covered 159 yards and he caught two touchdown passes, with Koali Nishigaya accounting for the third.
“We had some good things, we threw (three) interceptions which is not characteristic of our offense,” Saint Louis coach Cal Lee said. “But give credit to (the Governors). They played good defense and came up with (three) good interceptions.”
De Laura led the Crusaders (8-0, 7-0 ILH Open) to the end zone on each of Saint Louis’ first three possessions, going 8-for-8 for 153 yards in the first quarter. He finished the first drive with a 2-yard touchdown run and hit Nishigaya for a 10-yard score on the second.
On de Laura’s eighth attempt of the game, he spun away from pressure and scrambled to his left before finding Sykes in the back of the end zone for a 14-yard score.
With Saint Louis in control at 21-0, the second quarter tilted toward the Farrington sideline. The Governors’ Abraham Talapu came up with the first interception and Koali’i Kama-Toth picked off a pass over the middle on de Laura’s next attempt.
“We mixed up the coverages, we showed one thing but ran something else and tried to get pressure to him,” Farrington coach Daniel Sanchez said. “He’s hard to sack, Several times I thought we had him, but he’s very elusive.”
Farrington converted the second takeaway into a seven-play drive, aided by two pass interference calls on the Crusaders. On second-and-goal at the 5, Darius Chaffin rolled to his right and found Kainoa Mane in the back corner to get the Governors on the scoreboard.
Farrington kept the momentum with a sack before de Laura and Sykes responded for Saint Louis. Sykes took a short hitch, shook off a defender, then sprinted down the sideline to extend the Crusaders’ lead to 28-7.
“That was important because we don’t like to make mistakes like that,” said the 6-foot-2 Sykes.
“It was a simple play. I got a hitch and Coach says to make the first man miss and I sprinted out of there.”
De Laura’s third pick came on a deep pass to Sykes that AJ Fernandez intercepted in the end zone with 15 seconds left before halftime.
But the Crusaders continued to pull away after the break, with de Laura scoring on a 1-yard run to cap the opening possession of the third quarter. Ka’ohu Kamakiwo’ole finished the second with a 5-yard burst after a 34-yard connection from de Laura to freshman Trech Kekahuna.
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No. 1 Saint Louis 41, Farrington 7
At Skippa Diaz Stadium
>> Saint Louis (8-0, 7-0) 21 7 13 0 — 41
>> Farrington (2-6, 2-2) 0 7 0 0 — 7
Saint Louis — Jayden de Laura 2 run (Lason Napuunoa kick)
Saint Louis — Koali Nishigaya 10 pass from de Laura (Napuunoa kick)
Saint Louis — Matthew Sykes 14 pass from de Laura (Napuunoa kick)
Farrington — Kainoa Mane 5 pass from Darius Chaffin (Jalen Joe Cabrales kick)
Saint Louis — Sykes 66 pass from de Laura (Napuunoa kick)
Saint Louis — De Laura 1 run (Napuunoa kick)
Saint Louis — Ka’ohu Kamakawiwo’ole 5 run (kick blocked)
RUSHING — Saint Louis: Mason Taliulu 7-45, Kamakawiwo’ole 3-14, de Laura 6-36, Connor Apo 3-11, Kekahi Graham 5-(-5), Maile Fa 1-4, Justin Tsai 2-(-3). Farrington: Raymond Millare 8-14, Jonah Aina-Chaves 5-(-1), Chaffin 9-(-38), Keane Foster 3-3, Kulana Pate 1-(-12), Torrence Liufau 5-38, Draven Fesili 1-12, Floyd Faleao 1-4.
PASSING — Saint Louis: de Laura 20-27-3-355, Apo 5-10-0-50, Graham 1-2-0-1. Farrington: Chaffin 7-12-1-69, Pate 1-5-0-3.
RECEIVING — Saint Louis: Sykes 5-159, Nishigaya 6-80, Roman Wilson 5-53, Isaac Silva 2-39, Makena Ramos-Kamaka 1-4, Devon Tauaefa 3-25, Trech Kekahuna 2-48, Jacob LeLesch 1-15, Prince Solomon 1-3, Kaulana Kau 1-1. Farrington: Millare 2-15, Isaiah Rios 3-45, Mane 1-5, Fesili 1-4, Faleao 1-3.
* JV — Saint Louis 49, Farrington 19
