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AJ Bianco passed for 341 yards and two touchdowns as No. 2 Saint Louis held on for a 27-21 win over No. 5 Punahou on Friday night at Aloha Stadium.
The Crusaders improved to 2-1 in ILH play and remained in the chase for the top seed. Punahou slipped to 1-3.
Punahou’s opening drive was pristine, covering 61 yards in just four plays. John-Keawe Sagapolutele lofted the pigskin to the left side of the end zone, where running back Iosepa Lyman hauled in an easy 12-yard touchdown pass.
Defensive back Willy Straton’s interception thwarted Saint Louis in Punahou territory, but the Crusaders later marched 83 yards in nine plays to tie the game. Bianco snuck in from the 1-yard line to make it 7-7 late in the first quarter.
The Crusaders offense was sharp on its next possession, as Bianco hit 5-for-5 through the air, including an 8-yard TD pass to Chyler DeSilva. Saint Louis led 14-7 with 8:13 left in the second quarter.
Saint Louis’ defense clamped down and forced Sagapolutele into seven incompletions in a row, but a first-down run by punter Jordan Kapisi on a fake punt fueled Punahou’s game-tying drive. Ean Kamau-Waikiki’s 1-yard blast tied it at 14 with 4:38 to go in the first half.
Saint Louis then exploded with a 36-yard bomb from Bianco to Alexzander Lemalu to regain the lead. After a missed PAT kick, the Crusaders led 20-14 with 3:03 left in the first half.
On the ensuing kickoff, Kawaihinano Kalaukoa hustled on Saint Louis’ pooch kick and recovered at the Punahou 33-yard line. However, the offense went backwards and Bianco’s fourth-and-long pass was picked off by Kamuela Smith.
The Crusaders opened the second half with a 13-play, 80-yard scoring march. Bianco peppered his receivers with precise, short passes before racing to the end zone on an 8-yard touchdown run. Saint Louis led 27-14 with 7:59 to go in the third quarter.
Punahou drove to the Saint Louis 7-yard line, but Saint Louis freshman Vincent Tautua batted Sagapolutele’s pass into the air and teammate Joshua Sagapolutele snatched it to end the threat late in the third quarter.
Saint Louis’ pass rush was relentless in the second half, knocking out Sagapolutele on an incomplete pass with less than nine minutes left in the game. Reserve Ty McCutcheon guided the Buffanblu on a late drive, finding Noah Macapulay for a 4-yard TD with 3:21 left. Punahou trailed 27-21.
Saint Louis recovered the ensuing onside kick and moved slotback Trech Kekahuna to running back in its jumbo formation. With Punahou out of timeouts, Kekahuna gained 8 yards on a third and long but inadvertently stepped out of bounds to stop the clock with 1:58 left.
On fourth-and-6, the Crusaders downed Ray Seabury’s punt at the 3-yard line. Two plays later, linebacker Iona Purcell intercepted McCutcheon’s pass and Saint Louis ran out the final 1:29.
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At Aloha Stadium
Punahou (1-3, 1-3 ILH) 7 7 0 7— 21
Saint Louis (2-2, 2-1 ILH) 7 13 7 0— 27
PUN—Iosepa Lyman 12 pass from
John-Keawe Sagapolutele (Jordan Kapisi kick)
STL—AJ Bianco 1 run (Lason Napuunoa kick)
STL—Chyler DeSilva 8 pass from AJ Bianco (Napuunoa kick)
PUN—Ean Kamau-Waikiki 1 run (Kapisi kick)
STL—Alexzander Lemalu 36 pass from Bianco (kick failed)
STL—Bianco 8 run (Napuunoa kick)
PUN—Noah Macapulay 4 pass from Ty McCutcheon (Kapisi kick)
RUSHING—PUN: Lyman 4-11, Sagapolutele 3-29, Kamau-Waikiki 8-12, Kapisi 1-4. STL: Chaz-Ayden Delto 2-0, Keola
Apduhan 8-45, Bianco 9-20, Keoni Catrett 5-26, Trech Kekahuna 5-19.
PASSSING—PUN: Sagapolutele 12-26-1-144, McCutcheon 6-12-1-63, STL: Bianco 30-43-2-341.
RECEIVING—PUN: Peyton Macapulay 3-81, Lyman 3-16, Astin Hange 2-39, Kamau-Waikiki 4-46, Noah Macapulay 6-25.
STL: Mason Muaau 1-39, DeSilva 2-12, Jaysen Peters-de Laura 8-66, Kekahuna 11-90, Alexzander Lemalu 4-94, Titan Lacaden 2-20, Devon Tauaefa 2-20.
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