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AJ Bianco passed for three touchdowns as No. 3 Saint Louis stunned No. 1 Kamehameha 41-7 to stay alive in the ILH title chase.
By winning the playoff tourney, Saint Louis (4-3) will again face regular-season winner Kamehameha (3-2) for the ILH crown next week.
Since losing to Kamehameha 34-31 two weeks ago during the regular season, Saint Louis has outscored Punahou and Kamehameha by a combined 76-7 in the playoff tournament.
Coach Ron Lee still doesn’t see his team playing its best football yet, but the Crusaders are getting close.
“I feel good. We’re playing better the last two weeks, a lot better. We weren’t playing well until then. We were learning. We’re kind of peaking at just about the right time,” he said.
Bianco passed for 351 yards (16-for-21) with no turnovers and took just one sack. The Crusaders rushed 24 times for 88 yards.
Saint Louis’ defense limited Kamehameha’s normally explosive ground attack to 121 yards on 30 attempts. Running back Noah Bartley had just 32 yards on eight carries before leaving the game with an ankle injury.
Kamehameha had won the first two matchups in thrilling fashion.
“They had some pretty nice schematic things to stop us,” Kamehameha coach Abu Ma‘afala said. “We missed a lot of opportunities.”
Weather was optimal for offenses: no wind and no rain. Saint Louis drove eight plays on the opening series and got a 30-yard field goal from Lason Napuunoa to take a 3-0 lead.
Kamehameha extended its ensuing possession with a 24-yard fake-punt run by Dwight Apao, but the drive stalled near mid-field and the Warriors punted. The Crusaders gifted the ball to their foes when running back Keoni Catrett fumbled and Kamehameha recovered the ball at the Saint Louis 43-yard line.
However, the Warriors went three-and-out and missed their best scoring opportunity of the first quarter.
Saint Louis responded with balance offensively. The ground game set up a 45-yard strike from Bianco, who sold the defense on a possible scramble, to Devon Tauaefa to give the Crusaders a 10-0 lead with 50 seconds to go in the opening quarter.
A sack by freshman defensive tackle Joshua Sagapolutele thwarted Kamehameha’s ensuing series. Saint Louis then drove 73 yards in six plays. Bianco found Jaysen Peters-de Laura for a 27-yard connection to start the drive, then capped it with a 13-yard RPO keeper around right end for a touchdown. The lead was 17 points with 8:18 remaining in the second quarter.
Moments later, defensive back Xander Vincent picked off a pass by Kealii Ah Yat and returned it 14 yards to the Kamehameha 14. The Warriors’ defense stood firm and Saint Louis settled for a 22-yard field goal by Napuunoa for a 20-0 lead with 5:07 to go in the second quarter.
Kamehameha methodically drove to mid-field, and on fourth-and-2, running back Micah Mahiai was stopped for no gain with 1:52 left in the first half.
Saint Louis converted on a fourth-and-10 on Bianco’s completion over the middle to Trech Kekahuna, who raced for a 20-yard gain. Two snaps later, Bianco found Kekahuna just beyond the left pylon, and the receiver hauled the pass in while keeping both feet inbounds for an 18-yard touchdown with 24 seconds left in the first half.
Kamehameha went three-and-out to begin the second half. Two plays after a punt, Bianco launched a bomb down the hashmarks to Mason Muaau for a 65-yard touchdown. The margin was 34 points with 9:46 remaining in the third stanza.
By this point, Bartley was seated on the trainer’s table with his left ankle wrapped in ice.
After another Kamehameha punt, Saint Louis needed just four plays to hit pay dirt again. Bianco launched a 38-yard strike to Chyler DeSilva and a 25-yard completion to Yosei Takahashi. Keola Apduhan’s 3-yard blast to the end zone opened the lead to 41-0 with 5:51 to go in the third quarter, triggering the running-clock mercy rule on the ensuing kickoff.
Kamehameha got on the scoreboard with a 60-yard pass from Ah Yat to Raiden Morris with 7:41 remaining.
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No. 3 Saint Louis 41, No. 1 Kamehameha 7
At Aloha Stadium
Saint Louis (4-3, 2-2 ILH) 10 17 14 0 — 41
Kamehameha (3-2, 3-1 ILH) 0 0 0 7 — 7
STL—Lason Napuunoa FG 30
STL—Devon Tauaefa 45 pass from AJ Bianco (Napuunoa kick)
STL—Bianco 13 run (Napuunoa kick)
STL—Napuunoa FG 22
STL—Trech Kekahuna 18 pass from Bianco (Napuunoa kick)
STL—Mason Muaau 65 pass from Bianco (Napuunoa kick)
STL—Keola Apduhan 3 run (Napuunoa kick)
KS—Raiden Morris 60 pass from Kealii Ah Yat (Winston Freitas kick)
Individual statistics
RUSHING—STL: Keoni Catrett 4-15, Keola Apduhan 6-34, AJ Bianco 6-17, Chaz Delto 3-12, William Lentz 2-7, Elijah Dolor 1-3, No. 86 1-1. KS: Noah Bartley 8-32, Kealii Ah Yat 3-(-11), Dwight Apao 1-24, Blaze Kamoku 1-(-2), Micah Mahiai 11-50, Sunrise Solatorio 5-29, team 1-(-1),
PASSING—STL: Bianco 16-21-0-351, Kauna‘oa Kamakawiwo‘ole 4-8-0-25. KS: Kealii Ah Yat 8-19-1-103, Brayden Keopuhiwa 0-4-1-0.
RECEIVING—STL: Trech Kekahuna 5-56, Muaau 2-78, Jaysen Peters-de Laura 4-93, Tauaefa 2-58, Chyler DeSilva 3-49, Yosei Takahashi 2-29, Randon Cordeiro 2-13. KS: Bartley 1-3, Duke Lorenzo 2-7, Sheyden Iokia 1-4, Kamoku 1-8, Morris 2-73, Mahiai 1-8.
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