After all of the COVID-19 protocols and the delay to the start of the season for the OIA, we’re right back to where we usually end the prep football season.
Kahuku and Saint Louis will play Thursday for a state championship for the 10th time in 22 seasons since the format replaced the Prep Bowl in 1999.
The No. 1 seed in the Open Division of the First Hawaiian Bank/HHSAA Football State Championships, Kahuku shut out Campbell 21-0 on Saturday to remain undefeated at 9-0.
The Red Raiders will look to win a record ninth state title when they play the four-time defending Open Division state champion Saint Louis Crusaders, who have one fewer state championship than Kahuku with seven.
Together, the two schools own 15 of the 21 trophies handed out at the end of the season to the top-tier champion.
It came down to the final play between Saint Louis and Mililani late Saturday night under windy and rainy conditions at Farrington’s Skippa Diaz Stadium.
The Trojans erased a 25-14 deficit late in the third quarter and held the lead for just over a minute midway through the fourth quarter when John Herold-Namu completed a 2-point conversion with a pass to quarterback Emana Tarape, who looked like he dropped the ball.
It was ruled a catch after a replay challenge, and Mililani held a one-point lead looking to snap Saint Louis’ eight-game winning streak in the state tournament.
The ILH champion Crusaders retook the lead on a 38-yard field goal into the wind by Lason Napuunoa with 5:46 remaining, but the Trojans had two drives to try to win the game.
Saint Louis senior defensive back Kawaihinano Kalaukoa intercepted Tarape on fourth down to end the first drive and then batted down the game’s final pass that fell near the Saint Louis 5-yard line to end it with the Crusaders winning 27-25.
After all of that, the stage is set for Kahuku/Saint Louis: Part 10. The Red Raiders own a 5-4 advantage over the Crusaders in state title games.
“Just super excited,” said Saint Louis quarterback AJ Bianco, who finished 14-for-22 for 179 yards and rushed for a team-high 62 yards and a touchdown against the Trojans. “We’ve been waiting two years for this. I couldn’t be with a better group of guys.”
Bianco was held without a touchdown pass for the first time this season against an opponent from Hawaii.
Saint Louis began the season losing to Bishop Gorman in Las Vegas on Aug. 20 and waited four weeks before playing again against Punahou.
The Crusaders lost twice to Kamehameha in the regular season before bouncing back to win two meetings in the playoffs and claimed a sixth consecutive league title on Nov. 5.
Saint Louis then endured a six-week break before edging Mililani to keep the Open Division final an ILH vs. OIA affair.
There has never been a state final involving two teams from the OIA.
“We’ve been through a lot this year, ups and downs,” Bianco said. “Next Thursday, it all comes down to that.”
The Crusaders have lost three games in a season for the first time since 2014, but their four straight state championships is the longest consecutive streak for a team in the top-tier division.
Kahuku has run through its entire slate this season, winning nine times by a combined score of 400-84.
The Red Raiders haven’t won the state title since 2015 when they beat Saint Louis and quarterback Tua Tagovailoa in the final. It’s the longest drought without a state championship for the Red Raiders.
Head coach Sterling Carvalho, who is 25-9 in his third season in charge of the program, admitted after beating Campbell that he was hoping his team would get the ILH powerhouse in the final.
“To be honest, deep down inside I want it to be Saint Louis,” Carvalho said. “I want to beat the defending state champions.”
The game Thursday will be the second game of a doubleheader. In the Division I state final, ‘Iolani, which won six straight Division II state championships from 2007 to ’12 and eight overall, will play Lahainaluna, which won the last four D-II state titles.
The Division II state championship will be decided on Dec. 30.
SATURDAY’S LATE SCORE
No. 2 Saint Louis 27, No. 3 Mililani 25
At Skippa Diaz Stadium
Mililani (5-3) 0 14 3 8 — 25
Saint Louis (6-3) 7 3 14 3 — 27
StL—Iona Purcell blocked punt recovery in end zone (Lason Napuunoa kick)
Mil—Kapono Hookano-Sallas 31 pass from Emana Tarape (Makel Paiva kick)
Mil—Raymond Roller 43 pass from Tarape (Paiva kick)
StL—FG Napuunoa 24
StL—AJ Bianco 9 run (Napuunoa kick)
StL—Keola Apduhan 9 run (Napuunoa kick)
Mil—FG Paiva 21
Mil—Nehemiah Timoteo 12 run (Tarape from John Herold-Namu)
StL—FG Napuunoa 38
RUSHING—Mililani: Timoteo 18-106, Tavian Hallums 9-22, Kanoa Ferreira 1-4, Tarape 3-(minus 19). Saint Louis: Bianco 16-62, Apduhan 9-50, Jaysen Peters-de Laura 1-8, Boston Opetaia 1-3, Mana Catrett 3-3, Kekahuna 2-1.
PASSING—Mililani: Tarape 14-28-1-190, Hookano-Sallas 1-1-0-31. Saint Louis: Bianco 14-22-0-179, Kaunaoa Kamakawiwaole 1-1-0-6.
RECEIVING—Mililani: Hookano-Sallas 4-68, Jensyn McGee 4-25, Gavin Hunter 3-47, John Herold-Namu 2-36, Roller 1-43, Micah Rapez-Esclito 1-2. Saint Louis: Mason Muaau 5-72, Trech Kekahuna 6-43, Jaysen Peters-de Laura 1-40, Titan Lacaden 1-11, Chyler DeSilva 1-10, Yosei Takahashi 1-9.
