Micah Alejado is from Ewa Beach, but when he puts on his helmet and pads, he is a Bishop Gorman Gael.
The junior quarterback passed for 293 yards and five touchdowns — all in the first half — as nationally ranked Bishop Gorman (Nev.) overwhelmed Saint Louis 56-14 on Friday night at John Kauinana Stadium in Mililani.
“He needs to grow every day. The best thing is even if he makes a mistake, you see the progression and he never makes the same mistake twice,” Gaels coach Brett Browner said.
Alejado played for the Ewa Beach Sabers before moving to the “Ninth Island” before high school.
“It’s a blessing to be on this team. My O-line, they always put in work before and after practice. It’s definitely big props to them,” Alejado said. “We just came out and tried to execute our game plan. It starts with the O-line to the receivers to the running backs. My O-line gave me time and my receivers making plays.”
One of those targets was senior Trech Kekahuna, who was Saint Louis’ leading returning pass catcher before transferring to Bishop Gorman over the summer. Kekahuna had two touchdown receptions.
“It feels good to come back home and play against my old school. I had to do business,” Kekahuna said. “The whole week prepping for them was kind of like flashbacks of me playing for Saint Louis.”
A large contingent of Gaels supporters saw the visitors score on their first seven possessions against Saint Louis, which is ranked No. 5 in the Star-Advertiser Top 10.
“Speed. Believe or not, we’re getting better. Our snaps are getting back, we’re doing things better, but we made mistakes,” Crusaders coach Ron Lee said. “I’m not worried about the score. We’ve got to get ready for ILH.”
The Gaels were opportunistic and superior in all three phases. Lee said Bishop Gorman has 20 of 22 starters back. The Gaels came to the islands with a business-first approach.
“I feel good. We’ve been welcomed in the islands 1,000%. It’s a great team that we just played. I don’t think anyone realizes how good that team is. Hat’s off to them and good luck for the rest of the season,” Browner said.
Bishop Gorman improved to 2-1, bouncing back from a 24-21 loss to the USA Today Super 25’s No. 1-ranked team, Mater Dei (Calif.), last week.
“I don’t care if Saint Louis lost a bunch of kids. They’re a powerhouse. They have great coaches, they know the system. Everybody has those kinds of up and down years. We knew coming here, the travel would be tough. We’re just glad the kids are able to manage it,” Browner said. “We have a lot of kids who are from here or have roots here so it means a lot to them.”
Edge rusher Quincy Davis, a 6-foot-2, 220-pound senior, had three sacks.
“Quincy has been here for a long time. He’s definitely one of the best kids that we have,” Browner said. “He’s just a little bit overlooked only because we’ve had some guys in front of him, but I think he’s starting to shine in these recent games.”
The Gaels, in white from head to toe with light gray numerals on their jerseys, scored three quick touchdowns before the home team could answer.
Alejado’s shovel pass to Kekahuna went for a 14-yard score on Bishop Gorman’s first series.
After an interception by Jeremiah Hughes, the Gaels set up at the Crusaders’ 13-yard line. Two plays later, Alejado found Elija Lofton near the left corner of the end zone, giving the Gaels a 14-0 lead with 7:05 to go in the opening quarter.
After a Crusaders punt, Alejado directed his offense on a five-play, 72-yard drive. He found DeVon Rice near the right sideline on a screen play, and Rice sliced through five defenders to the left pylon for a 59-yard TD. It was 21-0 with 3:20 to go in the first quarter.
Saint Louis then drove six plays, 80 yards to pay dirt. Kekahi Graham scrambled out of the pocket to his left and connected with Titan Lacaden for a 25-yard TD to get the Crusaders on the scoreboard with 1:48 remaining in the first quarter.
The Gaels continued their masterful efficiency despite seven penalties in the first half. Alejado’s 2-yard TD pass to Zachariah Branch opened the lead to 28-7 with 10:35 to go in the second quarter. Alejado also found running back Micah Kaapana wide open in the end zone on a 25-yard TD pass.
Backup QB Melvin Spicer IV later found Kekahuna open between the hashmarks, and the speedster raced by defenders for a 39-yard TD and a 42-7 lead with 38 seconds to go in the first half.
In the second half, the Gaels added TD runs of 66 and 51 yards by reserve running back Myles Norman.
The Crusaders got a second TD connection from Graham to Lacaden, a 20-yard strike to the middle of the end zone, with 5:52 remaining.
The win is Bishop Gorman’s second in a row over the Crusaders. The Gaels won last year in Nevada, 42-21.
The Gaels are No. 8 in the MaxPreps national rankings and 11th in the USA Today Super 25.
Saint Louis last defeated Bishop Gorman in 2019, 31-19 at Aloha Stadium.
Bishop Gorman opened the season with a 42-7 road win over Corner Canyon (Utah) before last week’s loss to Mater Dei.
The Gaels will travel to Arizona to meet Hamilton next week, then on to Brookwood (Ga.) before opening league play on Sept. 23 against Arbor View.
Down the road, there’s still hope for a second chance at Mater Dei and a national championship.
“Coming off that (loss), we learned from our mistakes and the rest of the year we have to play lights out,” Alejado said. “Definitely hoping for a chance. We’ve got to work and see what happens.”
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BISHOP GORMAN 56, SAINT LOUIS 14
At John Kauinana Stadium
B. Gorman (2-1) 21 21 7 7 — 56
Saint Louis (1-2) 7 0 0 7 — 14
BG—Trech Kekahuna 14 pass from Micah Alejado (Myro kick)
BG—Elija Lofton 9 pass from Alejado (Gunnar Myro kick)
BG—DeVon Rice 59 pass from Alejado (Myro kick)
StL—Titan Lacaden 25 pass from Kekahi Graham (Makena Kauai kick)
BG—Zachariah Branch 2 pass from Alejado (Myro kick)
BG—Kaapana 25 pass from Alejado (Myro kick)
BG—Kekahuna 39 pass from Melvin Spicer IV (Myro kick)
BG—Myles Norman 66 run (Myro kick)
BG—Norman 51 run (Myro kick)
StL—Lacaden 20 pass from Graham (Kauai kick)
RUSHING—Bishop Gorman: Norman 7-150, Spicer IV 2-29, Rice 3-18, Kaapana 3-12, Alejado 4-(-10). Saint Louis: Ola Apduhan 6-7, Kaisa Lemau 2-1, William Lentz 1-(minus 1), Graham 7-(minus 40).
PASSING—Bishop Gorman: Alejado 18-22-0-293, Spicer IV 3-5-0-95, Parker Berg 0-1-0-0. Saint Louis: Graham 16-31-3-211.
RECEIVING—Bishop Gorman: Kekahuna 6-106, Zachariah Branch 5-72, Kaapana 3-42, Lofton 3-37, Rice 1-59, Jaylon Edmond 1-36, Derek Meadows 1-22, Jett Washington 1-14. Saint Louis: Lacaden 5-68, Chyler DeSilva 5-40, Jaysen Peters-de Laura 2-44, Nicholas Delgadillo 2-31, Josiah Fetui 1-20, Yosei Takahashi 1-8.
