Kyree Benton saved his best for last, and Saint Frances (Md.), the nation’s No. 3-ranked team, escaped Kahuku with a 22-15 come-from-behind win on Friday night.
Trailing 15-14, quarterback Michael Van Buren found Benton for a 10-yard touchdown pass with 39 seconds left to give Saint Frances the lead.
“I feel elated. Happy. Blessed. Really tough week coming over from the East Coast. Our guys responded. They never wavered. They never gave up,” Panthers coach Messay Hailemariam said. “They had faith in themselves and in each other. The coaches, we all stayed together and we kept it a family. In reality, it takes that kind of bond to win games like that.”
Saint Frances, located in inner-city Baltimore, has played across the country in Texas, Florida and South Carolina, and is now 5-0. Ranked No. 1 in the Star-Advertiser Top 10, Kahuku dropped to 6-2 (4-0 OIA Open), but came up with incredible defense. Saint Frances did not score on offense until the fourth quarter.
“I trusted my defense tonight and they played a heck of a game. I’m so proud of them,” Kahuku coach Sterling Carvalho said. “Our coaches put together a great game plan. We learned from the St. John Bosco (loss) how to play against these big guys. How to keep leverage, maintain discipline, and our guys made plays. It was a great football game. The turnovers killed us.”
Defense was the theme for both teams. Saint Frances’ Da’Shawn Womack was unstoppable with his size and closing speed.
“First time in Hawaii. I always thought about my family because my family always travels with me. I was thinking, if I come out of here with a dub, I’ll be able to bring my family back out here to visit,” Womack said. “My brother (teammate) Lamar, he never been to Hawaii. He passed away.”
Lamar Patterson, the team’s top wide receiver, died in a train accident in early February.
“His energy for the team. He was always positive about everything,” Womack said.
A packed house at Carleton Weimer Field saw Kahuku on the brink of a major upset. Kahuku had a 15-8 lead and the ball on the Saint Frances 24-yard line after recovering a pooch kickoff in the fourth quarter. However, on fourth down, Womack, a 6-foot-5, 245-pound defensive lineman, returned a fumble by Waika Crawford 60 yards, cutting the lead to 15-14.
The Panthers were whistled for two penalties, both enforced on the ensuing PAT attempt. From the Kahuku 33-yard line, Van Buren’s found Williams, who was down at the 10-yard line. Kahuku kept a 15-14 lead.
After a Kahuku punt, Saint Frances got the ball at its 16-yard line with 3:32 left. After a holding call, the Panthers were on their own 7. Three plays later, Kahuku came up with its biggest takeaway of the game, but the Panthers refused to give up.
Van Buren found Benton for his first catch of the game, a 10-yard TD with 39 seconds left. A photo showed Benton stepping out of bounds and the 1-yard line, but officials made the touchdown call official. After running the ball in, Saint Frances had a 22-15 lead.
Kahuku had the ball on its 28-yard line after Kaimana Carvalho’s kick return, but was unable to muster any positive yardage and turned the ball over on downs. Saint Frances took a knee in the final seconds, ending an epic showdown.
The battle was almost exclusively a defensive stalemate for three quarters, which suited Kahuku well.
After stopping the visitors on a goal-line stand at the 1-yard line, Kahuku drove with couple of completions, but Kameron Howard jumped an out route and turned a Waika Carvalho pass into a pick-6 from 25 yards out. After a successful 2-point run, the Panthers led 8-0 with 6:41 to go in the opening quarter.
Kahuku dipped deep into the well, going back to their elephant formation of years past. A 12-play, 70-yard drive was finished off on a 1-yard keeper by Va‘aimalae Fonoti. That was followed by a 2-point pass from Kaimana Carvalho to Liona Lefau on a reverse, tying the game at 8 with 9:12 left in the first half.
A fumble recovery by Maximum Fonoimoana gave Kahuku the ball at the Saint Frances 33-yard line. However, the Panthers’ defense stiffened, and after a Kahuku personal foul, the possession ended with a punt.
After a Panthers’ punt, Kahuku drove to the Saint Frances 33, but Womack recovered a Fonoti fumble. Saint Frances then drove into the red zone, but Lefau intercepted a slant pass to end the threat.
Kahuku then ran into trouble when #17 fumbled, giving the visitors the ball at the 14-yard line with 1:21 to go in the first half. The Panthers drove to the 1-yard line, where Kahuku’s wall stacked up running back DeJuan Williams with 14 seconds left.
On the next play, Brock Fonoimoana deflected a pass in the end zone. On third down, Shawn Niu defended a pass to the right pylon
On fourth and goal from the 1 with 6 seconds left before the half, Kahuku called time out.
Williams, who missed part of the first half with an apparent injury, appeared to have a small crease off right tackle, but Big Red swallowed it up and stifled the Panthers as the first half expired. It was Kahuku’s second goal-line stand of the game.
Considering the absence of two key offensive weapons — wide receiver Kainoa Carvalho and running back Clyde Taulapapa — it was a resilient performance by the home team in the first half.
A third goal-line stand by Kahuku came in the third stanza. Saint Frances ran around end effectively, setting up first and goal at the 6. On fourth and goal from the 4, Michael Van Buren’s pass to Manning in the end zone to Ryan Manning fell incomplete, and it remained 8-all with less than 5 minutes left in the third.
After a Kahuku punt, Frances took over at the Kahuku 46-yard line and had fourth-and-long when Chase Wilkens faked a punt and threw a pass that fell incomplete.
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SAINT FRANCES (MD.) 22, KAHUKU 15
At Kahuku
Saint Frances (5-0) 8 0 0 14 — 22
Kahuku (6-2, 4-0) 0 8 0 7 — 15
StF—Kameron Howard 25 interception return (Ryan Manning run)
Kah—Va‘aimalae Fonoti 1 run (Liona Lefau pass from Kaimana Carvalho)
Kah—Fonoti 1 run (Zaden Mariteragi kick)
StF—Da’Shawn Womack 60 fumble return (pass failed)
StF—Kyree Benton 10 pass from Michael Van Buren (Durell Robinson run)
RUSHING—Saint Frances: Williams 13-54, Robinson 10-34, Jaelyn Burke 1-5, Blake Woodby 1-0, Van Buren 2-(minus 1), Manning 1-(minus 2), TEAM 1-(minus 2). Kahuku: Fonoti 32-61,Lamana Tapusoa 1-2, Carvalho 1-0, TEAM 1-(minus 4), Waika Crawford 8-(minus 40).
PASSING—Saint Frances: Van Buren 14-28-2-221, Chase Wilkens 0-1-0-0. Kahuku: Crawford 13-22-1-102.
RECEIVING—Saint Frances: Manning 8-176, Tyler Stewart 1-16, Robinson 1-13, Benton 1-10, Wilkens 1-6, Mason Beale 1-5, Woodby 1-(minus 5). Kahuku: Carvalho 4-27, Brock Fonoimoana 2-25, Tavian Hallums 3-24, Kache Kaio 1-9, Keona Poouahi-Macpherson 1-9, Manulele Ah You 1-5, Lefau 1-3.
