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John-Keawe Sagapolutele passed for a career-high 414 yards and three touchdowns as No. 2 Punahou overpowered No. 5. Saint Louis 42-21 on Saturday afternoon at Alexander Field.
With one game left in the regular season, Punahou (6-1, 3-0 ILH Open Division) clinched the top seed in the upcoming playoffs. After playing Kamehameha next weekend, the Buffanblu will have a first-round bye. The top seeding also earns the Buffanblu a cushion; Saint Louis (3-4, 2-2) or Kamehameha will have to beat Punahou twice to earn the league crown.
Saint Louis had won every ILH Open football title since 2015. The Crusaders lost to Punahou 43-19 in their first matchup, and turnovers made a difference again in the rematch.
“We’re representing our school the best way we know how. Especially beating Saint Louis — they’ve been the top dog in the ILH,” right tackle Tuineau Muti said.
Sagapolutele enjoyed the balance and variance of the Buffanblu offensive attack. Ala‘i Williams rushed for 95 yards and two TDs, and Iosepa Lyman added 41 yards and one TD. Sagapolutele completed 24 of his 33 pass attempts and was intercepted just once. In all Punahou totaled 36 pass attempts and 29 rushes (for 151 yards).
In all, the offensive line paved the way for 572 yards of total offense. Saint Louis did not record a single sack.
“We needed to get our assignments done. Last game, we missed a couple of assignments,” Muti said.
Astin Hange hauled in eight passes for 169 yards and two TDs. Most of the yardage came after the catch as he slipped away. Seven Buffanblu caught passes from Sagapolutele and backup QB Ty McCutcheon. Sagapolutele had 158 passing yards by the end of the first quarter.
“John’s just recommitted to execution. He’s committed to being disciplined with his eyes and his feet,” quarterbacks coach Cayman Shutter said. “When that happens, you trust your reactions. He’s one of the best, if not the best, in the state. It’s all about trust. If you trust the system, if you trust your O-line, you trust your receivers, he has all the ability in the world. All he has to do is put his eyes in the right place and he’s going to make it happen.”
Before senior-ceremony festivities began, coach Nate Kia almost smiled, but he isn’t satisfied yet.
“We have a lot of things to work on,” he said.
“We can always get better,” sophomore right guard KJ Hallums added. “We shot ourselves in the foot sometimes. It’s us against ourselves.”
Kekahi Graham was 22-for-30 with 310 yards and three TD passes for the Crusaders. Unlike Punahou, Saint Louis struggled to get a consistent ground game going. The Crusaders had 29 net rushing yards on 15 attempts.
Saint Louis’ defense appeared to have Punahou’s offense under control early on. Then Sagapolutele fired a quick play-action slant pass to Hange, who broke a tackle and sprinted to the left pylon for a 64-yard touchdown. It was 7-0 with 10:16 to go in the opening quarter.
The drive was kept alive by a personal foul on Saint Louis after a third-down stop.
Punahou then recovered a pooch kickoff by Jordan Kapisi at the Saint Louis 29-yard line, but Sagapolutele overthrew an open receiver and was picked off by Dallas Pelen-Talalotu. His 20-yard return gave the offense possession at the Crusaders’ 39-yard line.
Aided by a Punahou facemask penalty, the Crusaders drove to pay dirt. Graham found Chyler DeSilva on a slant route for a 4-yard TD pass, tying the game with 7:41 to go in the first quarter.
Punahou responded with a five-play, 70-yard scoring drive. A play-action pass from Sagapolutele to Hange for 48 yards set up Punahou at the Saint Louis 10-yard line, and Lyman ran for the TD on the next snap. Punahou led 14-7 with 5:28 to go in the first quarter.
Punahou’s kickoff trickery continued with an onside kick that was muffed by a Saint Louis up man. Punahou recovered the ball but was whistled for interference.
Saint Louis drove to the Punahou 4-yard line, but Graham missed his target over the middle and was intercepted in the middle of the end zone by Blayne Shiraki for a touchback.
After an unsportsmanlike conduct call on Shiraki, Punahou began its next series at its 10-yard line. Fourteen plays later, Sagapolutele found Noah Macapulay in the end zone for an 8-yard TD. Punahou led 21-7 with 10:36 left in the first half.
The Buffanblu were at the Saint Louis 12-yard line when Lyman fumbled and the Crusaders recovered. Two plays later, Graham found Yosei Takahashi uncovered and wide open on the right sideline, and the track star raced alone to the end zone for a 74-yard touchdown. Saint Louis was within 21-14 with 4:30 to go in the first half.
Punahou regained momentum with a nine-play, 80-yard march. Williams powered in for a 2-yard TD to give Punahou a 14-point lead with 48 seconds remaining before halftime.
The Crusaders drove to the Punahou 25-yard line with the opening possession of the second half, but turned the ball over on downs. Punahou turned around and benefited on a fourth-and-1 punt from an illegal participation call on Saint Louis.
Sagapolutele’s 14-yard TD pass to Hange on a crossing route opened the lead to 35-14 with 3:34 left in the third stanza.
Williams tacked on an insurance score with a 6-yard blast up the middle to the end zone with 9:34 remaining.
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PUNAHOU 42, SAINT LOUIS 21
At Alexander Field
Saint Louis (3-4, 2-2) 7 7 0 7 — 21
Punahou (6-1, 3-0) 14 14 7 7 — 42
Pun—Astin Hange 64 pass from John-Keawe Sagapolutele (Jordan Kapisi kick)
StL—Chyler DeSilva 4 pass from Kekahi Graham (Makena Kauai kick)
Pun—Iosepa Lyman 10 run (Kapisi kick)
Pun—Noah Macapulay 8 pass from Sagapolutele (Kapisi kick)
StL—Yosei Takahashi 74 pass from Graham (Kauai kick)
Pun—Ala‘i Williams 2 run (Kapisi kick)
Pun—Hange 14 pass from Sagapolutele (Kapisi kick)
Pun—Williams 6 run (Kapisi kick)
StL—Takahashi 41 pass from Graham (Kauai kick)
RUSHING—Saint Louis: Graham 6-20, Ola Apduhan 6-17, Chaz Delto 2-4, TEAM 1-(minus 12). Punahou: Williams 17-95, Lyman 9-41, Ean Kamau-Waikiki 2-20, TEAM 1-(minus 5).
PASSING—Saint Louis: Graham 22-30-1-310, Jahren Altura 1-1-0-5. Punahou: Sagapolutele 24-33-1-414, Ty McCutcheon 1-3-0-7.
RECEIVING—Saint Louis: Takahashi 5-135, DeSilva 8-69, Titan Lacaden 6-61, Nicholas Delgadillo 2-46, Delto 2-4. Punahou: Hange 8-169, Justice Wu 2-69, Kamau-Waikiki 5-66, Macapulay 5-66, Christian Kauhane 2-28, Lyman 2-16, Luke Uechi 1-7.
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