Thursday, November 1, 2001

Crusaders, Warriors
meet for ILH title

A state tournament bid is on
the line and a loss would end
Cal Lee's St. Louis career

---

By Jason Kaneshiro
jkaneshiro@starbulletin.com

Call it unfinished business.

When St. Louis and Kamehameha last met on Sept. 22, they left Aloha Stadium with the hollow feeling of a 24-24 tie. But that contest now serves as prelude for the game of the year in the Interscholastic League of Honolulu.

The Warriors and Crusaders meet at 7:30 p.m. tomorrow at Aloha Stadium, with the winner claiming the ILH title and a spot in the state tournament. The loser's season is over.

"It's a big game for both of us," St. Louis coach Cal Lee said. "It's an exciting time and we're so glad to be involved in it."

In other ILH season finales tomorrow, Iolani hosts Punahou at 3:15 p.m. and Pac-Five takes on Damien at 4:45 in the first game of the Aloha Stadium doubleheader.

St. Louis and Kamehameha enter their rematch with 5-0-1 records. And in the unlikely event of another tie, the teams would meet a third time in a playoff game on Nov. 8 at Aloha Stadium.

Kamehameha has been in this position recently, taking on St. Louis in ILH championship games in 1997, '98 and '99. But St. Louis managed to come out on top each time.

"We have to play focused and error-free," Kamehameha coach Kanani Souza said. "There's no room for error when you play in these games."

In their first meeting this season, Kamehameha jumped out to a 17-0 lead only to see the Crusaders score 24 unanswered points. The Warriors tied the game in the third quarter and neither team could muster much offense in the fourth.

But both sides say that game will have little bearing on tomorrow's matchup.

"It's whole new ballgame," Souza said. "There's a lot of things that have occurred on both sides that will make this a very unique game. The only thing we're concentrating on is looking at the things we didn't do well and see if we can improve upon that."

Kamehameha running back Kelena Hookano is the Warriors' primary offensive threat, and has been complemented by Caleb Spencer's development at quarterback. Hookano leads the ILH with 117 yards per game and is the league's leading scorer, with nine touchdowns.

"You have to stop the running game," Lee said. "You have to be prepared for the running game first and take something away."

But Kamehameha's strength may lie on the defensive side of the ball. Brandon Ala and Albert Maafala anchor a disruptive defensive line that sets the tone for the rest of the unit.

"I'm not surprised by how Brandon and Abu are playing, because we were counting on that kind of play from both of them," Souza said. "But I'm really excited about the play of (linemen) Brandon Tom and JP Kennedy. They've taken their game to another level. And maybe playing alongside Brandon and Abu helped them raise their level of play.

"The defense has been playing real well. We just need a great, great game from them if we even stand a chance."

They will face a St. Louis offense that hasn't performed with the precision of past teams but has hit its stride lately.

After struggling early in the season, quarterback Bobby George has raised his completion rate to 56 percent and has 20 touchdown passes against 10 interceptions. Receiver Jason Rivers averages 23 yards per catch and leads the ILH with seven touchdowns.

A key for Kamehameha will be to avoid giving up big plays early in the game against a St. Louis team fired up for what could be Lee's final ILH contest.

"You go in knowing that there will be an emotional advantage for them and they're going to come out whooping and hollering," Souza said. "So if we can just be tough in the early goings of the game and try to weather those high emotions, that'll give us a chance."

But Lee downplays any talk of the team trying to win one for him.

"They have to play for themselves, that's the bottom line," he said. "You're out there because you enjoy the game, the camaraderie between your teammates. You play for your parents, play for your school, but basically play for yourself."

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