GEORGE F. LEE / GLEE@STARBULLETIN.COM Saint Louis defenders Christopher Kamaka, below, and Hooikaika Cavaco-Amoy upended McKinley's Tilton Kaluna during last night's game at Kaiser High School.

Crusaders win big

With his team struggling to get anything going on offense, senior wide receiver Chase Alcott provided the spark a young Saint Louis team needed.

Alcott hauled in a 23-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Micah Mamiya midway through the third quarter, and added an 88-yard kickoff return for a score just 2 minutes later as Saint Louis overcame a sloppy first half to defeat McKinley 42-7 last night in the nonconference opener for both teams at Kaiser Stadium.

The Crusaders return just two starters on defense and three on offense, and their inexperience showed early as both teams struggled to move the ball.

"It's their first game under the lights," Saint Louis coach Delbert Tengan said. "We just needed to settle down and Chase got us started with the big plays."

The Crusaders led 7-0 at halftime on a 16-yard fumble return by Elston Pang for the only score of the half. After both teams punted the ball on their first possessions of the second half, Alcott finally got the big play the Crusaders needed, hauling in a 23-yard touchdown pass from Mamiya, a junior making his first start.

"I thought (Micah) missed some throws that could have gotten us points in the first half, but he settled down and played nicely after that," Tengan said.

Christopher Kamaka returned another fumble for a touchdown as Saint Louis increased its lead to 21.

With nothing going on offense, the Tigers looked to wide receiver Ben Davis to turn things around, and the senior responded, taking a screen pass 54 yards for a touchdown as he weaved his way through three Crusaders defenders before breaking away for the score.

McKinley didn't hold the momentum for long, as Alcott put his final touches on the game just 10 seconds later, returning the ensuing kickoff 88 yards for a touchdown that gave Saint Louis a 28-7 lead.

"It was just a matter of my guys making the blocks," Alcott said. "I just waited for it to happen and then took off."

Alcott split two defenders on the play and raced down the Crusaders sideline before switching fields near the 50-yard line and cutting all the way back to the other side for the score.

"He's going to be one of the guys we really look to make plays for us this season," Tengan said.

The Crusaders added two late touchdowns on runs by Lene Auelua and Kekoa Phillips for the game's final scores.