Saint Louis holds on to No. 1 by tipping rival Kamehameha

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Kamehameha threw a scare into No. 1 Saint Louis on Saturday, but the Crusaders responded and held on to their top spot in the Star-Bulletin's high school football poll this week.

Saint Louis edged Kamehameha 14-7, a performance that helped the Warriors jump two spots despite the loss.

Kamehameha was ranked No. 8 last week and benefited from the teams around it losing. Four of the Star-Bulletin's top-10 teams lost over the weekend.

Leilehua lost to Kapolei 21-0 to drop from No. 6 to No. 10, Waianae lost to Aiea 30-20 to drop from No. 7 to No. 8 and Farrington lost at Kahuku 27-7 and dropped out of the poll from No. 9.

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Winning pretty isn't a necessity, not in the eyes of the Star-Bulletin/KITV News Football Top 10 voting panel.

Tied at No. 2 Punahou and Kahuku share the second spot in the Star-Bulletin's high school football poll 1. Saint Louis 5-0 2. Kahuku 4-2 2. Punahou 3-1 4. Mililani 5-1 5. Baldwin 3-1 6. Kamehameha 1-2-1 7. Lahainaluna 4-0 8. Kapolei 4-2 8. Waianae 5-2 10. Leilehua 3-3

That's why Saint Louis collected all 20 first-place votes to retain its No. 1 ranking in today's poll. The Crusaders were outgained by rival Kamehameha, but did at least two things well to pull out a 14-7 win.

The Crusaders cut down on penalties. The week before, they amassed 12 yellow flags for 124 yards of lost yardage. In addition, kicker Brent Shimabukuro continued his stellar kickoff performance, adding two more touchbacks to his season total.

Quarterback Micah Mamiya struggled against a "quarter" package -- six defensive backs in a 3-2 set -- for much of the night.

However, his offensive line, led by center Mana Greig, was consistent enough to establish a solid ground game. Saint Louis rushed for 98 yards to keep Kamehameha's rapidly improving offensive attack off the field long enough to pull out a win for the Crusaders.

Saint Louis' offense, a hybrid of the run-and-shoot and Urban Meyer's flex option, has seen 3-2 fronts before. Punahou, which lost to Saint Louis 28-14 two weeks ago, ran a version of it. The Buffanblu often dropped eight defenders into pass coverage.

"They tried to jam Micah's passing lanes," Tengan noted.

Kamehameha, though, mixed up blitzes and left their cornerbacks to single coverage.

"They tweaked it a little bit, but our linemen adjusted well. They had great coverage," Tengan said.

Saint Louis, which is now 16-0 with Mamiya as a starting quarterback, doesn't get any breaks. After a three-week hiatus in September, there are no byes on the rest of the schedule. Iolani and its no-huddle offense are up next.

"We'll have our hands full with Iolani, then come back to play Punahou," Tengan said. "It's a murderous schedule."

A rematch with Kamehameha is also down the road. Defense-minded coaches like Tengan and coordinator Jacob Yoro will certainly have some tactical adjustments for Warriors quarterback Michael Hoke next time.

"Hoke did a nice job of mixing it up and hitting the check-downs. That's the beauty of our league," Tengan said. "What worked the first time won't necessarily work the second time."

Kapolei returned to the Top 10 at No. 8 following a key win over Leilehua.

Kealakehe was on the verge of returning to the Top 10 for the first time since last season, but came just two points short of No. 10 Leilehua. Kealakehe is 6-0 (5-0 in league play) after a 54-35 win over Waiakea.