No. 3 Saint Louis upends Farrington

They are the strongest metal in the world, these Saint Louis Crusaders.

They bend, but will not break. The third-ranked Crusaders used that flexible defense to stifle No. 5 Farrington 24-10 last night before 3,500 fans at Ticky Vasconcellos Stadium.

Saint Louis, outgained by nearly 100 yards, improved to 2-0, thanks to defense and a superb special teams effort. Quarterback Jeremy Higgins, younger brother of former Crusader and current Weber State starter Cameron Higgins, was highly efficient. The junior completed 15 of his 20 attempts for 116 yards, one touchdown and no turnovers.

Higgins spread his aerial gifts to seven different teammates, continuing a positive climb from last week's season-opening win over Mililani.

"Our receivers, they always want the love," Higgins said.

The Crusaders defense, gang-tackling and swarming all night, was led by defensive back Marcus Umu and lineman Dean Viena, among others. They kept Farrington's elusive quarterback, Dayton Kealoha, under control for most of the night.

Kealoha was 14-for-27 for 149 yards with no picks. His main target, Drake Miller, caught 11 passes for 110 yards. The Govs (2-1) ran for 105 tough yards on 33 carries and finished with 254 total yards. Saint Louis had 157 total yards.

"They did a lot of things to confuse our O-line, but they picked it up in the second half," Kealoha said. "This game helps out our passing game. We know we can pass against a good defense."

Four times, Farrington penetrated Saint Louis' 20-yard line, only to muster three points.

The Crusaders' offensive machine, almost exclusively in the run-and-shoot shotgun formation, was humming from the start with four scores in its first four drives.

Higgins connected with speedster Billy Stutzmann on a 20-yard fly route to cap an eight-play, 70-yard march with 9:49 to go in the opening quarter.

After Apelu So'oalu drilled a 40-yard field goal for the Govs, Lucas Gonsalves returned the ensuing kickoff from right to left, and then cut back with plenty of downfield blocking for a 91-yard touchdown. Saint Louis led 14-3 with 5:45 left in the first quarter.

Wilson added a 28-yard field goal to give the Crusaders a 17-3 lead, and Farrington's next field-goal try from 26 yards out was blocked by Kali Fifita.

That led to a five-play, 60-yard scoring drive for the Saints. Higgins hit Stutzmann for 23 yards and Trevor Mau for 34 yards to set up Austin Wakinekona's 1-yard touchdown burst. Saint Louis led 24-3 with 6:41 remaining in the second quarter.

Farrington drove to the Saint Louis 11-yard line with 19 seconds to go in the half, but got no closer after two runs and two incomplete passes.

The Govs went away from their West Coast one-back (ace) and I formation sets in the second half, relying more on an empty backfield, shotgun formation. They drove 63 yards in 10 plays, and Harry Tuimaseve's 1-yard run cut the score to 24-10 with 4:10 remaining.