Crusaders crush Buffs

ILH » One team had a dream voyage to the mainland, and the other stayed home and studied the enemy for two weeks.

Saint Louis, the homebodies, made the most of their preparation time and knocked off No. 1 Punahou 40-19 last night at Aloha Stadium. The third-ranked Crusaders won their opener in Interscholastic League of Honolulu play (3-0 overall) with precision passing on offense and a swarming defensive unit.

Jeremy Higgins threw for 360 yards and three touchdowns, mesmerizing the Buffanblu defense again and again. Saint Louis used out patterns from its pistol and run-and-shoot formations, and Punahou (3-1, 0-1 ILH) seemed to have no answer.

Manti Te'o had 19 tackles to lead Punahou's defense, but with no serious pass rush from the Buffanblu, Higgins completed 24 of his 35 attempts and was sacked just once.

Jordan Fukumoto was a major factor, pulling in nine passes for 119 yards, including a 38-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter.

"It's all about reads," Crusaders first-year head coach John Hao said. "In this offense, there's no one guy who's always going to get the ball. Jeremy is a coach in a player's body. There's nothing more you can ask for."

Saint Louis' defense allowed only 14 rushing yards and kept the Buffanblu in check until backup quarterback Kimo Makaula caught fire in the fourth quarter.

"I would say it was our whole defense that deserves credit. If one doesn't do his assignment, it breaks down," Hao said. "This was more of a defensive battle."

Punahou quarterback Cayman Shutter returned from a shoulder injury after three weeks out, but was not sharp. He was 4-for-12 for 63 yards before Makaula took over.

"I think the two games he missed had an impact," wide receiver Robby Toma said, adding that the recent trip to Seattle was not a big factor. "It made a difference, but there's no excuse. They did a heckuva job rushing our quarterbacks."

Makaula was 14-for-21 for 168 yards, two touchdowns and two picks. "They knew all our formations. They executed. Hopefully, we'll be ready in the rematch," he said.

The Crusaders got a 42-yard field goal from Joey Wilson to open the scoring midway through the first quarter. After another Punahou three and out, Saint Louis drove 62 yards in 11 plays and Austin Wakinekona scored on a 3-yard run for a 9-0 lead with 3 seconds left in the first quarter.

An unsportsmanlike conduct call on Saint Louis in Punahou's ensuing series sparked a touchdown drive. Dalton Hilliard was wide open for an 11-yard scoring toss from Shutter and Punahou cut the lead to 9-6 with 10:06 left in the second quarter.

Saint Louis answered with a 70-yard march, capping it with a 27-yard strike from Higgins to Lucas Gonsalves for a 16-6 lead with 2:03 to go in the half.

Wilson added his second field goal, a 20-yarder, midway through the third quarter. Higgins then connected with Fukumoto on a 38-yard swing pass for a touchdown, and the Crusaders led 27-6 with 11:51 to play.

Makaula threw touchdown passes of 26 yards to Toma and 20 yards to Galen Arakawa in the final 2:26 to bring the Buffanblu within 34-19.

With Punahou calling time outs to stop the clock in the final minute, Higgins ran around left end on fourth and 1 for a 35-yard touchdown as time expired.

Damien 45, Pac-Five 33

Brenan Furtado ran for five touchdowns in the first half as the Monarchs overwhelmed the Wolfpack to secure their first win in league play. Furtado finished with 209 yards on 25 rushing attempts, and added two kickoff returns for 92 yards to lead Damien (4-1 overall, 1-1 ILH).

P.J. Minaya threw for 332 yards and three scores for Pac-Five, now 0-2 in ILH play (2-3 overall). Darin Kamealoha caught two touchdown passes and ran the opening kickoff back 85 yards for a score. He finished with 134 receiving yards on seven receptions and Josh Amorin added six catches for 100 yards and a touchdown.

After Kamealoha's game-opening kickoff return, Damien tied it at 7 on Stanton Pilialoha's 29-yard pass to Iokepa Bahilot. Furtado, running out of the shotgun and ace formations, then scored on runs of 15, 67, 2, 11 and 3 yards. Damien led at intermission 38-14.

Minaya connected with Kamealoha for a 31-yard bomb to bring the 'Pack within 38-21 early in the third quarter, but they didn't score again until 2:11 was left in the game.