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Saturday, September 30, 2000
ILH first-round St. Louis School's nationally ranked football team is known by some mostly for its passing game.
title special for
St. Louis
The Crusaders' defense and
special teams step it up
against Kamehameha
Iolani hands Punahou 3rd loss
By Dave Reardon
Star-BulletinBut some of the Crusaders' other attributes -- namely defense, special teams and depth -- were the biggest factors as St. Louis beat Kamehameha, 31-6, last night.
"We had some guys really step up for us," St. Louis coach Cal Lee said. "And our special teams played really well. They gave us lots of opportunities."
Hawaii's biggest high school football crowd of the year -- 9,596 at Aloha Stadium -- saw there is still quite a bit of distance between the state's No. 1- and No. 2- ranked teams.
Pesefea Fiaseu ran for two of St. Louis' three rushing touchdowns and carried 20 times for 112 yards, with 77 of those yards and both the TDs coming after halftime.
YESTERDAY'S PREP FOOTBALL SCORES
ILH
OIA
BIIF
KIF
With the victory, the defending state champion Crusaders (5-0, 7-0 overall) captured the first round of the Interscholastic League of Honolulu.
The No. 2 Warriors (4-1, 5-1), the only team to beat St. Louis since 1996, played tough, but lost in large measure because of their own mistakes.
Kamehameha was in the game until Joseph Lobendahn blocked a punt with 6:55 left, giving St. Louis the ball at the Warrior 1. Fiaseu punched it in on the next play to make it 24-6.
"My friend (linebacker) TJ (Moe) told me I'd block a punt tonight. I guess he was right," Lobendahn said.
Kamehameha quarterback Jon Fo came into the game with zero interceptions. He left with four, two each by Chad Adviento and Enoch McKeague.
"Our defense kept us in the ballgame, but our offense turned the ball over too many times," Kamehameha coach Kanani Souza said. "They took away our running game and once they take away the run it's hard for us to do anything."
St. Louis held Kamehameha to 30 yards on the ground despite not having its best defensive player for most the game.
Linebacker Ikaika Curnan left early in the second quarter with a hyper-extended left elbow, and was taken to a hospital for precautionary measures.
Lee said X-rays showed no dislocation or fractures. He did not know when Curnan could play again.
Lobendahn helped fill the void with 11 tackles, including two for losses. He also hurried Fo three times.
"Joe's playing really, really well," Lee said.
Reserve linebacker Donnie Vercher also helped, contributing a huge fourth-quarter sack, one of three on the night for St. Louis.
"I had butterflies, but the coaches prepared us well," said Vercher, a junior who came in with little big-game experience. "They had us ready."
The Crusaders' punt return squad was up to the task, too.
Gino Gosiaco ran one back for a 37-yard touchdown 1:17 before halftime, giving St. Louis a 14-6 lead.
Kicker Ha'a Bento helped put the special in special teams, with a 32-yard third-quarter field goal.
Frank Rivers opened the scoring on a 33-yard pass from Bobby George at 5:41 of the first quarter. Rivers was wide open because of a missed assignment by the Kamehameha defense.
It was one of the few highlights for George, and one of the Warriors' few breakdowns on pass defense. St. Louis had only four first downs in the first half.
George and Kelika Higa were limited to 92 yards passing on uncharacteristic 8-of-24 accuracy. Preston Lingaton intercepted Higa, the first time St. Louis has been picked off this season.
The Warriors closed to 7-6 at 7:54 of the second quarter on Kiley Loo's 1-yard run, capping an 11-play, 79-yard drive.
It was the only time Kamehameha consistently moved the ball against St. Louis, whether it was with or without Curnan -- a major college prospect who some think is the best in the state.
"We've got a long depth chart," Gosiaco said. "But Ikaika's a big player for us. We need him."
Scoring summary
Kamehameha (5-1, 4-1) 0 6 0 0-- 6 St. Louis (7-0, 5-0) 7 7 3 14--31 StL: Frank Rivers 33 pass from Bobby George (Ha'a Bento Kick)
Kam: Kiley Loo 1 run (kick failed)
StL: Gino Gosiaco 37 punt return (Bento kick)
StL: FG Bento 32
StL: Pesefea Fiaseu 1 run (Bento kick)
StL: Fiaseu 13 run (Bento kick)Individual statistics
Rushing--Kam: Fo 7-4, Kelena Ho'okano 8-5, Loo 12-26, Keano Noa 1-(-5). StL: Fiaseu 20-112, George 2-(-2), Prince Brown 5-3, Bronson Beaver 1-11, Justin Cabansang 1-6, Samson Ho'ohuli 1-0, Kelika Higa 1-(-4).
Passing--Kam: Fo 14-33-4 for 137 yards. StL: George 5-19-0 for 66 yards, Higa 3-5-1 for 26 yards.
Receiving--Kam: Mikey Akiu 6-53, Nainoa Spencer 2-28, Noa 5-35, Ho'okano 1-21. StL: Ross Dickerson 2-2 F.Rivers 1-33, Davin Nakasato 2-46, Kainoa Fernandez 1-6, Sanoe Mokuahi 1-3, Daniel Inferrera 1-2.
Kila Ka'aihue hit Teo Bennett for a 2-point conversion with under a minute left as host Iolani beat Punahou 22-21 in an Interscholastic League of Honolulu game. Iolani hands Punahou
3rd straight lossStar-Bulletin staff
The Raiders scored 15 points in the final 1:05 to send Punahou to its third consecutive loss.
Ikaika Goo caught a 20-yard scoring pass from Ka'aihue and then Royce Yokono made his only reception of the game -- a 37-yard TD from Ka'aihue.
IOLANI 22, PUNAHOU 21:
Iolani (3-2, 4-3) 0 0 7 15--22 Punahou (2-3, 2-4) 7 7 7 0--21 Scoring summary
Pun--Todd LaFountaine 1 run (Tamatos Hackney kick)
Pun--LaFountaine 1 run (Hackney kick)
Iol--Teo Bennett 2 run (Duke Hashimoto kick)
Pun--Hackney 65 run (Hackney kick)
Iol--Ikaika Goo 20 pass from Kila Kaaihue (Hashimoto kick)
Iol--Royce Yokono 37 pass from Kaaihue (Kaaihue to Bennett)Individual statistics
Rushing--Iol: Bennett 6-134, Brad Takamori 1-5, Bronson Melemai 1-7, Kaaihue 4-25. Pun: LaFountaine 22-56, Nainoa Kuna 3-8, Tamatoa Hackney 9-117, Jonathan Kim 3-15, D.A. Weick 2-24, Derek Turbin 1-25.
Passing--Iol: Kaaihue 9-21-1 for 196 yards. Pun: LaFountaine 1-2-0 for 18 yards.
Receiving--Iol: Jay Marcouiller 3-27, Bennett 3-30, Goo 5-62, Blake Wong 2-26, Robert Mageo 1-14, Yokono 1-37. Pun: Kuna 1-18.
DAMIEN 30, PAC-FIVE 21:
In the Aloha Stadium ILH opener, the Monarchs returned two interceptions for touchdowns, and T.C. Buffett passed for two scores.
Pac-Five (0-5, 0-6) 0 14 0 7--21 Damien (1-4, 1-5) 7 7 12 2--30 Scoring summary
Dam--Conrad Lihilihi 19 interception return (Dylan Yamashita kick)
Pac--Kenny Torres 4 pass from Matthew Inouye (Daniel Arita kick)
Pac--Matthew Freidman 14 pass from Inouye (Arita kick
Dam--Michael Lau 47 pass from T.C. Buffett (Yamashita kick)
Pac--Aaron Jaramillo 70 interception return (Arita kick)
Dam--Jared Chun 36 pass from Buffett (Yamashita kick)
Pac--Grant 11 pass from Inouye (Arita kick)
Dam--Inouye tackled in end zoneIndividual statistics
Rushing--Pac: McShane Dator 3-(-19), Chayson Seneca 8-20, Torres 3-5, Inouye 15-(-33), Team (-21). Dam: Buffett 13-(-29), Chainton Saldebar 7-18, Billy Sullivan 10-35, Chun 2-1.
Passing--Pac: Inouye 8-20-4 for 109 yards; Dator 3-9-1 for 19 yards. Dam: Buffett 6-20-4 for 96 yards.
Receiving--Pac: Grant Sumida 2-27, Seneca 2-3, Freidman 4-41, Torres 2-21, Ryan Leong 1-32. Dam: Chun 2-12, Harlan Wolfe 1-14, Lau 3-70.