[ HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL ]
FL MORRIS / FMORRIS@STARBULLETIN.COM
Saint Louis defenders Tavita Thompson and Tyson Alualu brought down Kamehameha's Sy Cullen last night at Aloha Stadium.
Saint Louis fails
to hold onKamehameha comes back
in fourth quarter to spoil
Arceneaux's league debut as coach
With a gutsy second-half comeback, Kamehameha toppled rival Saint Louis 16-13 at Aloha Stadium last night.
The Warriors trailed for more than three quarters, but slowly fought their way back for the thrilling victory in the Interscholastic League of Honolulu football opener in front of 9,493 fans.
"We were lucky, very fortunate," Kamehameha coach Kanani Souza said after telling his players to remain humble and to credit the win to the Lord Almighty. "We were a little sloppy, but it was a great game."
Saint Louis grabbed a quick 13-0 lead, but that edge began to erode in the second half.
Trailing 13-7 at the half, the Kamehameha defense came out fired up after the break to hold the Crusaders scoreless the rest of the way.
The Warriors finally took the momentum when punter Kepa Gaison pinned the Crusaders deep in their own territory twice. After the second pinning, Kamehameha linebacker Travis Correa tripped Kealii Perbera in the end zone for a safety to cut the gap to 13-9.
The Warriors (3-0, 1-0 ILH) took the lead for good after Saint Louis' free kick by driving 50 yards for the game's final score -- Kawika Vincent's 4-yard TD catch of Pono Kam's pass with 10:42 left in the game.
"We had two weeks to prepare and we came through in the clutch," Kam said. "It took a while to get the jitters out. This is a good start for us, and there's more to come if we can play like this."
Kamehameha's victory ruined the ILH debut of Saint Louis coach Darnell Arceneaux, who was released from the hospital Friday after suffering complications from an appendectomy earlier in the week.
"It's always disappointing when you lose," Arceneaux said. "We played hard four quarters, but had some letdowns. We had some opportunities, and I always teach my kids to seize those opportunities. Now they've got a taste of defeat in their mouths and it should inspire them."
For most of the game, Saint Louis (1-1, 0-1) rode the hard-nosed defensive play of Dylan Moss, Tavita Thompson and Tyson Alualu to keep Kamehameha in check.
The Crusaders' offense started lightning fast as B.J. Batts, a Star-Bulletin first-team all-state running back a year ago, darted his way for 46 yards on the opening kickoff. Five plays later, Makaala Kuewa made a diving catch of a Perbera pass in the end zone to complete the 29-yard scoring play for a 7-0 lead.
On their second possession, the Crusaders sprinted ahead 13-0 with a time-consuming 72-yard drive that Leichman Fiaseu capped with a 1-yard TD dive.
But the defending league and state champions didn't score again.
The Warriors broke through for the first time with a 65-yard drive late in the first half. Kam's 36-yard strike to Tamatoa Silva led to Kam's 6-yard naked bootleg TD to cut the lead to 13-7.
Kamehameha workhorse running back Sy Cullen, who finished with 70 yards on 23 carries, finally wore down the Saint Louis defense with relentless up-the-gut runs.
"We had to be patient," said Cullen, who had little success in the first half. "It takes time to set it up. We kept pushing and continued to stay on the right path.
"This is a good steppingstone for us. We need to keep playing like this if we want to keep it going all the way to the championship."
At Aloha Stadium
StL -- Makaala Kuewa 29 pass from Kealii Perbera (C.J. Santiago kick)
Kamehameha (3-0, 1-0) 0 7 2 7 -- 16 Saint Louis (1-1, 0-1) 7 6 0 0 -- 13
StL -- Leichman Fiaseu 1 run (kick failed)
Kam -- Pono Kam 6 run (Kepa Gaison kick)
Kam -- Safety. Travis Correa sacked Perbera in end zone.
Kam -- Kawika Vincent 4 pass from Kam (Gaison kick)
RUSHING -- Kamehameha: Sy Cullen 23-70, T.J. Kuahine 2-7, Kam 3-(-3). Saint Louis: B.J. Batts 13-28, Cody Wells 7-29, Shaun Kauleinamoku 1-5, Leichman Fiaseu 2-2, Perbera 3-(-1), Stanley Nihipali 2-(-4).
PASSING -- Kamehameha: Pono Kam 15-26-0-135. Saint Louis: Perbera 12-22-1-136.
RECEIVING -- Kamehameha: Tamatoa Silva 1-36, Waika Spencer 2-28, Kamuela Kapanui 2-25, Matt Coelho 4-18, Nathanial Nakagawa 3-15, Cullen 2-9, Kawika Vincent 1-4. Saint Louis: Aaron Bain 2-35, Kauleinamoku 3-33, Makaala Kuewa 1-29, Batts 5-24, Johnny Gentry 1-15.
Damien 32, Pac-Five 6
Ranson DeCosta rolled for 134 yards on 21 carries as Damien knocked off Pac-Five 32-6 last night in an Interscholastic League of Honolulu football game at Aloha Stadium.DeCosta also scored a touchdown and intercepted a Wolfpack pass as the Monarchs took the first step in their bid to capture the league's Division II title and the state tournament berth that goes along with it.
Va'a Faualo rushed for 71 yards on 13 carries in a backup role for Damien.
The Monarchs' defense held the Wolfpack to minus-7 yards rushing, and held the Wolfpack's potent passing game to just one late touchdown.
Pac-Five quarterback Jordan Tani completed 17 of 32 passes for 175 yards, including a 12-yard TD toss to Travis Tyler, but he threw two interceptions.
Damien won the turnover battle 3-0.
At Aloha Stadium
Dam -- Andrew Canoy 13 pass from Tevita Williams (kick failed)
Damien (1-1, 1-0) 6 13 13 0 -- 32 Pac-Five (2-1, 0-1) 0 0 0 6 -- 6
Dam -- Williams 13 run (pass failed)
Dam -- Ranson DeCosta 1 run (Cory Mullen kick)
Dam -- Kealoha Pilares 22 fumble return (kick failed)
Dam -- Va'a Faualo 49 run (Mullen kick)
P5 -- Travis Tyler 12 pass from Jordan Tani (kick failed)
RUSHING -- Damien: DeCosta 21-134, Faualo 13-71, Sevelo Fehi 6-28, Williams 3-25, Zach Shimizu 1-0, Landen Dela Cruz 1-(-3). Pac-Five: Gyles Lawrence 7-15, Brent Umehira 2-13, Shane Lawrence 1-6, Gilbert Gonzalez 1-6, Cheyne Abbey-Chong 2-3, Tani 1-(-14), Team 1-(-24).
PASSING -- Damien: Williams 5-12-0-40. Pac-Five: Tani 17-32-2-175.
RECEIVING -- Damien: Canoy 2-33, DeCosta 2-7, Dela Cruz 1-0. Pac-Five: Tyler 8-81, Paul Kaohu-Nishimura 6-66, Umehira 1-16, Cody Walker 1-6, Abbey-Chong 1-6.
