[ HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL ]
GEORGE F. LEE / GLEE@STARBULLETIN.COM
St. Louis' BJ Batts turned the corner against the Punahou defense last night, as the Crusaders beat the Buffanblu.
Saint Louis
tops Punahou
It took a little warming up, but Saint Louis finally settled into its effective run-and-shoot offense in a 22-6 victory over Punahou last night at Aloha Stadium.
Platooning quarterbacks Kealii Perbera and Stanley Nihipali combined to complete just one of their first seven passes. But the slow start didn't affect Perbera, who threw two first-half touchdown strikes that allowed the Crusaders to take a 15-6 halftime lead.
"They both had a good week and I wanted to give them both a chance," Saint Louis first-year coach Darnell Arceneaux said. "There were a lot of positives tonight and some negatives, but we're a lot closer to where we want to be and what we want to do. This was only our third game and some teams are going on four and five games already."
It was the Crusaders' first Interscholastic League of Honolulu victory under Arceneaux. The team (2-1, 1-1) bounced back from its loss to rival Kamehameha in the league opener two weeks ago.
The Buffanblu kept it close in the first half as quarterback John Morris completed 15 of 18 passes. He hooked up with Cameron Grace -- who beat Saint Louis defensive back Pono Vierra, made an over-the-shoulder catch and completed a 74-yard TD. The scoring play made it 9-6 midway through the second quarter.
Punahou came inches from going ahead on its next possession when Micah Strickland caught a Morris pass and nearly broke it for a touchdown, but he was stopped after a 19-yard gain on a saving tackle by Keao Monteilh.
"We weren't able to put all the pieces together," said Grace, who caught five passes for 107 yards. "When we finally do put it together, we're going to be unstoppable."
The Crusaders went up 2-0 on the game's first play from scrimmage when Arthur Tupuola sacked Morris for an 8-yard loss in his own end zone for a safety.
Saint Louis gained a more comfortable 9-0 edge, thanks to two key plays by Desmond Hanohano. The 6-foot-5, 220-pound Hanohano's pancake block cut loose running back B.J. Batts for a 25-yard gain. The big receiver later jumped with outstretched arms on a fade pattern to nab Perbera's 4-yard scoring toss.
"We worked hard all week and it paid off," said Hanohano, who is also a forward on the Crusaders' basketball team. "Punahou is a good team. We expected them to play us tough and they did."
Perbera's 23-yard TD pass to a wide-open Shaun Kauleinamoku made it a 15-6 game with 1:29 left in the half.
Morris finished with a 27-for-37 performance for 266 yards, but couldn't get the Buffanblu back into the end zone. Saint Louis' Stephen Lei came through with a second-half fumble recovery to add to picks by Tyrone Alualu and Benjamin Soliven as the Crusaders won the overall turnover battle 3-1.
"We're disappointed," Punahou coach Kale Ane said. "I thought we had a chance to win, but we made too many mistakes that kept us from doing that."
At Aloha Stadium
StL -- Safety: Arthur Tupuola sacks Punahou quarterback John Morris in end zone.
Punahou (2-3, 0-2) 0 6 0 0 -- 6 Saint Louis (2-1, 1-1) 2 13 7 0 -- 22
StL --Desmond Hanohano 4 pass from Kealii Perbera (C.J. Santiago kick)
Pun -- Cameron Grace 74 pass from Morris (pass failed)
StL --Shaun Kauleinamoku 23 pass from Perbera (kick failed)
StL --B.J. Batts 6 run (Santiago kick)
RUSHING --Punahou: Micah Strickland 9-33, Team 1-(-20), Morris 5-(-32). Saint Louis: Batts 23-120, Perbera 2-13, Leichman Fiaseu 3-7, Stanley Nihipali 2-(-5).
PASSING --Punahou: Morris 27-37-2-266. Saint Louis: Perbera 9-19-0-139, Nihipali 0-6-0-0.
RECEIVING --Punahou: Grace 5-107, Strickland 8-59, Christopher Duncan 10-50, Chris Shiramizu 2-32, Reyn Wicklund 2-18. Saint Louis: Kauleinamoku 5-70, Hanohano 3-60, Batts 1-9.
