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St. Louis wins
wild game vs.
Warriors
A late Crusaders score and
Kamehameha’s missed PAT
result in a 21-20 victory
This one was for Mercy Cathcart.
Shaun Kauleinamoku broke open for a 16-yard touchdown catch with 51 seconds left to bring Saint Louis back from the clutches of defeat for a 21-20 victory over Interscholastic League of Honolulu football rival Kamehameha in a wild game last night at Aloha Stadium.
Kauleinamoku had one person in mind while making the spectacular play in front of 7,198 fans. That person is Cathcart, Kauleinamoku's grandfather, who died Thursday night.
A picture of Cathcart was taped to the Crusader receiver's shoulder pads as he streaked past a defender and latched onto a pass from Stanley Nihipali and made it into the right front corner of the end zone.
"I played this game for my grandfather and it's dedicated to him," said an emotional Kauleinamoku. "That TD and this whole season is dedicated to him. I've got his picture right here," he added while pulling his shirt collar down and pointing to the photo of the bespectacled Cathcart.
Jeremy Shea's extra point gave Saint Louis (1-0, ILH, 3-1 overall) what seemed like a comfortable 21-14 lead.
But the Warriors (1-1, 3-1-1) struck right back, as Aaron Nichols made an over-the-shoulder catch of a Pono Kam pass and sprinted into the end zone for a 75-yard touchdown with 33 seconds to go.
An excessive-celebration penalty after the catch, however, doomed Kamehameha. Instead of a chip shot, kicker Kepa Gaison attempted a 35-yard extra point and missed wide left.
"We tried," was the only thing Gaison could utter when asked what went wrong.
"We've got a long season ahead," Warriors coach Kanani Souza told his players. "We've got to grow from this. This will make us a better football team. We fought until the end. We better keep our heads up and we better be (mad) about the outcome, especially when we look at it (on film) and see all the areas where we could have won this."
Kamehameha couldn't hold leads of 7-0 and 14-7 and can't afford another league loss while awaiting a rematch. Two years previously, the Warriors beat the 18-time defending ILH champion Crusaders the first time around, but wound up losing the title.
The whole first half nearly went scoreless, but the Warriors finally found their way into the end zone for a 7-0 lead on Kam's 30-yard toss to Waika Spencer with 1:47 to go before halftime.
But Saint Louis showed extra determination and tied it 7-all 17 seconds later when Aaron Bain took the ensuing kickoff 88 yards for a touchdown. A block by Tyson Alualu sprung Bain through the wedge, and after suffering a few blows without going down, Bain broke a shirt tackle on the sideline and sprinted home.
The Warriors failed on a fourth-and-inches situation midway through the third period, but took a 14-7 lead early in the fourth on Kam's 10-yard TD pass to Kamuela Kapanui.
Nihipali guided the Crusaders on a 74-yard drive, capped by Kevin Sullivan's 5-yard scoring run for the 14-all deadlock with 8:16 to play.
Nihipali went to work again, moving Saint Louis 80 yards for Kauleinamoku's winning TD. The big play in the drive was a 53-yard catch-and-run by Cameron Bayne.
"It was an excellent game," Saint Louis coach Delbert Tengan said. "We couldn't get our offense on track for three quarters, but then Stanley got hot. We had two tremendous offensive drives and we got those two great drives just when our defense was starting to wear down.
Nihipali went 14-for-29 for 256 yards, while Bayne caught four passes for 120 yards.
Jayson Rego was a workhorse ball carrier for Kamehameha, rushing 28 times for 83 yards. Kam threw for 258 yards.
MIL
No. 9 Lahainaluna 16, King Kekaulike 10: Naihe Akoi caught three passes for 95 yards as the Lunas beat Na Alii to remain undefeated.Lahainaluna quarterback Preston Medeiros went 7-for-18 for 164 yards.
King Kekaulike's Josh Wilhelm ran for 74 yards on 17 carries and scored Na Alii's lone touchdown on a 1-yard rush in the third quarter.
BIIF
Hawaii Prep 62, Kohala 20: Mike Kopra and Zach Say scored three touchdowns each as Hawaii Prep remained undefeated with a 62-20 win over Kohala yesterday.Kopra had a 63-yard run and a 65-yard pass from Billy Case in the first half as HPA built a 49-6 halftime lead.
Kopra rushed 11 times for 147 yards, while Case threw for 213.
Konawaena 32, Waiakea 12: Mike Naihe passed for two TDs and ran in one as the Wildcats shut down the Warriors.
Naihe completed two touchdown passes in the first quarter, connecting first with Cody Silsley for a 42-yard score. Then, with less than a minute left in the quarter, he completed a 35-yard pass to Dylan Rush for another six points. In the third quarter, Naihe rushed for a 2-yard touchdown.
