Man oh Manley!

Leilehua's sophomore quarterback engineers a late drive to upset Saint Louis in the Division I title game

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Andrew Manley hit Edieson Dumlao for a 15-yard touchdown with 36 seconds left and Leilehua stunned previously unbeaten Saint Louis 20-16 to capture the Division I First Hawaiian Bank/HHSAA State Championship last night at Aloha Stadium.

Leilehua    Saint Louis 20 16

Saint Louis got the football back one more time, but the Mules' Micah Cruz intercepted Crusaders quarterback Micah Mamiya's desperation pass as the Mules faithful went berserk.

Saint Louis made three first downs to bleed out about 4 minutes of clock after Leilehua pulled to within 16-13 on a Bronson Pausa 1-yard touchdown with 6 minutes, 13 seconds left in the game -- but it wasn't enough.

Earlier in the evening, Iolani rallied to beat Lahainaluna 28-21 to win the Division II title. It was the second state championship in three years for the Raiders and the first for Leilehua. The Mules won the 1984 Prep Bowl by blanking the Crusaders 10-0.

Mamiya took his first loss after previously going 22-0 as a starter. The Crusaders lost a 7-6 heartbreaker in the title game to Kahuku last year, but Mamiya was sidelined with an injury.

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The super sophomore is no longer "Rubbishberger," to be sure.

The "Man Child," a.k.a. Andrew Manley, led the Leilehua Mules to two touchdown drives in the fourth quarter in a stunning 20-16 upset of top-seeded and previously unbeaten Saint Louis last night in the Division I final of the First Hawaiian Bank/HHSAA State Football Championships.

Manley, a 15-year-old who was called up from the junior varsity five weeks ago, fired a 15-yard strike to Edieson Dumlao in the right corner to give Leilehua its first and only lead of the second half, 20-16, with 36 seconds to play.

Safety Micah Cruz sealed the win with an interception with 20 seconds left, and Manley became the first opposing quarterback to defeat Saint Louis' magnificent signal-caller, Micah Mamiya. Pretty good for a sophomore who was kiddingly called Rubbishberger as a strong-armed freshman. He stood in the pocket and delivered with a clutch performance in the late going.

"The team supported me 100 percent. Once we went to empty (backfield), they weren't blitzing us and I had time," the 6-foot-2, 180-pounder said. The touchdown pass to Dumlao came against an all-out blitz.

"I didn't even know they blitzed," Manley said.

Dumlao, who finished with six receptions for 72 yards, was covered tightly by Kalani McLaughlin. "When I turned, the ball was already coming. It was a perfectly thrown ball," Dumlao said. "(Saint Louis) was the hardest-hitting team we faced."

Art Laurel led the Leilehua defense with 10 tackles, including three for losses. Cruz and Robert Siavii each had nine tackles.

A boisterous crowd of 15,583, including practically the entire town of Wahiawa, saw the Mules capture their first state championship. In the process, Leilehua (9-4) rose from a 3-3 team in the Oahu Interscholastic Association Red West to the highest peak of Hawaii prep football.

Saint Louis (11-1) suffered its only loss in 23 games with Mamiya at quarterback. Until the final quarter, victory seemed inevitable with a 16-6 lead and almost complete control of the line of scrimmage.

"Manley made some tremendous throws. We got some pressure on him, but he hung in there. He made a perfect throw," said Saint Louis coach Delbert Tengan, who saw his team lose in the final for a second year in a row. "You feel snake-bitten two years in a row."

It took a Leilehua defensive stop with 2:10 remaining, and an eight-play, 63-yard drive turned into the pivotal march of the game. A roughing-the-passer call and a pass-interference flag helped the Mules advance downfield.

"Things got tight and we lost our composure," Tengan said. "You have to give credit to Leilehua and Coach (Nolan) Tokuda."

Before the streak touchdown pass to Dumlao, Manley came up big with a 4-yard gain on fourth and 2 to the Saint Louis 21.

Senior Keani Nishigaya finished with 164 yards on 16 carries. Saint Louis amassed 373 total yards to Leilehua's 194, but committed four turnovers. The Mules had two.

Saint Louis was after its third Division I state title since the tournament began in 1999. The Crusaders last won the crown in 2002, and lost in the finals in '03 to Kahuku and last season to Kahuku.

The Crusaders ruled the field for most of the first half, but came away with only a 9-6 lead going into the locker room. After going three and out on its first five possessions, Leilehua did not muster a first down until less than 4 minutes were left in the first half.