Kamehameha defense gets Saint Louis again
POSTED: Saturday, October 31, 2009
When they meet again tonight, the Kamehameha Warriors will be happy to remind the Saint Louis Crusaders that giving is sharing.
In Kamehameha's case, any offering from the Crusaders is accepted, every single time. The first-place Warriors were opportunistic and joyous benefactors when they took away four passes by Saint Louis quarterback Jeremy Higgins in Kamehameha's 15-6 win four weeks ago. Kamehameha is now 5-1 in Interscholastic League of Honolulu play (8-1 overall), while Saint Louis (7-3, 4-3) finds itself out of title contention.
Here's a look at today's matchups:
No. 2 Kamehameha vs. No. 7 Saint Louis, Aloha Stadium
That first meeting was pivotal for both teams. Kamehameha moved into first place in the ILH and Saint Louis dropped out of the lead. It was an eye opener to say the least; no team had held the Crusaders to fewer than 21 points in their first six games.
Kamehameha's defensive backs, led by Walter Santiago and Chaz Bajet, benefited from a front seven that sacked Higgins four times and recovered two fumbles. One of those fumble recoveries turned into a 35-yard touchdown by linebacker Kawika Stant, breaking a 6-all tie in the third quarter.
Kamehameha's game plan was simple enough: play great defense and hand the ball to running back Ryan Ho as often as possible to keep Saint Louis' run-and-shoot offense on the sideline. Ho finished with 98 yards on 27 attempts, but the Warriors offense was more efficient than prolific.
Though quarterback T.C. Campbell passed the ball just 22 times, he was sacked four times by the Crusaders. Two of the sacks were by Keali'i Poomaihealani.
With two players suspended this weekend after a late-game incident with Damien, a big question is whether Saint Louis has the will to play its best game when the championship is out of reach.
A win by Kamehameha tonight, plus a win over Punahou next week, would clinch the league crown.
Pac-Five vs. Damien, Aloha Stadium
The Monarchs offered little resistance when they last played Pac-Five (5-5, 2-5 ILH), allowing 24 first-half points, including two touchdowns by Darin Kamealoha in a 37-12 loss. Wolfpack quarterback P.J. Minaya passed for 315 yards and three touchdowns without a pick that day.
Damien (1-8, 1-6 ILH) later turned to Makana Ka'anoi to steer the offense, which is wide open with shotgun sets under first-year coach Punahou Aina.