Saint Louis may have been short-changed off the field, but the Crusaders on Friday made sure to take care of business on the field.
Titan Lacaden rushed for three scores and caught a touchdown pass, and Nainoa Lopes completed 18 of 27 passes for 249 yards as No. 4 Saint Louis beat No. 6 and host Kamehameha 33-9 in the ILH Open Division championship.
“We worked hard. It didn’t matter what adversity we went through,” Saint Louis coach Tupu Alualu said. “These kids work hard — the parents, the school with all the support. I appreciate everybody.”
The game was scheduled to be played at Radford, but unplayable field conditions forced the move to Kamehameha.
Saint Louis (7-3) earned the league’s lone berth in the four-team First Hawaiian Bank/HHSAA Championships, which start Friday.
“The momentum is going to be all right,” Alualu said. “We have to get back to the drawing board and work and find out who we’re going to play. It doesn’t matter. Like I said before, the only guys we face is ourselves.”
Saint Louis will be competing in the HHSAA Open Division Tournament for the sixth time in the eight years the event has been held. There was no football season in 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Crusaders won the first four Open Division crowns.
“Our guys are trained to go,” Lacaden said. “Coach Tupu and the rest of the staff along with our fans, we’re focused on what we want. Our mission is that koa trophy.”
Saint Louis didn’t play on consecutive weeks during the four-game ILH regular season, which was spread out over seven weeks. The Crusaders will have played three consecutive weeks when they face their OIA opponent in the HHSAA semifinals.
Lacaden, who is 5-foot-7 and 170 pounds, rushed 25 times for 146 yards by running primarily between the tackles against Kamehameha (5-4).
“That’s just Saint Louis ball,” Lacaden said. “Everybody that played for Saint Louis is just smashmouth, physical, fast. That’s what I try to live up to. It’s a great past of guys that came before me in this red and blue uniform.”
Lopes completed passes to seven receivers, with Stytyn Lasconia catching four passes for 71 yards and a touchdown.
“Receiving we have a lot of weapons. I trust the first, second and sometimes third team, too,” Lopes said.
The Crusaders’ Jahren Altura and Roman Jarett had interceptions on consecutive possessions in the second half.
Pono Kahaulelio rushed for 79 yards and passed for 92 for Kamehameha, which hadn’t played since Oct. 12.
The Crusaders took the opening kickoff and scored on a 10-play, 80-yard drive capped by Lopes’ 1-yard pass to Lacaden, which made it 6-0 with 6:21 left in the first quarter. The 2-point conversion run failed.
The key play of the drive was a 38-yard pass from Lopes to Lasconia on third-and-7, which placed the ball at the Warriors’ 7.
Lopes went 4-for-4 for 61 yards on the drive.
The Warriors answered on the next drive on a 50-yard keeper by Kahaulelio, which made it 6-6 with 5:25 remaining in the first quarter. The PAT kick failed.
Saint Louis went up 13-6 on Lopes’ 6-yard pass to Jordan Nunuha with 2:30 to go in the opening quarter. Lasconia made the PAT kick.
The Warriors got within 13-9 on Madden Aquino’s 24-yard field goal with 5:42 remaining before halftime.
Saint Louis extended its lead to 19-9 on Lacaden’s 1-yard run with 45 seconds left before halftime.
During the drive, the Crusaders’ Mana Antoque gained 33 yards on a fake punt and Lopes hit Lasconia on a 20-yard completion on third-and-7, which advanced the ball to the 19.
Saint Louis gained 277 yards on 35 plays in the first half, while Kamehameha had 119 yards on 18 plays.
The Crusaders forced a three-and-out on the opening possession of the second half, and scored on Lacaden’s 5-yard run to go ahead 26-9 with 8:03 left in the third quarter.
Laced scored on another 5-yard run to put Saint Louis ahead 33-9 with 10:46 remaining in the fourth quarter.
The Crusaders’ victory brought an end to an ILH Open Division season that had confusion, frustration and late-season decision-making.
Saint Louis won the ILH first round by going 2-0. It was thought to have assured the Crusaders of a playoff for the league title if they didn’t win the second round.
Saint Louis, Kamehameha and Punahou each finished 1-1 in the second round, which led to the Crusaders filing a grievance saying they should be the champions since they tied for the top spot in the round.
Before the ILH held a card draw for a three-team, second-round tie-breaker, Saint Louis said it should have received the bye by virtue of its 3-1 league record, but was denied again. Kamehameha wound up receiving the bye.
The Crusaders beat the Buffanblu 35-3 last week to set up Friday’s matchup, which was thought to be for the second-round title. Instead, the ILH decided to award the second-round title to Kamehameha, and Friday’s contest would be for the overall championship. The league had simply run out of time for the playoff with the state tournament scheduled to start next week.
Saint Louis lost its safety net — a playoff between itself and the second-round winner — but the Crusaders made it a moot point by beating the Warriors.
Amid all the uncertainty was discussion to push the start of the state tournament back a week and the scheduling of an impromptu ILH playoff game on Monday if needed.
Prior to the season, the league’s athletic directors voted unanimously to implement the original first- and second-round format to prevent the league champion from having to play so many games heading into the state tournament.
Saint Louis and Kamehameha split their previous meetings this season, with the Crusaders winning 37-7 on Sept. 6 and the Warriors prevailing 31-28 on Oct. 5.
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At Kamehameha
Kamehameha (5-4) 6 3 0 0 — 9
Saint Louis (7-3) 13 6 7 7 — 33
STL— Titan Lacaden 1 pass from Nainoa Lopes (run failed)
KS—Pono Kahaulelio 50 run (kick failed)
STL—Jordan Nunuha 6 pass from Lopes (Stytyn Lasconia kick)
KS—FG Madden Aquino 24
STL—Lacaden 1 run (run failed)
STL—Lacaden 5 run (Lasconia kick)
STL—Lacaden 5 run (Lasconia kick)
RUSHING—Kamehameha: Kahaulelio 7-79, Eisen Pirga 3-25, Maddox Sharrer 3-9, Nui Kaapana 1-2, Taimane Purcell 1-1, Lake Pieper 1-1, Team 1-(minus 1), Raeden Marks 1-(minus 2), Nainoa Melchor 2-(minus 3). Saint Louis: Lacaden 25-146, Lopes 8-59, Mana Antoque 1-33, Tenari Maafala 6-21, Tahlen Kekawa 4-3.
PASSING—Kamehameha: Kahaulelio 10-21-2-92, Jevin Bolos-Reyes 1-1-0-(minus 4). Saint Louis: Lopes 18-27-0-249.
RECEVING—Kamehameha: Purcell 4-29, Kaapana 3-48, Noah Aki 1-8, Melchor 1-4, Sharrer 1-3, Marks 1-(minus 4). Saint Louis: Lasconia 4-71, Hashley Kingston Siliado 4-42, Lacaden 4-26, Nunuha 2-53, Roxten Popa-Hernandez 2-26, Kaeo Apduhan 1-31, Kekawa 1-0.
