No. 6 Saint Louis falls

This Solomon was a wise man, indeed.

Anu Solomon, a 6-foot-1, 200-pound senior, was the maestro of Bishop Gorman’s offense, passing for 206 yards and two touchdowns as the Gaels outscored Saint Louis 52-40 Saturday night at Aloha Stadium.

The visitors from Nevada demonstrated explosion off the snap, with an offensive line that rekindled memories of another nationally ranked visitor, De La Salle (Calif.), years back. Nathan Starks was a beneficiary, rushing for 100 yards on 19 carries and catching three passes for 57 yards. The bruising 210-pound running back finished with two touchdowns in all.

Ryder Kuhns came off the bench to pass for 246 yards and three touchdowns for Saint Louis, ranked No. 6 in the Star-Advertiser Top 10.

But coach Tony Sanchez’s Gaels, who are No. 11 in the USA Today national rankings, looked every bit the powerhouse, a team that travels across the country to find top competition.

They got some from Saint Louis, which made it interesting in the second half. Running back Adam Noga rushed for a career-high 201 yards, including touchdown runs of 27 and 73 yards in the second half.

The first half was all Gaels. Though the Crusaders offered plenty of resistance on defense, the visitors eventually put their superior speed to maximum use. They also made use of some perfectly timed screen pass plays from Solomon to Starks.

Bishop Gorman’s opening series, an 11-play, 81-yard drive, closed out with a 13-yard screen pass from Solomon to Starks.

The Gaels came up empty on their next two possessions — a missed 50-yard field-goal try and a punt — but their defense was stellar. After driving to Bishop Gorman’s 22-yard line on its first series, Saint Louis turned the ball over twice and punted.

The punt led to a 39-yard return by Terrance Chambers that set up a spectacular diving catch in the corner of the end zone by Jamir Tillman. The grab by the 6-foot-3, 190-pound senior on a fade route opened the Gaels’ lead to 14-0 with 5:11 left in the first half.

Bishop Gorman linebacker Robert Stanley recovered a fumble on a botched exchange between quarterback Kawai Mook-Garcia and Noga at the Saint Louis 34-yard line, and seven plays later, the visitors scored again.

Solomon’s uncanny elusiveness helped on a scramble out of the pocket to the left pylon, where he dove and kept the ball in play as he was hit by Nela Okukolo for a touchdown. The Gaels led 21-0 with 2:31 to go before the half.

With less than a minute left in the half, the Gaels got the ball back and Solomon went to the screen pass again, finding Starks for a 31-yard gain. After a bullet pass from Solomon to Tillman for a 28-yard pickup, Starks rumbled in for a 3-yard touchdown run and the Gaels led 28-0 with 30 seconds to go in the half.

Saint Louis, which started Mook-Garcia and finished with Kuhns before intermission, had 113 total yards of offense in the first half. Bishop Gorman had 262 total yards without a turnover.

The Crusaders awoke offensively in the second half with 40 points, all with Kuhns at quarterback. Noga’s 73-yard burst up the gut was among the highlights.