Having been on the other side as a player and coach, first-year Saint Louis head coach Matt Wright figured the Crusaders would be in for a battle against ‘Iolani.
That premonition proved correct for most of the first half as the offenses traded touchdowns.
But pivotal plays by the Saint Louis defense ultimately shifted the momentum to the No. 5 Crusaders in a 68-39 shootout win over the No. 7 Raiders at Aloha Stadium.
The ILH duel resembled a tennis match for much of the evening as the offenses rolled up and down the field for 14 touchdowns. The Crusaders defense broke serve with key turnovers at the end of the first half and to start the second as Saint Louis managed to pull away.
"I knew this was one of those games you feel like if the explosive plays go their way it’s a different game," said Wright, an ‘Iolani graduate, "because they always play Saint Louis extremely hard."
Saint Louis quarterback Ryder Kuhns passed for 258 yards and three touchdowns, all going to senior receiver Jeremy Tabuyo, who finished with 123 yards. Running back Adam Noga rushed for 152 yards and two scores.
The Crusaders’ offensive numbers eclipsed another impressive performance by ‘Iolani quarterback Reece Foy, who threw for 274 yards and five touchdowns.
After ‘Iolani took a 24-21 lead in the second quarter, Saint Louis ran off the next 34 points, with the defense providing fuel for a productive Crusaders offense.
With Saint Louis leading 28-24, ‘Iolani moved to the Crusaders 12 and threatened to take the lead into halftime. But Foy had the ball stripped by Saint Louis defensive lineman Kamalei Correa, and Jaron Hall-Moniz scooped up the loose ball and returned it 70 yards to the ‘Iolani 2. Allan Cui then scored with 7 seconds left in the half.
"That was the turning point," ‘Iolani head coach Wendell Look said. "We had it right there and instead of going up three we went down 11. So the turnovers hurt us, especially in the red zone."
Saint Louis extended the lead to open the third quarter, with Tabuyo taking a short throw and scoring on a 44-yard catch-and-run, and Noga breaking away for a 35-yard touchdown burst.
Correa then forced another Foy fumble and Colton Goeas took it in for a 26-yard touchdown return to give the Crusaders a 55-24 lead.
"Kamalei’s motor is just nonstop," Wright said.
Foy threw two more touchdown passes to bring the Raiders back to within 16 midway through the fourth quarter. But Noga powered another scoring drive and the Crusaders tacked on another touchdown run late.
Kuhns, a sophomore, started in place of Kawai Mook-Garcia, who was out with a sprained ankle, and managed the offense efficiently in completing 16 of 22 passes without an interception.
"Ryder is calm, cool and collected. It doesn’t seem like there’s any moment that’s too big for him," Wright said. "And I think Kawai is supporting him and doing a great job doing what he can to guide him through."
Foy set a blistering pace early, going 12-for-17 for 204 yards and three touchdowns in the first half.
But Saint Louis scored on three of its first four drives, the exception being the third, when an errant shotgun snap went through the end zone for a safety.
At Aloha Stadium
| Saint Louis (1-0, 2-2) |
14 |
21 |
20 |
13 |
— |
68 |
| ‘Iolani (1-1, 4-1) |
10 |
14 |
7 |
8 |
— |
39 |
StL–Jeremy Tabuyo 1 run (Ihaka Johnson kick)
Iol–Yuuya Kato 38 pass from Reece Foy (Marc Ma pass from Max Look)
StL–Tabuyo 15 pass from Ryder Kuhns (Johnson kick)
Iol–Safety, snap out of end zone
Iol–Chad Hanaoka 15 pass from Foy (Jordan Genovia kick)
StL–Adam Noga 2 run (Johnson kick)
Iol–Kato 14 pass from Foy (Genovia kick)
StL–Tabuyo 42 pass from Kuhns (Johnson kick)
StL–Allan Cui 2 run (Johnson kick)
StL–Tabuyo 44 pass from Kuhns (Johnson kick)
StL–Noga 35 run (Johnson kick)
StL–Colton Goeas 26 fumble return (kick failed)
Iol–Tanner Nishioka 6 pass from Foy (Genovia kick)
Iol–Hanaoka 18 pass from Foy (Hanaoka pass from Foy)
StL–Noga 1 run (pass failed)
StL–Kaulana Vinoya 16 run (Johnson kick)
RUSHING–Saint Louis: Noga 20-152, Cui 6-24, Vinoya 4-23, Tabuyo 1-1, Kuhns 2-(-10), Team 1-(-12). ‘Iolani: Kody Mento 11-45, Max Maneafaiga 4-10, Nishioka 1-2, Kato 5-(-6), Foy 11-(-9).
PASSING–Saint Louis: Kuhns 16-22-0-258, Cui 2-2-0-23. ‘Iolani: Foy 22-34-2-274, Easton Tsubata 0-1-0-0.
RECEIVING–Saint Louis: Tabuyo 5-123, Ricky Ahlo-Pinera 3-38, Devan Stubblefield 3-37, Kainoa Abreu 2-17, Walden Teo 1-15, Noga 1-15, Jerrick Taboada 1-20, Kaimi Umebayashi 1-11, Cui 1-5. ‘Iolani: Nishioka 7-105, Hanaoka 7-55, Kato 3-61, Chase Kanekuni 3-44, Austin Ohira 2-9.
