Tua Tagovailoa eclipsed Timmy Chang and matched Marcus Mariota on the same glorious night in Halawa.
The Saint Louis quarterback led the Crusaders to their first state title since Mariota’s senior season six years ago and in the process broke Chang’s all-time career passing mark in a 30-14 win over Kahuku on Saturday in the inaugural Open Division final of the First Hawaiian Bank/HHSAA State Football Championships at Aloha Stadium.
Tagovailoa threw for 243 yards and a touchdown and rushed for 136 yards and another score, tearing up the state’s top defense and ending Kahuku’s 24-game winning streak against in-state competition before a crowd of 20,447.
More importantly, it gave Saint Louis (10-1) a sense of payback after getting walloped by the Red Raiders, 39-14, in the state final a year ago.
“To win the inaugural (Open Division title) is great for not only myself and for my coaches, but the players and all of the alumni involved,” said Saint Louis coach Cal Lee, who added his second state title to his 14 Prep Bowl wins. “A lot of these kids were here last year and they know how that feels. Our guys just played tougher and made plays.”
Dylan Silva added a 43-yard touchdown run after Tagovailoa’s 30-yard scamper with 4:44 remaining made it a two-possession game.
No team from Hawaii had held a lead this season against Kahuku (11-2), which had suffered its only loss against the nation’s No. 1-ranked squad, Bishop Gorman, in Las Vegas.
There were four lead changes in the game — the Crusaders took the lead for good on Jacob Tobias’ 40-yard field goal 10 seconds into the fourth quarter for his third made field goal.
Saint Louis shut out Kahuku in the second half and outscored the Red Raiders 17-0 in the fourth quarter.
“Hats off to Saint Louis and coach Cal Lee,” Kahuku coach Vavae Tata said. “Their win is well deserved. Their defense definitely did a heckuva job.”
Saint Louis outgained Kahuku 473 to 258 and didn’t give up a completed pass to Kahuku quarterback Sol-Jay Maiava, who was trying to become the first freshman QB to lead a team to a state title.
All 258 of Kahuku’s yards came on the ground, with Harmon Brown rushing for 135 yards and a score and Elvis Vakapuna adding 86 rushing yards and a TD.
Kahuku failed to score on defense or special teams for the first time all season.
“Tremendous effort by the defense,” Lee said. “Our guys just played tougher and made plays.”
Tagovailoa broke Chang’s passing record of 8,001 yards on a 52-yard touchdown pass to Jonah Panoke in the second quarter that gave Saint Louis a 13-7 lead.
The five-star recruit and Alabama commit, who broke Chang’s mark in 10 fewer games played, ends his career with 8,158 passing yards and 111 total touchdowns (84 passing, 27 rushing). He also rushed for 1,727 yards.
“This is the stamp of my legacy,” Tagovailoa said. “I’m speechless because I’m finally in the books with Marcus (Mariota), Timmy Chang, Jason Gesser, all these guys.”
Tagovailoa got plenty of help from his teammates, including sophomore defensive lineman Faatui Tuitele, who had a game-high 11 tackles, a sack and a forced fumble.
The Crusaders lost starting linebackers Isaac Slade-Matautia and Noa Purcell to injury, but managed to hold Kahuku to 76 total yards in the second half.
Tuitele, listed at 6-foot-4 and 274 pounds, received his third Division I offer from Southern California last week and looked the part battling Kahuku’s talented offensive line in the trenches.
“This is such a big moment for my team and I,” Tuitele said. “We just had to play hard. Knowing so much about Kahuku, we just had to play not scared. This is what happens when we play our game.”
After Tobias’ kick put the Crusaders up a point, Kahuku wasted little time driving deep into Saint Louis territory.
Safety Kesi Ah-Hoy, who played quarterback last season for the Red Raiders, got his first touches at running back on the drive and took the ball to the 2-yard line. He fumbled on the next play at the 1 and the ball popped into the end zone into the hands of Saint Louis’ Isaiah Tufaga.
Saint Louis had a fourth-and-1 from its own 29 with 6:16 to go and went for it after a timeout. Tagovailoa faked like he was calling an audible and quickly took a snap under center and ran 28 yards for a first down.
Three players later, Tagovailoa scored on a 30-yard run to make it a two-possession game and start the celebration on Kalaepohaku.
“That was a whole team effort,” said Tufaga, who also forced a fumble. “They were driving on us, but we didn’t stop. That wasn’t me, that was my teammates.”
