Whether it’s a shootout or a low-scoring slugfest, No. 1 Saint Louis continues to find a way.

A week after 106 total points were scored in a close win over Narbonne (Calif.), the Crusaders had to grind their way to a 23-12 victory over No. 5 Kamehameha on Friday night at Aloha Stadium.

Crusaders quarterback Chevan Cordeiro, who was invited to the Polynesian Bowl on Thursday, threw for 376 yards and accounted for both of Saint Louis’ touchdowns.

Senior Jacob Tobias kicked three field goals to give the Crusaders the cushion they needed against the Warriors (3-4, 0-4 ILH D-I), who scored a late touchdown to give Saint Louis its closest margin of victory in ILH play during its current 11-game winning streak.

“We’re just very fortunate with the way the game ended,” Saint Louis coach Cal Lee said. “We got up and we got some breaks and held on.”

Cordeiro accounted for 412 yards of total offense for the Crusaders (6-0, 3-0), who had their lowest point total since a 21-7 win over Kamehameha last season.

The Warriors forced three turnovers and got their first touchdown in eight quarters against Saint Louis when quarterback Thomas Yam scored on fourth-and-goal from the 1 on the final play of the first half.

Kamehameha missed the extra point, however, and trailed by one going into the break.

The Crusaders added two field goals in the third quarter to take a 13-6 lead before Kamehameha drove inside the 25 early in the fourth.

Yam, who was 19-for-36 for 239 yards, went play-action and had an open receiver in the corner of the end zone, but safety Kamoi’i Latu came flying in with a diving interception for Saint Louis to end the drive.

“That was a helluva play,” Lee said. “We had some guys that were hurt and didn’t play, but nonetheless, the emphasis was to pick up our game on defense this week. I thought they played a little better.”

Kamehameha hung tight until the interception. Cordeiro engineered an 80-yard drive and scored on a 6-yard quarterback draw to give Saint Louis its first two-possession lead of the game with 7:31 remaining.

Samuel Scott had a third-down sack to end Kamehameha’s next drive and Tobias added a 31-yard field goal for a 23-6 lead.

Kamehameha finished with 42 rushing yards on 32 attempts.

“Coming back this week we had to work harder after giving up 50 points,” linebacker Noa Purcell said. “There’s a tradition to this Saint Louis defense and giving up 50 points is unacceptable. We know Kamehameha is a good team and their (offensive line) is great, good size. We had to step up.”

Kamehameha safety Kalamaku Kuewa intercepted a pass and forced a fumble and junior linebacker Akalea Kapono had two fumble recoveries for the Warriors, who have lost eight in a row against the Crusaders.

More photos of the game between Saint Louis and Kamehameha. Opens in a new tab