Kamana Pimental rushed for 175 yards and two touchdowns as No. 2 Saint Louis routed pesky No. 10 Mililani 55-20 last night at John Kauinana Stadium.

It was an emotional return for Saint Louis coach Darnell Arceneaux, who coached at Mililani before going to his alma mater last year and guiding the Crusaders to a state title.

"It was nice coming back, to a lot of friends and the administration here. There were a lot of injuries on both sides. I hope everyone heals. We got done what we needed going into the ILH season next week," Arceneaux said.

A crowd of about 3,000 saw the Trojans stick with the defending state champion until the second quarter, when Saint Louis’ relentless pass rush began to take a toll.

Mililani quarterback Jarin Morikawa completed 14 of his first 20 attempts and had 250 passing yards by halftime.

However, defensive end Kalei Auelua led the Crusaders defense with three sacks, and Morikawa passed for only 97 yards after the break, finishing 24-for-41 for 348 yards, two touchdowns and no picks.

"Kalei’s doing a great job. Everybody’s doing their collective part on defense," Arceneaux said.

Pimental, a sturdy, explosive back who is almost never brought down at initial contact, carried the ball just 17 times for a ground game that amassed 285 yards.

"He’s been doing that since last year, so nothing new to us. His work ethic is one and only," Arceneaux said.

That made life simpler for junior quarterback Kawai Mook-Garcia (9-for-17, 166 yards), who connected on touchdown passes of 59 yards to Joseph Kea and 48 yards to tight end Dallas Tuumalo.

"When you have a young quarterback, we don’t want him to feel he has to win the game," Arceneaux said of the junior signal-caller. "We let him go downhill, we worked on some things, a little sloppy with turnovers, but I feel good."

Speedster Jeremy Tabuyo was a factor, too. Though the Trojans limited him to just three receptions, he returned a second-half kickoff 99 yards for a touchdown after Mililani kicked to him for the first and only time all night.

Mililani finished with negative rushing yardage (minus 19 yards on 33 attempts).

Auelua’s first-half 90-yard fumble return for a touchdown hurt, but Mililani coach Rod York took the blame when his team was short on a fourth-and-1 try from its 31-yard line in the second half.

"It was a gamble. It’s a crossover game, so I didn’t mind it as much. Unfortunately, we didn’t get it," said York, a former assistant to Arceneaux. "Mentally, it didn’t hurt us, but they went up by two scores. It was an honor for us to go up against the No. 1 program in the state, with all their history."

The home team scored on its first possession with an impressive 85-yard drive. Kaimi Wilson’s 69-yard haul on a long pass by Morikawa set up a 4-yard touchdown run by Akana Arquette for a 7-0 lead.

The visiting Crusaders struggled a bit offensively, but Auelua came up with a fumble recovery on a botched Mililani handoff, spun a tackler off and rambled 90 yards for a touchdown.

Auelua raised the ball over his head in celebration before reaching the goal line, however, and was whistled for unsportsmanlike conduct.

Aaron Goo’s ensuing PAT kick, with the 15-yard penalty, was wide right, and it was 7-6 with 4:39 left in the first quarter.

Mook-Garcia snuck over from 1 yard out to give the Saints a 13-7 lead with 11:27 left in the first half. The Trojans responded with a four-play, 80-yard drive. Morikawa connected with Wilson for 57 yards, to set up an 18-yard touchdown strike to Deshawn Duncan-Benson for a 14-13 Mililani lead with 10:30 to go in the half.

It took less than a minute for Saint Louis to score again. Mook-Garcia hit Kea with a short pass, and the 5-foot-11, 180-pound senior went 55 yards for another go-ahead touchdown. Saint Louis led 20-14 with 9:43 to go before intermission.

Saint Louis’ defense stopped Mililani on a fourth-and-1 sneak attempt by Morikawa at the Trojans’ 31-yard line. Four plays later, Pimental sprinted past the left pylon for a 2-yard touchdown run and Saint Louis led 27-14 with 6:44 to go in the half.

Mililani got within 27-20 on Morikawa’s 30-yard pass to Duncan-Benson, but Tabuyo followed with his explosive kick return to paydirt and the Saints marched on.