Kawai Mook-Garcia has endured an up-and-down season, but he knows where to look when times are tough.
The senior quarterback connected with Jeremy Tabuyo for touchdowns of 27, 25, 21 and 68 yards as No. 5 Saint Louis escaped with a 34-23 win over No. 6 Kamehameha on Friday night at Aloha Stadium.
Mook-Garcia, who missed time earlier in the season for a suspension, and then for an ankle injury, showed no signs of rust. He was 17-for-24 for 330 yards without a pick. Tabuyo, the Texas A&M-bound senior, had nothing but touchdowns on his four receptions for the night, totaling 141 yards. He also played a key role in setting up good field position for the Crusaders, returning three kickoffs for 104 yards.
“Kawai? Kawai is sharp. He’s back,” Tabuyo said.
Coach Matt Wright’s Crusaders improved to 3-1 in ILH play (4-3 overall) and remained one notch behind front-running Punahou. Kamehameha fell to 2-2 (4-3 overall) despite a gritty performance by its defense.
Down 17 points in the second half, Kamehameha quarterback Makoa Camanse-Stevens caught fire with 10 consecutive completions, including touchdown passes to Jake Kealohi and Austin Gerard, to bring the Warriors within 27-23 with 8 minutes to play.
Kamehameha seemed to be within reach of getting the ball back soon enough, but on third and 19, Mook-Garcia scrambled to his left and launched a 68-yard bomb to Tabuyo, stunning the Warriors and their raucous crowd. The Crusaders led 34-23 with 5:18 remaining.
Kamehameha’s final two possessions ended on a sack by Kamalei Correa and an incomplete pass in the end zone as time expired.
In all, the Crusaders had five sacks, including two by Colton Goeas.
The Warriors gambled defensively, leaving Tabuyo in single coverage on the touchdown tosses, hoping there would be enough pressure up front on Mook-Garcia.
“We had to stop the run and get some pressure,” coach David Stant said. “Their quarterback hit (Tabuyo) on the run. Give a lot of credit to him. It was a great game. You take two plays away, it’s real close.”
One of those plays was a 21-yard touchdown pass from Mook-Garcia to Tabuyo on the final play of the first half. Tabuyo simply ran upfield through the hash marks and nobody picked him up.
“The O-line and Kawai made the right reads. All I had to do was get open,” Tabuyo said. “They were in man coverage and I stayed true to my read. If they think they can cover me one-on-one, I take it as a challenge.”
The Warriors are still in contention.
“We made some mistakes on our coverage,” Stant said. “We’ve got two losses, but there’s still a chance. A slight chance. There’s always hope.”
The game began as a defensive battle before Kamehameha’s T.J. Fitzsimmons drilled a 44-yard field goal on the Warriors third series.
Saint Louis then got a 49-yard kick return by Tabuyo, and drove 45 yards in three plays. Mook-Garcia found Jerrick Taboada on a 38-yard pass before Adam Noga spun into the end zone for a 6-yard touchdown run before the opening quarter ended.
Mook-Garcia needed just four plays to direct the next scoring drive, hitting Tabuyo on a corner route for a 27-yard touchdown pass.
Kamehameha’s first touchdown came with 53 seconds left in the half on a 1-yard burst by 260-pound fullback Salanoa Wily.
But Saint Louis regained momentum on Mook-Garcia’s touchdown pass to Tabuyo to close the half.
Camanse-Stevens (18-for-33, 280 yards) continued his streak, now seven games without throwing an interception. “It took a while for us to get into rhythm. That was my fault,” Camanse-Stevens said.
At Aloha Stadium
STL (3-1, 4-3) 6 14 7 7 — 34
KS (2-2, 4-3) 3 7 0 13 — 23
KS—FG T.J. Fitzsimmons 44
STL—Adam Noga 6 run (run failed)
STL—Jeremy Tabuyo 27 pass from Kawai Mook-Garcia (Ihaka Johnson kick)
KS—Sala Wily 1 run (Fitzsimmons kick)
STL—Tabuyo 25 pass from Mook-Garcia (Johnson kick)
STL—Tabuyo 21 pass from Mook-Garcia (Johnson kick)
KS—Jake Kealohi 26 pass from Makoa Camanse-Stevens (Fitzsimmons kick)
KS—Austin Gerard 13 pass from Camanse-Stevens (kick blocked)
STL—Tabuyo 68 pass from Mook-Garcia (Johnson kick)
RUSHING—Saint Louis: Noga 13-65, Allan Cui 7-43, Kaulana Vinoya 2-5, Mook-Garcia 4-(-22). Kamehameha: Kaulana Apelu 20-74, Makoa Camanse-Stevens 6-15, Wily 4-10, TEAM 2-(-30).
PASSING—Saint Louis: Mook-Garcia 17-24-0-330. Kamehameha: Camanse-Stevens 18-33-0-280.
RECEIVING—Saint Louis: Tabuyo 4-141, Ricky Ahlo-Pinera 3-17, Jerrick Taboada 2-49, Devon Stubblefield 2-44, Kainoa Abreu 2-25, Cui 1-21, Wallen Teo 1-15, Jordan Eugenio 1-13, Vinoya 1-5. Kamehameha: Austin Gerard 7-145, Avery Amasiu 6-54, Kealohi 2-55, Kaulana Werner 1-19, Pono Costorio-Carvalho 1-9, Cheyne Holt 1-(-2).
