No. 7 Kapolei looks ahead after 34-6 loss to No. 1 Saint Louis

Linebacker Jacob Saole Su’e was a shining star for Kapolei in a 34-6 loss to No. 1 Saint Louis on Thursday night at the Hurricanes’ home field.

But he and the rest of his teammates are already looking ahead to hopefully greener pastures as the season goes on. Kapolei (2-1, 1-0 OIA Open) won its first two games of the season, against Castle and Waianae, before coming down to Earth against the three-time Open Division state champion Crusaders (1-0, 1-0 ILH Open).

Afterward, the coaches who were members of a previous successful Kapolei team told of the time they were routed by Waianae and then went on to win 10 games in a row.

“I take that to heart,” said Saole-Su’e, who finished with two sacks, one forced fumble and one fumble recovery. “The coaches and our families believe in us and God is with us. We need to keep sticking together. The people we have are the people we need. If we can continue to work, we can do great things.”

According to Kapolei coach Darren Hernandez, Saole-Su’e has eight sacks and seven other tackles for loss in three games.

“He’s a great kid, only a junior and doesn’t complain,” Hernandez said. “He’s a coach’s dream as far as a kid who listens, who tries hard and works hard every day.”

Hernandez admitted the Hurricanes were outplayed.

“They (the Crusaders) are who we thought they were, to steal a line from the late Dennis Green,” he said.

Kapolei moves on to play another ILH team, Punahou (2-0, 1-0 ILH Open), next Saturday.

Saint Louis visits Campbell (0-1, 0-1 OIA Open) next Friday.

On Thursday, three Crusaders quarterbacks combined to go 20-for-25 with no interceptions, two touchdowns and 345 yards. Starter Jayden de Laura led the way with a 12-for-13 night for 274 yards and two TDs.

Koali Nishigaya was one of eight Saint Louis receivers to catch a pass. He made five receptions for 68 yards.

Defensively, Saint Louis got sacks from Nick Herbig, Kalepa Fiaseu, Mason Tufaga and Pride Cui.