5:52 p.m.
It’s more than 90 minutes to kickoff here at Aloha Stadium. Everything is kicking off later than it did last year, exhibition games between intrastate powerhouses included.
St. John Bosco finished No. 1 in the MaxPreps national rankings last year. It’s like this: very, very rarely does a mainland football team come to Hawaii — and play in Aloha Stadium — unless it has a stacked-to-the-max roster. Remember De La Salle some years back? They had a pretty nifty running back named Maurice Drew (now NFL veteran Maurice Jones-Drew). They came here to play Saint Louis one year after the Crusaders had one of their most talented lineups.
In any event, this is a big test for the Crusaders, who lost to No. 2 Mililani 63-47 last week. A bunch of players sat out for academic reasons, so Saint Louis should have more depth defensively tonight. We’ll see.
First Quarter
Ieti Epenesa blocks a Saint Louis punt and Clifford Simms returns it for a St. John Bosco touchdown. Braves 7, Crusaders 0, 11:19.
Sean McGrew scores on a 4-yard run. Braves 14, Crusaders 0, 6:20.
McGrew bolts up the middle for a 30-yard touchdown run on third and 9. Braves 21, Crusaders 0, 3:14.
Second Quarter
Tua Tagovailoa enters in the second stanza and finds Jimmy Nunuha for a 28-yard touchdown pass and Saint Louis is on the board. Braves 21, Crusaders 7, 9:33.
Quarterback Josh Rosen directs another efficient drive. This time he pump fakes off a play-action fake handoff, then squirts up the middle and bowls over a defender at the goal line for a 10-yard touchdown. Braves 28, Crusaders 7, 8:24.
Simms scores on a 1-yard blast to cap an 11-play, 68-yard drive. Braves 35, Crusaders 7, 4:19.
Tagovailoa fires a 15-yard strike to Rico Sallas in the end zone. Braves 35, Crusaders 14, 2:52.
Anselem Umeh takes a statue-of-liberty handoff and scores on a 28-yard run — on fourth-and-25. Braves 42, Crusaders 14, :54.
Third Quarter
McGrew blasts up the middle, cuts left and he’s gone, 47 yards to paydirt. Braves 49, Crusaders 14, 10:14. Running clock/mercy rule is now in effect.
Devin Fleming catches a quick pass from Rosen and blazes for a 6-yard touchdown. Braves 56, Crusaders 14, 1:42.
Backup QB Quentin Davis scores on a 10-yard keeper up the middle. Braves 63, Crusaders 14, 5:36.
Final: Braves 63, Crusaders 14.
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