Crusaders roll over Waianae
Jeremy Higgins fired six touchdown passes as No. 1-ranked Saint Louis outlasted No. 10 Waianae 48-35 at Raymond Torii Field.
Higgins, a senior, finished with 391 passing yards (25-for-29) with no interceptions, and was a bit surprised by the numbers.
“No way, six touchdowns? I wasn’t paying attention to that,” he said. “I was in awe of how fast Fukes (Jordan Fukumoto) was. He’s been working hard all offseason.”
Fukumoto had two of those touchdown tosses.
Perhaps most telling was the play of an all-new starting offensive line that allowed no sacks.
“They proved they could do it,” Higgins added.
The Saints led by 35 points before the half, but saw their lead dwindle to six points late in the game. Waianae’s new run-and-shoot offense got hot just before intermission and scored touchdowns on five consecutive possessions at one point.
“The energy and toughness that Waianae brought, they never gave up,” Saint Louis coach John Hao said.
Higgins completed his first 12 attempts, and in the first half, he was 17-for-19 for 322 yards as the visiting Saints took a 35-0 lead late in the second quarter. He had scoring strikes of 12, 5, 77, 42, 49 and 1 yard.
The first drive ended with a 12-yard post pass to Duke Bukoski. Higgins found Joshua Tupua on a 5-yard out pattern for the Saints’ second score.
After Fukumoto turned a screen pass into a 77-yard touchdown jaunt, Saint Louis led 21-0 with 10:42 left in the second quarter.
Slotback Shaun Ahlo streaked upfield and hauled in a 42-yard strike from Higgins with 4:17 remaining in the half to give the visitors a 28-0 lead. A 49-yard touchdown pass from Higgins to Tupua on another screen gave Saint Louis a 35-point lead with 1:39 to go before intermission.
Waianae scored with 55 seconds left on Puletua Wilson’s 21-yard pass to Keoni Napierala-Rose. After Saint Louis muffed the ensuing kickoff, Waianae cashed in with a 24-yard touchdown pass from Puletua Wilson to James Wilson with 6 seconds left in the half.
Saint Louis led at the break 35-13.
Waianae added a 17-yard scoring strike from Puletua Wilson to James Wilson to pull within 35-21 with 3:44 left in the third.
Saint Louis went 80 yards in eight plays and Higgins fired a 1-yard pass to Fukumoto on a slant for his sixth scoring pass and a 41-21 lead.
Pule Wilson’s scrambling led to key first downs as the Seariders scored the next two touchdowns. After a 53-yard kickoff return by James Wilson, Pule Wilson ran around left end on a bootleg for a 6-yard touchdown and Waianae was within 41-28 with 11:14 remaining.
After forcing the Saints’ offense into just its second punt of the game, Waianae drove 68 yards in 12 plays. Eleu Wilson’s 1-yard plunge brought the Seariders within 41-35 with 3:24 left.
The Saints then put the game out of reach on a 21-yard scoring run by Sean Valente with 1:48 to go.
Saint Louis, which didn’t have any scrimmages, committed 11 penalties for 106 yards.
“We executed all our assignments,” Hao said of the first half. “But we’ll look at the film tonight and correct those mistakes tomorrow.”
Paul Honda, Star-Bulletin
Photo by Jamm Aquino, Star-Bulletin
Saint Louis (1-0) 14 21 6 7 — 48
Waianae (0-1) 0 13 8 14 — 35
STL—Duke Bukoski 12 pass from Jeremy Higgins (Aaron Goo kick)
STL—Joshua Tupua 5 pass from Higgins (Goo kick)
STL—Jordan Fukumoto 77 pass from Higgins (Goo kick)
STL—Shaun Ahlo 42 pass from Higgins (Jesse Correa kick)
STL—Tupua 49 pass from Higgins (Goo kick)
WAI—Keoni Napierala-Rose 22 pass from Puletua Wilson (Terrence Akao kick)
WAI—James Wilson 24 pass from P. Wilson (Akao kick)
WAI—J. Wilson 17 pass from P. Wilson (Akao kick)
STL—Fukumoto 1 pass from Higgins (kick failed)
WAI—P. Wilson 6 run (Henry Correa-Young kick)
WAI—Eleu Wilson 1 run (Akao kick)
STL—Sean Valente 21 run (Correa-Young kick)
RUSHING—Saint Louis: Emmett McShane 5-27, Valente 7-109, Derek Nakasato 4-55, Marcus Mariota 2-(-8). Waianae: J. Wilson 2-3, Napierala-Rose 9-63, P. Wilson 10-85, Henry Medeiros 1-1, team 2-(-21), E. Wilson 1-1.
PASSING—Saint Louis: Higgins 25-29-0-391, Mariota 1-1-0-9. Waianae: P. Wilson 17-32-1-242.
RECEIVING—Saint Louis: Ahlo 7-124, Bukoski 5-42, Tupua 8-99, Fukumoto 4-117, Layson Aliviado 2-18. Waianae: Akao 2-17, J. Wilson 6-74, Kalin Sandobal 4-35, Napierala-Rose 4-109, Zach Guajardo 1-7.
I knew stl could do it.. how do i klnow? i play on the team and i knew we would come out on top from the beginning