There are no easy wins over a Goliath like Kahuku.
Not even for mighty Saint Louis. Yet, the Crusaders’ vaunted defense was stellar in a 30-14 win on Friday night in a clash between the state’s top two football teams. Saint Louis’ front seven wouldn’t let the Red Raiders move the ball. Kahuku had minus-22 rushing yards in the first half, including six Saint Louis sacks.
Linebackers Nick Herbig (three), Jordan Botelho (two) and Kila Kamakawiwo‘ole (one) were active. So was defensive tackle Faatui Tuitele (one), and Timothy Timoteo and Isaiah Filisi were in on yet another takedown.
Kahuku started Thorton Alapa at quarterback, and he couldn’t get into a rhythm with the pocket collapsing often. He finished 7-for-11 with 58 yards and one pick, but absorbed six sacks. He got better as the game went along, but on his best drive of the night, he left with an injury. Robbie Sauvao, who started earlier in the season, entered and fired a TD pass on his second attempt, cutting the lead to 23-7. His ability to feel pressure gave the Red Raiders more time and opportunities, but Saint Louis kept the heat on.
Korvin Feagins‘ pick-six, an 85-yard return down the right sideline, sapped Kahuku’s best chance to rally early in the final quarter.
Kahuku’s final TD came with less than 2 minutes to play while the Crusaders had reserves on the field.
After holding Kahuku to 8 yards of total offense in the first half, Saint Louis’ second-half defensive effort was still noteworthy. It wasn’t as satisfying as coach Cal Lee had hoped. What he, Tuitele and the unit really wants are shutouts, but no team had shut Kahuku out on Hawaii soil since 2008.
“That’s a good first half, but how many teams play four quarters. We’ve got to play four quarters, not two quarters. That’s part of growing up and getting better, when you play all four quarters,” Lee said. “There’s a lot of work to do. We’re starting tomorrow (Saturday). I’m looking for perfection, which we may never get, but we’re going to push harder for next week.”
With a 3-0 game going into the second quarter, it felt like a potential defensive struggle.
“You go in there thinking you’ve got to play good defense. If you play good defense, they don’t score, you know what I’m saying? Unfortunately, we didn’t play very well in the second half,” Lee said. “It’s a lot of work. They’re young. We’ve got to work.”
Kahuku tried an elephant formation on short-yardage, using bulldozing, 235-pound running back Toalei Lefau to pick up a first down. The Red Raiders tried it again a few times, but it didn’t last.
“They can do whatever they want. We’ve got to come back and be ready for whatever they show,” Lee said. “It was a good test, but we learned a lot from our competition. We’re not that good. We’re not that good.”
Kahuku finished with 13 rushing yards on 27 attempts. Saint Louis limited explosive ballcarrier Wes Alo-Maiava to 5 yards on four attempts, and Lefau had 17 yards on five carries. Alapa was 7-for-11 for 58 yards with one interception. Sauvao finished 11-for-24, 125 yards and two TDs.
I see it all the time in club volleyball and soccer where there is no red tape, everyone flocking together to form a super team. Thats all that this Crusader team is a combo of great kids statewide. Cant blame them because its better exposure for each child. St. Louis played great on both sides. Kahukus D can keep their heads high they played tuff.
Kahuku had a huge gap in its defense once Ah You went down with injury. As explosive as St Louis’ offense is, they took off on cue. That Crusader front seven on defense is something serious. Until Kahuku can figure out its problem on offense (QB problem IMO), the Lou just might be looking at a 3-peat this season.
No three peat this year, Darren Hernandez on announcing this game is very intelligent with his commentary, he has all the answers on how to beat St. Louis. Cant wait till Kapolei shuts down the Crusader O and exposes those weaknesses in that D.
St Louis played well considering the first string played only two quarters in all there games st louis defense is the best kahuku defense is good but there offense needs a lot of work because I no coach ron there offense will catch up with there defense soon then they will be unstoppable it was a good game and most of all nobody got seriously hurt Cant wait for them to play again hopefully kahuku not going to be looking for another coaching staff
QB position isn’t the issue, it’s the line play. At this point, crusader front 7 is too good for any oline. I personally wanted to see Big Red go power I and go straight ahead, they definitely have the personnel for it. Biggest difference in the game, imho, Crusader front 7 creating havoc and the 2 big plays(80 yd catch and score and the pick 6). Missed catches kind of cancel out as both teams had chances, but not really as Crusader chances more than likely would’ve been 6.
Hats off to the Crusaders. Back at work Big Red!
RRFL!
Hope you can’t be serious is that a joke the cracks that kapolei gets I grantees st louis starters only going to play the first half be real and it will be on you guys home field sorry bro
Lol, KapCity isn’t going to shut the Crusaders out. Hernandez doesn’t have the personnel to take advantage of whatever weakness St Loius has. De Laura is a good athlete and will get better, but he has a way to go to match the arm talent of the last 2 qb’s . Don’t have to say anything about Tua, but Cordeiro can spin the rock beautifully too.
RRFL!
what happened to my good friend 88? I hope he is doing well
You absolutely right if he can get closet to the 2 last quarter backs st louis will 3 peat easily for now we need to see what happens but I have faith in coach ron and vinny
Good game..players played hard and you could see which team really had the better coaching which is tough because of the so many coach changes kahuku has gone through there never really is a consistency, it’s another coach trying out schemes and trying to figure what works best….may GOD help those that got hurt heal quickly and now it’s on to the next team and next game..
Was those real quotes from Lee or fake news?
This RR O-line doesn’t look as physical as years passed. The size is there, as always, but the tenacity and power is lacking. I’m surprised Cal Lee took his foot off the pedal in the second half.
Cal is right. Without all the Kahuku players on his roster and all his recruiting, saint lulu is not that good. Cal is overrrated as a coach. When all you do is steal talent from other teams and look angry all the time and talk like you’re nick saban, you’re not a coach. you’re just a glorified recruiter trying to destroy high school football.
lets be real. saint lulu didn’t beat kahuku last night. The entire system in the state, from governor ige on down to cal lee and the ILH agenda beat us last night. they make the rules favor them, they create “scholarships”to take away kids to their “school” and permanently separate them from their families. the entire state of hawaii is designed to beat us because when you’re born on the north shore,you are born HATED. but it’s okay. our boys played hard. enjoy this victory while you can. it’s the best football win money can buy. RRFL!
If kahuku can keep a coach for more then a year or two might be easier for the kids to get used to a certain type of offense lol! Maybe instead of changing coaches the next change should be higher up! Offense has a long way to go! St. Louis front 7 is definitely something for everyone to deal with! Not sure anyone else gonna be able to catch up this year! But I wouldn’t count kahuku out yet! They always find a way!
I wouldn’t go as far as saying cal is overrated! You can have all the best kids but if you don’t know how to teach them and coach them you ain’t gonna win that many Games! Knocking at the door of 300 wins ain’t no easy task! But it’s a lot easier with the cream of the crop year in and year out! Not sure why you feel everybody in the state hates us from out here Lmao! I get friends from all over the islands! We was outplayed last night plain and simple! Time to get back to work and practice harder!
Such anger. May be you should go coach and see if you could match Cal Lee’s record lol. Kahuku have always have the numbers and talents. Don’t discredit the kids as they’re just as good as the Crusader’s kids. The coaching is the obvious reason here. Having talented kids don’t mean nothing if you don’t have a coach who know how to get the best out of them. That’s where Cal and his staff come in.
This is also not a state conspiracy lol. Have a nice day bro.
How is anyone “stealing” talent? No kid belongs to any school. The kid belongs to a family and that family “chooses” where they want that kid to go. A kid doesn’t belong to Kahuku just because a family chooses to live somewhere.
Same ol “plantation days owning syndrome” going on. Pretty pathetic. Kahuku got spanked, plain and simple. Get better so it doesn’t happen again.
Try building more diverse and versatile programs so football isn’t the only options these kids have.
Awrite aka toomeke aka anyways are all crybabies who have never even played kahuku football but are nuthuggers that like to complain about so called recruiting. This is what’s produced up on the northshore. A community that only has football and nothing else. Take that away from them and they have nothing. You’re crybabies. Keep hating St Louis and I hope next game we keep the starters in all game so we can run the score up on you guys
@Dafun, isn’t it sad that the adults in this community are role models for the kids? Maybe the kids should be the role models for the adults?
I guess they are content to work at PCC or McDonalds out there.
It’s so sad that people here only have hate in their hearts for Kahuku. Your comments truly are classless. No humility. So much arrogance. You guys are here calling the north shore community a plantation like we all out here picking cotton and are good for nothing except farm labor. It’s so sad to see people cheering for a community to fail and cheering on the ILH Agenda that destroyed football across the state. That’s okay though. We always were the enemies of the state. They want us to fail but we’ll come back stronger than ever. RRFL!
uhhhhhh not sure which school you guys are talking about as far as football meaning “EVERYTHING”. The only difference is one of them have money and the other doesnt.
People complaining about private schools recruiting are only seeing it from a football aspect. Most parents send their kids to Punahou or St Louis or Kam because they feel their child will receive an experience off the football field that’ll benefit their kid in the long run. Yoi tell me, you really think a parent from the North Shore will drive their kid ALLLLL the way to town EVERY DAY to go school just to play football?
Real Talk – Hate to burst your bubble but similar to the club scene where you are dealing with talented athletes, its the parents responsibilty to put that kid in the best environment for that sport. If these sport parents were concerened about THE BEST education they would be lining up at Iolani and Punahou…sorry but “Football Parents” are lining up their kids at St. Louis for football.
I love reading anywaaaays!! post. Scary thing is he (or she) totally fits the criteria for a paranoid schizophrenic. Yikes…
Aside from that, yes, St. Louis is just on a different level than the rest. And yes, that includes Big Red….for now. I do believe Kahuku will be back and better than they were last night. But, for now, Kalaepohaku is King. No denying that.
@ Notes – i get what you’re saying. and of course my comment was only mere opinion. but by that same token, you said:
“its the parents responsibility to put that kid in the best environment for that sport”
so if the parent feels that placing their child at St Louis (or any other private school) is the best environment for that sport, instead of sending that child to the designated public school of their residential district, is that wrong?
@ Notes – my apologies. your very first comment at the top of this thread answered my question.
Private Schools recruiting is nothing new. It’s been going on for years all across the country. But yet it’s the topic of discussion year in and year out.
Real – No it is not wrong it is commendable, the ILH have the ability to market their services to attract the best talent in science, arts and sports.
Plantation days? Shows your ignorance and bias view.
Here we go , the refs, second strings,recruiting lol, that’s all u hear from the red raider nation . Cry cry cry like always. St. Louis recruits? Whoopi doo , that’s the whole purpose of private schools and that’s y there are on another level and sad to say kahuku is not on there level. Three peat here it comes . Part 2 of of crusader and red raiders will be even more dominant from St. Louis. Kahuku lucky the score was 30-14, should’ve been worse.
Ron Lee should get all the credit, Cal is just the States best recruiter!! Without Ron’s Run & Shoot
Cal Lee would be average….
It would be educational to see how the anti-ILH, recruiting theorists define recruiting…my son attends StL and has been a starter on Inter and JV…I coached 6 yrs at Pun, 1 yr KS, my son never played football, not even flag…I never thought his body needed to get banged around, so no coach knew my son…as someone who helps recruit for my college, I have not seen any of the kids my son plays with at StL who would meet a reasonable definition of being recruited…so a definition would be interesting from the RRFL/OIA…Also, if we so nuts about COach Cal recruiting, where is the outrage when these boys get recruited by Mainland Colleges…
anywaaaays!! September 8, 2018 9:17 am
It’s so sad that people here only have hate in their hearts for Kahuku. Your comments truly are classless. No humility. So much arrogance. You guys are here calling the north shore community a plantation like we all out here picking cotton and are good for nothing except farm labor. It’s so sad to see people cheering for a community to fail and cheering on the ILH Agenda that destroyed football across the state. That’s okay though. We always were the enemies of the state. They want us to fail but we’ll come back stronger than ever. RRFL!
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This just speaks of your ignorance and stupidity. You are the one saying how the community owns the kids and the kids belong to the community. An analogy was then made based on your original comment about the kids “belonging” to the community and how they are stolen.
I really don’t think you are that dumb. It’s clear you do this just to get a rise. You would never write such foolish things behind your real name.
All the Whining in the world is not going to change the outcome. Plain and simple, Kahuku got spanked. If Kahuku wants to elevate its game they must make drastic changes in their offense asap and it starts with the Coaches. No body to blame. Kids bust their butt everyday at practice. Intelligence in strategy and execution is key to taking down SLS. Luckily still got time in the FB season to make those changes.
It’s people like u in the community that makes kahuku hated for being arrogant like they kings of the world which ruins it for the classy people and kids. Half these guys on here were probably non athletes. Recruit or not if u can’t beat them don’t hate them , try get better coaching then maybe kahuku would have a chance. Let’s face reality here St. Louis will dominate this whole season and will win a third in a row , kahuku people talking like wait till the play offs lol , kahuku still needs to get pass mililani. Again be humble u sore losers , it’s always an excuse when u lose. cry cry cry
@CrusaderDad
If you need people to define recruiting than you are a REAL crusader!
The only ones that deny stl recruits is stl alumni!
I give punahou credit, at least they admit they recruit.
Nobody denies stl is a good football team. Good win last night.
@CrusaderDad – “Also, if we so nuts about COach Cal recruiting, where is the outrage when these boys get recruited by Mainland Colleges…”
It’s called hypocrisy and ignorance. Who cares is STL recruits. Kahuku can recruit. But who would want to drive out there just to play football?
@ ANYWAAAAYYY aye there u are! I was flipping back and forth between tv stations last nite, between the Vball game and the st.louis/kahuku game, and I was just WONDERING what kinda none-sense I was gonna read from you today…. But alas, it’s the same old stuff from many many many previous posts. U could probably copy and paste ur commentaries and save u some time re-typing it all over again to post. Somehow I wish st Louis would loose to kahuku to shut u up, but then again we would never hear the end of it, something to the affect of “see! we from kahuku who don’t recruit divided and conquered the ILH agenda and we really stuck it to Cal Lee, and nothing beats homegrown talent and the best players/coaches/community can go against “Goliath” while we are the “David” and beat them. “Look at us, we are the best ” blah blah blah. Seriously who the F cares?! Kahuku players as well as ILH players get recruited from top football college programs around the country, and if u gonna say it’s all about the kids, shut ur fricken trap and just be happy that everyone gets exposure to recruits from colleges and gets to go to top football programs for college. Whether kahuku wins state tiles or not, the kids still get recruited for college, so be honest, ARE YOU more butt hurt over it all or really, ur speaking on behalf of the ENTIRE kahuku community? Will u EVER just admit that kahuku got beat fair and square? EVER? ur freakin ridiculous!
Yes ,as RR4Lifer we did loose to a well coached team with many more advantages than any public school in the State, that is a fact..Yes, there are kids that get recruited or offered an incredible opportunity to be part of the program, and a lot of them attend to be part of it to…This being said, I just have hard understanding why would they create a division where some can but, you no can..Im talking district exceptions…This to me is the biggest advantage that ILH has over the public schools
If you think it doesn’t matter, then your are obviously blind….
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Asking bc I don’t know anything about this, all I know if wen I was younger, u would do D.E. if it was to hard for ur parents to get u to school and back home. I’ve heard of parents putting their kids in diff schools, from elem to high school depending on which school has programs their kids are passionate about that their local school doesn’t provide. Have heard of parents now doing GE for their kids to play for certain school in a particular sport or a specific coach, un-heard of wen I was growing up. I know there is a rule for private school students transferring to public who has to sit out, not sure how it works if public school goes private if they can play right away or sit out. @RedRooted, u mentioned a division where some DE’s are allowed and some aren’t, can u explain? Open division has schools both private and public, but I’m assuming u possibly talking about public schools not allowing DE between other public schools? Or I could be wrong and u actually mean something else?
RedRooted… September 8, 2018 7:06 pm
Yes ,as RR4Lifer we did loose to a well coached team with many more advantages than any public school in the State, that is a fact..Yes, there are kids that get recruited or offered an incredible opportunity to be part of the program, and a lot of them attend to be part of it to…This being said, I just have hard understanding why would they create a division where some can but, you no can..Im talking district exceptions…This to me is the biggest advantage that ILH has over the public schools
If you think it doesn’t matter, then your are obviously blind….
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I could use this exact argument on what Alabama wins national titles and UH does not. You sound like a damn crybaby. GEEZ, call the f’in wwwwaaahhhhbulence.
Haves and Have nots, simple.
In the end, only the last game will count. The championship game. This was just a season game. Transfer rule, kids move from team to team in public schools. Recruit is when their’s $$$, involve. Reduce tuition, free tuition,after school job,etc.etc. Usually happens in private schools. Lots of kids from “housing” cannot afford tuition, so kudos to the ILH. They call it 1475 Linapuni St., but the Irish crew calls it “billing A:
Just another Open game. Lessons to be learned. Like the fact that Carvalho let the reserves get experience. Keep working it out. Only theLast Game Counts. (State Champ).
Congratulations St. Louis on the win Friday night. They were well prepared, executed and won decisively. Having said that, the comments about Kahuku only having football as an outlet for our kids (without football they have nothing) is out right wrong and shows the ignorance of the poster(s). C’mon now, stick to commenting on sports on a mediocre sports page and leave legit reviews and assessment on the school as a whole to those who actually know.
Kahuku keep your heads up! If you’re gonna take a loss let it be from a nationally ranked team. I expect Saint Louis to take states every year. I am surprised when they don’t. They should be the best because they have the facilities and the money that attracts great talent. They can draw talent from all over the Island. Most schools have geographical locations to grab talent from. Kahuku has done well with what they have to work with from Kaaawa to Sunset.
Interesting comments on my comment…To prove my FACT…Whatever school that you said you went to, and I’m assuming it’s a private school, Show me your roster with the home addresses of your players next to it…This is not an argument it’s a fact…And like tried to say earlier , I commend people who gets recruited or offered to go to a private school for whatever reason, But to say there is parity, I know it’s not…Please show me and the other curious people on this blog the Roster with addresses.you’ll definitely find kids from our area who we are extremely proud of, I’ll be waiting ..Curious minds would love to know….RR4L…
Only the last game counts? This is so ridiculous written by a bunch of cave-men.
FACT – Most student athletes will not continue to play football after high school.
FACT – Even less student athletes will make a career out of playing football.
To say that only the last game counts, then that means most of the teams are playing games that do not count? This is one of the most ignorant comments made by guys who probably didn’t play football and are living on the internet like trolls and losers.
Many positive relationships are made during practices, workouts, games, and other football related activities. Many of the lessons learned will help shape these young men for the future to be a positive contributor to their community and our state.
Every minute these kids put into this sport counts.
Seriously, I question the intelligence of some posters on this site.
Lice Teru Rama-Niu September 9, 2018 9:53 am
Congratulations St. Louis on the win Friday night. They were well prepared, executed and won decisively. Having said that, the comments about Kahuku only having football as an outlet for our kids (without football they have nothing) is out right wrong and shows the ignorance of the poster(s). C’mon now, stick to commenting on sports on a mediocre sports page and leave legit reviews and assessment on the school as a whole to those who actually know.
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If this wasn’t true why was the JV Game to empty? Let me guess? The drive and work?
Why is there so little support for other sports? Do you see the attendance for every other sport other than Varsity Sports? It’s anemic.
Here is the hierarchy out there.
1) Varsity Boys Football
2) Working at the PCC
3) Being unemployed
4) Working at McDonalds
5) Any sport that they are successful at and the bandwagon will come
6) Drinking
7) Smoking
8) Academics (for some)
Hats off to Coach Lee and his coaching staff for not running up the score as this game could have easily been 45-7. (this game was not even close) Crusaders are on a whole different level than Kahuku from a skilled position stand point who can blame their athletic director for the coaching carousel the past few years. It definitely showed on the field!
So STL recruits…don’t hate the players, hate the game. Parents send their children to private schools. By no means are they forced to attend.
Stop whining, regroup, and show up next time. More time with the new coach will only help.