No. 1 Saint Louis was seven little points better than No. 2 Punahou on Friday night and so it was no joke when coach Cal Lee said afterward that the Crusaders are fortunate to be where they’re at.
Where they’re at is 36 victories in a row and in prime position to go for a fourth straight Open Division state championship. Had they not kept their composure when the going got super rough in the second half at Aloha Stadium, those streaks would be history.
Instead, Saint Louis pulled out a 21-14 victory for the ILH championship with so much to lose.
The Crusaders’ think tank worked extra hard in instructing the players in crunch time. Lee and his staff have been in these situations before — without crumbling — and they weren’t about to fall apart now, either.
After dominating the first half, Punahou battled back for a 14-all tie in the third quarter, making life intensely difficult.
And that’s where the Saint Louis boys absolutely thrived.
The first big play in the Crusaders’ sprint to the finish came on Punahou’s first possession after the Buffanblu tied it at 14. It was by defensive lineman Stanley McKenzie, who tipped a third-down pass by Buffanblu quarterback John-Keawe Sagapolutele.
Punahou punted. How would Saint Louis respond? Game on the line. It’s go time, right? The Crusaders could have faltered, but they didn’t.
The next gigantic effort came from wide receiver Matt Sykes, who took a Jayden de Laura pass for 31 yards, pushing the ball to the Buffanblu 12.
Then, as time ran out in the third quarter, de Laura went around left end for a 12-yard TD. That was the money play, the one that made the final difference, giving Saint Louis a 21-14 edge.
But there were 12 full minutes left.
The Saint Louis defense was desperate for another stop and so it came to pass. Anthony Sagapolutele, a defensive lineman, stuffed Punahou’s Nathaniel Kia for no gain on a fourth-and-1 from the Saint Louis 41.
That was another quite bright moment in the clutch for the boys from Kalaepohaku. It wasn’t the last.
Linebacker Sonny Masaniai then took center stage in the Crusaders’ hero contest with a sack to halt Punahou on its next drive after it had gotten as far as the Saint Louis 29.
That left 5:06 on the clock. De Laura confidently passed for two first downs, and then with 2:12 to go, the Saint Louis decision-makers had a dilemma. Go for it on fourth-and-5 from the Punahou 41? Or punt?
It was no easy choice. The Crusaders took two timeouts before finally deciding to run a play.
And what a play — a slant pattern to Sykes (like Joe Montana to John Taylor to win the Super Bowl in 1989) that Sykes busted for a 27-yard gain to the Punahou 14.
“I’m not gonna lie,” de Laura said. “I had butterflies on that one. We trusted Matt to put the ball in his hands and he pulled through. Big-time players make big-time plays.”
It was pretty much academic from there. The Crusaders could not get another first down and Punahou took over at its 17 with 8 seconds left. Too late for the Buffanblu.
And now it’s on to the state tournament for Saint Louis (10-0). The Crusaders play Mililani (8-4) in the Open semifinals Nov. 22.
“We play for one another, our family and our coaches,” Saint Louis’ McKenzie said. “Now, we’re going to make sure we win every practice … that’s how you’re going to win every game.”
Added de Laura: “We knew the game wasn’t over after the first half (14-0 lead). They came back and stopped us a couple of times. We told ourselves, you gotta relax and let the game flow. I was kind of worried. Punahou is a great team and you can’t take them lightly. They made some great second-half adjustments and they always play us great.”
Coach Lee was also worried.
“I was worried when I got here (to the stadium),” he said. “We were very fortunate to keep them to two scores. When (they took the momentum), we had to make sure that we make a stop and fortunately we were able to make stops (courtesy of McKenzie and Masaniai).”
As for the play call on that critical fourth down, Lee said, “I’m kind of lucky. I called it, but I figured this was our shot. I liked the play, the pass play. We had a chance and I thank the Lord for making it happen.”
Lee felt comfortable with the ball in de Laura’s hands.
“He can always do other things, can run it and all that (if Sykes wasn’t open),” he said. “These kids know what it takes to win a game. It’s four quarters and all that stuff. You can be up big and things don’t go right. Nonetheless, they hung in there and we’re fortunate to be where we’re at.”
Punahou was trying to get back to the state tournament for the first time since 2014.
“It went down to the wire,” Buffanblu coach Kale Ane said. “That’s all we can ask. We had chances and were hurt by key penalties. Saint Louis is a great team. We had to be near perfect to beat them. I’m disappointed we didn’t cash in. But the boys played great. I’m proud of them. They found a way to keep the game going.”
Added Punahou running back Vincent Terrell, who helped steal the third-quarter momentum with long punt and kickoff returns, “It’s hard to see the clock hit zero and knowing you didn’t come out with the victory. We left it all out there. Saint Louis was the better team today. It just sucks.”
Lee has 24 of Saint Louis’ 41 ILH championships. The Crusaders are going for their seventh overall state championship and fifth under Lee. The school also has 14 Oahu Prep Bowl championships (prior to the start of the state tournament in 1999), all under Lee.
Great win for the Crusaders, Punahou is one team that doesn’t give up fast, even down by 14, they did not give up, most teams would just say we lost already, One year Punahou played Saint Louis and was trailing at the half by like 28 points and came back in the second half and almost pulled it off, i think Saint Louis won like 42 to 35, but Saint Louis was winning at the half like 35 to 7, so you never know, especially the way Punahou plays, i’m a Crusader fan since the Mid 60’s and let me tell you, every time Saint Louis plays Punahou it’s not easy. To bad only 1 ILH team makes it, because the #2 team in the State will not be there, they need to expand the State Tournament to more teams, we have 2 open weeks before the State Tournament which could have been used for more games in the open Division. GO CRUSADERS
I see Punahou as ranked in the top 10 nationally. Great game played by both teams. Not sure what the turnout would’ve been had they had the additional LB but still, next man up mentality works well for either team with so much talent. A chess match at the end and some missed calls by the refs for and against both teams. Hawai’i has some talented kids and talented coaches!
The COACHING that Cal and Ron and their staff Do so consistently is a main part of their success.Time and time you see them pulling thru in very tight games with teams that have a lot of talent too.
Their Coaching is a true gift to all who play for them…especially the ones who go on to college and the pros. Also to those that may not go to the next level…the life’s lessons they teach are invaluable as the players move on in their lives.
GO SAINTS!!
Folks , and that was the Hawaii state championship game. Punahou best mililani , Kahuku, and Campbell and yet those teams get to go to the tourney instead of Punahou ? #2 ranked team in the state , season is over, even with the state tourney going on , they still will be ranked 2 and still will finish 2 at the end polls . Cmon Hawaii get it right . I’m cali , best of the best play regardless if private or public school. It can’t be a real state tourney without the best in it. Very sad Hawaii . It’s embarrassing.
It was a great game. It could have gone either way. Can’t ask for a more exciting game.
@California spectator
You may be right, partly. Really, St. Louis should not be playing for open division championship status, they should be playing in west coast championship along with all the other top ranked teams in CA, OR, WA and NV.
@Observation yes true St. Louis should be playing schools from the mainland but realistically who is going to paying for travel and lodging expenses on a weekly basis? What about time away from school?
@ #4 California Spectator 100% correct
@ Observation Yeah and Alabama shouldn’t be playing in the SEC, they should be in the NFL and Clemson should be in the NFL too, not the ACC. blah blah blah blah get over it, that’s life. Punahou almost beat Saint Louis twice this year, you telling me the trilogy wouldn’t be the most hyped state championship since 2016, c’mon smh. Hats off to Punahou and thumbs down to the HHSSA.
@ Riders808,
St. Louis does not have to go on a weekly basis, just for two to three weeks for a championship series. The St. Louis booster club can pay for it, they have the money.
@Recruited not Rooted,
When you have heavily recruited teams and some fictitious national rankings then that is all you have and no real way to determine who is number one. The NCAA solved this by actually having a national championship. No way to have a national HS championship, but at least by coast.
You want to play in the State championship game, beat St.Louis. Punahou had 2 shots at it. You don’t get a third chance. Listen ILH boys, petition the ILH administration to walk away from this ILH/OIA Open. Can’t have your cake and eat it too.
@LOu,
I tend to differ, I think “you” keep the OIA/ILH alliance along with the different divisions and as time goes on, I see these two eventually merging and then you get away from top ILH playing top OIA for the championship. The Division II is nearly this way already, you don’t have a OIA and ILH representative and if they do it as they did last year, Kaimuki plays Kapaa and Roosevelt plays Lahainaluna. The winner goes to the championship game. The only thing missing was that the fourth best team was not able to play for a spot. But, give it time for these things to happen as a natural course of growing pains.
@ Lou it’s not about what you want or I want, its about what everybody wants, which is having the best teams in states. # of OIH/ILH representatives based on leagues and # of teams should be a moot point. You should just think about it as the Open Division, not OIA/ILH because everybody plays each other. Four best teams go, simple as that. Could be 3 ILH some years and 4 OIA’s others. Not counting interleague games by the OIA last two years is laughable, what are they afraid of, that everybody that was actually at these real games will pretend they didn’t really happen. Wtf that’s as stupid as anything I’ve ever seen in sports.
@ Rider808 “Saint Louis can go to the mainland just for two to three weeks for a championship series. The St. Louis booster club can pay for it, they have the money.”
I’m sure the booster club has a couple hundred thousand laying around every year lol. SMH. You must be one of those liberals that thinks everything should be free. NOTHING is free, the money has to come from somewhere. In the infamous words of Margaret Thatcher, “socialism is great, until you run out of other people’s money to spend.” Maybe you could give the Saint Louis booste club your phone number and bank account number. Why we’re at it, why doesn’t everyone do the same, every year, I’m sure they’d appreciate that.
Sorry Rider808 I meant observation in last post
@Recruited not Rooted,
Then why have HS ranking systems, which are meaningless. Max Prep has St Louis with a #4 national ranking, which is meaningless if they are not going to play #1, #2 and #3 for a championship. If you really want to prove “yourself”, you will come up with the funds.
Recruited not Rooted,
A liberal would suggest we have every team be equal, and that is not what I am advocating. I recognize that St. Louis is far better team that practically every other team in the state (yes, Punahou gave them a game this year) and a number of the nationally ranked teams including St. Louis have enough next level players to make it worth the attempt to play some national level series (top four teams).
@16 Oobservation Good response, I’ll agree with that. With the popularity of and the exposure high school football is getting these days we are trending in that direction. You’ll need a big time sponsor to pull this off though, you can’t expect the schools themselves to come up with that kind of money in a short period of time. GEICO is the obvious choice because they’re involved in something similar now but it’s more like the college bowl system than it is a true playoff. Until it becomes a true playoff scenario, none of the highest ranked teams will be there because they have nothing to gain and everything to lose. I do believe we’ll get there someday though, just may take a while. But for sure a ton of money involved so you’ll need a big time sponsor to foot the entire bill.
St. Louis would play at a national level, but remember guys we are over seas and the cost for that ain’t cheap. It’s easier to do these things living on the mainland . True statement
I believe coaching still is the key. You look at he way St. Louis throws the ball and tell me that’s not coaching ? Put it this way guys , if cal lee went Kahuku , Kahuku state champs every year regardless of recruited teams from ILH. Coaching coaching coaching . Bottom line , idk y but Kahuku likes to hire pop warner coaches and that’s their problem. Nuff said
@California spectator,
When you say you are over seas, you do realize Hawai’i is part of the US, correct. You are a five hour flight across the Pacific. And, like @Recruited not Rooted suggested, this simply takes a few major sponsors and three games over three weeks between the four topped ranked teams, one of which would come from as nearly far away as Honolulu, St. Francis Academy (MD). This is doable, with enough impetus from all four teams, televised networks and sponsors.
Okay then. Call last night’s game the State Championship and start basketball season. I know that St.Louis and Punahou has heavy recruiting State wide, money for their programs, paid coaches, fantastic facilities and state of the art training rooms. So yeah the best. Public cannot compete with that. That much more far ahead then the #3-5 OIA teams. When can Waianae be a power again? Never, because they don’t have all of the above.
State tourney should me 2 OIA-ILH. Semi finals ILH champ vs second place oia , oia champ vs second ILH , example this year would’ve looked like this for state semi’s Punahou vs Kahuku and saint Louis vs mililani , winner of those plays for state championship . Leave Campbell out of it , they have no business being on the state tournament lol.
We will see. Given the crown already? We will see. Congrats to St. Louis. And better luck next year Punahou. Great season and things look bright for Buffanblu. But giving them the crown is premature if you ask me. Only my opinion.
#19 Ouch, Lol, if Cal Lee went to Kahuku, champs every year. What if he went to Kalani? His alma mater?
@ H’boy. I agree, that’s why they play the game. A lot can happen between now and then too. And nobody thought Punahou would give Saint Louis rubs like this. Should be a great state tourney, just would have been that much better with Puns in there instead of Campbell.
I agree with the Hau’ula Boy. We know the. Crusaders look great, but they better suit up against these OIA schools, mainly Kahuku. Every year we doubt the Red Raiders, because they’re not flashy. Kahuku mentality is to go out and hit someone, anyone, everyone.
Hopefully, Cal Lee knows better and has learned from his experiences. Stay off the hype train until it’s all said and done.
@Observation
How can you bring up St Francis Academy MD . head coach Biff Poggi 3 years ago dropped 2.5 million in the high school football program alone , sure they can travel all around the country . it’s financially impossible for any team here to travel for two – three weeks straight .
@ Lou
Now u talking nonsense , I don’t care if u had nick saben or bill belichik at Kalani they would never win an open state tournament , look at what kind of kids goes there and the community . Kahuku has the talent year in and year out to win it all . But when u have pop warner coaches there with a little league offense , talent only takes u so far. If saint Louis was to go head up against Kahuku without throwing the ball , of course Kahuku would win, again it’s the coaching.
I don’t care what anybody say , real football people that knows real football knows last night was the real state championship game. Imagine if Farrington went beat Campbell , there would be a 3-8 team playing in the state semi finals . What a joke.
@FBF,
Keep up, the national rankings (which are only on paper and never on the field):
1 Mater Dei (Santa Ana)
2 St. Frances Academy (Baltimore)
3 St. John Bosco (Bellflower) CA
4 St. Louis (Honolulu)
So, these will always be on paper.
Kahuku is not beating STL. Please stop being delusional. STL gave them such a smack down that Kahuku’s Coach asked Cal if it was okay to stop the game at halftime due to the power outage since they were concerned for their player’s safety. I’m guessing no one watched that game. STL could have won by 40.
@really
The Red Sea is jealous of the crusaders and will always be. They wish they could be like a crusader . I hope cal lee runs the score up just to rub it in their faces . I see no way of that game being close .
Of course RR cannot be like St.lulu. They are a public school. Lulu has $$$. They got 23 coaches, the equivalent of 3 OIA teams. Who rules the National HS top 25? Right private schools with majority Catholic. Poor St.Francis tried the model but got bankrupt. Now a historic All Girls school closed because of male ignorance. Big shame.
Punahou gave STL 2 tough and close games this year.
Nobody else will come close in the state tournament. At least not this year…..
This format sucks! It should be Saint Louis vs Mililani and Punahou vs Kahuku!. Punahou is a hell of a team, they never backed down from Saint Louis. Let the best play each other and let’s see how it goes! Hopefully next year with this format over with, they can draft a better format to include the top 2 ILH teams. It’s always red raiders 4 lyfe, but the best of the best should play each other. Way off topic, but imagine making a all start Hawaii team to join the trinity league and battling in the top league in the nation! Wishful thinking, but I think that’ll be cool lol. Heaweko!
I agree with Hailfromdanorth- The match up would be a great semi final.
I have been to a couple of MD and SJB games on the mainland. Some say size doesn’t matter but until you see them in person – it will open your eyes. Some of the Oregon players ( vs USC) were freshman from MD.
Okay,again Punahou had 2 chances. 0-2. Mililani will have 2 chances. Kahuku will have 2 chances. So if St.L wins it all, who gives a hoot about Punahou rated #2 in the State? As Manti Teo said before the 2015 Championship, “Nobody remembers 2 ND Place”. And after these teams lose, one thing is sure, the parity favors One team. The power to recruit statewide,23 coaches , $$$, recruiting team, division 1 coaching experience and paid coaches.
@ Recruited not Rooted
You comparing STL to Alabama not playing in the SEC makes NO sense?
All college DI schools can recruit equally so how does that give Alabama or Clemson an advantage? Unlike OIA teams who cannot legally recruit like STL & the rest of the ILH. That’s a BIG Advantage!!
CAn all the Kahuku crybabies please stop crying . Get over it , Saint Louis is just better, even with the big man child’s that kahuku have , ya they can push around the little schools , but not the crusaders , they outsmart em , outspeed em, and outcoach em. Tired of seeing this red raider crybabies , you guys no feel embarrassed on this thread crying? Big for Nutn.
Did I seriously read a complaint about OIA schools not being able to recruit? Did mililani join the ILH? mililani doesn’t even have to deal with any transfer rules
@??? I was wondering where you and your donkey comments have been, missed ya…. been sleeping? What I said was actually a generalization in reference to a comment about Saint Louis being too good and should only be allowed to play the top teams on the mainland. Are you serious when you say all D1 schools are equal in regards to recruiting? Alabama, Clemson and other top mainland schools have a huge advantage in recruiting. Having the very best facilities, much larger budgets, TV exposure (some even have their own exclusive TV contracts ie.. Notre Dame and others with their own TV networks ie.. Texas), tradition, boosters etc… I could go on and on why top schools have an advantage. They may play by the same rules but there is nothing equal about them.
Donkeys Saint Louis 42-7 against red raiders . That’s what the state championship game will look like
@??? As for Saint Louis and ILH schools “recruiting,” what the hell else are they going to do to keep enrollment up. All private schools rely on their reputation to attract students, they have no district boundaries to draw from. In Saint Louis’ case, If you build it, they will come. All you “recruiting” conspiracy theorists’ out there imply that Saint Louis has all these athletes on full scholarships. That’s a far cry from the truth. Most of these kids parents are paying a hefty price to invest in their kids future. Sure they can apply for financial aid, but that only covers about 30% of the need. Yeah there are some minimal scholarships to go around, but those are few and far between. It really comes down to the parents, like myself ,that choose this path because they want the best for their kids. Nobody is putting a gun to their head, they choose Saint Louis because of the program they have built and the opportunity it could provide their kid. Can’t blame a parent for that. You telling me if you had that opportunity for your kid, you wouldn’t take it? C’mon lol. And as for the OIA recruiting, they do have district exemptions that allow for a lot of leeway unless, as Robocop noted, Mililani is now in the ILH.
Sometimes common sense isn’t so common. If they keep this format, then shame on the HHSAA. As coaches would you live with yourself being just above .500 getting into the state tournament? Like hey guys we lost half our games but there’s still a chance we get in. No worries. Usually sports teaches life lessons but hey some coaches can try to get maximum effort out of their players but some of them may end up knowing we can lose more than half our games and still get into the playoffs. This is just flat out embarrassing.
@adam
42-7 and that’s with call lee letting his seniors play half way through fourth quarter lol. Take that cryraiders. Kahuku only got lucky beating mililani lol the Trojans dominated . Kahuku lucky red raiders
Still talking bs. Only people crying on here is you. 42-7? I wish I was a man child. Then the girls might look at me. Then I wouldn’t get embarrassed every time I look down. Haha.
@45
What game did you watch. Defense on both sides dominated. Kahuku and Mililani Defense both played great. So keep talking. We will wait and see. RR4L.
I agree with #43-
The tuition at IMG Academy cost $ 72,000 a year and they are ranked below Saint Louis. Money don’t always buy success – Look at USC. Reggie Bush (Fox Sports) said a lot of talented CA players don’t want to go to USC. Look at MD- Bryce Y and DJ U. These guys are CA products that are going to Alabama & Clemson.
@47
same game you watched. Kahuku was 123 out 123 out, literally only had like 50 yards of total offense going into fourth quarter. Mililani missed 2 field goals and was inside the 5 yard line twice. Kahuku never passed the mililani 40 yard line. yah so what game were you watching?
Yeah. But Kahuku kept giving them the ball and they still couldn’t punch it in. So dominant my a$$. Kahuku Defense was pretty dominant. I mean Mililani Defense just as tough. But Mililani didn’t dominate. You probably never even watch the game.