LIVE BLOG: Saint Louis 43, Liberty 16

Nevada’s Liberty High, regarded as the No. 2 team in the state over the last five years, invades Aloha Stadium to take on the No. 2 team in Hawaii, Saint Louis, in a fun early-season showdown.

Technically, this is the Crusaders second game, but after a fun 55-6 win over Faga’itua of American Samoa, Saint Louis will face a real step up in competition.

The Patriots feature a roster of 13 players and five coaches from Hawaii, including former UH and Roosevelt star Chad Kapanui, who has assisted in Liberty’s recent success.

Here’s more on Liberty. You can also view Saint Louis’ 2015 team page here.

This will be the 21st game Saint Louis has played against a non-Hawaii U.S. team. The Crusaders are 14-5-1 but have lost three of the last four.

Live updates will follow. Kickoff is 7:30 p.m. (10:30 p.m. Pacific):

Saint Louis OL Nate Herbig and WR Drew Kobayashi expected to start tonight. Herbig is committed to Stanford and Kobayashi to Cal.

Herbig and Tytus Timoteo are captains for the Crusaders. Kaimi Batoon, Calvin Tubbs, Alofania Tevaseu and Tyus Toomalatai are captains for the Patriots.

Liberty wins the toss and defers. Saint Louis will receive the opening kickoff in the south end zone. Here we go.

Liberty shanks opening kick out of bounds. Crusaders will start at the 35.

Kobayashi moves early before first play. Were they going deep there? Saint Louis jumps early again. A little excited. First play is a completion to Kobayashi but it’s called back by a hold. Liberty was able to get pressure. First-and-37 from the 8. Another flag. Defensive holding. Third-and-20 and Tagovailoa throws short to Leelan Oasay who breaks three tackles and ends up with 25 yards and a first down. Tagovailoa fakes handoff to Silofau and gets in open space. He splits two tacklers then makes two defensive backs miss. 50-yard TD run. Saint Louis scores in 1:51 on opening drive after starting first-and-37. STL 7, LIB 0, 10:09, Q1.

Ethan Dedaux with a 41-yard kickoff return to the 45 but then an absolutely stupid late hit by the Patriots as flags fly everywhere. Liberty will start from its 30.

Oblad comes out and hits Darion Acohido for a nice 15-yard gain. Damanhy Whittle in at QB and he keeps it for 11 yards. Oblad back in and he throws an incomplete pass but is hit late for a 15-yard penalty on Saint Louis. Acohido is stopped for a 3-yard loss on a great play in the backfield by Isaac Slade-Matautia. Iosefo Noga steps in front of a pass and has a possible pick-six go off his fingertips, Third-and-long and Liberty calls timeout. Mixup in the backfield and Slade-Matautia gets a sack to force the punt.

Crusaders will start from their own 8. Crusaders march down the field as the Patriots really struggle to tackle. A 33-yard TD pass to Silofau by Tagovailoa and a 15-yard TD run by Tagovailoa both called back by penalty. Tagovailoa throws behind a wide-open Oasay for what could have been another TD. Fourth-and-16 from the 27 after another incomplete pass. Saint Louis will go for it. Tagovailoa with a perfect throw to Ronson Young down the seam. 27-yard TD pass is good. Saint Louis 14, Liberty 0, 3:46, Q1.

Crusaders called for a pass interference on a deep ball. Eight penalties in less than a quarter for Saint Louis. Third-down pass looks like it’s going to be caught but then Slade-Matautia lays out the receiver and forces the drop. Impressive first quarter for Slade-Matautia. Patriots have to punt.

Bad punt and Saint Louis starts on its 42. Four plays, four passes, four completions. Touchdown. Tagovailoa with a beautiful ball in the back of the end zone to Lanakila Wilson for a 30-yard TD. Tagovailoa 14-18, 207 yards, 3 TD (1 rush). Still 1:09 left in Q1.

Patriots get some tempo going on offense as Oblad hits Damian Nunez for 9 and Darion Acohido for 13. Two nice runs by Stephon Stowers and it’s third-and-5 at the Saint Louis 35 as the first quarter ends.

Fourth-and-1 and Stowers is stopped as Noga got their first and Samuela Mafua finished it up.

Liberty is struggling to stay with the Saint Louis receivers and Tagovailoa is shredding them apart. Tagovailoa jukes a defender to buy time and then heaves one deep to Lanakila Wilson who makes the diving catch in the back of the end zone. 41-yard TD pass makes it 28-0, 10:08, Q2.

Tagovailoa 17-21-0-269, 4 TD (1 rush).

Saint Louis already with 10 penalties after leaving early on the kickoff. If it can clean all of that up, holy smokes.

Ethan Dedeaux has looked great returning kickoffs for the Patriots. Big return gets them out to the 47.

Tebay with two runs for five yards to set up third down. Oblad looks a little hesitant figuring out which receiver to throw to and ends up lobbing it up. It is almost picked. Patriots go for it. 8-yard completion to Ethan Dedeaux. A 12-yard completion to Bryan Roland gets another first down. Kaeo Freitas sacks Oblad to back up the Patriots. After a 14-yard completion to Ethan Dedeaux its fourth-and-7 at the 23. Now fourth-and-12 as Liberty jumps. Oblad has an open guy near the goal line but Iosefo Noga closes and breaks up the pass. Great play.

Danyas Smith is a nice-looking DE for the Patriots as he tackles Oasay for a loss and then nearly forces Tagovailoa to throw an interception. Another unsportsmanlike penalty on Crusaders ames it third-and-24. Tagovailoa with a 60-yard BOMB in the air and somehow he overthrows Kobayashi who had a step. Saint Louis has to punt from deep in own territory.

Liberty gets one first down on an 8-yard reception by Darion Acohido. Patriots have fourth-and-14 and go for it. Jordan Iosefa with the sack for Saint Louis.

Tagovailoa finds Wilson for 12 and then Young for 17 to go over 300 yards passing in the first half. Tagovailoa and Silofau fumble the exchange but Tagovailoa recovers. Silofau rips through the line for an 11-yard TD run. 34-0, 2:52, Q2.

Another big return. 41 yards out to the Liberty 45.

Darion Acohido with a 29-yard reception but a personal foul is called on the Patriots. Liberty going really fast on offense and mixing up passes to Acohido and runs by Tebay. They get to the Saint Louis 11. Fourth-and-7 with 16 seconds left in the half. Patriots go for it. Crusaders jump early. Now it’s fourth-and-2 from the 6. After a timeout, Oblad goes play-action and finds the local boy, Nayton Koki, for a 6-yard TD. Ethan Dedeaux runs in the 2-point conversion and it’s 34-8 with 10 seconds left in the half.

Halftime Box Score

At Aloha Stadium
Liberty (0-0) 0 8
Saint Louis (1-0) 21 13
StL—Tua Tagovailoa 50 run (Jacob Tobias kick)
StL—Ronson Young 27 pass from Tagovailoa (Tobias kick)
StL—Lanakila Wilson 30 pass from Tagovailoa (Tobias kick)
StL—Wilson 41 pass from Tagovailoa (Tobias kick)
StL—Jahred Silofau 11 run (kick failed)
Lib—Nayton Koki 6 pass from Kenyon Oblad (Ethan Dedeaux run)

RUSHING—Liberty: Chad Tebay 7-24, Stephon Stowers 4-13, Damanhy Whittle 1-11, Treyveon Campbell 2-2, Kishon Pitts 1-1, Darius Alston 1-0, Darion Acohido 1-(minus 3), Oblad 4-(minus 13). Saint Louis: Tagovailoa 2-50, Silofau 3-25, Jonathon Manalo 1-14.
PASSING—Liberty: Oblad 14-24-0-146. Saint Louis: Tagovailoa 21-28-0-305.
RECEIVING—Liberty: Acohido 6-73, E. Dedeaux 2-21, Damian Nunez 2-18, Bryan Roland 1-12, Jake Dedeaux 1-11, Koki 1-6, Gavin Caci 1-5. Saint Louis: Leelan Oasay 5-67, Drew Kobayashi 4-43, Wilson 3-83, Young 3-42, Silofau 3-39, Chandler Washington-Villanueva 2-24, Joshua Tokunaga 1-7.

Second-half kickoff at about 9:15 p.m.

We were on verge of blowout. Now I bet Tagovailoa stays in for at least two series. Patriots get the ball first. a TD on their opening drive could really start to make this a game. Liberty definitely settled down late in the half. Everything seemed a little fast for them to start out.

Another nice return. 33 yards by Ethan Dedeaux. Liberty starts at its 34. Fourth-and-1 and Alofania Tevaseu rumbles for 11 yards but Slade-Matautia with the tackle and strip and recovery all on his own. What a play. Crusaders take over.

Tagovailoa goes 13 yards to Koabyashi and 21 yards to Oasay. Third-and-goal from the 2 and Tagovailoa misses an open receiver. Fourth down and they go. Crusaders late to line up and look confused. Tagovailoa has time and now has to run backwards. He just throws it up and Oasay comes down with it but there’s a block in the back. Penalty moves the ball back 26 yards. Fourth-and-goal from the 28. Incomplete. Liberty holds.

Tanielu Evaimalo with the tackle on fourth-and-1 to stop Liberty on the Saint Louis 48. Crusaders ball.

Tagovailoa hits four consecutive passes to get down to the 20. 10-yard TD pass to Oasay with 3:15 left in Q3. Tagovailoa now 28-for-37, 392 yards, 5 TD (1 rush).

Liberty’s drive stalls out after Jordan Iosefa picks up his second sack of the game on third down. Rare punt in the game coming up. Oblad now 19-for-31 for 192 yards and a TD with no picks.

Chevan Cordeiro in the game at QB for the Crusaders. Looks like Tagovailoa’s night is done.

Third quarter over.

I’ve lost track of the penalty numbers but they aren’t good for Saint Louis. Very undisciplined.

Saint Louis puts in some backups and the Patriots march 82 yards in eight plays. Darion Acohido catches a 12-yard TD pass from Oblad and now has eight receptions for 100 yards. 2-point conversion is good. 41-16, 9:26, Q4.

Liberty recovers the kickoff on the Saint Louis 32 but the referees ruled the Saint Louis player was down. Replays might have shown otherwise. Crusaders take over.

Saint Louis adds a safety when the Patriots snap the ball out of the back of the end zone. Going to head down to the field soon, here’s the box with 4:46 remaining and the Patriots kicking off..

At Aloha Stadium
Liberty (0-1) 0 8 0 8 — 16
Saint Louis (2-0) 21 13 7 2 — 43
StL—Tua Tagovailoa 50 run (Jacob Tobias kick)
StL—Ronson Young 27 pass from Tagovailoa (Tobias kick)
StL—Lanakila Wilson 30 pass from Tagovailoa (Tobias kick)
StL—Wilson 41 pass from Tagovailoa (Tobias kick)
StL—Jahred Silofau 11 run (kick failed)
Lib—Nayton Koki 6 pass from Kenyon Oblad (Ethan Dedeaux run)
StL—Leelan Oasay 10 pass from Tagovailoa (Tobias kick)
Lib—Darion Acohido 12 pass from Oblad (E. Dedeaux run)
StL—Safety, ball snapped out of end zone

RUSHING—Liberty: Chad Tebay 14-35, Stephon Stowers 4-13, Alofania Tevaseu 1-11, Damanhy Whittle 1-11, Treyveon Campbell 2-2, Kishon Pitts 1-1, Darius Alston 1-0, Acohido 1-(minus 3), Oblad 8-(minus 30). Saint Louis: Tagovailoa 2-50, Silofau 9-41, Jonathon Manalo 3-28, Chevan Cordeiro 2-1, team 1-(minus 16).
PASSING—Liberty: Oblad 25-39-0-275. Saint Louis: Tagovailoa 28-37-0-392, Cordeiro 3-3-0-20.
RECEIVING—Liberty: Acohido 8-100, Damian Nunez 5-30, E. Dedeaux 4-42, Gavin Caci 4-64, Bryan Roland 2-22, Jake Dedeaux 1-11, Koki 1-6. Saint Louis: Oasay 8-111, Silofau 5-58, Drew Kobayashi 5-56, Wilson 3-83, Young 3-42, Chandler Washington-Villanueva 2-24, Jahvin Spear 2-16, Manalo 1-14, Joshua Tokunaga 1-7, Tosh Kekahuna 1-1.

Damanhy Whittle in at QB for Liberty trying to drive for a late TD. Liberty tries a trick play near the 20 and instead it’s a Saint Louis INT. That should do it.

FINAL BOX

At Aloha Stadium
Liberty (0-1) 0 8 0 8 — 16
Saint Louis (2-0) 21 13 7 2 — 43
StL—Tua Tagovailoa 50 run (Jacob Tobias kick)
StL—Ronson Young 27 pass from Tagovailoa (Tobias kick)
StL—Lanakila Wilson 30 pass from Tagovailoa (Tobias kick)
StL—Wilson 41 pass from Tagovailoa (Tobias kick)
StL—Jahred Silofau 11 run (kick failed)
Lib—Nayton Koki 6 pass from Kenyon Oblad (Ethan Dedeaux run)
StL—Leelan Oasay 10 pass from Tagovailoa (Tobias kick)
Lib—Darion Acohido 12 pass from Oblad (E. Dedeaux run)
StL—Safety, ball snapped out of end zone

RUSHING—Liberty: Damanhy Whittle 4-41, Chad Tebay 14-35, Stephon Stowers 4-13, Alofania Tevaseu 1-11, Adam Lemos-Dimas 1-2, Treyveon Campbell 2-2, Kishon Pitts 1-1, Darius Alston 1-0, Acohido 1-(minus 3), Oblad 8-(minus 30). Saint Louis: Tagovailoa 2-50, Silofau 8-41, Jonathon Manalo 3-28, Jimmy Gonsalves 1-5, Dylan Silva 3-3, Austin Tuisano 1-3, Chevan Cordeiro 2-1, team 3-(minus 19).
PASSING—Liberty: Oblad 25-39-0-275, White 1-1-0-15, Acohido 0-1-1-0. Saint Louis: Tagovailoa 28-37-0-392, Cordeiro 3-3-0-20, Maika Bonner 1-1-0-4.
RECEIVING—Liberty: Acohido 9-115, Damian Nunez 5-30, Gavin Caci 4-64, E. Dedeaux 4-42, Bryan Roland 2-22, Jake Dedeaux 1-11, Koki 1-6. Saint Louis: Oasay 8-111, Silofau 5-58, Drew Kobayashi 5-56, Wilson 3-83, Young 3-42, Chandler Washington-Villanueva 2-24, Jahvin Spear 2-16, Manalo 1-14, Joshua Tokunaga 1-7, Gonsalves 1-4, Tosh Kekahuna 1-1.