5:30 p.m.
JV game is entering the fourth quarter. Saint Louis leads Mililani 18-14. It’s a beautiful, sunny, breezy afternoon at John Kauinana Stadium. The kind of day that makes me feel grateful to be alive and enjoying another great high school game. Still thinking about Kapolei and the loss of a player’s dad at the Kahuku game last night. My thoughts and prayers are with the young man, his family and the Hurricane ohana.
The varsity game here is scheduled for sometime around 6:30 p.m. The Crusaders brought a pretty good-sized crowd just for the JV game. Parking space is at a premium. I’ll be keeping statistics, shooting video and attempting to live blog. Again, if I’m not instantaneous, please forgive.
5:55 p.m.
Saint Louis still leads Mililani in the JV game, 18-14, with just 2:50 to go. Dave Reardon just arrived. He couldn’t resist such a delectable matchup, especially with the Lee brothers back on the Crusaders’ sideline.
First Quarter
Mililani drives 80 yards in eight plays on the game-opening possession. A trick play for 33 yards, a pass from Kainoa Wilson to Kalakaua Timoteo, sparks the drive. McKenzie Milton hits Kainoa Wilson on a quick play-action pass for a 6-yard touchdown play. Mililani 7, Saint Louis 0, 9:44.
Another impressive drive by the home team. Malepeai gashes for a 20 yard gain on first down and caps the 40-play drive with a 2-yard run to paydirt. Mililani 14, Saint Louis 0, 7:52.
A long drive punctuated by three Mililani holding penalties and multiple Saint Louis offsides calls ends with a 2-yard drive over the goal line by Malepeai. Mililani 21, Saint Louis 0, 1:33.
Crusaders drive to the 3-yard line, but fumble on a big hit on the left side to RB Raymond Caayan. Rex Manu recovers for Mililani, ending the threat with 1:03 left in the quarter.
Second Quarter
The Crusaders finally crack the end zone with Tua Tagovailoa at quarterback. (Not sure if Kuhns is hurt.) Tagovailoa’s 6-yard strike to Keanu Souza on an out route cuts it to 21-7 with 4:50 left in the second quarter.
Milton strikes. Saint Louis is starting to wrap up Malepeai, but Milton answered with a 53-yard jaunt around left end for a touchdown. Mililani 28, Saint Louis 7, 3:12.
Tagovailoa marches the Crusaders down the field again. He caps it with a 12-yard pass to Souza, who makes two nice moves to get past defenders for a touchdown. Mililani 28, Saint Louis 14, 1:38.
The Trojans keep marching. Despite a couple of penalties, Milton makes it look easy. He lofts a 26-yard alley-oop pass to Bronson Ramos in single coverage for a touchdown. Mililani 35, Saint Louis 14, :51.
Saint Louis answers immediately, driving 66 yards in six plays. Tagovailoa continues to be magical, finding Allen Cui on a crossing route in the end zone for a 7-yard touchdown with no time on the clock. Mililani 35, Saint Louis 20, halftime.
Saint Louis’ astounding comeback resumed in the second half. Kuhns returned to the field and led his team on a 60-yard touchdown drive. His 17-yard pass to Cui for a touchdown brought the Crusaders within 35-27 with 8:42 left in the third.
On the next play from scrimmage, Malepeai fumbled and Saint Louis lineman Makoa Chapa recovered at the Mililani 15-yard line. One play later, Jonathon Manalo scored on the left side and Saint Louis was within 35-33 with 8:26 left in the third. The two-point run by Caayan was stopped short.
Mililani went to work again, driving 80 yards with a 35-yard bomb to Timoteo. But it took a 1-yard sneak by Milton, barely over the goal line, to finish the drive. Mililani led 42-33 with 5:13 to go in the third.
After Saint Louis’ next drive stalled, Mililani scored again. Milton’s 15-yard toss to Wilson on a post route boosted the Trojans to a 49-33 lead with 23 seconds left in the third.
Fourth Quarter
The Trojans hand the ball to Malepeai for big yardage, then Milton finds Timoteo for a 17-yard strike in the end zone. The hurry-up continues to work well for the men of Troy. Mililani 56, Saint Louis 33, 10:19.
Tagovailoa back in, throws a 3-yard touchdown pass to Saitua Lefau. Mililani 56, Saint Louis 41, 4:26.
There he goes again. Milton bolts through a crack for a 47-yard touchdown run. Mililani 63, Saint Louis 41, 2:32.
Tagovailoa finds Colton Nascimento for a 7-yard touchdown pass. Mililani 63, Saint Louis 47, 1:22.
FINAL: Mililani 63, Saint Louis 47.
Great job, Honda!