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The ILH and state championships are officially up for grabs in the Open Division this season.
No. 1 Saint Louis’ 36-game winning streak against Hawaii opponents ended Friday night when Kamehameha’s Dylan Palama sacked Crusaders quarterback AJ Bianco on fourth down with just over a minute to go to give the fifth-ranked Warriors a stunning 23-21 victory over the Crusaders at Aloha Stadium.
“Our guys executed,” Kamehameha coach Abu Ma’afala said. “I’m so proud of our kids. They hung in there and weathered the storm. For them to get this victory I could not be happier for them.”
It’s one thing for the Crusaders’ streak to end. It’s another for it to come against Kamehameha.
The Warriors (1-1 ILH Open) had lost 11 in a row to Saint Louis (1-2, 1-1) and had scored more than seven points just once in the seven previous meetings.
Running back Noah Bartley rushed for 110 yards and a touchdown and put the game away with a 12-yard run after Palama’s sack stopped Saint Louis on fourth down for the fifth time in the game.
“It’s a really good feeling having a win like this,” Bartley said. “I feel like me and my linemen have been working together the past three, four years and have really made a bond that is hard to break.”
Bianco finished 30-for-44 for 343 yards and two touchdowns but was picked off twice.
The Crusaders were stopped on fourth-and-1 on their last two drives. Both times it was Palama rushing untouched off the edge to put pressure on Bianco as Saint Louis elected to throw it twice instead of run the ball.
“I blitzed at least five times today,” Palama said. “I barely blitzed against Punahou. It feels amazing.”
Saint Louis’ struggles on fourth down began immediately as the Crusaders’ first three drives of the game all ended on a turnover on downs.
Kamehameha drove 66 yards on its second drive to the Saint Louis 1 and looked to have scored on a quarterback sneak on fourth-and-goal.
However, Kamehameha called a timeout just before the snap, and to make matters worse, was whistled for a 15-yard unsportsmanlike penalty after the play.
Winston Freitas bailed Kamehameha out with a 33-yard field goal for a 3-0 lead.
Saint Louis was held scoreless in the first quarter and it didn’t get any better when Kamehameha’s Kyle Lee stepped in front of a Bianco pass and picked it off, returning it inside the 20.
Saint Louis had a defensive interception wiped out by a penalty and Kamehameha quarterback Kealii Ah Yat found Blaze Kamoku for a 3-yard TD pass to put Kamehameha ahead 10-0 with 7:25 left in the first half.
Facing its largest deficit on the islands since trailing Punahou 16-6 in 2019, the Crusaders converted three crucial fourth downs to take the lead before half.
After Bianco’s 39-yard touchdown pass to Devon Tauaefa on fourth-and-9 put Saint Louis on the board, Bianco converted a fourth-and-1 on the next drive when he hurdled a defender to run for 8 yards.
Four plays later, Saint Louis again faced a fourth-and-1 when Bianco handed off to Trech Kekahuna, who outran the Warriors defense down the sideline for a 31-yard TD and a 14-10 lead 35 seconds before the break.
Kamehameha marched 90 yards in 14 plays to start the second half with Bartley scoring on a 9-yard touchdown run to put the Warriors up 17-14.
Kamehameha lost Ah Yat midway through the drive when a defender rolled into his legs. He was down for a minute before limping off the field.
Hunter Kaulana Ah Loo picked off Bianco on the next drive and the Warriors took a two-possession lead again on Dwight Apao’s 1-yard TD run to make it 23-14.
Apao, who replaced Ah Yat at quarterback, completed his first pass of 26 yards to Blaze Kamoku on third-and-10 to set up the score.
Ah Yat returned to the game in the fourth quarter and finished 7-for-19 passing for 68 yards.
Jaysen Peters-de Laura had 12 catches for 113 yards and Kekahuna finished with 117 receiving yards on eight grabs as Bianco’s top two targets.
At Aloha Stadium
Kamehameha (1-1, 1-1) 3 7 13 0 — 23
Saint Louis (1-2, 1-1) 0 14 7 0 — 21
KSK — FG Winston Freitas 33
KSK — Blaze Kamoku 3 pass from Kealii Ah Yat (Freitas kick)
StL — Devon Tauaefa 39 pass from AJ Bianco (Lason Napuunoa kick)
StL — Trech Kekahuna 31 run (Napuunoa kick)
KSK — Noah Bartley 9 run (Freitas kick)
KSK — Dwight Apao 1 run (kick blocked)
StL — Kekahuna 34 pass from Bianco (Napuunoa kick)
RUSHING—Kamehameha: Noah Bartley 22-120, Micah Mahiai 5-18, Apao 5-13, Kealii Ah Yat 2-(minus 2), team 2-(minus 6). Saint Louis: Kekahuna 4-47, Keola Apduhan 4-15, AJ Bianco 8-13, Chaz-Ayden Delto 2-7, Joshua Sagapolutele 1-0.
PASSING—Kamehameha: Ah Yat 7-19-1-68, Apao 1-4-0-26. Saint Louis: Bianco 30-44-2-343.
RECEIVING—Kamehameha: Kamoku 3-32, Duke Lorenzo 2-25, Apao 1-20, Bartley 1-10, Levi Maafala 1-7. Saint Louis: Jaysen Peters-de Laura 12-113, Kekahuna 8-117, Tauaefa 3-63, Mason Muaau 2-27, Delto 1-8, Yosei Takahashi 1-6, Nicholas Delgadillo 1-5, Brayden Cordeiro 1-2, Titan Lacaden 1-2.
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