St. Louis stomps San Clemente

By Stacy Kaneshiro
Advertiser Staff Writer

Nationally ranked St. Louis trounced San Clemente (Calif.), 40-7, in a non-league prep football game last night.

St. Louis quarterback Bobby George scans the San Clemente secondary during the first half. Jeff Widener • The Honolulu Advertiser

An Aloha Stadium crowd of 2,985 watched a very physical game. The Crusaders threw blocks that leveled Tritons and delivered bone-crunching tackles. Linebacker Taualai Fonoti, who led the Crusaders with 13 tackles, pancaked a Triton on a punt return that aided Fernandez's return.

"Oh, St. Louis is very physical," San Clemente coach Eric Patton said. "I had forgotten the last time I played them was almost 10 years ago. You forget how physical and big they are.

"But I thought we'd match up better. We didn't. They're a fine football team."

Patton coached at Capistrano Valley (Mission Viejo, Calif.) in 1993, when it lost to St. Louis, 13-7.

George completed 8 of 12 passes for 213 yards, including TD passes of 31 yards to Fernandez and 79 yards to Jason Rivers.

It was 27-0 before the Tritons (0-1), who compete in the California Interscholastic Federation's South Coast League, scored on a 17-yard pass from Beau Budde to Craig Miller with 8:24 left in the third quarter.

But the Crusaders stopped any kind of comeback with touchdowns by the special teams and defense. With 2:10 left in the third quarter, Timo Paepule blocked a punt that set up Vierra's TD return. Lakatani's interception return ended the scoring with 9:56 to play.

The Tritons amassed 391 yards in offense, with Budde accounting for 282 yards on 18-of-38 passing.

SAN CLEMENTE (CALIF.) 0  0   7  0— 7
ST. LOUIS 13 7 13  7—40

StL—Justin Cabansag 18 run (kick failed)
StL—Kainoa Fernandez 85 punt return (Michael Houar kick)
StL—Fernandez 31 pass from Bobby George (Houar kick)
StL—Jason Rivers 79 pass from George (Houar kick)
SC—Craig Miller 17 pass from Beau Budde (Chris Miller kick)
StL—Pono Vierra 25 blocked punt return (kick failed)
StL—Jonah Lakatani 41 interception return (Houar kick)

Reported by Advertiser Staff

• DANA HILLS 30, PAC-FIVE 14: Running back Terrell Vinson rushed for 196 yards and scored three touchdowns to lead Dana Hills (Dana Point, Calif.) over Pac-Five in a non-league game at Aloha Stadium.

Vinson, a 5-foot-9, 160-pound junior, rushed 22 times, including touchdown runs of 70 and 10 yards. He also had a nine-yard TD reception from quarterback Trevor Walls.

It was the season opener for the Dolphins, who play in the California Interscholastic Federation South Coast League. The Wolfpack tumbled to 0-2.

Dana Hills running back Joel Martin was taken to Kaiser Permanente after complaining of numbness on his left side, Dolphins coach Scott Orloff said.

Orloff said Martin was "blind-sided" after Walls threw an interception early in the third quarter. Martin walked off the field under his own power, then was tended to by firefighters before the ambulance arrived.

Pac-Five backup quarterback Jordan Tani, spelling the injured McShane Dator (thumb), also was taken to the hospital after getting hit in the throat. Wolfpack coach Don Botelho said Tani could not speak.

Before Tani's injury, he threw first-half touchdown passes of 5 yards to Michael Yamauchi-Yamate and 79 yards to Matthew Friedman.

DANA HILLS (CALIF.) 0  17  6  7—30
PAC-FIVE 7   7  0  0—14

Pac—Michael Yamauchi-Yamate 5 pass from Jordan Tani (Darci Hata kick)
DH—Terrell Vinson 10 run (Lance Friesz kick)
Pac—Matthew Friedman 79 pass from Tani (Hata kick)
DH—Vinson 9 pass from Trevor Walls (Vinson run)
DH—Safety, ball snapped out of end zone from punt formation
DH—Brett Shirozono 20 run (kick failed)
DH—Vinson 70 run (Friesz kick)

Reported by Advertiser Staff