St. Louis runs over Punahou in 27-9 victory

By Stacy Kaneshiro
Advertiser Staff Writer

St. Louis did not have its best pass catcher available, but it might not have needed him anyway last night.

With all-state receiver Jason Rivers in street clothes nursing a hamstring problem, the Crusaders rushed for 294 yards in rolling over Punahou, 27-9, last night in Interscholastic League of Honolulu Division I football before 2,915 at Aloha Stadium.

The Crusaders (2-1 ILH, 3-2 overall), ranked second in The Advertiser Top 10, snapped a two-game losing streak and swept the season series from the Buffanblu (0-3, 3-3).

St. Louis running backs Justin Cabansag and B.J. Batts rushed for 125 and 165 yards, respectively. Cabansag scored on runs of 1 and 11 yards, while Batts scored on a 2-yarder. They earned most of their yardage on the trap blocking of 6-foot-2, 275-pound left guard Frank Fernandez.

"I think it was the 280-pound or 290-pounder in the front" that made the trap work for St. Louis, Punahou coach Kale Ane said. "They did a good job, but it was tough for our linebackers to get off blocks."

Known for its passing via the run-and-shoot, St. Louis instead rushed the ball nearly twice as often than it passed. Quarterback Bobby George completed 14 of 22 passes for 162 yards and an 18-yard TD toss to Jon Amano. But the Crusaders rushed the ball 45 times with Cabansag and Batts combining for 35 carries.

"We had success the first time we played them and we wanted to see if we could exploit that and see if we could still run the ball on them," St. Louis coach Delbert Tengan said.

Thanks to six interceptions — two each by Jonah Lakatani and Pase Fiaseu, and one apiece by Kaleo Perriera and Tani Nahalea — and two fumble recoveries, the Crusaders' 16 penalties totaling 172 yards did not come back to bite them.

While the offense controlled the ground, the defense owned the air. The Crusaders scored TDs after three interceptions off Punahou's multi-talented quarterback Drew Monahan. It was the kind of game the defense needed following a 31-21 loss to national No. 1 De La Salle (Concord, Calif.) and the state's No. 1 team, Kamehameha, 41-20.

"We gave up 72 points in the last two games, so these guys really wanted to redeem themselves," Tengan said.

The Crusaders' first score came after Perriera's interception in the end zone for a touchback. St. Louis marched 80 yards in 14 plays — 10 of them rushing — with Cabansag scoring from the 1 to take a 7-0 lead after one quarter.

The Buffanblu gave the Crusaders a scare early in the second quarter, when defensive lineman Wes Scott sacked George in the end zone for a safety to make it 7-2.

"That was a big play for us," Ane said. "We just couldn't take advantage of it."

That's because after receiving the free kick, Punahou lost the ball on a turnover on its second play from scrimmage. Punahou receiver Christopher Duncan fumbled after a 1-yard gain at the Buffanblu 37. St. Louis capitalized, scoring in six plays with Cabansag running off left tackle for an 11-yard TD to make it 14-2.

PUNAHOU (0-3, 3-3) 0 9 0 0—9
ST. LOUIS (2-1, 3-2) 7 7 13 0—27

• StL—Justin Cabansag 1 run (Kaeo Adams kick)
• Pun—Safety, Wes Scott tackles Bobby George in end zone
• StL—Cabansag 11 run (Adams kick)
• Pun—Christopher Duncan 29 pass from Drew Monahan (Tamatoa Hackney kick)
• StL—Jon Amano 18 pass from George (kick failed)
• StL—B.J. Batts 2 run (Adams kick)

RUSHING—Punahou: Drew Monahan 16-139, Tamatoa Hackney 5-14, Micah Strickland 2-(minus 5), Christopher Duncan 1-(minus 2), Reyn Wicklund 1-(minus 3). St. Louis: Bobby George 4-(minus 1), Justin Cabansag 17-125, B.J. Batts 17-165, Shane Butcher 1-4, Stanley Nihipali 1-(minus 1), Justin Kruse 2-3, Kealii Perbera 2-(minus 1).

PASSING—Punahou: Monahan 13-29-6—165. St. Louis: George 14-22-1—162, Nihipali 0-1-1—0.

RECEIVING—Punahou: Duncan 10-132, Strickland 1-0, Stanley Fisher 2-33. St. Louis: Cabansag 1-7, Aaron Bain 1-1, Makaala Kuewa 1-13, Butcher 5-71, Jon Amano 2-28, Shawn Kauleinamoku 1-17, Batts 3-25.

Iolani 35, Pac-Five 14: Quarterback Robert Mageo passed for three touchdowns and rushed for another to help the Raiders (3-0) remain undefeated in ILH Division II.

Mageo completed 17 of 24 passes for 182 yards. He had TD passes of 30 yards to Tonee Suetsugu, 28 yards to Karl Motoyama and 21 yards to Matt Choy. Mageo also scored on a 3-yard run.

Iolani's defense also contributed to the scoring. Middle linebacker Kala Kaaihue returned an interception 20 yards for Iolani's first touchdown of the game. It was one of four interceptions by the Raiders. Defensive back Shawn Agustin had two and Kyle Muraoka had one. Agustin's first interception set up Iolani's third first-quarter touchdown.

Iolani running back Raynold Stowers, the league's leading rusher, gained 114 yards on 13 carries.

PAC-FIVE (1-2, 3-3) 0 0 6 8—14
IOLANI (3-0, 5-1) 21 7 7 0—35

• Iol--Kala Ka'aihue 20 interception return (Jason Keanini kick)
• Iol--Robert Mageo 3 run (Keanini kick)
• Iol--Tonee Suetsugu 30 pass from Mageo (Keanini kick)
• Iol--Karl Motoyama 28 pass from Mageo (Keanini kick)
• Iol--Matt Choy 21 pass from Mageo (Keanini kick)
• Pac--McShane Dator 1 run (kick blocked)
• Pac--Gyles Lawrence 8 pass from McDator (Lawrence pass from McDator).

RUSHING — Pac-Five: Shane Lawrence 7-25, Ryan Leong 3-4, McShane Dator 7-44, Travis Tyler 1-0, Gyles Lawrence 1-0. Iolani: Robert Mageo 6-7, Raynold Stowers 13-114, Kelly Teramoto 15-30, Peter Heimerdinger 2-(minus 8).

PASSING — Pac-Five: Jordan Tani 0-2-2—0, Dator 12-32-2—155. Iolani: Mageo 17-24-1—182.

RECEIVING—Pac-Five: G. Lawrence 1-8, Leong 2-21, Paul Kaohu-Nishimura 3-37, Tyler 3-52, Ryan Urabe 1-19, Brandyn McCall 1-9, Dave Stewart 1-9. Iolani: Stowers 3-38, Paul Bennett 1-2, Matt Choy 5-46, Tonee Suetsugu 3-50, Karl Motoyama 4-47, Teramoto 1-(minus 1).

Kamehameha 41, Damien 13: Kawai Akina threw five touchdown passes, including two for 54 yards, as the Warriors improved to 3-0 and the Monarchs dropped to 0-3 in ILH play.

Ranson DeCosta scored on runs of 12 and 19-yards to put Damien on the board.

Damien (0-3) 0 0 0 13—13
Kamehameha (3-0) 14 13 14 0—41

• Kam—Keoni Ruth 54 pass from Kawai Akina (Kapu Gaison kick)
• Kam—Dustin Grace 32 pass from Akina (Gaison kick)
• Kam—Kahe Santos 54 pass from Caleb Spencer (Gaison kick)
• Kam—Keoni Ruth 25 pass from Akina (kick failed)
• Kam—Josh Vierra 12 pass from Kawai (Gaison kick)
• Kam—Samson Castillo 2 run (Gaison kick)
• Dam—Ranson DeCosta 12 run (DeCosta kick)
• Dam—DeCosta 19 run (kick failed)