Saint Louis takes on Baldwin

By Stacy Kaneshiro
Advertiser Staff Writer

There is little history between the Saint Louis and Baldwin football teams, which meet in one of tonight's semifinals of the First Hawaiian Bank Division I State Football Championships.

Saint Louis coach Darnell Arceneaux, left, and Baldwin's Chad Kauhaahaa hardly need an introduction, having both played for Utah. "We were the same type of player," says Arceneaux. "Both of us will have our guys ready to go." Gregory Yamamoto • The Honolulu Advertiser

The schools have faced each other only four times since 1950, the Crusaders winning all, including a 42-7 romp on Maui in a 1996 preseason game. Yet, the teams are tied in many ways.

Starting at the top, Baldwin second-year coach Chad Kauhaahaa and Saint Louis rookie coach Darnell Arceneaux are alumni of their respective teams. Both also played at the University of Utah for then-coach Ron McBride.

"Me and Chad, we have some history behind us," Arceneaux said. "We both played for Coach Mac. We were the same type of player: Play hard, give it our all. Both of us will have our guys ready to go and lay it on the line."

The ties don't end there.

Upon being named coach before the 2002 season, Kauhaahaa told McBride he was looking for an offensive coordinator. McBride, now an assistant at Kentucky, told Kauhaahaa he didn't have to look far. In fact, he went to Arceneaux's school to pick up intermediate head coach Pohai Lee. Lee is the son of Tommy Lee, and his uncles, Ron and Cal, are University of Hawai'i assistants. Tommy Lee, who coached at Saint Louis in 1971, was an assistant to McBride at Utah. Tommy Lee is head coach at Montana-Western. He and his wife will attend tonight's game, Pohai said.

McBride, in a telephone interview from his Kentucky home, said: "I told Chad, 'Go over there and get Pohai. Pohai has a good mind. That's the cat you need.' "

Pohai Lee, a 1984 Saint Louis graduate, is one of two former Crusaders on Kauhaahaa's staff. The other is David Carino, a 1991 Interscholastic League of Honolulu all-star linebacker. Kauhaahaa said it benefits his players to have coaches who were a part of the most successful program the past two decades.

The ties don't end with the coaching staffs.

Baldwin lineman Barrett Maioho played at Saint Louis for Pohai Lee, who has coached nearly all of the Crusaders in tonight's game.

"The past few days, it's been hard to get some sleep," Lee said. "I owe a lot to Saint Louis, who allowed me to teach and coach there. I will always be a Crusader at heart. The kids they have now I've coached since they were seventh graders, so it will be hard not to feel anything."

McBride, who recruited heavily in Hawai'i while at Utah, keeps up with the prep scene here through the Internet. He is proud of how his former players are doing.

"Chad's a success story," McBride said. "He was a Prop. 48, a non-qualifier (out of high school), but he got his degree, became a teacher. The kid just matured so much at Utah. It's also gratifying to see Darnell getting the job at Saint Louis. Darnell's a pretty natural coach. He has that personality. They both have that personality that their players will play hard for them."

And the matchup appears intriguing.

Saint Louis continues to run-and-shoot and have the weapons to make it work. Quarterback Keali'i Perbera has passed for more than 200 yards in each of his last three games; he threw for 290 yards and four touchdowns in a 47-12 quarterfinal win against Mililani last week. Shaun Kauleinamoku and 6-foot-5 Desmond Hanohano get most of the catches, but Maka'ala Kuewa and B. J. Batts, a running back who sometimes lines up as a fifth receiver, also get their share. Hanohano set single-game state tournament records last week with 307 receiving yards and four TD receptions.

Batts is just as much a threat as a runner as he is a receiver. He averages six yards per carry.

"The challenge for us defensively is to try to slow them down," Kauhaahaa said. "It's totally different from what we saw last week (against Kailua), going from pure running to pure passing."

One key is if the Bears will be able to pressure Perbera the way they did against Kailua when they got three sacks. Linebacker Kaluka Maiava had one of the sacks off a blitz.

Baldwin uses multiple sets, some that employ run-and-shoot schemes. Like the Crusaders, the Bears can throw effectively with Roy Antolin, who started the season behind sophomore Kalehua Moniz, but emerged as Maui's leading passer with 1,142 yards (1,319 yards in all games). The Crusaders will see one of the fastest receivers in the state in 6-foot Shevis Shima, who ran a 6.66 60-yard dash at the Arizona Senior Classic baseball showcase in September. It was the second-fastest time of more than 50 players tested. He beat Kailua's secondary for a 58-yard TD reception last week, and leads the team with 492 receiving yards and eight TDs.

Shima isn't the only threat. J. J. Eno is second on his team in receiving with 468 yards, and also is a kicker and punt returner. Eno has kicked six field goals, two against Kailua, and returned four punts for touchdowns, two in a crucial 16-6 win against Maui.

Trenson Himalaya (183 yards) and Cody Nakamura (318 yards) also are reliable receivers.

"All of them are quick, tough individuals," Arceneaux said of Baldwin's receivers. "They like to get into one-on-ones and take advantage of it."

Running back Waylin Costa, who has 1,135 yards in his team's 11 games, should help keep the Saint Louis defense honest.

Since Pohai Lee was in the Saint Louis program for eight years, four as head coach of the intermediate squad, he is the common denominator. The Crusaders knows his system and he knows theirs, so the game comes down to its purest form.

"The bottom line is execution," Arceneaux said. "You can give the other school your playbook, but if you execute, there's no way they can stop you."

Reach Stacy Kaneshiro at skaneshiro@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8042.