St. Louis rallies by Punahou

By Brandon Masuoka
Advertiser Staff Writer

B.J. Batts rushed for 122 yards and one touchdown and set-up a go-ahead fourth-quarter field goal as Saint Louis rallied past upset-minded Punahou, 29-21, in an Interscholastic League of Honolulu Division I game last night at Aloha Stadium.

The Crusaders scored 16 unanswered points in the fourth quarter to overcome a 21-13 third-quarter deficit.

"It was a battle, I talked to some of the guys before the game from Punahou and we talked about the rivalry we had when we played," Saint Louis coach Darnell Arceneaux said. "Tonight was just one of those throwback games when people were putting up points."

Punahou was gunning for its first victory against Saint Louis in eight years.

Punahou's loss overshadowed a brilliant game by quarterback John Morris, who finished 22 of 36 for 330 yards, including touchdown passes of 78, 33 and 66 yards. Christopher Duncan caught two touchdown passes.

"I thought we had it (the game)," Morris said. "But Saint Louis is clutch. They scored 16 points in the fourth quarter. They know what to do when they need to."

Morris' only flaws were two fourth-quarter interceptions with the last one leading to Batt's game-clinching touchdown.

"We're disappointed we didn't get it done at the end," Punahou coach Kale Ane said. "We always think we have a chance to win whoever we play. John played great. He's getting better every week."

Saint Louis started its fourth-quarter rally on Kealii Perbera's 13-yard touchdown pass to Desmond Hanohano with 11:28 remaining. The two-point conversion failed, cutting the Punahou lead to 21-19.

Less than four minutes later, the Crusaders grabbed their first lead, 22-21, on C.J. Santiago's 23-yard field goal with 8:23 left. On the drive, Batts broke a 48-yard run to Punahou's 4-yard line.

Batts then sealed the game with a 33-yard touchdown run with 6:24 left.

Reach Brandon Masuoka at bmasuoka@honoluluadvertiser.com or 535-2458.