Punahou captured its first league title in 28 years after beating Saint Louis, 14-0, last night in the Interscholastic League of Honolulu Division I championship.

An Aloha Stadium crowd of 6,124 saw the No. 3 Buffanblu (9-2 overall, 6-2 ILH) become the second different ILH champion in as many years after Saint Louis (8-4, 6-3) had a record run of 18 in a row from 1986 to 2003. Kamehameha won the title last season.

Punahou will play O'ahu Interscholastic Association runner-up 'Aiea in an opening-round game of the Division I state tournament at 6 p.m. Saturday at the stadium.

"It's unreal," Punahou senior receiver Zac Yamagishi said. "It's been our goal for the season. We're going to the states. Unreal."

Punahou defensive back Jay Angotti said: "It's great, it's great. There's so much history behind it, so to finally be able to do it for the school, it feels great."

Punahou's last ILH crown was in 1977, but it lost the Prep Bowl to Wai'anae.

Quarterback Brett Kan's two touchdown passes — a 22-yarder to Yamagishi in the first quarter and a 10-yarder to Miah Ostrowski in the second — was all the offense the Buffanblu needed.

An incredible defensive effort that netted 108 yards to the Crusaders was the difference.

Jay Angotti had one interception, end Jonathan Overton had two sacks and Keoki Hong forced Saints' quarterback Cameron Higgins to fumble after a 7-yard gain that was recovered by Bucky Aona and returned 11 yards to the Saint Louis 24. Two plays later, Kan hit Yamagishi on a post from the right side. River Kim's PAT gave Punahou a 7-0 lead with 3:36 left in the first quarter.

Punahou moved 82 yards on 11 plays before Kan dropped a fade to the left side of the end zone to Ostrowski, which made it 14-0 with 4:42 left in the half.

The Buffanblu defense exploded off the snap in pressuring Higgins, who was sacked four times.

It was Saint Louis' third game in 10 days. The two-tiered playoff was used because Kamehameha, Saint Louis and Punahou ended the regular season tied with 5-2 records. Punahou drew the bye and played the winner of Wednesday's game between Saint Louis and Kamehameha. Because of the number of games in a short time period, league administrators set the two playoff games with eight-minute quarters.

"Anytime you can get a rest before a big game, it's great," Punahou coach Kale Ane said.

The Crusaders were hurt by turnovers to start the second half. Angotti's interception stopped Saint Louis' first series and a fumble recovery by Wil Tafolo after Kuli'a Aiona lost the ball after a short reception stopped the Crusaders' next series.

"I'm sure they were crisper, fresher," Saint Louis coach Delbert Tengan said. "But we're not going to use that as an excuse. The turnovers were the key."

Saint Louis had an apparent interception by Stephen Lei off Kan nullified by a roughing the passer penalty. In the confusion, the original line of scrimmage, the Saint Louis 36, was mis-spotted during the markoff. Punahou took over at the Saints' 29, instead of the 21. Punahou lost the ball on downs.

With 7:17 left, Saint Louis drove to the Punahou 30, but lost the ball on downs with 4:49 left. The Crusaders expended all three of their second-half timeouts during Punahou's series, which resulted in a punt, giving Saint Louis the ball with 48 seconds left at its own 18. It drove to the Punahou 48 and ended with Jeremiah Masoli's incomplete pass.

Saint Louis lost Higgins late in the third quarter after an apparent ankle injury. Masoli played the rest of the game.

SAINT LOUIS (8-4, 6-3) 0 0 0 0— 0

PUNAHOU (9-2, 6-2) 7 7 0 0—14

Pun—Zac Yamagishi 22 pass from Brett Kan (River Kim kick)

Pun—Miah Ostrowski 10 pass from Kan (Kim kick)

RUSHING—Saint Louis: Cameron Higgins 9-13, Cody Wells 3-(minus 1), Chase Alcott 1-(minus 7), Shane Ahlo Jr. 1-5, Jeremiah Masoli 5-48, Lene Auelua 1-0. Punahou: Kan 1-(minus 2), Kainoa Carlson 15-30, Ryan Nobriga 3-0 , Colin Viloria 1-2, Team 1-(minus 2).

PASSING—Saint Louis: Higgins 4-9-1—12, Masoli 4-13-0—38, Team 0-1-0—0. Punahou: Kan 14-21-1—145.

RECEIVING—Saint Louis: Cameron Bayne 1-3, Preston Lynch 2-15, David O'Connor 2-19, Kuli'a Aiona 2-6, Auelua 1-7. Punahou: Kim 4-28, Kyle Whitford 1-5, Yamagishi 2-56, Carlson 3-18, Ostrowski 3-35, Nobriga 1-3.

Reach Stacy Kaneshiro at skaneshiro@honoluluadvertiser.com.