The sign attached to the facade of the grandstands at the 20-yard line pretty much said it all for Kahuku High School last night at Aloha Stadium:

"We believe in our Raiders."

For everybody not from the North Shore, however, seeing was disbelieving again as the Red Raiders won another in a series of improbable games, this time 7-6 over previously unbeaten Saint Louis School for the First Hawaiian Bank/Hawai'i High School Athletic Association Division I Championship.

For the second time in as many weeks the Red Raiders (11-2) seemed to pull a victory out of their red helmets with a combination of a champion's pluck and a survivor's luck. For the umpteenth time, or so it might seem, Kahuku made the unlikely possible in these state championships. And it added up to a dominating fifth title in the eight years of the event.

Ironically, this time the Red Raiders did it with two elements they've had very little familiarity with or comfort in of late, passing and kicking.

They did it the old-fashioned way, too, with defense and just enough special teams and offense to win a throwback victory that very nearly harkened back to the original Prep Bowl, a 6-0 Saint Louis victory over Wai'anae in 1973.

This time, Jordan Kapu caught a 14-yard touchdown pass — only the second completion in six tries by quarterback Richard Torres last night — with 23 seconds left and Kaika Sasaoka kicked the extra point. Twice on the winning 51-yard touchdown drive the Crusaders were penalized, the last one giving Kahuku a first down.

Only after Alema Tachibana sacked Crusader quarterback Tamatoa DeMello for a 14-yard loss at the Saint Louis 11-yard line as time ran out did the Kahuku nation in the crowd of 18,870 dare exhale.

Only then did the Crusaders, foiled for a fourth consecutive time in head-to-head meetings with Kahuku in the state championship series, pound the FieldTurf in exasperation.

In such frustration the Crusaders are hardly alone, however. Just last week Baldwin High was derailed on the way to this game by a 43-yard Hail Mary touchdown pass as time expired.

"The whole season has been this way," head coach Reggie Torres said in a radio interview afterward. "I think I aged 10 years ... but that's OK," said the first-year mentor long since turned miracle worker.

But, then, Saint Louis, once the owner of all postseasons played out in Halawa, knows this recurring storyline better than most. Three years ago a Kahuku touchdown with 19 seconds left did it in. Five years ago a fake punt with 1:48 remaining spelled the difference.

On a night when Torres would praise his players for "having the hearts of a champion," their faithful came expecting as much.

For as the banner declared, they did believe in their Raiders. All the way to another title.

Reach Ferd Lewis at flewis@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8044.