The razor-thin margin that separates Interscholastic League of Honolulu football contenders was again on full display last night, this time with Punahou's River Kim kicking a 20-yard field goal with 1:18 remaining to lift the Buffanblu to a tense 16-13 victory over Saint Louis at Aloha Stadium.

Punahou, ranked No. 1 in The Advertiser's statewide Top 10 poll of coaches and media, improved to 6-1 overall and 3-1 in the ILH. Saint Louis, ranked No. 6, fell to 4-3, 2-2.

But as with most of the key league games this season, this one could have gone either way.

The Crusaders took over on their own 35-yard-line after Kim's field goal, but were out of timeouts, and Jonathan Overton got two sacks — including one on fourth-and-16 from the 29 — to seal it with 15 seconds left.

"This season is definitely a battle," said Kim, who kicked two other field goals last night and also made a crucial 19-yard catch on second-and-9 to help set up the game-winner. "We just have to keep working hard and stick together."

Saint Louis took a 7-0 lead early in the second quarter after Cameron Higgins' 55-yard scoring pass to Cameron Bayne, but the Buffanblu tied it at 7-7 with 1:02 remaining before halftime on Kainoa Carlson's 2-yard TD plunge and Kim's extra point.

Punahou took a 10-7 lead with 7:37 left in the third quarter on a 38-yard field goal by Kim and went up, 13-7, six minutes later on Kim's 27-yard field goal.

The Crusaders tied it with 10:42 remaining in the game when Jeremiah Masoli hit Bayne with an 8-yard touchdown pass, but the extra point was hooked wide left.

"We missed a lot of opportunities on offense, and we also missed a field goal and extra point," Saint Louis coach Delbert Tengan said. "That could have made the difference right there."

Higgins and Masoli shared playing time in the first half, but Higgins suffered a concussion on the first series of the third quarter and did not return. Masoli, who recently joined the team after transferring from a school in the Bay Area, was intercepted twice in the final 5:35.

After the second interception (by Dane Nishikawa), the Buffanblu took over on the Crusaders' 48 with 3:24 left. Quarterback Brett Kan completed an 18-yard pass to Miah Ostrowski on third-and-10, then two plays later Kim made a spectacular leaping catch to put the ball at the 10.

Punahou advanced the ball to the 2 after three running plays, then Kim's kick sailed just inside of the right upright to put the Buffanblu over the top.

"My heart kind of stopped," Kim said. "We had been trying to get it going on offense and I didn't think it would come down to my kick, but I give all the credit to my holder and my (long) snapper."

Punahou coach Kale Ane said Kim, a 5-foot-9, 175-pound junior, deserves credit as well.

"He's a clutch guy and a tough competitor," Ane said. "He comes out (to practice) early every day to put in extra time and he works hard at everything. He's a super positive kid who is a quiet leader on this team."

PUNAHOU (6-1, 3-1) 0 7 6 3 — 16

SAINT LOUIS (4-3, 2-2) 0 7 0 6 — 13

SL—Cameron Bayne 55 pass from Cameron Higgins (Kenton Chun kick)

Pun—Kainoa Carlson 2 run (River Kim kick)

Pun—FG Kim 38

Pun—FG Kim 27

SL—Bayne 8 pass from Jeremiah Masoli (kick failed)

Pun—FG Kim 20

RUSHING—Punahou: Carlson 15-65, Colin Viloria 17-84, Miah Ostrowski 1-(minus-1), Brett Kan 1-3. Saint Louis: Cody Wells 17-70, Shane Ahlo, Jr. 4-(minus-4), Jordan Paty-Miner 1-4, Masoli 7-(minus-9), Higgins 2-5.

PASSING—Punahou: Kan 14-27-1—126. Saint Louis: Higgins 5-12-0—105, Masoli 8-14-2—82.

RECEIVING—Punahou: Zac Yamagishi 3-13, Ostrowski 4-56, Kim 2-28, Viloria 5-29. Saint Louis: Kulia Aiona 3-57, Bayne 5-99, Ahlo, Jr. 3-22, Paty-Miner 1-6, Chase Alcott 1-3.

IOLANI 40, PAC-FIVE 0

Despite resting several key starters due to minor injuries, the Raiders gained 376 yards and blanked the Wolfpack for the second time in two weeks to improve to 6-2 overall and 3-1 in the ILH. Pac-Five fell to 2-6, 0-4.

Backup quarterback Ryan Dung completed 13 of 21 passes for 200 yards and three touchdowns, and Mike Hirokawa had 102 yards of all-purpose yards for Iolani, ranked No. 5 in The Advertiser's statewide Top 10 poll of coaches and media. Starting quarterback Kiran Kepo'o, who leads the state in passing efficiency, was "a little banged up" after last week's 37-29 loss to Kamehameha, according to Raiders coach Wendell Look.

PAC-FIVE (2-6, 0-4) 0 0 0 0 — 0

IOLANI (6-2, 3-1) 7 10 9 14 — 40

Iol—Mike Hirokawa 17 pass from Ryan Dung (Kody Adams kick)

Iol—FG Adams 19

Iol—Reid Furukawa 20 pass from Dung (Adams kick)

Iol—Travis Nishioka 74 pass from Dung (pass failed)

Iol—FG Adams 29

Iol—Furukawa 75 run (Adams kick)

Iol—Justin Yamamoto 2 run (Adams kick)

RUSHING—Pac-Five: Royce Alvarado 19-79, Phillip Sarubbi 9-38, Jon-Ray Rodrigues 7-(minus-17), Gabriel Fernandez 1-6, Matt Shibata 1-7. Iolani: M. Hirokawa 15-66, Yamamoto 8-33, Dung 1-0, Furukawa 2-69, Ronnie Hirokawa 1-2, Jordan Nakamura 1-6.

PASSING—Pac-Five: Rodrigues 6-17-2—62. Iolani: Dung 13-21-1—200.

RECEIVING—Pac-Five: Alvarado 1-4, Jordan Ho-Ching 3-39, Matthew Bayan 1-10, Shibata 1-9. Iolani: M. Hirokawa 3-36, Blayne Yama 4-48, Lionel Fujioka 1-(minus-6), Furukawa 2-35, Mark May 1-4, Travis Nishioka 2-83.

KAMEHAMEHA 21, DAMIEN 14

The second-ranked Warriors scored 14 fourth-quarter points to rally past the Monarchs in an ILH game played at Kunuiakea Stadium.

The go-ahead score came when Kahaku Ka'ai found wide receiver Aaron Nichols for a 41-yard touchdown pass with 3:34 to play.

DAMIEN (3-4, 1-3) 0 14 0 0—14

KAMEHAMEHA (6-2, 3-1) 7 0 0 14—21

KS—Parker Paredes 2 fumble return (Kamakana Osorio kick)

DAM—Kealoha Pilares 3 run (kick blocked)

DAM—Freyton Castillo 71 fumble return (Mike Sipili from George Martin)

KS—Bryson Vivas 1 run (Osorio kick)

KS—Aaron Nichols 41 pass from Kahaku Ka'ai (Osorio kick)

RUSHING—Damien: Pilares 31-94, Sheldon Bailey 8-52, Martin 5-(minus 13), James Skizewski 4-(minus 22), Lolomana Mikaele 1-1. Kamehameha: Vivas 11-32, Jeremiah Dela Pena 10-47, Justin Saniatan 1-18, Ka'ai 2-1.

PASSING—Damien: Skizewski 5-7-0—29, Martin 6-13-1—24. Kamehameha: Ka'ai 6-13-1—110.

RECEIVING—Damien: Breydan Torres 1-7, Bronson Sonico 2-10, Rein Ota 1-10, Scott Kilousky 1-(minus 3), Archie Austria 1-1, Sipili 1-0, Kenneth Rossi 1-13, Pilares 2-18, Bailey 1-(minus 3). Kamehameha: Saniatan 4-60, Nichols 2-50.

Reported by Chris Souza

Reach Wes Nakama at wnakama@honoluluadvertiser.com.