St. Louis, Waianae
By Pat Bigold
have big showdowns
Star-BulletinEleven-time defending Prep Bowl champion St. Louis, the National Prep Football Poll's No. 4 team, could capture the first round of the Interscholastic League of Honolulu schedule with a win over Kamehameha tomorrow at Aloha Stadium. Meanwhile, out in Waianae, the defending Oahu Interscholastic Association champion Seariders (4-0) can clinch at least a tie for the Red Conference title when they take on Campbell (3-1), the team they beat in the 1996 OIA finals.
A Waianae victory would clinch the conference outright if Waipahu (3-1) loses at Leilehua (3-1-1). The surging Mules upset Campbell two weeks ago at home.
In St. Louis' case, there aren't many who think the Warriors (3-1) can derail the Crusaders (4-0).
But if Kamehameha does pull off an extraordinary upset, and Iolani (3-1) is able to beat Punahou (2-2) in the heat at 3:15 p.m. at Aloha Stadium, there will be a three-way tie for the ILH's first-round championship.
The Warriors, whose only loss was to Iolani, are No. 2 to St. Louis in both offensive and defensive categories.
"Their offense is rolling right now and it has a lot to do with their line, which is mobile, agile and hostile," said St. Louis head coach Cal Lee.
Kamehameha statistically has the ILH's best defense against the pass, having allowed only 411 yards -- about 104 yards a game. St. Louis, primarily on the arm of league-leading passer Jason Gesser (960 yards, 11 touchdowns), has averaged 300 aerial yards.
St. Louis is second in the ILH against the pass but the healthy return of strong safety Geste Ornellas might improve that situation.
Kamehameha is hot off a 23-14 upset victory over Punahou last weekend in which all-state running back Jacob Ordenstein rushed for 170 yards. The Crusaders must handle Ordenstein, who is just getting back to form after coming back from an injury.
St. Louis might be missing running back Damien Cole, 6-1, 315-pound guard Hale Pires, and DBs Josh Tabisola and Barrett Argo.
Kamehameha coach Kanani Souza, whose Warriors lost 37-0 and 21-14 last season to St. Louis, comes in with a prep record of 13-5. Lee comes in with a 182-27-4 record. He is seven wins shy of having the most career wins of any Hawaii prep football coach.
Waianae head coach Leo Taaca has beaten Campbell 20-12 and 23-3 in his last two meetings with the Sabers.
The Seariders are the No. 1 offensive team in the Red Conference, averaging 360 yards a game. That compares with only 180 a game for Campbell.
The Waianae defense is the fourth best in the conference but two members of the Seariders' aggressive and experienced front three missed two games. Both -- 6-2, 270-pound all-stater White Sosene and 6-2, 285-pounder Kainoa Evangelista -- are back in the lineup with 6-2, 255-pound Stanford Evaimalo. That might pose big problems for the Sabers' fifth-ranked offense.
Graduated from Campbell are quarterback Kaleopa Kaleopa and running back Clifford Russell, who led the Sabers to the 1996 OIA playoff final. But the Campbell defense seems to have made up for what has been lost on offense.
"Their defense is still the No. 1 defense (as it was last year) --teams have rushed for only 77 yards against them," said Taaca.
In past years, that would have been more of a concern for the traditionally ground-based attack of the Seariders. But this is a much less predictable Seariders offense.
Not only do they have two of the conference's top four rushers (Kamuela Black and West Keliikipi) who have combined for nearly 600 yards, but they also have a quarterback in Kana Kawai who has averaged more than 100 passing yards each game.
"We're a different team this year," said Taaca. "We'll throw the ball anywhere, anytime. "
ST. LOUIS WEB SITE: The St. Louis football team's internet website is now accessible at http://www.lava.net/~stlouis/.
Though it is still under construction, the site now has game summaries, data on the team's 26-game win streak, schedule and action photos.