As most football observers expected, Hilo had limited success while Saint Louis senior quarterback Tua Tagovailoa displayed what a blue-chip Division I recruit looks like and put on an entertaining show.
With his accurate arm and nimble feet, Tagovailoa produced four touchdowns, and the Crusaders crushed the Vikings 49-7 in a nonleague game Saturday night at Wong Stadium.
Behind a tough offensive line that rarely leaked, the Alabama verbal commit threw for three touchdowns and no interceptions and rushed for a score. Tagovailoa fired scoring strikes of 70, 6 and 15 yards, and jogged in for a 12-yard TD.
Tagovailoa played just the first half, left with a 35-7 cushion, and finished 12 of 16 for 285 yards. The left-handed QB was sacked once for a 2-yard loss when he was escaping the pocket. Other than that, he looked smooth and effortless when he sprinted for good gains.
On Saint Louis’ second play from scrimmage, Ronson Young ran a skinny post, split two defenders, and Tagovailoa whipped a dart for a 70-yard touchdown that sent the crowd into a frenzy.
The Crusaders scored on every possession in the first half, going 5 of 5, with an asterisk. They got the ball back in the second quarter with 33 seconds and couldn’t score from deep in their territory.
Hilo’s lone touchdown came in the second quarter, a 14-play drive that drained eight minutes and gave the defense a much-needed rest. Senior QB Ka’ale Tiogangco capped the scoring drive with an 8-yard scoring strike to Lukas Kuipers, who made a highlight catch in the end zone.
Tiogangco went 10 of 24 for 50 yard with one touchdown and no picks. Both teams had just one turnover. Hilo’s main source of yardage was penalties on the Crusaders, who blanketed the Viks ground game.
On the other end, the Vikings couldn’t generate much of a pass rush, mainly because offensive lineman Michael Minihan, who’s a verbal commit to Georgia Tech, flattened anyone in his way. He’s a big fella at 6-feet-3 and 275 pounds.
But Minihan was impossible to miss even in the hard-to-see view from Wong Stadium’s baseball seats because he left a trail of big holes.
When the Viks brought numbers, Tagovailoa exhibited his escapability, and his receivers got open because they never stopped running to give him a target. And when his receivers caught the ball, they put on a dipsy-doo, made tacklers miss and gained long extra yards.
Saint Louis’ linebackers were also impressive, and it’s no surprise that’s an area of strength. When coach Cal Lee left the ILH powerhouse program to join June Jones’ UH staff in 2006, he was the linebackers coach.
And his Crusaders flow to the ball instinctively, either charging in run support or dropping back into coverage.
One of Lee’s all-time favorite quotes is, “Football is all about alignment and assignment. Be in the right place and when the ball comes your way make a play.”
Sounds simple enough, and that’s what the Crusader defense did on pretty much every single Hilo possession. It was a chore for the Vikings to find any seams, and whey they did Saint Louis played assignment football and didn’t miss tackles.
The next great talent at Saint Louis is sophomore Faatui Tuitele, a 6-3, 270-pound defensive lineman, who received a scholarship offer from UH last spring as a freshman. Guys that huge are not supposed to move that fast, but again that’s why he’s an emerging blue-chip recruit.
Maybe maxpreps.com knows something others don’t. The website ranked Saint Louis No. 1 in its list for all Hawaii high schools, and Kahuku was No. 2. Hilo was 15th, three spots behind Konawaena.
Of course, the Red Raider nation is probably thinking: Braddah, Saint Louis got smoked 39-14 by Kahuku last year for the state title.
For consolation to those who reside on the North Shore, famous for tasty waves and the football factory called Kahuku High, the two Goliaths will likely meet again at states.
On a night when Hilo was fired up but fell far short, the Crusaders showed they’re in a league by themselves. Actually, Kahuku, Punahou, Kamehameha-Kapalama and Mililani belong in that league, too, and it’s called the OIA-ILH Super Alliance.
In the junior varsity game, Hilo 14, Keaau 0.