Six days after St. Francis clobbered Pac-Five, 45-13, the two teams meet again to kick off ILH second-round play at Aloha Stadium.
The Saints (4-2) have rattled off three straight wins, including two over Pac-Five (2-4), to become one of the scarier Division II teams heading into the playoffs. The winner faces Damien next week for the ILH Division II title.
HISTORY: The all-time series is tied 3-3 with St. Francis winning the last three meetings.
Live updates from the 6 p.m. kickoff will follow below.
FINAL
St. Francis 30, Pac-Five 0.
Boxscore
At Aloha Stadium
Pac-Five (2-5) 0 0 0 0 — 0
St. Francis (5-2) 8 15 7 0 — 30
SF—Foki Kailea 5 run (Wembley Mailei run)
SF—Safety, punt snap out of end zone
SF—Kailea 30 run (run failed)
SF—Micah Kalei 12 pass from Bubba Akana (Makana Poole kick)
SF—Tyson Shimabukuro 4 run (Poole kick)
RUSHING—Pac-Five: Grey Ihu 7-(-2), A.J. Ulufale 5-7, team 1-(-1). St. Francis: Akana 2-27, Kailea 10-124, Sefa Finau 2-12, Tyson Shimabukuro 15-123, Matthew Dacuycuy 7-28, Kain Lyman 3-5, Dayton Leong 6-27, Jake Smotherman 4-(-1), Mafuike Hafoka 3-13, Destin Pakele 1-4, Team 2-(-2).
PASSING—Pac-Five: Ryan Johnson 15-36-3-159. St. Francis: Akana 2-9-0-23, Mailei 0-1-0-0, Jake Smotherman 1-1-0-10.
RECEIVING—Pac-Five: Ihu 7-93, Travis Kaloa 3-11, Matthew Hallstein 1-14, Ulufale 2-15, Daven Pila 2-26. St. Francis: Scott McCleod 1-11, Kalei 1-12, Jett Tanuvasa 1-10.
Correction: Adds Jake Smotherman and Jett Tanuvasa. Also corrects Akana’s pass-attempt total.
FOURTH QUARTER
The Saints are in cruise control for the final 12 minutes of play, a lot of snaps for reserves. They will meet Damien next week for the Round 2 title.
THIRD QUARTER
Wolfpack drive to the STF 10 and stall. Four incomplete passes and it’s STF ball. A lot of yardage for P5 as STF sat back in cover-3, but that changed in the red zone.
Opening series of the second half, Saints go 71 yards in five handoffs to Shimabukuro, who is now over the 100-yard mark. His 38-yard gain was the biggest of the drive, and he scores on a 4-yard blast, barreling over a linebacker. Shimabukuro has 123 yards on 15 carries. Kailea has 93 on eight attempts. STF 30, P5 0, 9:49.
HALFTIME
Boxscore
At Aloha Stadium
Pac-Five 0 0 x x — xx
St. Francis 8 15 x x — 23
SF—Foki Kailea 5 run (Wembley Mailei run)
SF—Safety, punt snap out of end zone
SF—Kailea 30 run (run failed)
SF—Micah Kalei 12 pass from Bubba Akana (Makana Poole kick)
RUSHING—
Pac-Five:
Grey Ihu 7-(-2),
A.J. Ulufale 3-7.
St. Francis:
Akana 2-27,
Kailea 8-93,
Sefa Finau 2-12,
Tyson Shimabukuro 10-52,
Matthew Dacucuy 2-7,
Kain Lyman 1-(-1).
PASSING—
Pac-Five:
Ryan Johnson 7-17-0-47.
St. Francis:
Akana 2-7-0-23,
Mailei 0-1-0-0.
RECEIVING—
Pac-Five:
Ihu 4-35,
Travis Kaloa 2-(-2),
Matthew Hallstein 1-14.
St. Francis:
Scott McCleod 1-11,
Kalei 1-12.
SECOND QUARTER
Pac-Five three and out. STF takes over at its 49 after its punt returner is stuffed for a 1-yard loss, but here they come again, smashmouth out of the I. Kailea with gains of 15 and 13 yards, ball at the Pac-Five 12, time out, Saints with 34 seconds left in the first half. Offensive pass interference pushes the ball back to the 27, but QB Bubba Akana scrambles for a 15-yard gain, runs out of bounds to stop the clock. Then Akana lofts a perfect pass to the left corner, where Micah Kalei hauls the ball in for an 11-yard TD. STF 23, P5 0, :11.
Wolfpack recover the ensuing free-kick onside kick at their 33-yard line, but again, they can’t get past midfield. Time to punt, and it’s a high snap, punter snags it and his punt is blocked by Wembley Mailei. Supilani Mailei returns it to the Pac-Five 38. Three plays later, Foki rumbles off left tackle and goes 30 yards for a touchdown. PAT run by Wembley Mailei is stonewalled. STF 16, P5 0, 4:12.
Pac-Five goes three and out, but on the punt snap, the ball sails overhead and out of the end zone for a safety. STF 10, P5 0, 7:09.
Another break for Pac-Five. Or rather, another big stop by its defense. The offense chipped away and got the ball to its 22 before punting. St. Francis drove to the 17, but two runs and a pass went nowhere. A 38-yard FG try is wide left. Touchback, Pac-Five ball. Using up all nine lives.
FIRST QUARTER
Wolfpack get a huge break after the blocked punt by St. Francis turns into 0 points. But on the first play on their next series, RB AJ Ulufale is popped in the backfield and St. Francis’ Takaamoatoa Lautaha returns the fumble to the Pac-Five 1. However, the Saints commit a holding penalty on their first snap and the drive stalls out. Fourth and goal from the 3, Wembley Mailei has Kaniala Williams wide open in the end zone on play-action, but overthrows him. Another major break for Pac-Five.
Huge opportunity for the Saints after Supilani Mailei recovers a blocked punt and returns it to the Pac-Five 25-yard line. However, the drive stalls and the Saints miss a 30-yard field goal try wide left.
The Saints score on the opening series, a 5-yard blast up the middle by Foki Kailea, who caps a seven-play, 67-yard drive, all on the ground. Wembley Mailei is the wildcat QB on the PAT, and he runs in for 2 points. STF 8, P5 0, 7:51.
Pac-Five wins the toss, elects to receive. St. Francis (STF) will defend the mauka tunnel end zone. Lights just turned on. Field was getting a bit dark. Some trade winds, nothing too strong. Partly cloudy, but no rain yet. Here we go.
PRE-GAME
Unique playoff scenario for St. Francis, which finished the regular season tied with Damien — they split their two meetings — but lost the card draw. In this scenario, Damien has one spot in the ILH Division II championship game locked up. The winner of “Round 2”, which begins tonight, gets the other spot. In other words, it’s a tough deal for the Saints, and it’s an opportunity for third-place Pac-Five to slip through. The Wolfpack can score in bunches through the air, and senior Kainoa Ferreira is suited up and running through warmups. The former record-setting QB was Pac-Five’s best deep threat in preseason before injuring his collarbone.
Coach Kip Botelho had told me earlier in the week that Ferreira was still questionable for this game. Looks like he may play. He is warming up with a black protective thing around his abdomen area. Shoulder seems OK. It’s hard to measure how much he is worth to the offense; a dominant O-lineman or running back would fill more of their needs. But for what they do, Ferreira can stretch the field, run precise routes and open up the rest of the field for his teammates.
The biggest question is whether the ‘Pack can stop St. Francis’ ground attack. Tyson Shimbaukuro is on a three-game tear.
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