Much of the intrigue in a rematch of Damien’s 27-20 win over St. Francis three weeks ago was lost when ‘Iolani beat the Saints last week. The Monarchs have already clinched the regular season ILH title. We’ll see how both coaches decide to handle this game.
Top performances in series
Damien passing vs. St. Francis: Marcus Fuafata-Pedrina with 189 yards in 2016
Damien rushing vs. St. Francis: Kepono Kawaakoa with 124 yards in 2014
Damien receiving vs. St. Francis: Shawn Borges with 98 yards in 2016
St. Francis passing vs. Damien: Bubba Akana with 160 yards this year
St. Francis rushing vs. Damien: Tyson Shimabukuro with 132 yards last year
St. Francis receiving vs. Damien: Scott McLeod with 86 yards last year
DAMIEN MONARCHS (7-1, 5-0 ILH D-II)
Head coach: Eddie Klaneski
Monarchs roster
VS.
ST. FRANCIS SAINTS (5-3, 3-2)
Head coach: Kip Akana
Saints roster
St. Francis 19, Damien 0
at Aloha Stadium
St. Francis (6-3, 4-2) 6 6 0 7 — 19
Damien (7-2, 5-1) 0 0 0 0 — 0
StF—Tyson Shimabukuro 8 run (kick failed)
StF—Scott McLeod 63 pass from Bubba Akana (run failed)
StF—Jonan Aina-Chaves 74 run (Makana Poole kick)
RUSHING—St. Francis: Aina-Chaves 17-134, Shimabukuro 5-24, Akana 5-19, team 1-(minus 26). Damien: Keoua Kauhi 14-76, Logan Lauti 11-34, River Iaea 3-10, Marcus Faufata-Pedrina 11-3,.
PASSING—St. Francis: Akana 11-15-0-197. Damien: Faufata-Pedrina 9-18-2–91.
RECEIVING—St. Francis: Aina-Chaves 6-95, McLeod 4-96, Lachmann Atoa 1-6. Damien: Akila Arecchi 3-53, Lindon Sevilleja 2-6, Kauhi 1-20, Pomai Kim 1-8, Lauti 1-4, Jarvis Natividad 1-0.
Third-and-6 and Aina-Chaves gets a HUGE block to the outside and he’s GONE. 74-yard TD. Ball game. 19-0 Saints, 3:00 to play.
Damien starts on its 42 with 7:08 to go. A screen pass to Kauhi goes for 20 yards and a pass to Arecchi for 21 yards to the Saints 19. Fourth-and-10 and Lauti breaks open deep in the corner but Faufata-Pedrina just misses him as Lauti dives out to make the catch. He could have had it. Just a step off all night. Turnover on downs.
Big third-and-6 conversion as Akana rolls to his right and hits Lachmann Atoa right at the marker. First completion in the second half for Akana. Some big-time throws from Akana. After a penalty made it second-and-22, Akana went 15 yards to McLeod and then 23 to Aina-Chaves for a first down. Damien DE Tristan Blair with a sack to get the ball back for the Monarchs.
Aina-Chaves fumbles on last play of third quarter but a lineman hops on it. Saints will be second-and-13 from their 17 when fourth quarter starts.
Damien ball at midfield. Monarchs run it four times inside the 15 but then Faufata-Pedrina with an ill-advised to throw to the back corner and Shepherd Kekahuna picks it off for St. Francis.
Saints three-and-out. Akana 0-3, 0 yards in second half so far.
Big 60-yard punt forces Damien to start from its 27. Monarchs run it four times to move chains twice then try to go deep but the ball is deflected by one defensive back and picked off by Samson Kaleikau.
Saints start from their 10. Akana goes deep and the ball goes right off the defender’s pads. Great throw. Two runs are stopped and Saints are three-and-out.
Monarchs will get the ball first and they start on their 14. Faufata-Pedrina finds Sevilleja for 4 yards on third-and-4 and then Lauti picks up 11. So far staying to the exact same script as the previous game between these two. St. Francis senior Mofuike Hafoka has to be carried off by teammates with a leg injury. Monarchs will punt from near midfield. Damien fakes the punt and Faufata-Pedrina hits Pomai Kim got a huge gain inside the 20 but Damien is called for an illegal man downfield.
HALFTIME BOX
at Aloha Stadium
St. Francis (5-3, 3-2) 6 6
Damien (7-1, 5-0) 0 0
StF—Tyson Shimabukuro 8 run (kick failed)
StF—Scott McLeod 63 pass from Bubba Akana (run failed)
RUSHING—St. Francis: Jonan Aina-Chaves 9-42, Akana 4-28, Shimabukuro 3-14, team 1-(minus 26). Damien: Keoua Kauhi 5-20, Logan Lauti 2-4, Marcus Faufata-Pedrina 8-(minus 13).
PASSING—St. Francis: Akana 8-8-0-153. Damien: Faufata-Pedrina 4-7-0-24.
RECEIVING—St. Francis: Aina-Chaves 5-72, McLeod 3-81. Damien: Akila Arecchi 1-18, Lauti 1-4, Lindon Sevilleja 1-2, Jarvis Natividad 1-0.
Wembley Mailei (StF), 6 tackles, 2 tackles for loss, 1 sack.
Snap goes WAY OVER Akana’s head for a loss of 26 yards. Another nicely designed screen to Aina-Chaves for 17 yards. Pass to McLeod for 12. Saints get 29 yards on last two plays and still have to punt. Akana 8-for-8, 153 yards.
More good field position for St. Francis ruined by obvious blocking penalty on the return.
Monarchs on the 1. Faufata-Pedrina sneaks it out to the 4. Nothing after that. Another three-and-out.
Make that 14 total yards for Damien as Faufata-Pedrina drops the punt snap. Saints take over on the 9. Aina-Chaves with a 5-yard run but is a little hobbled after the play. Akana drops the snap but recovers. The ball is slippery out there in these conditions. Fourth-and-goal at the 2. Saints go for it. St. Francis goes four-wide and the hand off to Shimabukuro is stopped at the 1. Damien ball.
Monarchs go three-and-out. St. Francis with 200 total yards to 26 for Damien.
Akana fumbles from behind but Saints recover. Kyle Kinney hurt on the play for Damien. Mad scramble for the ball there and Kinney got caught underneath the pile. Next play and McLeod takes a short pass over the middle. He breaks two tackles at once and is OFF TO THE RACES. SCOTT MCLEOD. 63-yard TD reception from Bubba Akana, who is 6-for-6 for 124 yards.
Fia Mafua Jr. opens the second quarter with a sack and Damien has to punt after driving inside the 30. Punt is downed at the 6.
Punt is dropped and Matthew Faufata-Pedrina with the recovery for Damien. Monarchs first-and-10 at the St. Francis 29. Mailei sacks Faufata-Pedrina to end the first quarter.
A hold wipes out what would have been Mailei’s third tackle and second TFL in four plays. Damien’s first sign of life on offense is an 18-yard pass from Faufata-Pedrina to Akila Arecchi on third-and-12. Faufata-Pedrina overthrows the screen pass on third down and Damien will punt.
Saints start on their 44 after a penalty on the return. Third-and-6 and the swing pass to Aina-Chaves out of the backfield gets exactly 6 to move the chains. Aina-Chaves is killing Damien out of the backfield receiving. A 25-yard reception and then an 11-yard reception sets up Tyson Shimabukuro‘s 8-yard TD run on his first carry. St. Francis 6, Damien 0, 4:05.
Damien’s first run is blown up by Wembley Mailei who gets the TFL. Mailei blows up the screen pass on third down and it’s a three-and-out for Damien.
Saints start on their 35. Bubba Akana at QB. Saints work quickly as Akana hits his first pass to McLeod for 6 yards and then Jonan Aina-Chaves rumbles for 18. Akana then scrambles for 17. Timeout St. Francis facing third-and-3 on the 13. After the break, Akana fumbles the handoff and Braeden Halili recovers for Damien.
St. Francis wins the toss and will receive.
TEAM CAPTAINS
St. Francis: Scott McLeod, Wembley Mailei, Taka Lautaha, Fia Mafua Jr.
Damien: Marcus Faufata-Pedrina, Aisaac Unga, Shiloh Kaeo
A decent amount of rain coming down at Aloha Stadium.
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