TRENCH WARFARE: Ulu-Perry vs. Kaumatule

Saint Louis senior OL Fred Ulu-Perry took care of his college recruitment before the season started, opting to commit to UCLA in July. At 6-foot-2 and 295 pounds, Ulu-Perry is regarded as one of the top high school centers in the country.

In this episode of Trench Warfare, Ulu-Perry, who also had offers from Oregon State, Washington, Arizona State, Hawaii, Colorado and Texas Tech among others, goes up against Punahou’s 4-star stud of its own in senior Canton Kaumatule.

Kaumatule, listed at 6-7, 290 is undecided on college but considered a heavy Oregon. He has offers from all over the place, including Oregon, USC, Stanford, UCLA, Washington and California to name a few.

As always, this is purely for fun. Each series is scored like a boxing round with a 10-point must system.

SERIES 1

Ulu-Perry at right tackle matched right up with Kaumatule. First two plays go to Ulu-Perry as he locks up Kaumatule and doesn’t let him out of his grasp. Not much penetration either. Ulu-Perry with a nice cut block on the next play as the Crusaders run away. Kaumatule gets him on the inside on the next play but fortunately for Saint Louis the run was to the other side. Punahou sent a blitz and it made Ulu-Perry pause. Saint Louis goes deep and QB Tua Tagovailoa has plenty of time as Ulu-Perry holds up Kaumatule. Touchdown Crusaders. Impressive opening series for Ulu-Perry, who wins 10-9.

SERIES 2

Joseph Saula moves to the outside to take on Ulu-Perry to start the second drive. Kaumatule is on the other side and gets pressure but Saula is stonewalled by Ulu-Perry twice in a row. Crusaders on the 8 and call a run play behind Ulu-Perry, who shoves Saula all the way back to the 4. Ulu-Perry looking dominant. Ulu-Perry shoves Saula back as Tagovailoa takes off right behind him. Saula gets off the block to his credit but Tagovailoa is too fast. Touchdown Crusaders. 10-9 Ulu-Perry.

SERIES 3

Kaumatule is back on the left side of the D-line and is matched up against Ulu-Perry but again goes nowhere as Crusaders run to the left. Kaumatule just walked over to Saili Petaia and told him to switch. Petaia gets blocked downfield but Kaumatule can make the tackle for loss from the other side. Third-and-11 coming up. Kaumatule beats Ulu-Perry inside and has to be picked up by the right guard as the pass is incomplete. Tough round to score. Kaumatule earns a 10-10 with that last move.

SERIES 4

Punahou goes with linebacker Ronley Lakalaka against Ulu-Perry and that goes nowhere. Now it’s Saula’s turn and he barely even tries to rush as Tagovailoa sits back in the pocket all day and eventually completes a pass. Pass goes right over Ulu-Perry, who has Petaia in his grasps. Lakalaka goes with the speed rush around Ulu-Perry but Crusaders run right up the middle for a first down. Lakalaka fakes outside and beats Ulu-Perry inside forcing a quick incompletion. Looks like that’s how Punahou is going to attack. Ulu-Perry gets him on the next one throwing him back outside. Ulu-Perry misses a block as Punahou puts Kaumatule on the guard and Lakalaka coming off the end. Ulu-Perry went between both and missed them as Kaumatule gets a tackle for loss. Kaumatule on the outside and beats Ulu-Perry around the edge but is picked up by two backers. Tagovailoa throws to a wide-open receiver for a touchdown. Another tough one to call. I’m going to give it to Kaumatule 10-9 for the move he put on at the end. First drive Ulu-Perry wasn’t completely dominant.

SERIES 5

Saula gets the assignment on Ulu-Perry on the next drive. Not even much locking up between the two. It’s more hand fighting as Saula is content to just stand and not do much. Petaia with the rush on the third down and gets a step until Ulu-Perry gets two hands on him and locks him up. Saula back on first down and the Crusaders go outside for a run around Ulu-Perry who creates space. Kaumatule gives it a try on the next play but goes nowhere. Third down again and they try to run behind Ulu-Perry but Kaumatule holds his ground and bottles up the play, forcing a Crusaders punt. Ulu-Perry had that round easy until the end but Kaumatule makes it a 10-10 on the last play.

SERIES 6

Solid block by Ulu-Perry on Kaumatule to start. Kaumatule pushes Ulu-Perry back a couple of steps before Ulu-Perry plants and then pushes Kaumatule back two steps before the throw. Third-and-7. Kaumatule switches sides. Petaia goes nowhere and took a hand to the helmet. That didn’t look fun. Fourth down and Saint Louis is going for it. Petaia draws the assignment again and gets a mouthfull of fist before getting flung backward. Ulu-Perry 10-9.

SERIES 7

Ulu-Perry stands up Kaumatule to start and they go at it a little extra, well after the ball was thrown. Petaia goes outside and Ulu-Perry says OK as the run is up the middle for a nice gain. Kaumatule tries a speed rush outside but Ulu-Perry locks him turn him to the side and then throws him back well behind the QB. This is turning into a war with those two. Tagovailoa with a nice run created by the hole open up by Ulu-Perry who turned Kaumatule to his right, allowing Tagovailoa to run past his left shoulder. Petaia’s turn and it’s a pancake for Ulu-Perry. Ulu-Perry blocks Petaia again allowing Tagovailoa to wait and try to make a play happen. Incomplete with one second left. Saint Louis misses a field goal and it’s 28-20 at the half. 10-9 Ulu-Perry on that series.

SERIES 8

Hard rush outside by Kaumatule who finally gets past Ulu-Perry but the ball is thrown in plenty of time. Saula is next and can’t past the line of scrimmage as Ulu-Perry has two hands on him and isn’t letting go. Petaia’s turn and he gets shoved straight into the ground but the Crusaders have to punt. 10-9 Ulu-Perry.

SERIES 9

Ulu-Perry and Kaumatule again getting after it. Kaumatule tries a double move but Ulu-Perry is right there. Kaumatule rushes up the field as Tagovailoa goes straight on a QB sneak. Not much there. Saula gives it a go but doesn’t attempt much. Third down and Ulu-Perry locks up Saula as Tagovailoa sneaks by for a first down. Ulu-Perry lets Kaumatule go on a quick screen and tires to block upfield but can’t find anyone to block on a 4-yard gain. Buffanblu defense too fast there. Kaumatule beats Ulu-Perry finally but can’t get there fast enough as Tagovailoa throws a 16-yard TD pass. 10-9 Ulu Perry.

SERIES 10

Kaumatule again gets a step to the outside but it’s too far up the field to do much. Petaia with the speed rush inside and blows past Ulu-Perry. Quick pass. Looks like a miscommunication there as Ulu-Perry talks to his fellow lineman. Third-and-7. Petaia goes outside but is stopped. QB is there but he doesn’t see him. Big Crusaders pickup for a first down. Saitui Moea’i comes barrling through and Ulu-Perry picks him up and pancakes him but it allows Kaumatule through and he gets a hit on Tagovailoa who almost throws a pick. Nice disguise on the blitz there as Ulu-Perry and Moea’i slap each other’s helmets in appreciation after the play. Petaia comes inside on next play and Ulu-Perry picks him up but it frees up a blitzer who is shaken by Tagovailoa. Delay on Saint Louis as Punahou was going to blitz the linebacker again on Ulu-Perry’s side. Ulu-Perry handles Petaia but Punahou gets a sack as the Buffanblu are dialing up the blitzes on every play. Another blitz forces an incompletion and Saint Louis will punt. Buffanblu getting aggressive. 10-9 Ulu-Perry for purpose of the TW though.

Correction that last play was fourth down, not third.

SERIES 11

Saint Louis ball on Punahou 45. Kaumatule with the inside rush and Ulu-Perry is quick enough to hold him off on the solo block. Crusaders fumble on the next play. That was a wash.

SERIES 12

Petaia opens on Ulu-Perry and goes nowhere on the first play. Nobody to block on that play as Punahou blitzes inside. Ulu-Perry keeps Saula at bay. Ulu-Perry has this drive handled so far as the Crusaders move the ball. Kaumatule moves over to Ulu-Perry’s side on first-and-10 from the Punahou 40 and gets Ulu-Perry to hold. Good call on Ulu-Perry. Ulu-Perry holds up under a giant bullrush by Kaumatule, whose hands got awfully close to Ulu-Perry’s face mask. Kaumtaule the edge on the last two rushes. Second-and-long. Kaumatule gets around the end of Ulu-Perry and forces Tagovailoa to step up allowing the blitzing linebacker, Moea’i, to get the sack. Third and a mile. Tagovailoa is sacked. Kaumatule managed to push Ulu-Perry deep on that one. It’s fourth-and-53 from the 18 and Saint Louis has to punt. Kaumatule takes that round 10-9.

Summary: So the final tally is 7-2-2 in favor of Ulu-Perry, but a lot of his success came with Kaumatule on the other side. Ulu-Perry really set the tone on that first drive and it took Kaumatule awhile to warm up. But by the end of the game, with Punahou’s undefeated season on the line, Kaumatule came up with some solid rushes against Ulu-Perry, who proved tonight he is indeed a monster and is going to be a difference maker at UCLA. One helluva battle when those two monsters went at it. That was truly fun to watch.