In Tuesday’s Honolulu Star-Advertiser, Paul Honda wrote about the top 10 prep stories of 2017. You can read it here.
Here’s a deeper look at one of the 10 stories.
3. Dynasty reborn at Saint Louis
A decade ago, Saint Louis football was a dynasty no more. The Lee brothers, Cal and Ron, had departed, eventually landing at UH with June Jones. The run of state football champions since their last state title, in 2002, read like this: ’03, Kahuku; ’04, Kamehameha; ’05, Kahuku; ’06, Kahuku; ’07, Leilehua; ’08, Punahou; ’09, Kamehameha.
In ’10, Darnell Arceneaux returned to lead Saint Louis to a state crown. He also departed, and since then the list read this way: ’11, Kahuku; ’12, Kahuku; ’13, Punahou; ’14, Mililani; ’15, Kahuku.
By ’14, however, the Lee brothers returned to Saint Louis. In ’16, Year 3 of the rebuild, the Crusaders took their first state championship in six seasons. They made it back-to-back this past fall. After 14 Prep Bowl titles from ’83 to ’98, a state title in ’99, and titles in ’02 (Delbert Tengan) and ’10 (Arceneaux), the dynasty is back.
The ’16 title, with Tua Tagovailoa at quarterback, was highly anticipated. The title run in ’17, though, with a first-year starter at QB, was a work of art. Chevan Cordeiro’s mastery and leadership were off the charts, something that hadn’t been seen in a first-time starter since ’10, when Marcus Mariota was a senior. The tutelage of quarterbacks guru Vince Passas is always golden, through every Saint Louis slinger who has gone on to success at the next level and beyond. The defensive unit was sprinkled with eventual All-State selections, hard-nosed in the Crusader tradition that started with Cal Lee.
Dynasty reborn? Is it me or is it a little early for that headline, i think Kahuku had a couple of back to back years… Lets see how things go over a few more years before whispers of Dynasty come back again.
calling it a dynasty reborn is a bit premature, i believe. Maybe three years in a row, sure, but two is the start of a pattern. I look forward to next year, and what every new playoff system is setup. Either way, the games have been very exciting to watch.
The last thing the state needs is another St. Louis football dynasty. It needs it that much as another Iolani football dynasty! I’d take 100 more Iolani basketball championships than one more SLS or IOL FB championship!
How to build a dynasty: Go out to rural communities and recruit as hard as you can. Dangle money and scholarship offers in front of families. Continue to continue morally bankrupt practices in pursuit of champioships while rigging the system through the ILH Agenda to perpetuate the system. When you realize that you may lose, pay off the refs and use alumni refs to officiate the games. Use your mercenary players and coaches to win championships
RRFL!
Shaaaatap! Another RRFL cry baby!