The case could easily be made for Damien and St. Francis to be the top rivalry of the 2017 high school football season. The two teams meet tonight at Aloha Stadium for the fourth time to decide the ILH Division II champion and a berth in the Division I state tournament. The Monarchs won the first meeting, 27-20, but lost last Saturday, 15-14, in a game that came down to the final play.
Sept. 15: Damien 27, St. Francis 20
Oct. 7: St. Francis 19, Damien 0
Oct. 21: St. Francis 15, Damien 14
ST. FRANCIS SAINTS (8-3)
Head coach: Kip Akana
Saints roster
VS.
DAMIEN MONARCHS (8-3)
Head coach: Eddie Klaneski
Monarchs roster
Damien 13, St. Francis 12
Damien (9-3) wins its third consecutive ILH Division II title and will play Kauai at Vidinha Stadium next Saturday in the semifinals of the D-I state tournament.
FINAL BOX
at Aloha Stadium
St. Francis (8-4) 6 0 6 0 — 12
Damien (9-3) 7 6 0 0 — 13
StF—Jonan Aina-Chaves 2 run (pass failed)
DMS—Pomai Kim 5 pass from Marcus Faufata-Pedrina (Shiloh Kaeo kick)
DMS—Lindon Sevilleja 10 pass from Faufata-Pedrina (kick failed)
StF—Aina-Chaves 9 run (kick failed)
RUSHING—St. Francis: Aina-Chaves 24-124, Bubba Akana 7-26, Scott McLeod 1-4. Damien: Faufata-Pedrina 20-30, Keoua Kauhi 2-2, Akila Arecchi 1-0, Logan Lauti 3-(minus 1).
PASSING—St. Francis: B. Akana 20-32-2-245, Wembley Mailei 0-1-1-0. Damien: Faufata-Pedrina 13-21-1-190.
RECEIVING—St. Francis: Sammy Kaleikau 4-83, Lachmann Atoa 4-64, McLeod 4-42, Shepherd Kekahuna 4-5, Aina-Chaves 2-31, Chase Akana 1-15, Mailei 1-5. Damien: Sevilleja 3-67, Arecchi 3-47, Jarvis Natividad 3-27, Lauti 2-30, Kim 2-19.
Faufata-Pedrina is pushed into the end zone on a QB sneak but forward progress is to the 2. Saints call last timeout with 30 seconds left.
Saints ball on their 31 with exactly 3 minutes to go. Deep ball is batted away by Kellen Robins-Beers. Third-and-7. Deep ball and Arecchi is beat but it’s underthrown. He does a heckuva job to stop, not interfere and bat it away. Fourth-and-7. Here we go. Season on the line. Deep ball is CAUGHT by Lachmann Atoa for 41 yards to the 25. He got open deep. Timeout Damien at the 2-minute mark. Option pitch to Aina-Chaves and a flag goes down. Illegal hands to the face on St. Francis. Ball moves back to the 40. Screen pass is lobbed high to Aina-Chaves and he makes a one-handed catch to the 30 but a flag is down. Illegal man downfield. It is now first-and-30 from the 45. Pass over the middle to McLeod and he drags EVERYONE down to the 14. 31 yards. First down. What a play. Timeout Damien. Ball at the 14 with 46 ticks left. (We will have video up later tonight of these incredible plays). A double pass is coming and Mailei is PICKED OFF by White at the 1. THIRD pick of the game for White. Holy moly.
Ball at the 20. Saints with one timeout. Big third-and-7 and Natividad makes a helluva grab on the sideline for 8 yards. First down Damien. Third-and-9. Clock under four minutes. Saints only one timeout. Great protection for Faufata-Pedrina but he has nowhere to go with it and is eventually brought down by Wayne Satele. Damien will punt.
Saints start on the Damien 49 after a short punt and a return. Aina-Chaves pounds a 16-yard run down the middle and Matthew Faufata-Pedrina makes the TD-saving tackle. Timeout Damien. Aina-Chaves with his 10th 100-yard rushing game and eighth consecutive. It’s all Aina-Chaves on this drive as he runs for 17 to the 10. Arecchi shoots the gap on the blitz and takes Aina-Chaves for a 3-yard loss. Third-and-goal from the 13. Toss sweep to Aina-Chaves for 4 yards to the 9. Fourth down. They will try a field goal. Field goal is wide right. Damien ball with 6:28 remaining.
Faufata-Pedrina hits Natividad twice for 19 yards. Third-and-3 and the QB scrambles for his life and then has a man deep but Ng comes over from his safety spot to bat it away. Great play. Damien has to punt.
Quickly third-and-7 from the 17 for Damien. Faufata-Pedrina scrambles for 11 and the quarter will end with a first down for Damien.
Saints ball on their 24. Damien’s Blair shaken up on a running play. Wembley Mailei in on offense and it’s a deep ball to Mailei. 67 yards. TOUCHDOWN. NO. Flag on the play. Illegal formation. Only 6 men on the line of scrimmage. Huge penalty. Spin move and Aina-Chaves comes back the other way for a 27-yard gain on the run. Into Damien territory. Third-and-5 at the 40. Atoa with a 7-yard reception to move the chains. Jon Dalmacio with a big sack for Damien and it’s third-and-10. Deep ball is picked off by JT White. Second pick for White, who also has a game-high five tackles.
Faufata-Pedrina finds Sevilleja for 36 yards and Arecchi for 11. Lautaha with his second sack of the game though and it’s second-and-14 at the 37 of Damien. Drop. Third down. A 27-yard pass to Jarvis Natividad on third-and-14 is brought back by a hold. Faufata-Pedrina just chucks one deep on third-and-38 and it’s picked off by Kaleikau. Works as a punt.
Quickly third-and-7. Handoff to Aina-Chaves who looks like he might break it but White with a great tackle. That might have saved 6 and it might have saved a first down. They will measure. He is short. Akana with the QB sneak to pick up the first down. Kaleikau makes the DB miss and takes a short pass 42 yards to the 18. Third-and-2 at the 10 after an 8-yard pass to Atoa. Aina-Chaves is short. Fourth-and-1. Aina-Chaves 9-yard TD run on fourth-and-1. Makana Poole PAT is good but illegal formation called on St. Francis. Second kick is no good.
Arecchi with a 41-yard kick return and Damien starts on its 45. Faufata-Pedrina runs for 10 yards but Lautaha comes from behind and knocks it out. Kordell Ng recovers at the 27.
Damien will get the ball first.
First Half Defensive Stats
St. Francis
Tapena Tuitupou 2 tackles, sack
Taka Lautaha 3 tackles, sack
Sione Lolohea tackle
Shepherd Kekahuna tackle
Wembley Mailei 4 tackles, TFL
Samson Kaleikau tackle, pass deflection
Kordell Ng tackle
Chase Akana pass deflection
Alek Miyasato pass breakup
Damien
Jon Dalmacio tackle
Tristan Blair 2 tackles, TFL
JT White 2 tackles, Interception, pass breakup
Pomai Kim tackle
Kyle Kinney 2 tackles, 2 TFL
Shiloh Kaeo 3 tackles
Matthew Faufata-Pedrina tackle
Braeden Halili tackle
Josiah Medal tackle, sack
Lindon Sevilleja tackle
HALFTIME BOX
at Aloha Stadium
St. Francis (8-3) 6 0
Damien (8-3) 7 6
StF—Jonan Aina-Chaves 2 run (pass failed)
DMS—Pomai Kim 5 pass from Marcus Faufata-Pedrina (Shiloh Kaeo kick)
DMS—Lindon Sevilleja 10 pass from Faufata-Pedrina (kick failed)
RUSHING—St. Francis: Aina-Chaves 10-31, Bubba Akana 5-29, Scott McLeod 1-4. Damien: Faufata-Pedrina 11-11, Keoua Kauhi 1-3.
PASSING—St. Francis: B. Akana 13-19–1-114. Damien: Faufata-Pedrina 8-12-0-116.
RECEIVING—St. Francis: Shepherd Kekahuna 4-5, Sammy Kaleikau 3-41, Aina-Chaves 2-31, McLeod 2-14, Chase Akana 1-15, Lachmann Atoa 1-8. Damien: Akila Arecchi 2-36, Sevilleja 2-31, Logan Lauti 2-30, Kim 2-19.
Saints start on their 48 with 1:10 to go. Senior Josiah Medal with a huge sack for the Monarchs and the Saints use a second timeout. Aina-Chaves picks up 6 on fourth-and-1 and then Akana clocks it with 6 seconds left. Akana scrambles for 20 but the clock runs out. Halftime.
Damien will start on its 40 with 3:55 left in the half. Faufata-Pedrina hits Kim for 14 and Arecchi for 28 and it’s first-and-goal at the 10 with less than 2 minutes to go. Faufata-Pedrina runs to the 1 but flags everywhere. Offsetting penalties. Faufata-Pedrina scrambles, buys time and hits a WIDE OPEN Lindon Sevilleja for a 10-yard TD. XP is no good. 13-6 Monarchs, 1:17.
Saints ball on their 20. Damien forces a three-and-out after three Saints runs.
Monarchs first-and-10 at their 21. Faufata-Pedrina with a bullet over the middle to Lauti for 11 yards on third-and-7. He’s looked comfortable in the pocket so far despite a good Saints pass rush. Faufata-Pedrina hangs in the pocket again and hits Lindon Sevilleja for 21 yards while taking another hit. Faufata-Pedrina loses 5 on the TFL by Wembley Mailei who comes flying in to make a solid tackle. Third-and-15 from the 40. Chase Akana breaks up the pass and Damien will punt.
Saints second-and-21 from their 13 to start the second quarter. Offensive PI backs the Saints up even more. A screen to Aina-Chaves goes for 14 and Kinney is down for Damien. He stays down for a couple of minutes but he finally gets up and walk off under his own power. Good. Akana follows the break with a bullet to Chase Akana for 15 yards to move the chains. Akana hits Kaleikau for 18 yards and is now 10-for-13 for 101 yards. Akana forces a pass on third-and-12 and White with the diving INT for Damien.
Saints start at their 8 after struggling to field the kick, but Akana hits Scott McLeod for 16 yards. A hold wipes out a nice run and then Kinney with his second tackle for loss as he brings down Kekahuna for a loss of 7 to end the first quarter.
Damien gets its first first down on a 19-yard pass from Faufata-Pedrina to Logan Lauti. A 13-yard scramble by the QB and Damien quickly at the 18. A pass to Akila Arecchi and a scramble by Faufata-Pedrina sets up second-and-goal at the 1. Monarchs move early. Ouch. Pass to a wide open Pomai Kim is a TD for Faufata-Pedrina. Damien leads 7-6, :58, Q1.
Saints will start at midfield. Kyle Kinney with a TFL for Damien to set up third-and-11. Fourth-and-7 after an Akana scramble and the Saints go for it. Deep ball for Kekahuna who goes up and gets it-NO! He drops it as he hits the turf. Almost a great catch. Turnover on downs.
Monarchs start on their 20. Faufata-Pedrina at QB and he’s sacked on the first play by Tapena Tuitupou for a loss of 9. Third down and Taka Lautaha with the sack. Monarchs lose 16 yards on first three plays and will punt.
Damien tries an onsides kick and the ball goes out of bounds. Saints start on their 49. Bubba Akana at QB. Tristan Blair tackles RB Jonan Aina-Chaves for a loss on third-and-1. Saints to go for it on fourth-and-2 but move early. Saints still go for it at the Damien 48. Swing pass to Aina-Chaves goes for 18 yards to the 30. Akana completes his first four passes but is nearly picked in the end zone by JT White on first-and-goal from the 11. Pomai Kim saves the TD on a bootleg from Akana. Third-and-goal at the 3. Aina-Chaves goes air-born from the 3 and flips down at the 2. Fourth-and-goal. Aina-Chaves on the pitch is stopped short but he CARRIES multiple defenders into the end zone for the 2-yard TD run. His 16th rushing TD of the season puts the Saints up 6-0, 7:34.
St. Francis wins the toss and will receive.
TEAM CAPTAINS
St. Francis: Scott McLeod, Wembley Mailei, Taka Lautaha, Fia Mafua Jr.
Damien: Akila Arecchi, Marcus Faufata-Pedrina, Aisaac Unga, Shiloh Kaeo
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