GAME NIGHT 9/1: St. Francis/Pac-Five

ST. FRANCIS SAINTS (2-1, 0-0)
Head coach: Kip Akana
2017 St. Francis roster

VS.

PAC-FIVE WOLFPACK (1-1, 0-0)
Head coach: Kip Botelho
Pac-Five 2017 roster

St. Francis 35, Pac-Five 21, Final

Boxscore
At Aloha Stadium
St. Francis 14 7 6 8 — 35
Pac-Five 14 7 0 0 — 21
SF—Scott McLeod 3 pass from Kaimanuwai Akana (run failed)
P5—Kaikea Gonsales 94 kick return (Tyler Fukuroda kick)
SF—Wembley Mailei 60 kick return (Jonan Akana run)
P5—AJ Ulufale 23 pass from Fukuroda (Fukuroda kick)
SF—Sammy Kaleikau 12 pass from K. Akana (McLeod kick)
P5—Jett Uechi 12 pass from Fukuroda (Fukuroda kick)
SF—Atoa Lachmann 33 pass from K. Akana (kick failed)
SF—Safety, Fukuroda sacked in end zone by Dayton Leong
SF—McLeod 5 pass from K. Akana (kick failed)

RUSHING—SF: Bubbah Aina-Chaves 11-48, K. Akana 4-22, Matt Dacuycuy 3-5, Tyson Shimabukuro 10-36. P5: Gonsales 5-4, Fukuroda 4-(-22), Nathan Bek 4-7, team 1-(-13), Ulufale 1-(-3).

PASSING—SF: K. Akana 22-31-0-196, Jonah Aina-Chaves 1-4-0-4. P5: Fukuroda 13-33-3-201.

RECEIVING—SF: McLeod 5-37, Kaleikau 5-44, B. Aina-Chaves 2-20, Chase Akana 5-18, Shimabukuro 1-18, Lachmann 5-63. P5: Uechi 8-176, Breyndon Nakamura 1-2, Bek 2-(-2), Ulufale 1-23, Bailey Hogle 1-2.

Fukuroda flushed out and his desperation sideline pass is intercepted by Shepherd Kekahuna. Very next play, St. Francis RB Matt Dacucuy fumbles, recovered by Noah Sumimoto.

St. Francis 35, Pac-Five 21, 3:09, fourth quarter

St. Francis adds an insurance TD, a 5-yard play-action pass from Kaimanuwai Akana to McLeod. PAT kick misses, but it’s a 14-point lead.

Wolfpack ball at its 48, sideline pass, two flags, pass interference on St. Francis. That’s 15 flags for 157 yards. Fourth and 15 for the ‘Pack at the SF 42: pass to Uechi incomplete over the middle. Some contact, no flag.

Kordell Ng with a pick on a deep pass by Fukuroda, returns it to midfield, but a penalty pushes the Saints back 15 yards. Saints have the ball for six plays, then punt. They gained nine yards on two rushes, but then aired it out four times in a row. Punt.

THIRD QUARTER ENDS
The quarter ends on a punt, downed by St. Francis. That snap was extremely high and had to be snagged with one hand by Bubbah Akana, the punter. Last time it dribbled to him. Pac-Five ball at its 30-yard line.

Both teams have exchanged punts. St. Francis defense has adjusted to Fukuroda; he is 1-for-5 in the second half, 2 yards.

St. Francis 29, Pac-Five 21, 5:29, third quarter

Safety, Dayton Leong trips Fukuruda in the end zone for a sack and 2 points.

St. Francis 27, Pac-Five 21, 5:46, third quarter

Fourth and 10 at the 33, Akana lofts a TD pass to Lachmann, who is wide open on the right sideline. PAT kick wide left.

Wolfpack go three and out, punt, 19-yard return sets the Saints up at the Pac-Five 38.

Saints open the second half with a kick return to the 38, and then a first-down pass for a first down. Then it’s a toss sweep for a loss of 3 yards, and eventually a punt. Touchback, Pac-Five ball at its 20.

HALFTIME
Fukuroda is 9-for-11, 168 yards and two TD strikes. Uechi has five catches for 145 yards. The school mark is held by Tsubasa Brennan at 292 yards.

Boxscore
At Aloha Stadium
St. Francis 14 7 x x — 21
Pac-Five 14 7 x x — 21
SF—Scott McLeod 3-yard pass from Kaimanuwai Akana (run failed)
P5—Kaikea Gonsales 94 kick return (Tyler Fukuroda kick)
SF—Wembley Mailei 60 kick return (Jonan Akana run)
P5—AJ Ulufale 23 pass from Fukuroda (Fukuroda kick)
SF—Sammy Kaleikau 12 pass from K. Akana (McLeod kick)
SF—Jett Uechi 12 pass from Fukuroda (Fukuroda kick)

RUSHING—
SF:
Bubbah Aina-Chaves 1-0,
K. Akana 4-22,
Matt Dacuycuy 3-6,
Tyson Shimabukuro 6-14,

P5:
Gonsales 4-0,
Fukuroda 2-(-4),
Nathan Bek 3-4,
team 1-(-13),

PASSING—
SF:
K. Akana 10-12-0-81,
Jonah Aina-Chaves 0-2-0-0,

P5:
Fukuroda 9-11-0-168,

RECEIVING—
SF:
McLeod 2-14,
Kaleikau 2-15,
B. Aina-Chaves 1-15,
Chase Akana 3-14,
Shimabukuro 1-18,
Atoa Lachmann 1-5,

P5:
Uechi 5-145,
Breyndon Nakamura 1-2,
Bek 2-(-2),
Ulufale 1-23,

Lot of action in the final 5 minutes of the half, but it is still 21-all at the break. The Saints sacked Fukuroda and appeared to recover the fumble again, but it was ruled a Pac-Five recovery. After a Wolfpack punt, Akana’s deep pass was underthrown and picked off by Gonsales, who funbled and the ball was recovered by St. Francis WR Atoa Lachmann. However, for the third time in the half, the Saints were whistled for illegal man downfield.

St. Francis 21, Pac-Five 21, 5:51, second quarter

The Wolfpack appear to falling apart. A snap is high, Fukuroda has to leap to one-hand it, he hands off the running back, who is taken down for a 13-yard loss. But on the next play, Fukuroda zips a pass on the left side to Jett Uechi, who splits two defenders and zooms 81 yards to the 9-yard line. Three plays later, fourth and goal, it’s Fukuroda to Uechi on a sideline, back-shoulder toss for a 12-yard TD. Tremendous chemistry.

Pac-Five 21, St. Francis 14, Pac-Five 7, 8:02, second quarter

Another break for the opportunistic Saints. They recover a muffed punt, the ball hits the ground and off the hands of Gonsales, one of the returners. Two plays later, Kaimanuwai Akana passes to Sammy Kaleikau on a post pattern for a 12-yard TD.

Third and 2 at their 37, ‘Pack runs up the gut, 2-yard loss, punt. Ball downed at the Saints’ 28.

FIRST QUARTER ENDS
The first quarter ends with the ‘Pack on their 39, third and 2 after completing a batted pass. Fukuroda has been magical, 6-for-6, 67 yards, though there was the sack and fumble early on. His counterpart, Akana, is 5-for-5, 35 yards.

Saints drive to the 31, but on fourth and 1, they are stuffed on a dive up the middle. Huge effort by the front seven on this drive. Undersized but making tackles.

Pac-Five 14, St. Francis 14, 5:21, first quarter

This is starting to feel like an Arena Football League game. Tyler Fukuroda leads the ‘Pack downfield and fires a 23-yard TD pass to AJ Ulufale on a nice fade route to the left sideline. Wolfpack have the Saints a bit baffled. They may have to junk this zone coverage or add a pass rusher. At this rate, we’re in for a 56-56 game.

St. Francis 14, Pac-Five 7, 8:37, first quarter

High kick, almost a pooch, returned by Wembley Mailei 60 yards down the right sideline to paydirt. Bubbah Akana races around right end on a toss sweep for a 2-point conversion.

Pac-Five 7, St. Francis 6, 8:20, first quarter

The Wolfpack answer on the next play, a 94-yard kickoff return by Kaikea Gonsales. Flag down at the 40, but after a long conference, it is ruled a sideline warning on the St. Francis bench. TD is good. Kick is good.

St. Francis 6, Pac-Five 0, 8:37, first quarter

Fourth and goal from the 3, Bubbah Akana with a play-action TD pass to Scott McLeod to give the Saints the lead. PAT snap is bad or muffed, no point.

Pac-Five returns the opening kickoff 17 yards to the 20. They line up in a slot-I, haven’t seen this in years. Pac-Five used to run some of this, and especially Mililani during the James Millwood years. Tight splits, fullback and tailback both in tight. Heavy rush on third and long, sack by Makana Poole, Kaleo Neves recovers for the Saints at the 6-yard line.

Sunny blue sky, trades 5-15 mph here at Aloha Stadium as of 4 p.m. St. Francis warmed up for about 10-15 minutes and is already back in the lockerroom. Pac-Five has just begun warmups, plenty of time before kickoff (4:45 p.m.).

***********

NOTES: St. Francis can start its season 3-1 for the first time in school history. The Saints have never won their ILH opener. St. Francis leads the series with Pac-Five 4-3 and the Wolfpack are the only ILH team the Saints lead their series against. All seven games have been at Aloha Stadium. St. Francis has never had a 100-yard receiver vs. Pac-Five and never had a QB throw for more than 158 yards. St. Francis has had four straight games against Pac-Five withe a rusher gaining more than 100 yards. The last time they were held below it was 2015. Pac-Five has never had a rusher gain more than 46 yards against St. Francis. Pac-Five has not had anyone rush for more than 100 yards since the last game of 2015, a span of nine games. St. Francis running back Bubba Aina-Chaves, fresh off a school record last week, is second in Oahu Division II rushing with 367 yards, behind only Kaimuki’s Ieke Seei-Cleveland‘s 429 yards. Aina-Chaves is averaging 9 yards per carry, the best among anyone with more than 102 yards. Samson Kaleikau is third in receiving yards among D2 guys on Oahu with 230 yards but is the only one with more than 200 yards who hasn’t scored a TD yet.

Top performers in the series:
StF vs. Pac-Five passing: Kawika Ulufale with 158 in 2014
StF rushing vs. Pac-Five: Tyson Shimabukuro with 170 in 2016
StF receiving vs. Pac-Five: Micah Kalei with 98 in 2014.
P5 passing vs. StF: Kainoa Ferreira with 310 in 2015
P5 rushing vs. StF: Anthony Canencia with 47 in 2013.
P5 Receiving vs. StF: Clayce Akeo with 165 in 2015