Kamehameha RB Bronson Barretto's takes the pigskin 16 yards to paydirt in the first half. Brien Ing | SL

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0902112119__BI_5287h.jpg - Brien Ing | SL

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HALAWA - Cid Camanse-Stevens snuck in the go-ahead score from two yards out with three minutes and 13 seconds remaining to rally Kamehameha to a 28-21 win over previously-unbeaten Saint Louis in the Interscholastic League of Honolulu opener for both teams Friday night.

A boisterous crowd of about 8,000 fans at Aloha Stadium witnessed a back-and-forth affair that came down to the wire. The Warriors, who evened their overall record at 2-2 and improved to 1-0 in the ILH, jumped out to a 17-0 lead. However, the Crusaders, who entered the game ranked second in the ScoringLive Football Power Rankings, answered with the next three touchdowns to pull ahead, 21-17, early in the third quarter.

Sixth-ranked Kamehameha pulled within one point on a third-quarter field goal and reclaimed the lead for good on Camanse-Stevens' touchdown run.

"I don't know what this does for us in the ILH, but it sure feels good right now," Warriors' head coach David Stant said. "We told the boys not to worry about the preseason - the preseason doesn't matter - and the boys bought into it. They never were down after we lost to Kahuku, lost to Farrington. Instead they just worked harder and harder and we've learned from our mistakes."

Saint Louis head coach Darnell Arceneaux was appreciative of both teams' efforts.

"It was a great game, wasn't it?," said Arceneaux, whose team dropped to 3-1 on the year and 0-1 in the ILH. "I had a lot fun, I thought both teams showed a lot of heart and I'm proud of what my guys did tonight - being down that big of a deficit. They showed a lot of composure, a lot of heart to keep at it and keep fighting."

The Warriors opened the scoring with a 27-yard field goal by Kanekoa Pawn-White to put them ahead, 3-0, with 6:01 left in the first quarter.

Bronson Barretto put Kamehameha up by two scores after a 16-yard touchdown run, which was followed by Pawn-White's PAT to make it 10-0 early in the second quarter.

After Saint Louis' Kawai Mook-Garcia was intercepted by Kanai Hanohano on its next drive, the Warriors' extended their lead to 17-0 on a 15-yard scamper by Barretto, who finished with 69 yards rushing on 12 carries.

The Crusaders got on the board on their ensuing drive, which covered 85-yards on nine plays and was capped by a 39-yard TD pass from Mook-Garcia to Jeremy Tabuyo with 2:40 left in the half. After Kamehameha lost the ball on a fumble two plays later, Tabuyo and Mook-Garcia hooked up again - this time on a 34-yard scoring strike - just before the half to cut the Warriors' lead to 17-14. With the defense closing in on him, Mook-Garcia found Tabuyo, who got behind the defense, on the fourth-and-11 scoring play.

Saint Louis took its first lead early in the third quarter on a 68-yard TD pass from Mook-Garcia to Tabuyo, who had seven receptions for a game-high 177 yards before he left with a leg injury late in the fourth quarter. On the scoring play, Mook-Garcia aired out a deep pass along the left sideline and hit Tabuyo in stride on his way to the end zone. Aaron Goo tacked on the PAT to make the score, 21-17, Saint Louis.

Late in the third quarter, Pawn-White made good on a 38-yard field goal to cut the Crusaders' lead to 21-20 after three quarters.

It appeared Saint Louis would extend its lead early in the fourth on a pass completion from Mook-Garcia to Goo. However, the receiver fumbled the ball after making the grab, but a facemask penalty against Kamehameha negated the loose ball, which was recovered in the end zone by the Warriors' Tanner Asuncion. Instead, the Crusaders kept the ball at the Kamehameha 27-yard line and six plays later, attempted a 31-yard field goal by Goo, which hit the left upright and was no good.

The Warriors took over at their own 20-yard line and orchestrated a 12-play drive that ended with Camanse-Stevens' go-ahead score. On second-and-one from the Saint Louis 2, Camanse-Stevens followed the block of tackle Hayden Wills on the QB sneak. Kamehameha went for - and converted - the two-point conversion on Nephi Stevens' play-action pass to tight end Keoni Bush-Loo out of the Power I formation.

Saint Louis advanced the ball to its own 47 on the game's final drive, but Mook-Garcia's pass on fourth-and-12 fell incomplete and Kamehameha ran out the clock after it took over on downs.

"Our team played hard," said Barretto. "This is always a big rivalry, so it definitely feels good to come out with this win."

Mook-Garcia completed 22 of his 38 pass attempts for 309 yards and Goo recorded nine catches for 96 yards for Saint Louis. Kamehameha, which managed just 56 passing yards, averaged over four yards per rush attempt. Tyler Meditz added 18 rushes for 59 yards for the Warriors.