No. 2 Saint Louis slips past Iolani, 28-17

Saint Louis running back Jimmy Gonsalves rushed for 116 yards and three touchdowns in the Crusaders' win over Iolani. Jim Lebeau | Special to SL

The play of two backups on offense and a strong defensive effort in the second half helped Saint Louis fend off Iolani, 28-17 in an Interscholastic League of Honolulu Division I contest at Hawaiian Airlines Field at Aloha Stadium Friday.

Jimmy Gonsalves rushed for a season-high 116 yards with three scores to help the second-ranked Crusaders improve to 4-0 and 2-0 in league play. Saint Louis will conclude the first round of ILH play with a pivotal matchup against top-ranked Punahou (5-0, 2-0) next week.

Iolani suffered its third straight loss and dropped to 2-3 and 0-2.

Gonsalves, who is number three on the depth chart, got the start at running back with injures to Jahred Silofau (ankle) and Jonathon Manalo (leg). The junior running back also had four receptions, most of which were on shovel passes up the middle, for 41 yards.

"Jimmy was big," said Saint Louis coach Cal Lee. "He made that running game of ours go. He stepped up with our No. 1 and No. 2 out of the game and was well prepared preparation prior to coming to the game. He got the call and he did a great job."

Chevan Cordeiro started behind center in place of the injured Tua Tagovailoa (calf) and completed 25 of his 32 pass attempts for 260 yards and a touchdown. His 28-yard touchdown pass to Javin Spear gave Saint Louis a 14-6 lead over Iolani two minutes into the second quarter.

"I thought he did a great job, coming in unexpected like that," Lee said on Cordeiro. "He doesn't have much experience, but he showed a lot of poise under the circumstances. Just another guy stepping up making plays at the end."

Iolani scored on its first possession of the contest, but could only muster one touchdown the rest of the way. The Raiders last score of the game was on a 37-yard field goal by Keoni-Kordell Makekau to make it a 21-17 game with 69 seconds remaining in the third quarter.

"We really stepped it up," said Saint Louis' defensive lineman Tanielu Evaimalo, who had two sacks in the win. "Our defense normally sets the tone the tone, but we came out flat in the first half. We just knew that we had to come out and set the tone after halftime."

The Raiders had their chances in the fourth quarter, but saw their final two drives end in a turnover, both of which were forced by Ahonui Kalama. The senior defensive back stripped Iolani's Brent Nagami at the Crusaders' 25-yard line and Iosefa Noga was able to return it to the Raiders' 47-yard line. This set up Gonsalves 2-yard touchdown run for the final score of the game with 2:50 left in regulation.

Iolani was able to get inside the Saint Louis' 30-yard line on its final possession of the game, but turned it over after Kalama intercepted a Tai-John Mizutani pass that went off the hands of Nanami.

"We got it rolling," Iolani coach Wendell Look said about his team's second half offense. "The kids were making good decisions, putting the ball where it needed to be. It's just unfortunate that we turn the ball over. That's kind of been our nemesis all season. We get it rolling and then we shoot ourselves in the foot."

The Raiders drew first blood with a 11-play, 82-yard drive on their opening possession. Mizutani hit Makekau for a 15-yard touchdown pass to give Iolani a 6-0 lead with 8:30 to go in the first quarter.

Saint Louis answered right back with a touchdown drive on its opening possession. Gonsalves' 3-yard touchdown run and Jacob Tobias' PAT gave Saint Louis its first lead of the game, 7-6.

The Crusaders pushed their lead to eight on Cordeiro's lone touchdown to the game, but Iolani tied things up with Mizutani's 19-yard scoring strike to Tamatane Aga and his 2-point conversion run.

Gonsalves' 1-yard touchdown run with 1:39 left to play in the first half gave Saint Louis a 21-14 lead at the break.

The Raiders will try to rebound when they travel to Kamehameha (3-2, 0-2) next Friday.

Reach Michael Lasquero at [email protected].